As unemployment bites in Kenya, 20 Mt Kenya University students have found a fortune in controlling and organising the United States transport system.
A report by Business Daily on Thursday, December 17 indicated that the students, who are based in Kiambu County, have been managing 500 truck drivers in the US through technology.
The students, through the seamless technology, offer the drivers 24-hour support system and monitoring to help them stick to the hours of services as required by the law.
The agreement was born out of an agreement between the university and a US logistics company identified as Road Star Inc.
The company's Kenyan representative indicated that the students, through the initiative, were making an income of Ksh35,000 per month each.
"Our main job is offering 24-hour support and monitoring truck drivers on the hours of service rules set up by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration," stated the representative Monika Egle.
The hardware is fitted in the trucks in the US and connected to the control unit which is synchronised with the engine to monitor movement.
The technology is then connected to the driver's smartphone.
The connection is relayed to the seamless servers that can be accessed by the support team in Kenya.
The data taken by the system will then account for the location, ignition, power status, engine hour, vehicle movements and total miles travelled.
"On our end, we are able to view this data in real-time through the desktop version of the software.
"We see what activities the drivers are currently performing and if they need our assistance with anything," added Egle.
She further noted that the support staff ensure that the driver's logbook is cleared for traffic police inspection as well as provides all relevant information expected to adhere to the US laws.
The laws stipulate that drivers can only take 14-hour drives and must take 30 minutes breaks after eight hours. When a trip is completed, the driver is expected to rest for 10 hours before embarking on another.
