How Ace Tree Enterprise Doubled Its Safety Score with Samsara AI

Ace Tree Enterprise operates as a full-service tree management company in California, providing tree trimming, removal, and storm recovery — including wildfire response work for utility partners such as PG&E. The business has grown rapidly and depends on a fleet of vehicles spread across job sites, many in remote or mountainous terrain. For a company whose safety record directly affects insurance costs and relationships with utility partners, real-time fleet visibility is a core operational requirement.

The company had been using Motive as its fleet management platform, but the experience was inadequate. Motive’s data arrived with a delay, making real-time oversight impossible. Camera footage was too pixelated to be usable as evidence. When an incident led to contact with the California Highway Patrol and Motive could not supply critical vehicle data such as speed, Ace was found at fault — a direct financial and reputational consequence of data it was paying for but couldn’t use.

Ace Tree Enterprise switched to Samsara, deploying AI Dash Cams, the Samsara AI Assistant, and the Connected Training platform across its fleet. Installation was rapid: when the company secured a major wildfire recovery contract following the January 2025 Palisades, Eaton, and San Bernardino County fires, 100% of deployed vehicles had GPS and dash cams installed within two and a half weeks. The AI Dash Cams provided live video feeds, accurate in-cab alerts for distracted driving and phone use, and driver-activated recording for situations such as navigating properties with pre-existing damage. Samsara AI Assistant helped the fleet manager generate unbiased coaching notes from incident data. Connected Training let her assign relevant safety videos — available with Spanish subtitles — directly after repeat incidents.

The results were measurable within months. The company’s overall driver Safety Score more than doubled, rising from 42 to over 90. Mobile phone use and distracted driving incidents declined. In one dispute with a property owner who claimed Ace had knocked down a power line, Samsara footage clearly showed the power line had been duct-taped to the house and came loose on its own — clearing the company of any wrongdoing and avoiding potential financial penalties.

For a small but rapidly growing field services company, Samsara has become embedded in daily operations. The fleet manager credits it as essential for driver coaching, claims defense, and maintaining trust with major utility partners. The company sees further value in expanding Samsara’s role as it takes on more wildfire recovery and large-scale infrastructure contracts.