Telematics platforms and electronic logging devices are some of the most common tools for improving safety and compliance scores. These tools also create a lot of information to manage.
ITS Compliance has developed a management wrap service that utilizes data from telematics and electronic logging devices to identify exceptions. When exceptions occur, such as an HOS violation, a speeding event or a missed pre-trip inspection, ITS will contact the right fleet managers who are responsible to take the necessary corrective actions.
“That is where the time consuming piece comes in and where clients like us to play that role,” said John Vosters, vice president of business development for ITS.
To help fleets reduce the cost of compliance, ITS offers its clients a 50 percent discount on its service fees when they switch from paper to electronic logs.
“We are taking those labor and cost savings that we are realizing and passing them back to the client,” he said. The management wrap includes documentation of progressive discipline for drivers in the form of notifications, warnings and letters for infractions such as speeding, hours-of-service violations, etc.
J.J. Keller and Associates, through its Managed Services group, provides compliance reporting and analytical tools for the data coming from telematics systems. This reporting layer is combined with consulting to help fleets remediate exceptions, says Kari DuBois, senior manager of major accounts.
Managed Services gives fleets a clear direction of what they should focus on completing each day, she said, which they might otherwise lack due to the amount of data telematics systems capture.
“Based on our situational analysis of the current state, electronic logging device providers don’t always provide insight. They provide the data. Carriers want help in driver behavior and compliance,” she said.
Electronic logs can still be falsified and edited like a paper log, said Jeff Davis, president of Fleet Safety Services, who specializes in helping carriers prepare for pending compliance reviews and conducting preventative audits. Motor carriers still have to ensure that the integrity of the data remains constant.
Davis said that reports from electronic logging devices still need to be audited to ensure they are not lacking in integrity. As an example he pointed to the personal conveyance report that some telematics companies refer to as the “off duty driving” report.
Management of this and other exceptions by a third-party managed service or separate compliance management system is an area he believes will continue to be developed.
