truck\ndriver training<\/a> and acceptance rate. And what if you have glitches or\nintegration problems with your new unit(s). You could face long delays that\ncould potentially cripple operations or leave you open to violations if you are\noperating without an ELD passed December 17. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIt is also important to consider supply-side economics. With\nso many waiting until the last minute, the vendor you choose may wind up short\nor backlogged on cables or other critical equipment. The longer you wait, the\ncloser to a violation you get. Of course, some delays are the result of\nconfusion about the underlying technology or interoperability problems.\nConverting as soon as possible allows motor carriers to address these problems\nwithout running out the clock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, you should have your conversion plan hammered out\nby now. This will give you three to four months to work out the kinks and set\nup your program. Even if you are a small or one-man\/woman carrier, you still\nmay experience issues simply due to the higher volume of activity around the\nmandate come the final deadline. Since many ELD providers serve a training\ncapacity for their carrier partners, they could be bogged down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motor carriers typically make the most money in the fourth\nquarter. Waiting to manage such a huge transition could eat into what you bring\nhome during the most profitable part of the year. You also may want to consider\nsomething as simple as cell coverage. With 3G sunsetting, older ELD devices will\nbe impacted. In other words, if you don\u2019t do your due diligence, you could wind\nup upgrading to a device that is obsolete by early next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Are the Pain Points?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nOne of the biggest pain points is truck driver buy-in. It is\ncritical that truck drivers understand that ELDs are not a big brother-type of\nannoyance, they really do make a big impact on safety and efficiency. They help\ntruck drivers do their job. The last thing a truck driver wants is to be\nhustled and overworked. If positioned rightly, they should understand that an\nELD prevents the hustle and stressed-out feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another pain point to be on the lookout for is integration\nwith your existing systems, whether for fleet management or otherwise. Many\nvendors have open APIs that may conflict with routing or payroll systems. If\nyou have problems integrating what you currently use with the ELD, you may be\nlooking at excessive troubleshooting time, which eats into profits and adds\nadditional cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another consideration should be the business type. Many\ndon\u2019t realize that industries such as oil and gas have specific rules they must\nfollow. Any old ELD will not do. If not properly sourced or understood ahead of\ntime, this causes fleets big headaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those who have been using AOBRDs for a long time, there may be a training transition time. Truck drivers need to understand the basic differences between an AOBRD and an ELD. Truck drivers must be more involved with an ELD than they are with an AOBRD. One such example is the data transfer procedure for law enforcement. If your truck driver doesn\u2019t know how to move information over, you may face a violation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Consider practicing mock inspections to reinforce what steps\na truck driver needs to take in those situations. This reduces the stress truck\ndrivers deal with when it comes to operating a new technology and helps with\ntheir overall preparedness. You want to ensure you have created a hands-on\nexperience. The more they work with the tools, the easier their adaptation will\nbe to their use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the biggest learning curves for truck drivers is to\nidentify driving events and know when and how to manage and catalog them, even if\nthey are not automatically cataloged by the system. Everyone operating the ELD\nneeds a unique login, even the shop technicians. Furthermore, what if there is\na malfunction while the truck driver is on the road. Will they be equipped to\nknow what to do in that situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managers must also be trained on the devices. Full-featured\ndevices come with lots of features and reports. It shouldn\u2019t be expected the\ntruck driver will know how to manage every aspect of the ELD, but at the\nminimum, the fleet manager must do so. In some cases, ELD systems can integrate\nwith health, safety and finance. If people from other departments are involved,\ntraining is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Choose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYou want to choose a compliant ELD that can scale to your\nneeds. Why go with an ELD solution that only does one thing when you can\nintegrate a device that helps move the needle forward for your business.\nIntegrate your ELD solution with a comprehensive fleet management solution to\nimprove the experience for your truck drivers, keep them safe, and operate in a\nsecure fashion. Get valuable insights into fleet behavior and protect and\nextend the life of your critical business assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many solutions out there that offer scalable,\nfull-featured solutions. Go with a device that has reliable GPS tracking and\nfleet management built-in, including breadcrumb trails and truck driver\nbehavior tracking. You should be able to tack on specialty add-on hardware\nfeatures. Can you diagnose engine problems or integrate a truck driver\nscorecard into your ELD solution? Does it manage federal compliance regulations\nsuch as HOS and DVIR?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may also want to look at whether a mounted or tablet\nsolution would work for your fleet. Consider this: If you do go with a portable\ndevice, it must be mounted in the cab while the vehicle is in use. So, you can\ngo with a permanent mount or a portable solution with a temporary mount.\nSpring-loaded, quick-release cradles offer easy in and out operation while also\nkeeping the device secure. You can also outfit your tablets with drop\nprotection, since truck drivers routinely enter and exit the cab. Quick-docking\nand quick-locking mechanisms allow for charging and data transfer in a pinch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other features to consider include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n