Fleets Adopting Logging Systems Ahead of Mandate, Technology Equipment Vendors Say

This story appears in the April 25 print edition of Transport Topics.

CINCINNATI — Fleets are adopting electronic logging systems at a rapid pace in advance of a federal mandate, according to technology vendors and fleet executives.

Although a final rule is not expected to be in place before June 2012 and motor carriers will be given three years to comply, many fleets are not waiting.

“They see the writing on the wall. The big guys are all moving in that direction,” Brian McLaughlin, chief operating officer of PeopleNet Communications Corp., Minnetonka, Minn., said here at the National Private Truck Council’s annual conference and exhibition.

McLaughlin said 40% of NPTC member fleets surveyed are using electronic logs as part of onboard computing systems and that for-hire fleets also are beginning to buy in droves.

Norm Ellis, vice president of sales, services and marketing for Qualcomm Enterprise Services, San Diego, said the adoption rate of its hours-of-service application has more than doubled in the past 12 months and sales are expected to exceed 100,000 this year.

“While many of our customers initially adopted QHOS for safety and compliance reasons, they quickly acknowledged the additional benefits such as improved productivity and efficiency the application provides,” he said.

Gary Palmer, senior director of transportation for True Value Co., Chicago, told Transport Topics during the NPTC conference that he uses electronic logging to monitor hours for about 325 drivers and a fleet of more than 300 tractors for the hardware chain.

“It has improved safety and service levels,” he said.

Palmer said the combination of electronic logs and more advanced onboard computing systems has made it easier to plan more efficient routes and to make better use of drivers’ time.

Officials at Cadec Global Inc., Manchester, N.H., said sales leads jumped 500% since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a proposed rule on Jan. 31 that would require nearly all interstate carriers to use electronic data recorders rather than paper logbooks.

“Interest levels have gone up,” said Owen Smith, senior vice president.

Rick Schweitzer, general counsel for NPTC, said the group’s board of directors voted on April 16 to support the electronic logging mandate, joining American Trucking Associations and the Truckload Carriers Association in pushing for adoption of the regulation.

Last week, FMCSA extended the public comment period to ensure carriers do not use the technology to violate the privacy of truckers.

Because most private fleets already use some kind of electronic onboard recorders, Schweitzer said, the new regulation would not be “a huge cost imposition.”

Fleet managers also consider the devices to be useful tools to meet compliance goals under FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

For example, “Most violations for driver fatigue have nothing to do with fatigue but are paperwork violations,” Schweitzer said. “EOBRs [electronic onboard computers] will eliminate those violations.”

NPTC’s endorsement of electronic logging, however, included three conditions, Schweitzer said: Devices are cost-effective and accurate; access to private fleet and driver data is protected; and elimination of the need for fleets to keep paper records to support the HOS reports.

The problem is, however, that many technical features of the new logging devices are still undecided.

“[Any vendor] who says they have a device that is compliant with the proposed regulation is lying,” said PeopleNet’s McLaughlin.

Among the issues that need to be sorted out is the type of connection needed for devices in the cab and for wireless communications de-vices, such as cellphones and laptops. In addition, there remains uncertainty about the form in which information will be displayed to law enforcement personnel during roadside inspections.

A Senate bill introduced March 31 by Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) would establish some standards for logging devices, including a requirement they be tamper-resistant.

“There is a healthy discussion under way to get the interpretation in the regulations,” McLaughlin said. “We can’t build new devices without that clarification.”

Under FMCSA’s logging proposal, he said, fleets that install electronic logs now will be able to keep the logging device on the truck for the life of the truck.

Qualcomm officials and others said they expect there to be a large market for simplified logging devices once the technical standards are developed.

“We definitely see a big market,” said Dave Kraft, director of business development for Qualcomm. “It will attract a lot of product.”

Qualcomm’s Ellis said drivers gain, on average, 2½ hours of driving time per week after adopting electronic logs. And a fleet in Texas was able to complete a companywide DOT safety audit in a matter of days, saving time and money, in contrast to weeks to complete the task normally.

In the first year of using electronic logs, Cargo Transporters of Claremont, N.C., said it reduced log-related violations by more than 40%, from 344 to 194, and reduced out of service violations by 75%.

Tom Cuthbertson, director of industry solutions for Xata Corp., Eden Prairie, Minn., said fleets need to make sure that drivers understand how the new logging systems work and how data are shared with law enforcement on the road.

“Spend a lot of time making sure drivers are trained,” Cuthbertson said. “This will help with enforcement.”