by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 4, 2018 | Blog, Current Events, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
The FMCSA is not certifying ELD vendors’ products, which means carriers must ensure devices meet the organization’s technical specifications.
On December 18, new electronic logging device (ELD) regulations went into effect for commercial vehicle fleets across the U.S. The ELD mandate has caused major waves in the transportation industry. But it has the potential to rock supply chains and manufacturers around the globe — and not just because of anticipated transportation disruptions and increases in costs.
ELD manufacturers must comply with technical specifications outlined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). They must also register their devices with the FMCSA. Motor carriers might assume that selecting a device that vendors are promoting as “FMCSA certified” would be a simple solution. Amazingly, however, that certification may not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
When does “certified” not mean “verified?”
Last year the FMCSA directed carriers to a site where they could find a list of registered ELDs. The problem with this is that the devices on this list are self-certified by the manufacturer. There’s no guarantee that they actually meet FMCSA guidelines.
To appear on the FMCSA’s list, ELD manufacturers must submit certain documents, including malfunction and diagnostics and product serial numbers. However, to gauge if their product is compliant, manufacturers must conduct their own tests. And the FMSCA is not vetting documentation of the testing.
The problem with this is fairly obvious. Without mandatory testing from a neutral, third-party source, devices are subject to only the rigor of their own manufacturer’s testing. They may not follow the FMCSA’s test specifications. And, of course, less-than-honorable manufacturers could use the lack of oversight to their advantage.
Consequences, however, will fall entirely on the shoulders of the operators and their carriers using non-compliant ELDs.
Compliant today, not tomorrow
Motor carriers purchase these systems under good faith that they will meet the FMCSA’s performance requirements once in use. But the possibility is looming that some ELDs may be noncompliant. Then what?
Carriers have eight days from the time an ELD is determined to be noncompliant to replace it with a compliant one. While drivers can temporarily use paper logs, this obviously isn’t a real solution, and will leave carriers scrambling to get their ducks in a row.
Due diligence
Before selecting an ELD vendor, carriers need to understand the details of compliance and hold vendors to those standards.
Carriers should push vendors for specific information about compliance with FMCSA test specifications. Or they should seek vendors who have opted to use third-party testing companies, such as PIT Group, to independently verify ELDs meet FMCSA standards. Either way, carriers should test and verify the ELDs they have chosen for their fleets on their own to ensure compliance as soon as possible.
The coming months are bound to see many headaches from the confusion caused by FMCSA-certified (but not regulated) ELD devices. Carriers need to be aware of this now, so they can properly prepare for any issues that may arise.
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by Jennifer Hart Yim | Dec 7, 2017 | Blog, Logistics, Manufacturing & Distribution, Supply Chain
Within the month, the electronic logging device mandate will take effect. While shippers have known about the mandate for two years, truckers, shippers and carriers are still concerned about how it will impact capacity.
This post comes to us from Adam Robinson of Cerasis, a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker.
Paired with soaring manufacturing and tightening capacity within the last month, the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate could cause the capacity crunch to worsen. In addition, other regulations, like changing attitudes and backlash at the environmental protection agency (EPA) and struggling infrastructure in Hurricane-affected areas, could cause further capacity problems. To help prevent the worsening of the capacity crunch, let’s take a closer look at how the ELD mandate and other regulations may affect capacity.
What Is the ELD Mandate?
The ELD mandate is a portion of the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” bill, which was passed by the United States Congress in 2012, explains ELDFacts.com. The bill outlines criteria for highway funding and the use of ELDs for use in a trucker’s Record of Duty Status. Today, the record of duty status is used to record compliance with an existing hours of service (HOS) requirements. Although the ELD mandate is a means to tracking HOS requirements, the two laws are completely different. As a result, but the ELD mandate and HOS regulations may have separate impacts on the capacity crunch.
When Does It Take Effect?
The ELD mandate is set to take effect December 18, 2017, and unfortunately, many owner-operator, truckers have not yet completed the installation of ELDs or found an appropriately authorized and licensed ELD vendor, says Jeff Berman of Supply Chain 24/7. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will not begin requiring inspectors to place commercial motor vehicle drivers without and installed ELD out of service until April 1, 2018.
Even truckers with prior ELDs installed, which may have been installed before 2012, the upcoming ELD deadline has stringent requirements for what type of ELD may be used and who may install it. Truckers with existing ELDs from the pre-ELD mandate period will be automatically grandfathered into the existing list of ELDs at the end of 2019. Therefore, truckers looking to continue driving for the next two years need to have a new, approved ELD installed no later than the April deadline, if not the preferred December deadline. In the interim, politicians are still in debate about if the costs of installing new ELDs is justified under existing regulations, reports Supply Chain Dive. However, part of the reason the FMSCA has not yet rescinded or pushed back implementation revolves around HOS requirements.
What About HOS Regulations and the Capacity Crunch?
The capacity crunch revolves around how much available capacity is being used at any given time in the trucking industry. As a result, capacity is directly tied to the number of drivers which may be operating at any given time simultaneously. According to the FMCSA, the HOS rules are quite specific for property-carrying drivers. These include the following:
- Truckers have an 11-hour driving limit, and truckers may only drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Considering the amount of time required to park a truck, take breaks and other activities, it is nearly impossible for drivers to get in a full, 11 hours of daily driving while still obtaining the 10 required, consecutive hours off duty.
- Drivers now also have a 14-hour absolute driving limit for driving after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours of off-duty.
- Drivers must also take breaks and may only drive if eight hours or less have passed since the end of the drivers last off-duty.
- Perhaps the biggest impact for the HOS regulation is its specification of how many hours a driver may work within an eight-day period. If the driver drives for seven consecutive days, a trucker may not drive more than 60 hours on duty in the same period. Similarly, driver may not drive more than 70 hours with it in eight consecutive days. This consecutive. Can only restart after a driver takes 34 or more hours off duty.
Considering the HOS requirements, think about what this means for driver completing a two-way trip that requires 10 hours each way. The driver may now be limited to only making 14 total roundtrips within a seven-day period. Prior to the HOS requirement implementation, the same driver could have successfully completed an extra two trips by adding 2.5 hours to the daily driving schedule. Under the new HOS guidelines, the number of trips drivers may make is severely limited.
The Big Picture
The HOS requirements directly revolve around the ELD implementation and vice versa. The ELD will be used to track and monitor drivers existing adherence to HOS regulations, so regulations may adversely affect existing trucking capacity. Shippers need to consider how the ELD mandate and HOS regulations will result in a tightening of the existing capacity upon implementation, and even if the impact is not immediate, it will come to fruition within the next year. Shippers forgoing implementation of the ELD mandate within their fleets could face stiff penalties and other setbacks due to enforcement actions taken by the FMSCA.
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