New Regulations in place for Munitions Haulers

New regulations are being implemented on October 1, 2009 by the US Department of Defense. Mandates include; GPS tracking reports every 15 minutes, a HERO certified, self-powered mobile terminal, cargo and door sensors that record opening/closing and removing of cargo, a notification when a tractor hooks or unhooks from a trailer, and an in-cab communication system with a panic button.

White Paper on Fuel Economy

An excellent paper authored by the Kenworth Truck Company, you'll read about truck specifications and driving habits that contribute to fuel efficiency.

EOBR White Paper

Text of Proposed EOBR Mandate in the Highway Authorization Bill

SEC. 4036. ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDERS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations to require commercial motor vehicles owned or operated by motor carriers subject to the Secretary’s hours-of-service regulations under part 395, Code of Federal Regulations, to be equipped with electronic on-board recorders.

(b) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—The regulations issued pursuant to subsection (a) shall include performance standards for electronic on-board recorders to be used to monitor compliance with the Secretary’s requirements for hours of service of drivers under part 395, Code of Federal Regulations. Such performance standards shall ensure, at a minimum, that an electronic on-board recorder installed in a commercial motor vehicle—
(1) is synchronized to the vehicle engine or other vehicle equipment;
(2) is able to identify each individual who operates the vehicle and track the periods during which such individual operates the vehicle;
(3) enables law enforcement personnel to access information contained in the recorder quickly and easily during a roadside inspection; and
(4) is tamper-proof.

(c) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall be phased in and shall apply to all commercial motor vehicles used by motor carriers in interstate commerce not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘commercial motor vehicle’’ has the meaning that term has under section 31132 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDER.—The term ‘‘electronic on-board recorder’’ means an electronic device that acquires and stores data showing the record of duty status of the vehicle operator and performs the functions required of an automatic on board recording device in section 395.15(b) of title 19 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

Oberstar's highway bill would mandate EOBRs for all carriers within 4 years

ATA conditionally supports an EOBR mandate, Public Citizen endorses EOBR mandates as well

Oberstar seeks mandatory truck EOBRs

Now Congress is getting in on the act, calling for mandatory EOBR's. First, it was repeated attempts by the NTSB (who has no authority over such matters) to require EOBR's, then three were 2 attempts in the last 7 years by the FMCSA.

Click on the link to read Rep. Oberstar's white paper on the subject.

Transport Ministers get on-board with CTA's call for an EOBR mandate

And now the latest news from Canada; they are now seriously considering an EOBR mandate.

GPS Fleet Tracking Helps Firms Weather the Tough Economy

Below is an excerpt from the Aberdeen Group in the UK - but it applies here in the US:

Yet another research report confirms that in this tough economy, GPS fleet tracking is helping companies maintain customer-satisfaction levels, optimize vehicle usage and control service-related costs.

The recently released report titled “”Service Workforce and Fleet Management: Driving Utilization with Location Intelligence,” published by the Aberdeen Group, found that major firms are turning to GPS vehicle tracking to “increase visibility into all service resources via GPS.”

Fleet operators who responded to the study report that they currently monitor and track the location of 35% of their workers and 47% of their vehicles. That’s up from averages of 23% for workers and 35% for vehicles in 2008. The respondents also indicated they planned further investments in GPS tracking systems in 2010.

“These results are indicative of the value offered by GPS-enabled tracking, navigation and routing solutions in meeting cost containment and customer management pressures faced by today’s service and manufacturing organizations,” an Aberdeen senior research analyst said.

The survey said responding firms have seen the following average improvements in key service performance indicators since they installed a GPS tracking system:

•25% reduction in idle times
•32% increase in fleet utilization
•22% decrease in fuel costs and a 31% drop in daily mileage
•23% boost in workforce productivity
According to the survey, responding firms are “significantly more likely than all others to actively integrate captured location information and intelligence into their field service scheduling and parts management systems to drive overall service delivery efficiency.”

The recent surge in similar reports confirms for us what we’ve known all along: There’s no better solution than GPS fleet tracking to help fleet operators rein in costs and improve employee productivity.

Tracking solutions remain popular even in down economy

You have to be careful reading reports, because the terms tracking, communications, and GPS are all used incorrectly at times. However, the fact remains that some form of onboard telematics for many fleets is a way of doing business, simply because it pays back and has become an integral part of doing business for many fleets.

The Driscoll Report, referenced this week in Fleet Owner, is evidence of that.

GPS Tracking and Enforcement Audits

There is an interesting article at http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=21827
about using GPS records during hours of service audits.

The author makes the point that enforcement would actually be more fair with an EOBR mandate.

Interested in reading more about EOBR's? You can find two free white papers at www.gpsgateway.com. The first is written by Qualcomm's Dave Kraft, the second is written by Joel Beal from Gateway Professional Services.

The Electronic Onboard Recorder (EOBR) proposal is sleeping, but not dead.

Ray LaHood's Comments to the ATA

Safety is important; saving lives and preventing injuries is also good business. The new Secretary of Trasnprotation, Ray LaHood, spoke to the American Trucking Associations's board of directors on February 24th. We all know that the Secretary's job is not to help us make money. However, there are some interesting ideas thoughts presented. Here are a few:

“In each of the past three years, our nation has achieved significant decreases in the number of large truck-related fatalities."

“I am troubled that last year, nearly 73,000 trucking jobs were lost,” LaHood said. “In the third quarter of 2008 alone, 785 trucking companies with a combined fleet of about 39,000 trucks went out of business.”

“We want to make sure it (the EOBR rule) is the best rule we can possibility put out.”

Safety, technology, and emerging as a stronger company are all related.

What will you do when the recession ends?

I was talking with a fleet owner yesterday. He indicated to me that this is the third recession he has been through as a businessman. In each of the two previous recessions, he picked up considerable business when the recession ended. He did things to increase operational efficiency and took advantage of increased demand and reduced supply when the economy turned back up. Theoretically that sounds good, but when a person puts his own money on the line - that means something. I pay a lot more attention to fleet owners than I do economists.

Today I was reading an article on Fleet Owner's web site that said the same thing about two much larger companies - UPS and FedEx. You can read the entire article at http://fleetowner.com/green/ups-fedex-economic-downturn-0204/index1.html.

If you anticipate staying in business, are you doing what's necessary to implement technologies to increase your efficiency and reduce your operating costs? It's worth looking at. Check out what a little increased fuel economy can do for you with this online calculator - http://www.loadtrek.net/loadtrek_net/FuelEconomy.aspx.

New Administration, Same EOBR Rule?

This is the first full day of work for President Obama. Of interest to truckers is the new administration's stance on electronic DOT logs, EOBR's, and the role of technology in highway safety and reducing gridlock.

We know that President Obama has selected Peter Orszag as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Orszag is young (younger than me), well-educated, and is best known as the former director of the Congressional Budget Office who is also a literate and prolific blogger. He enjoys wide bipartisan support, and his nomination will clear Congress easily.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the liaison between the President's administration and the federal bureaucracy. It is the final stop for a proposed regulation. it is really the final and only real system of checks and balances for regulations that federal agencies create.

We know that the 395.16 NPRM is left at the OMB by the outgoing Bush administration. The new OMB may pass it along as written, change it, delay it, or even send it back to the FMCSA.

We also know that President Obama has promised to apply technology and infrastructure improvements to reduce our dependence on oil - and EOBR's are certainly a part of that. Obama enjoyed the support of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during the election, and the Teamsters are opposed to any EOBR regulation.

I have never been a fan of regulatory encroachment into the way we run our businesses. However, here are a few things to consider. EOBR's improve safety and have a definable and measurable payback. EOBR's could play a very significant role in a technology network reducing traffic congestion - also reducing fuel consumption and pollution. EOBR's can assist a carrier in negotiating with overbearing shippers who demand schedules that are too tight.

Onboard Recorder Rule is going to Wait

It looks like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will not publish their final rule expanding the use of EOBR's before President Bush leaves office.

"I don't know if we are going to get it out or not; it doesn't look like we are making progress at this point," Federal Motor Carrier Safety administrator John Hill said Thursday.

That certainly does not mean it is dead. In 2008 a group of Senators introduced legislation that would mandate the use of EOBR's. The NTSB has stepped up their campaign to mandate the use of EOBR's. Finally, the incoming administration of President-Elect Obama can certainly publish the new EOBR rule as well.

What is my return on investment?

Let's discuss why onboard technology can and does pay for itself - provided it's the right technology and it's managed. My first experience with obtaining an return on investment with onboard technology happened back in 1990 at a company in Dallas then known as Chemical Express Carriers. Using our early (and by today's standards antiquated) onboard computer system - we achieved a 12 month return on investment with our 550 trucks at 29 terminals.

The main payback is fuel economy. Even with electronically controlled engines, the driver is the difference.

"The driver is arguably the principal variable in fuel mileage. There is as much as a 35 percent different between the most proficient and least capable drivers" - The Fleet Manager's Guide to Fuel Economy, The Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Association.

How do you affect fuel economy? The average truck wastes 2196 gallons per year idling according to the Agronne National Lab. You can be assured that an idling truck engine burns a minimum 1 gallon per hour idle, without A/C or other engine load.

For every 1 MPH increase over 55 MPH, fuel consumption increases 2.2%. This means that 7.5 MPH at 55 MPH drops to 6.6 MPG at 65 MPH.

Rapid accelerations and decelerations. It's simple physics. You burn fuel getting that mass rolling - and then you scrub off that energy every time you hit the brakes.

Let's talk emissions. 10 MPH speed reduction reduces diesel engine NOX emissions by 18%. Idling by commercial trucks releases an estimated 10,000,000 tons of CO2, 50,000 tons of NOX, and 2,000 tons of particulates.

Fuel economy has a direct relation to vehicle wear. Increase in speed from 55 MPH to 65 MPH increases tire wear 5% to 16%, depending on weight. Increase in speed from 55 MPH to 65 MPH decreases miles to engine overhaul by 10% to 15%. Increase in speed from 55 MPH to 65 MPH increases oil consumption 15%. Idling for 6 hours = 42 miles of engine wear.

Will proper planning and execution of your dispatch and routing help your fleet utilization? An average of 42% of a fleet's operating costs is in vehicle depreciation. Intelligent routing and dispatching maximizes vehicle utilization and minimizes distance traveled.

You can find a simple, online fuel savings calculator at http://www.loadtrek.net/loadtrek_net/FuelEconomy.aspx.

This is an interesting subject. Let me know what you think.

Informative White Paper on Paperless Drivers' Logs

Electronic DOT logs can seem to be a mystery, which I find interesting when you consider they have been out for 20 years. I think that at times people over-complicate the subject just to satisfy their ego or to make the product they are pushing appear superior to competitive offerings. Whatever the case, paperless logs are an important component of automation initiatives in many progressive fleets.

Here is a free white paper that explains paperless DOT drivers logs that comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations found in CFR 49 395.15, as well as Canadian Public Safety Code 9.

Check it out: http://www.loadtrek.net/loadtrek_net/articlecontent.aspx?fld=articles&item=HOS_white_Paper.htm

Fleet Technology's Future

Where are we heading? If you are a fleet manager or involved with fleet technology - a glimpse of the future came this past week at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems. Concerned primarily with traffic congestion and the role of various types of highway transportation modes using the nation's highways, there are insights to be learned and money to be saved.

When you dispatch a truck, would you like to route the truck based on current and forecast traffic levels? How valuable would it be for a driver to actively know alternative routes to bypass congestion? Would you like to proactively revise routes in progress to react to traffic flow and still meet customer needs? The obvious answer is yes.

What is this all worth to a fleet? Instead of costing your fleet by the mile, determine your cost per hour and I will bet you'll find it costs $1/minute to keep your class 8 truck on the road. Every minute your trucks are delayed costs you money.

Commercial drivers are restricted to 14 hours consecutive on duty time before they must take a break. If a driver starts his day at 0400, that driver must take a 10 hour break at 1600. Keeping the driver rolling is imperative to the bottom line of the driver and the company.

For those of you not interested in hypotheticals and who do not have time to waste thinking about technology that is not affordable or not available - I have good news. Every component to create such a system is commercially available today. These systems are literally right around the corner. And, do not look to your big companies to bring these systems to market first. It will be the smaller companies who leverage currently available open systems.

HOS Regulations to Stay

Eight years of legal battles are over - the hours of service regulations are going to stay. The FMCSA this morning released their final rule concerning commercial drivers' hours of service regulations - section 395.

John Hill, FMCSA administrator said "There have been procedural rules that have been identified by the court. We are properly addressing the concerns of the court, I feel confident that moving forward is the best public policy at this time.”

Drivers, shippers, carriers, and enforcement officers do not have to learn yet another set of rules. In my opinion, that is good news.

We have one more ruling we are waiting on regarding hours of service, the revision to the twenty year old electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) regs.