The main focus of this was to gain awareness of the modern
technologies associated with electronic truck logging and choosing the best
EOBR to be installed in the trucks so that manual logs can be switched to electronic
logs.
At the moment the drivers are equipped with a simple cell
phone, which is their only method of communication with the home dispatch
office while being on the road. In the
near future, it is highly likely that federal regulations would require the
company to upgrade their log booking system to an electronic one. Therefore, industrial
engineers in university of New York asked to look into the different types of
EOBRs that exist on the market today and come up with the best system to be
installed in the trucks in the future.
Most transportation industries prefer EOBR technology for
data collection. The federal government
is also looking into the use of EOBR specially for enforcing hour-of-service
regulation. The intention of this
technology is to find out information on some of the EOBRs available in the
market. An
EOBR is a system used to electronically track a Record of Duty Status (RODS).
There are certain technical and performance standards that must be met,
including being synchronized with a truck’s engine.
In today’s truck and fleet applications, EOBRs installed
in commercial motor vehicles can monitor and record a whole host of data about
the vehicle and its driver beyond just RODS. From electronic driver logs that
track driver’s Hours of Service and electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection
Reports (DVIR), to IFTA automation to driver behavior reporting on speeding,
idling and hard braking. Many EOBRs integrate map and route solutions as well,
which can help drivers navigate around construction and avoid high-traffic
areas. EOBRs connect directly to a vehicle’s engine control module and store
data, as well as transmit it wirelessly to the motor carrier. Therefore,
analytic reports can help drivers and fleets manage performance more effectively
to cut fuel costs, ensure timely vehicle maintenance, identify drivers for
additional training before accidents occur and help provide real-time data to
shippers for better customer service.
EOBR requires devices to automatically record a driver’s duty status and
any changes in status, as well as the amount of time they operate the vehicle.
If requested by law enforcement, drivers must be able to immediately deliver
the required display information for the previous 7 days, plus the current day.
EOBR devices will record
- Name of driver and any co-driver
- Duty status – “Off duty”, “Sleeper berth”
- Date and time
- Location of the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) when a duty status changes
- Distance traveled
- 24-hour period starting time (e.g., midnight, 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m.)
- The multiday basis (7 or 8 days) used by the motor carrier to compute cumulative duty hours and driving time
- Truck or tractor and trailer number
- Shipping document number(s), or name of shipper and commodity
Some of the benefits of EOBR are reduction of fuel
cost. Fleets can typically cut fuel
consumption by 10-15%. Drivers can gain
about 15 minutes every day by cutting down the admin time. There is also better CSA scores, over 50
customers have 10% or lower unsafe and fatigued driving scores. There is also reduction in admin time.
Carriers have shared that audit times have gone from weeks to days, and days to
hours.
The scope of this blog is to research EOBR technology and
how it could be used to replace the manual logging system that is currently
being used. At the moment there is no law or any federal regulation suggesting
that all trucking companies should have electronic logging systems in their
trucks, but there is a high possibility that this law may come to pass in the
near future with this new equipment.
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