The controversial Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate is expected to be published this month. Per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), “The proposed rule will ultimately reduce hours-of-service violations by making it more difficult for drivers to misrepresent their time on logbooks and avoid detection by FMCSA and law enforcement personnel. Analysis shows it will also help reduce crashes by fatigued drivers and prevent approximately 20 fatalities and 434 injuries each year for an annual safety benefit of $394.8 million.”
The rule is scheduled to go into effect in 2017 with final compliance required by November 2019. It will require all truck operators to equip their fleets with ELDs, or compliant ELD software for existing Automatic Onboard Recording Devices (AOBRDs). With ELDs, drivers’ data entry is fully automated, saving time and eliminating data entry errors while still protecting the driver’s privacy. Fleet managers can also view up-to-the-minute driver status to ensure drivers are adhering to Hours of Service (HOS) rules.
ELDs will help FMCSA enforce the HOS rules but they will also generate a whole new source of data that will make managing drivers and improving asset utilization easier. A recent article in Forbes magazine mentions, “Big data has brought the potential to preserve, and possibly expand, the trucking industry’s narrow profit margins, and experts believe it won’t be long before multi-purpose monitoring units are installed in every semi-trailer in America.”
At Paragon many of our customers are already using data gathered from transportation technology to identify savings or operational improvements. Warburtons can monitor truck movements in real-time and proactively manage its fleet using Route Execution linked to vehicle tracking. Sainsbury’s uses Paragon’s Resource Manager to plan routes against individual driver shifts and available vehicle resources to ensure that each day’s multi-shifted transport plans are realistic and achievable.
The added dimension of utilizing real-time data from vehicle tracking systems enables transportation plans to be adjusted through the working day, reallocating resources without affecting service levels. Truck operators can also use the real-time data to proactively alert customers to any potential delivery delays, and produce more manageable schedules leading to happier drivers.
Protecting drivers by reducing fatigue is key to safe transportation operations but used properly this rich new source of data can also generate big benefits across the business.
Why not get in touch to discuss how we can help you integrate your vehicle tracking system with routing and scheduling software?
