Electronic Logs

So the quick version is that starting later this year all trucking companies that run interstate will need to get electronic logging devices set up on their trucks and with their drivers. So, not wanting to be late to the party, we’ve implemented our plan today. We still have a few months to run them as a test along-side our regular paper logs. I hate having to try something new without a little practice first.

How did we choose which vendor?

Well, I’ve been loosely paying attention to the concept for years. First because wouldn’t it be nice if a computer did the boring paperwork for me? But then later because it became evident we’d be legally required to. Naturally when it came time to choose one I was biased towards the products I’d been hearing about for years assuming they’d have less bugs and more real life use. When my research became more active I started with the Commercial Carrier Journal buyers guide:

http://www.ccjdigital.com/eld-buyers-guide/

They outlined the different categories of option. So from there I narrowed it down by the type that suits smaller fleets like ours better, and which also didn’t have a bunch of features I didn’t need. At this point I had a pretty short list and read the websites and reviews or discussion forum entries that I could find. One I found very useful on thetruckersreport.com below (see the posts by “striker” most of the way down the page).

So we downloaded theBigRoad client app and I had a few drivers run it without the dashlink hookup to the truck’s computer. The guys seemed to like it when they got used to how it worked.  I liked the fleet management dashboard which was helpful for seeing where your trucks where, and how many hours the drivers had left on their Hours of Service. So, we ordered some dashlink units and signed up for the service.

Our decision

We chose BigRoad with the Dashlink ELD unit for a couple reasons. It was affordable for a company our size. This is key as there’s no way I’m spending thousands per truck for trucks I don’t send out of state continually. Also, we didn’t need a lot of telematics data, maintenance data,  or features to nanny our drivers. We’re small so we’re able to keep track of and maintain our equipment without a computer telling us. I also trust my drivers so the invasive driver herding features where of no use to me and potentially insulting to my guys.

I had initially thought a dash-mounted GPS unit with the electronic logging functionality built in would be good. However they mostly got poor reviews and didn’t have the flexibility with switching trucks/drivers/hardware. Bigroad on the other hand ran on our smart phones and connected via bluetooth. The Dashlink units could be pulled out easily and installed on rental trucks which we use on a lot of one-way long distance trips. Over all the details it seemed to be the right match, and then using it for a couple weeks sealed the deal.

Implementation

So we installed the BigRoad Dashlink electronic logging unit in 2 of our trucks (and probably a 3rd tomorrow). The install was easy and my phone app hooked right up. The BigRoad salesman, Alex, changed our dashboard over to the paid version and we where able to keep all the configurations and history from when we where demoing it which was a real time saver. Next week we’ve got a crew going to Florida and another to California and we expect to run both of those trucks with BigRoad and we’ll see if it works well. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Summary

We’ve still to really get it going in real life, so we’ll see. A lot of the time in this business you think you’ve got a great plan and then reality comes along and ruins it. I’ll let you know how it’s going in a couple months, and a whole lotta miles.