It may be impossible for fleets to entirely avoid upheaval as they make the move to ELD compliance, but the right planning and training can make a world of difference, technology suppliers said.

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“Moving to ELDs requires change management,” said Sid Nair, senior director of transport and compliance for Teletrac Navman. “I advise companies to find ‘change champions.’ This could be a fleet manager or a compliance officer. The idea is that this person promotes the change throughout the company.”

ELD suppliers can be part of that process.

“We will be providing new training materials and training sessions for those customers who need help in understanding the differences between AOBRDs and ELDs,” said Erin Cave, vice president of product management at ­Telogis. “Our goal is to make the transition as seamless as possible for fleets and drivers.”

Training should focus on the technical changes that come with the switch from AOBRDs to ELDs, said Pete Allen, executive vice president of sales for MiX Telematics North America.

“From an HOS perspective, nothing has changed,” he said. “Where there is change for the drivers and the management is in the technical requirements.”

I advise companies to find ‘change champions.' 

Telectrac Navman's Sid Nair

Although the technical changes are not too difficult, Allen said, drivers need to be trained to handle them.

“The drivers need to understand that they are now fully responsible for every aspect of their electronic logs,” he said.

Pointdirect Transport used training support from Teletrac Navman for drivers and management. “We had the drivers come in and have breakfast,” fleet President Adolfo De La Herran said. “Then we went through the presentation. After the presentation, we pulled up a truck and had all of the drivers try signing in to use the new system.”

J. J. Keller & Associates offers an online resource center with videos, tutorial and articles, said Tom Reader, director of marketing.

Users of J. J. Keller’s electronic logging system can use these resources to smooth the transition.

“The best advice is to expect some period of adjustment as drivers deal with the change in technology,” Reader said.