Opinion: Leverage ELDs for More Safety Benefits

This Opinion piece appears in the Dec. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

By Ward Warkentin

CEO

Fleetmetrica

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently announced that it does not expect its final rule mandating logging devices for carriers until Sept. 30, 2015.

While it is likely that carriers will have two years to be in compliance when the new rule is released and two more years for fleets currently using a 395.15-compliant automatic onboard recording device, many carriers already have been looking at ELD solutions and continue to do so to allow themselves time to test various options and to work out any bugs well in advance of the deadline.

They also see this as an opportunity to use automated reporting on hours of service to strengthen their BASICs score — the rating system of FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that focuses on Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories.

However, some carriers considering various ELD options may not be aware of the potential benefits the devices could offer in helping to improve CSA scores beyond the HOS function. Those benefits can have a positive effect on other BASICs scores — including unsafe driving, vehicle maintenance and crash indications.

Because the new rule requires ELD devices to be tethered to the engine to validate the status of the driver’s HOS reporting, it gives fleet owners access to a wealth of other data that, if leveraged properly, can provide valuable insight into driver behavior and the condition of the equipment. For example, some of the metrics that can be drawn from ELDs include speeding, harsh braking and sudden acceleration events — all of which indicate unsafe driving.

Accessing data captured by the engine, along with the hours-of-service data, gives fleet owners more information on how their drivers and trucks are performing — which can increase the speed of their return on investment in this technology. So aside from tracking HOS compliance, trucking managers can see if their drivers and trucks are safer and if their operations are more efficient.

A case in point is what happened in the United Kingdom, where an electronic logging mandate has been in place for some time, and most fleet owners opted for a low-cost HOS solution that didn’t include telematics data. This choice resulted in only a 7% penetration of ELD-based devices in large commercial vehicles compared with more than 35% penetration of electronic onboard recorders that already collect telematics data in the United States in advance of the electronic logging mandate.

However, U.K. operators have recognized this lost opportunity, and many are now choosing to upgrade their technology to include telematics data as they renew their equipment.

While there are benefits from accessing telematics data with ELDs, carriers will face a number of challenges in collecting and using the data effectively.

The main challenges include device-related issues with extracting and transmitting data, quality issues due to abnormalities in the data and having sufficient IT resources to organize and store the data.

When they are available, the next hurdle is turning these data into actionable information. This involves making sense of the data and determining how and when to communicate the information to people in the organization who can take action on it.

Here are some tips on using ELD data beyond HOS monitoring and reporting as you invest in this technology:

• Ask ELD suppliers what types of telematics data are accessible through their devices beyond the minimum hours-of-service reporting. Also ask what, if any, services are offered to access the data.

• Whatever method you use for collecting data from your ELD, make sure it’s simple and easy to use and/or follow so that it is readily adopted as a new behavior within the fleet. A good rule of thumb here is that it should be easier than what you currently are doing.

• Look for solutions that engage the driver, because a change in behavior implies involvement from drivers, ranging from in-cab alerts and post-delivery analysis reports to driver training.

• Consider sharing this information with other people in the organization who have a responsibility for safety and who would benefit from the data in their decision-making.

• Automate the feedback to drivers and managers as much as possible. The more you can do this, the greater the chance of sustaining this as a new behavior in the company.

• Look for ways to combine the data from ELDs with other safety-related information and practices within your safety program — including technologies such as devices that offer in-cab alerts to help prevent forward crashes and lane departures and to maintain rollover stability.

• Also look into using ELD data in combination with other safety documentation within your company for driver training. For example, BR Williams Trucking, a truckload carrier based in Oxford, Alabama, found that combining its ELD data monitoring and reporting technology with online driver training, an incentive program for drivers and well-documented safety policies led to a significant improvement in CSA scores, a 60% drop in net accident costs per mile and a 3.4% improvement in mpg over the past 12 months.

Fleetmetrica is a safety-management software company based in the Toronto area that offers predictive analytics solutions for monitoring fleet safety.