Choosing Safe Carriers Via Technology

Technology goes beyond helping carriers and shippers find the best rates and routes; it also can help them monitor fleet safety ratings.

DAT Solutions’ CarrierWatch checks for daily changes in carriers’ authority and insurance status and sends corresponding alerts.

“We use a monitoring service so it keeps brokers from accidentally using a carrier today that was perfectly good yesterday but had a change in their safety rating or their insurance lapsed,” said Michele Greene, director of product management for DAT.

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CarrierWatch can also help detect fraud by identifying chameleon carriers — fleets that have been shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration but can re-emerge operating as a close relative of a company that was recently shut down.

Norbert Dentressangle’s carrier development group monitors carrier compliance, insurance, scoring in FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, on-time performance and billing accuracy. The company will not use carriers with bad safety ratings. David Crabtree, vice president of freight management and controller of transportation logistics services for Norbert, said the company references the DOT website and major insurance companies for information.