Telogis has updated its WorkPlan suite of apps to automate the workflow of drivers who qualify for the 150-mile exemption from HOS regulations.Telogis, a Verizon company, has upgraded its Telogis WorkPlan suite of mobile applications to give drivers the option of selecting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) 150-air-mile non-CDL short-haul exemption upon login.
“The Telogis WorkPlan app enables people in the field to stay focused on servicing their customers instead of stressing over paperwork,” said Erin Cave, vice president, product management for Telogis Compliance and Navigation.
The HOS module in the suite takes the guesswork out of the hands of the driver by automatically switching a driver from exempt to active status per the fleet’s default hours-of-service settings if the driver travels outside the regulated radius and is not back to the starting location within the allotted time.
Drivers would also get a pop-up message if they crossed the 150-mile radius. With this new capability, commercial drivers whose routes vary from day to day are able to stay compliant, the company says.
Fleets that use the HOS module in the WorkPlan suite have control over whether or not to let drivers use the option.
“Some may not even want their drivers to look at it,” she said.
Last year, Telogis announced a similar upgrade to automate use of the 100-mile short haul exemption. Food distributor and Telogis customer Sysco identified that about 60 percent of its 9,000 trucks would be able to take advantage of this rule in the hours-of-service regulations. By using the exception, its drivers would not need to take the mandatory 30-minute break in the first eight hours of driving.
Joe Bennett, Sysco’s senior director, delivery and supply chain, spoke at the Telogis Latitude user conference last November.
The company uses other cloud-based applications from Telogis to pre-determine if drivers qualify for the exemption based on their planned daily routes and driving events. Sysco plans to use the time savings to return drivers home or add another stop to their routes. It averages 12 stops per truck, and adding one more stop to 60 percent of the trucks in its fleet is the equivalent of taking one out of 12 trucks off the road, he said.
In addition to HOS-specific upgrades, Telogis WorkPlan now lets users identify when changes to forms have been made, and provides them with the ability to reset passwords from the app’s login screen. WorkPlan allows workers to manage work orders from the field, minimizing time spent preparing, planning and processing work orders. It also incorporates HOS management features with HOS limit warnings, further automating the process.
Updates to log signatures and driver notifications when rest/break provisions are met were also added. These are part of an ongoing series of updates from Telogis to offer a fully ELD-compliant version of its software.
“We have decided to do (updates) in a phased process,” Cave said. As for when a fully compliant ELD version will be available, she offered this: “you’ll hear something in the next few weeks.”
