Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/725427
56 commercial carrier journal | september 2016 COVER STORY: ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES Real-time policing Many over-the-road carriers that have TMW Systems' enterprise management software use the TripAlert feature to ensure that driver-load assignments are set up for success. TripAlert integrates with dispatch software to generate the most efficient route for a load, using ALK's PC Miler application. Its algorithms bring in drivers' current HOS and route travel times to predict where they will take breaks and stop for fuel, which can determine if they will meet appoint- ment times. TripAlert sends an immediate alert if the chosen driver-load combination does not work. Once a truck is dis- patched, it continuously monitors ve- hicle location, HOS and other real-time data to calculate an accurate estimated time of arrival for each planned stop. If the driver is at any time in jeopar- dy of exceeding the HOS requirements or missing the prescribed appointment times, the software sends an e-mail alert to dispatchers, customer service representatives and other stakeholders, says Brian Larwig, vice president of optimization for TMW. The tool also detects out-of-route activity and provides recommendations for swapping loads with nearby drivers to make deliveries in jeopardy of being late. "It provides us with the visibility to make sure our drivers are always moving and allows our operations team to get creative when new rout- ing solutions are needed due to road closures or weather delays," says Don Digby Jr., president of Denver-based Navajo Express, a 1,000-truck re- frigerated carrier that specializes in grocery-store deliveries. Integrated navigation Drivers already use mobile apps on their smartphones to locate truck stops and other points of interest along their routes to take mandatory breaks. When using ELDs, advanced trip planning tools for drivers become more valuable. Some routing and navi- gation systems come with built-in features that give fleets and drivers recom- mendations for where to stop on routes to maxi- mize utilization within HOS limits. ALK's HOS Manager is a planning application designed for manual entry of driver hours during the routing process. A dispatch- er can see if a driver is at risk of violat- ing HOS regulations based on distance and travel times, and the software shows locations where drivers can take required breaks, says Bill Maddox, vice president of PC Miler. ALK's in-cab CoPilot navigation software receives trip data, including planned breaks, from PC Miler via the back office by integrating with onboard computing systems, Maddox says. Telogis offers a suite of integrated appli- cations that consider HOS for route plan- ning and navigation. Telogis Route creates optimal route plans that help reduce miles and costs and are dispatched to drivers through the Telogis Fleet mobile platform, which includes e-logs. The cloud-based Telogis Navigation app runs on mobile devices to give drivers turn-by-turn guidance and re- lay when and where to take breaks, with recommended POIs such as truck stops that are based on feedback from a user community of drivers. "This is an opportunity to not only operationally be efficient, but take into account the driver experience," says Kelly Frey, Telogis' senior vice president of marketing. The integrated package can deliver real-time ETAs that consider mandato- ry driver breaks, Frey says. As more of the industry adopts ELDs and tools to make the most of their HOS data, experts believe the produc- tivity benefits will outweigh the costs. One possibility is that the collective data and experiences of fleets and driv- ers running ELDs will shed new light on problems that largely have been ignored because of paper logs, such as delays at shipping and receiving docks. "Everyone has to be on the same data set to show an accurate picture of the industry," says James McCarthy, business development specialist for ELD technolo- gy provider VDO RoadLog, a division of Continental. "Lobbyists are going to have data to bring to Washington." Denver-based refrigerated carrier Navajo Express, which has 1,000 trucks and specializes in grocery-store deliveries, uses TMW Systems' TripAlert to maximize driver-load assignments. ALK's HOS Manager is a planning application designed for manual entry of driver hours during the routing process.