GPS Tracking ROI

Trucking Headlines

Werner’s exemption for GPS logs renewed
By Avery Vise
Werner Enterprises can operate its paperless Global Positioning System-based driver log system for another two years under an exemption renewal granted on Thursday, Sept. 7. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is allowing the Werner program to continue under terms and conditions initially approved two years ago.
Werner has operated its paperless log system since the late 1990s under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) struck in June 1998. Werner had responded to a solicitation for motor carriers to participate in a pilot demonstration project for using GPS technology and related computer systems in lieu of paper records of duty status. Based on Werner’s experience with the system and improvements to its accuracy, FMCSA in September 2004 granted the carrier a two-year exemption, subject to certain terms and conditions that were similar to those in the MOU… Full Article Here:

here’s a really appropriate related article to the HOS (Hours Of Service) articles I’m currently running (part II is scheduled for Monday).

Truckers … drivers and their employers … have been responsible for years to record their activities i9n paper logbooks (commonly known as “swindle sheets) for years. In my recent HOS post I provided a link for the current training course that one of our state patrols uses to train enforcement officers. It’s here, but fair warning, place pillow on your keyboard before reading because it _will_ induce sleepiness.

There are several points for any astute managers here:

• HOS rules are important, both from a legal standpoint and from a personal safety standpoint
• HOS management via paper logs is time consuming (that means it costs money)
• HOS management via paper logs is fraught with errors and outright fraud
• Using an automated method is better, faster, cheaper

Now there are a number of computer-based log book programs out there, but all of them have a fatal flaw. They are not independent of manipulation by the driver or company operator. Therefore any mistake that can be made with a paper log can be made with an electronic log. Likewise, and fraud that can be perpetrated with a paper log can be replicated electronically. So to my mind, none of them are worth implementing.

Werner Enterprises uses Qualcomm Omnitracs as their GPS tracking provider. It’s hardly a surprise as Qualcomm is the largest commercial trucking provider by far. I don’t sell Qualcomm (tried to but my corporate jet failed their dealer qualification inspection). Joke. It’s no joke, though, that Qualcomm is the most expensive in the business. But expensive doesn’t always mean that there isn’t a good bottom line for the purchaser … just as buying premium radial tires saves money in the long run over cheap K-Mart “may pops”.

Thousands of Werner competitors are also Qualcomm customers. They would be there, and stay there if Qualcomm wasn’t delivering to their bottom line. I’ve met a lot of short-sighted trucking executives, but damn few stupid ones.

Nearly five years ago I noticed that Werner was the only trucking company allowed to keep their log books up to date via their GPS tracking system. Silly me, I thought I’d see that change by 2006. Here’s the reason I think Werner is smart and their competition not so smart:

• Keeping the log records along with track data virtually eliminates mistakes and fraud. Almost all fraud involves stating a driver was not on duty when he was or that she started driving later than she actually did, or that a rest stop was more hours than it actually was. If you track the tuck’s location with an intendment system and you keep track of movement and sitting still with an independent timing system, virtually non of the common “mistakes” can be made.
• You’ll save time. A driver spends a minimum of an hour, probably more per week on logbooks. That’s 50 hours of productivity per driver per year, do the math.
• Driver supervisors have to check logs and HOS reports. How many hours is that per year?
• Any errors based on inaccurate data have to be resolved for safety and legality on the side of less hours of productivity. If a driver is within an hour or so of his or her weekly maximum, can you confidently send them off one a two hour trip? One hour of productivity gained by accuracy could result in a truck positioned for a whole haul that would otherwise be delayed or abandoned. How much could that save per year?

So what about it? Are you a firm that’s bigger and more influential that Werner? Or are you smaller, more agile and more forward thinking. Talk to me, or better yet, show me.