In today’s ever-changing regulatory landscape, fleets are faced with two options—adapt or perish. Faced with heightened regulations, such as FMSCA’s hours-of-service (HOS) rules, ensuring compliance is paramount to a fleet’s success. With the risk of hefty fines and harmful Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) scores on the table, fleets must not only adjust to the new regulations, but go above and beyond to ensure compliance fleet-wide.
According to American Transportation Research Institute’s recent report, more than 80% of carriers surveyed experienced a loss of productivity since the new HOS rules went into effect. Additionally, the survey showed that nearly half of the surveyed carriers require more drivers to accommodate the same number of customer orders, adding extra pressure in terms of operational costs and administrative tasks, including recruitment and training.
In an effort to mitigate consequences, more fleets are investing in technology tools to help streamline operational efficiencies, offering added assurance and peace of mind in terms of regulatory compliance. Trading hours spent reviewing and archiving drivers’ paper logs for time invested in maximizing fleet productivity, advanced HOS solutions, such as Omnitracs’ HOS application, can minimize the added stress and wasted time fleet managers traditionally spent on ensuring compliance.
“Providing a comprehensive, near-real time overview of each driver’s hours, Omnitracs’ HOS application takes the guess work out of HOS compliance and dispatching, allowing fleet managers to spend more time on what really matters—growing their business, according to Qualcomm. Additionally, drivers can spend more time focusing on driving safely and efficiently, making the roads safer for all involved. Across the board, HOS applications can help fleets reduce their exposure to risk, such as higher costs due to compliance breaches, reduced productivity, and operational inefficiency, the company explained.
Cargo Transporters, a North Carolina-based fleet, was an early adopter of HOS technology and has experienced tremendous improvement across its entire business since deploying it. Benefits have included reduced driver log violations, administrative savings and a decrease in over-hour violations. By implementing Omnitracs’ HOS application, Cargo Transporters demonstrated that while fleets can’t always influence regulations, they can take control of their business operations by selecting the right technology solutions to keep pace, Qualcomm added.
