Chianelli notes that another concern for fleets is the implementation of this new technology. Transitioning from manual to electronic logging systems means more than simply changing the hardware and software—the change will affect most aspects of the company, including the culture. For this reason, leadership must establish a clear vision and transparent implementation plan. It is essential that all involved parties are continually updated and informed on the process.
“There’s no doubt that ELDs will dramatically impact the industry and that it will take some time for fleets and owner-operators to learn how to effectively run their business with this technology,” says Alexis Capelle, Continental Corp.’s ELD program manager. “We feel that in the long run, it will be a very positive and beneficial impact for everyone concerned. In addition to improving safety on the roads, fleets and drivers will save time, reduce paper work and minimize the effort needed to ensure compliance with HOS reporting.”
Capelle believes fleets will be the most concerned about buying a product that fits their needs and making sure that they will not outgrow it or have it become obsolete.
“It’s critical for fleets to partner with an experienced provider that is focused on the compliance issue and has a solid track record of delivering reliable products and solid customer support,” she says. “This will help ensure that ELD buyers maximize the return on their investment, get a solution they can rely on for the long term and have a product that is readily accepted by law enforcement.”
Fred Fakkema, vice president of compliance with Zonar Systems, notes that keeping fleet customers apprised of the suspected details of the mandate before the final ruling, and having compliance experts on staff to read and analyzed the final ruling after it was published, has allowed the company to keep its customers and prospects properly educated.
“Additionally,” he says, “Zonar has helped build appropriate and strategic work back initiatives to get their fleets compliant with minimal hiccups and streamlined change management.”
Advice to fleets
“We’ve been working with fleets to help them understand how the ELD mandate impacts their overall business,” Capelle says. “These products don’t simply affect the driver or HOS reporting. The right ELD technology can open the door to vastly more efficient operation by automating the compliance process. We’re urging our customers to adopt early so they can incorporate ELDs in their system and begin to see the costs savings gained from automated reporting.”
“Zonar has been working hand in hand with fleet customers since the ELD Mandate was first suggested, through the final ruling and today,” Fakkema says, adding that he himself was involved in the mandate, from the policy level down to the compliance level for Zonar’s tablet. He developed three essential steps for fleets preparing for the ELD mandate, which are as follows:
• Understanding the ELD mandate and how it will affect your fleet.
• Knowing that the mandate is thorough and consists hundreds of pages of rules and regulations, and how to implement the process of change management from paper logs to an ELD across the fleet; meaning that a fleet owner and/or manager will need to rely on compliance experts to help them understand the legislation’s specifics, including which parts affect their fleet and what the impact will be.
• Preparing your team and organization with the right technology and infrastructure.
Telogis says that it is solving the pain points of hours of service and the ELD mandate through the Telogis Compliance and Telogis Navigation apps—both of which are optimized for iOS. More than compliance,
Telogis solutions focus on making sure the driver and the company get the maximum benefit from electronic logging, with most implementations returning a positive return on investment within 120 days.
Companies that have installed electronic logging solutions are also seeing an increase in utilization, fully maximizing the allowable number of driving hours, Telogis notes. This all adds up to improved profitability for the business, which in turn provides drivers with better job security.
Leveraging resources
Omnitracs has leveraged multiple resources to help customers and further educate the trucking industry about the ELD mandate In the spring of 2015, Omnitracs launched ELDfacts.com, a website on which
presentations from industry experts, white papers, videos, a blog and analysis tackling technical questions and compliance topics are available for easy access and download. In addition, the company offers regular webinars, which feature customers and regulatory experts breaking down aspects of the mandate and answering questions.
“Omnitracs has been identifying the required modifications for ELD technology to ensure that our products will comply with the FMCSA final ruling on ELDs,” Cuthbertson says. “Many of our customers use our current AOBRD HOS product, which is compliant hardware and software providing near real-time tracking of driver’s hours, allowing them to focus on driving safely. This technology provides automatic updates to fleet managers with duty status, driving time, and remaining hours of service to benefit not only the driver, but also the entire fleet.”
“PeopleNet is working with customers to ensure that they have the proper materials and training in place,” Chianelli notes. “With these important resources in hand, fleets will be able to educate their respective operations, safety departments and drivers on ELDs with successful outcomes. We also have dedicated implementation, project management and professional services teams, which will aid in a successful deployment or upgrade of an ELD.”
