By Greg Johnson, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the Oct. 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Xata Corp. has unveiled a product called ComplianceConnect that allows fleet managers to add the compliance component of driver productivity software without paying extra costs.
This move is a major development because fleet managers generally have used proprietary driver productivity software for about five or six years, Christian Schenk, Xata’s vice president for product marketing, told Transport Topics.
But with changes looming in trucking regulations, motor carriers that haven’t already done so must purchase compliance software to ensure drivers and fleets meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules, Schenk said.
With ComplianceConnect, fleet managers won’t have to buy anything when they use Xata’s electronic onboard recorder product, Xata Turnpike, Schenk said, because ComplianceConnect allows Xata Turnpike to work with driver productivity TMS software — even products developed by other companies.
Generally, productivity software measures a driver’s hours of service, speed, hard braking, idling time and compiles a driver vehicle inspection report. These products are usually not made to interface with an EOBR product from a competitor, Xata said.
ComplianceConnect gets a-round this by allowing any productivity software to interface with Xata Turnpike, Schenk said. Fleets running other productivity applications on drivers’ cellphones, smart phones and tablet computers can now easily use Xata Turnpike without any upfront costs.
Compliance software will play a crucial role in trucking because of changing FMCSA regulations, which some say end up reducing capacity.
In its earnings statement, Werner Enterprises Inc. said “the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, proposed changes to the hours of service regulations for commercial truck drivers and the proposed required use of electronic onboard recorders on virtually all trucks are expected to reduce, or have the effect of reducing, industry capacity.”
One of those changes includes the technical requirements for the agency’s EOBR rule, Schenk explained. This rule, expected to go into effect in mid-2012, mandates EOBRs for all carriers with poor hours of service compliance status.
Schenck said Xata’s goal was to come up with a compliance software product that anyone could use. “We’ve been working on this for over a year,” Christian Schenk, Xata’s vice president for product marketing, told TT. “We put it together with a number of companies.”
Two of those companies are mobile supply chain software maker Airclic Inc., Trevose, Pa., and its competitor Apacheta Corp., Media, Pa.
“By leveraging the packaged integration between Xata Turnpike and Airclic’s Perform products, our clients can now dramatically increase the accuracy and efficiency of their fleets, while reducing the costs associated with implementing other EOBR solutions,” Airclic Chief Executive Officer Mike Lee said in a statement.
Adding Xata’s ComplianceConnect to Apacheta’s mobile workflow applications gives customers an affordable DOT compliance solution for accessing driver logs and inspections from their mobile device, Apacheta’s CEO Don Grust said in a statement.
“By adding our software to others, it works out great for partners and it allows our customers to leverage their investments,” Schenck said.
