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EASE
Media and Marketing
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(Dublin, OH, July 28)
Just after dawn on Wednesday, July 26, EASE Logistics made history.
Bart Cooper and Mike Vannatta, EASE professional drivers and automated driving system (ADS) operators, shifted into gear and set out northbound for Cleveland. Loaded carefully with handcrafted wood furniture from Columbus’ A Carpenter’s Son Design Company, the EASE fleet’s two semi-trucks were also outfitted with game-changing automation technology.
As the chosen host fleet partner for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and DriveOhio’s Rural Automated Driving Systems (ADS) project, EASE is now first in the U.S. to deploy connected and automated trucking technology for customer freight shipments. When the semi-trucks engage this technology to operate in platooning mode, the lead driver controls speed, braking, and acceleration for both the lead and follower trucks. Both trucks always have a professional driver behind the wheel.
“Wednesday’s shipment utilizing EASE’s automated and connected fleet is the culmination of many months of planning,” said Justin Arciaga, EASE Project Manager. “It was exciting to be partnered with forward-thinking customers who want to support this initiative, deploying technology that will impact the future of transportation and create safer roadways for drivers, passengers, freight, and communities. “
Fortunately, conditions were optimal on the day of the delivery, so more than half the miles logged that day occurred in platooning mode. Platooning mode requires very specific and ideal circumstances – weather, road conditions, and traffic are all taken into consideration when both EASE drivers choose the perfect moment to engage.
In preparation for the deployment, highly specialized and heavily vetted EASE drivers like Cooper and Vannatta have undergone a combined 400 hours of training at the Transportation Research Center (TRC). “It was kind of a relief to finally move forward to this phase of the project,” said Cooper. “And I’m a big fan of Cleveland sports, so it was pretty cool driving into the city to do the first freight run.”
Said Vannatta of the day’s historic freight move, “It was a great experience and I felt privileged to be a part of it.”
About EASE
Established in 2014, EASE was founded on a highly responsive and personalized customer service model. What started as a simple brokerage has evolved to become a highly awarded, full-service logistics, asset, and managed solution provider, delivering unparalleled customer service 24/7/365.
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