Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/725427
52 commercial carrier journal | september 2016 COVER STORY: ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES Management and drivers were frustrat- ed at times, but after two years, Carbon Express had established a culture of compliance. Management then decided to implement ELDs. To smooth the transition, drivers ran e-logs side-by- side with paper logs for six months. Carbon Express has been using e-logs from its onboard computing supplier, Omnitracs, for eight years. Since making the conversion, the fleet has more than doubled in size from 23 to 49 trucks, and Rush credits the technology for forcing the company to be safe – and become profitable at the same time. "Electronic logs woke us up and made us understand we were actually losing money," he said. "We had no choice but to give up or raise our rates." In 2015, Carbon Express' operations amassed more than 5 million miles – with no U.S. Department of Transpor- tation-reportable accidents. It has only one accident in the last four years. The company's customers have taken notice of its culture and stability. "They want to know that when the ELD man- date hits in 2017, you are going to keep on going," Rush says. Predictable schedules In 2010, Carbon Express made another significant change to increase payload capacity and revenue. It replaced its fleet of sleeper cabs with day cabs, which gave the company's trucks 20 percent more capacity than compet- itors that run sleeper cabs. However, this change came with the additional cost of hotel rooms. "When we got rid of sleeper cabs, we did it to get more business," he says. "At the end of the day, we also saw what hotel rooms did for drivers. It improves their self respect and dignity. If you ask our drivers, the majority will tell you they couldn't go work for someone else and sleep in the back of a truck." Rush credits e-logs and hotel stays, along with high driver pay, for Carbon Express' annual turnover rate in the sin- gle digits. Drivers have "got it down to a science" where to stay on their routes, he says. They carry a corporate lodging card from American Express and book their own rooms. Carbon Express planners use real-time e-log data from the fleet's TMW Systems Suite dispatch software to match drivers with loads that provide them with a consistent schedule to maintain their sleep patterns. The company also uses the HOS data and driver schedules for pricing: It charges premiums for deliver- ies after hours and on weekends, both of which may require drivers to adjust their work schedules and sleep patterns. "People prefer a routine that fits them," Rush says. Carbon Express pays drivers by the hour for loads of fewer than 250 miles and a mileage rate for longer hauls. Drivers are paid for all pickups and deliveries and get a bonus when circum- stances require them to take a 34-hour reset on the road. "We changed the culture here, and this industry has to change the culture," Rush says. "We firmly believe that the combination of going to e-logs and running legally, coupled with the elim- ination of sleeper cabs from our fleet and putting our drivers in hotels, has been the driving force in our success in the areas of safety, low driver turnover and the enhancement of our drivers' self-esteem." Operationalizing the data Most ELD applications give fleet managers real-time visibility of drivers' HOS duty status. This information typically is delivered through e-mail alerts, a web portal or integration with a transportation management software system. For personnel who plan routes, accu- rate information on driver availability is essential for maximizing productivity. The planning process is complicated by the fact that routing and dispatch soft- ware and compliance applications often are separate programs and databases, says Cyndi Brandt, senior director of product marketing and strategic allianc- es for Omnitracs. Brandt was formerly with Roadnet Technologies, which was acquired by Omnitracs in December 2013. Road- net is a provider of fleet management Steve Rush, president of Carbon Express, says e-logs were a catalyst of safety and growth for his 49-truck company. Carbon Express has converted its fleet to day cabs, and drivers on overnight runs now stay in hotels. North Little Rock, Ark.-based flatbed and specialized hauler Maverick Transportation began to prepare for ELDs in 2010 by matching the position history of its 1,550 trucks with driver logbooks.