ERoad Will Certify ELD Device Through PIT Group
LAS VEGAS — ERoad announced it has partnered with PIT Group to provide independent testing and verification of its electronic logging device solution, saying it is the first provider to do so.
The company, which offers one technology platform to deliver electronic tax, compliance and commercial services, made the announcement here Oct. 4 at American Trucking Associations' Management Conference & Exhibition.
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ELD mandate, providers may self-certify that their devices meet the agency’s technical specifications, ERoad said.
Once ERoad completes its certification process, PIT Group said it will confirm ERoad’s ELD solution satisfies FMCSA’s technical specifications and carriers’ operational requirements.
‘Through this partnership, we seek to demonstrate the feasibility of the value of independent testing and verification,” Jarred Clayton, chief operating officer of ERoad, said during the press conference.
“The bottom line is if that ELD [a carrier uses] malfunctions or is taken off the [FMCSA] registry, a potentially high-stakes consequence plays out,” Clayton said. “A carrier’s only got eight days to find another provider and replace their technology. We all know in trucking that is a really difficult challenge.”
PIT Group “harmonized and developed” the emerging ELD standard for Canada, Clayton said.
The Canadian standard will mirror FMCSA’s, said Marc Bolduc, business development director at PIT Group. A lot of companies are expected to provide ELD products and “for them to come up only with a self-verification process is something to be concerned about.”
Separately at MCE, the American Transportation Research Institute announced the implementation of the ELD rule was the trucking industry’s top concern, according to the group’s latest survey, as questions remain about its implementation date and a plan to move toward it.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has challenged the rule in court, and the case is pending.
FMCSA’s final rule requires all interstate carriers to comply by Dec. 17, 2017.
PIT Group’s arrangement with ERoad is not an exclusive one, Clayton said.
ERoad’s North American base is in Tualatin, Oregon, while it is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.
PIT Group is a Canadian engineering and research group based in Montreal.
