Are You Compliant with the ELD Mandate?
The Electronic Logging Device rule, also commonly referred to as the EDL Mandate for short, was published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in December of 2015. Simply put, it's a rule that states that all trucks must now keep electronic logs, as opposed to the paper-based logs that many had been carrying for years. An ELD must now be used to record a driver's Record of Duty Status, also referred to as RODS.
On the one hand, this is something that many people have been looking forward to for years. Paper logs are not only inconvenient and difficult to maintain, but they're also notoriously unreliable - it's much easier to log false or otherwise incorrect information, even accidentally, if you're still living in a paper-based world. Electronic logs, however, automatically record information in a way that both eliminates wasted time and mitigates the possibility of misinformation as well.
The flip-side of this, however, is the issue of compliance. Fleets had until December of 2017 to implement certified ELDs - a deadline that has obviously now passed. Fleets that were already equipped with ELDs have until December of 2019 to guarantee compliance with all published specifications.
Who Is Exempt From the Mandate?
According to published guidelines, there are certain exemptions to the current version of the ELD rule. If you use paper-based RODS for no more than eight days out of every 30-day period, for example, the ELD rule is something that you do not have to worry about. Likewise, if you conduct driveaway-towaway operations (meaning that the vehicle itself is the commodity in question) or if your vehicle was manufactured before the year 2000, you are also exempt.
It's important to note that even when exempt, fleets are still required to prepare logs on paper, either through the use of an AOBRD (automatic on-boarding recording device) or with a particular type of logging software program.
What Do You Need to Do to Be Compliant?
In order to maintain compliance, carriers must have evaluated ELD options and selected their appropriate solution by December 18, 2017. Those ELDs must have been installed and properly registered and drivers and all administrative staff must have been trained in their use. For drivers, they must be able to show that they understand how to annotate, edit and certify RODS with an ELD, must have collected all supporting documents and must know how to display and transfer data to safety officials when requested.
How Add On Systems Can Help
The solutions provided by Add On Systems can help with ELD mandate compliance by allowing your organization to go above and beyond what is requested of you, providing valuable data that can not only be used to meet current requirements but that can also be used to unlock insight and identify patterns that can make your fleet more reliable and more efficient.
Add On Systems' software provides a single point-of-access for managers to keep track of ALL of their drivers, no exceptions. It aggregates data about the truck like driving hours, stops, dispatcher data and so much more - allowing you to see what is working and, more importantly, what isn't. It can even help provide information like when a driver should be taking breaks, if they're running behind and when they should (in theory) arrive at their destination. All of this actionable information can be used to unlock the biggest benefit of all: it puts you in an ideal position to run the best fleet you possibly can.
The ELD Mandate represents a big shift in administration for some organizations, but this is one road they do NOT have to travel down alone. To find out more about compliance with the ELD Mandate, or to learn more about how Add On Systems' software can help, don't delay - contact us today.