Opinion: Technology Helps Truckers Handle Challenges

By Michael Ham

General Manager and Vice President

Omnitracs Canada

In the world of transportation, change is something we deal with every day. It becomes a challenge to manage customer demands, the regulatory landscape, positive driver experiences and big data while promoting an organizational culture that is ready to accommodate the changes happening in front of us.

To stay ahead of the game, companies need to be proactive in their preparation efforts. That includes identifying the opportunities Software as a Service, or SaaS, and mobile computing offer in the transportation environment and focusing on complex and significant value-adding applications such as electronic logging devices, or ELDs, and even transportation management systems, or TMS.

Data driven in these powerful applications are helping our industry make money and save money. It’s a win-win. Taking the time to understand the information, making sound decisions and driving results is more profitable than managing infrastructure.

There are fundamental advantages in having powerful applications developed in the SaaS model, such as ease of deployment, cost of service and the focus on the business at hand. The alternative is less enticing, placing too much of an emphasis on infrastructure and cost to self-deploy. When you compare this with internal development, there are many benefits versus legacy in-house development. Capital investment with servers, front-end security, capital management, maintaining staff and documentation for implementation must be managed alongside cost. They also require tools to monitor performance.

Looking at the regulatory environment that monitors our industry, all these factors become critically important when there is a mobile application involved such as an ELD, hours-of-service app or driver vehicle inspection reports. With all the regulatory changes in the industry over the past three years, and considering the changes to come, easy-to-deploy platforms such as SaaS and mobile will be significantly less taxing on a carrier’s scarce IT resources.

SaaS and mobile platforms allow ELDs and other applications to be easily accessed from anywhere that has a Wi-Fi connection or cellular coverage. Consistent data connectivity lessens the pressure and responsibility for safety managers. Those same managers now are saving valuable time and resources. They no longer are burdened with traveling to and from each facility. Instead, they are empowered with immediate access to violation reports and the exception reports for HOS that are needed to remain compliant. In summation, SaaS systems are easy to navigate and make required information for internal DOT audits more efficient and productive for the auditor and the carrier.

Drivers in SaaS and mobile environments have accessibility to regulatory items such as time clocks and reports that previously required significant infrastructure costs on the carrier’s end. A carrier still can work with Web services to provide a service, but it is dependent on all internal costs and infrastructure support. Cost of acquisition in current mobile environments is much less and allows “future proof” of capital costs.

Those who worry about mobile security can take confidence in the fact that the front-end processors in the SaaS environment have the equivalent of Department of Defense security — and the manufacturers that have been DOD-certified as well. SaaS systems are operated by public cloud server providers that typically adhere to high security standards and Service Level Agreement offerings. There also is mobile device management software to control the use of devices while vehicles are in motion, and monitor when calls are being made or applications are being accessed. This device management is done through a single console that would be part of SaaS.

Beyond ELD and HOS applications, transportation management system providers in the SaaS environment complement compliance-related requirements by providing robust, highly secure, reliable and always up-to-date technology offerings. This enables transportation carriers to easily leverage state-of-the-art technologies that would otherwise pose a challenge to develop, deploy and maintain using in-house or clients’ server-based systems.

Cost of ownership of a TMS has been drastically reduced by the subscription-based price modeling options providers. Users do not have to worry about the time spent integrating ELD and HOS applications, which take a fraction of the time to implement because business-to-business communication platforms are supported and executed within the same public Internet domain using Web services and similar technologies.

The trucking industry’s regulatory body will continue to review and modify the rules in which we operate, and the demands from customers will increase as we spend cycles trying to improve the overall driver experience. Adding information to our operations and increasing efficiencies are some of the greatest challenges, and we rely on the SaaS model to be a time- and money-saving tool in the face of these challenges.

Ham has been engaged in the wireless telematics technology space for more than 20 years, working with more than 700 customers in Canada. He is recognized as a pioneer and market developer who understands the challenges of the transportation industry and is in the forefront of technological change and development finding the right solution to address each customer’s needs.