The most important details to consider when discussing electronic logging devices (ELDs) in Canada, as well as the challenges experienced by truck drivers and fleets, are the need to adjust to the technology, the lack of third-party certification processes, and the misunderstanding of HoS rules. Common misconceptions emerged from the auditors' compliance reviews include that office staff do not need to audit or review drivers' logs when using ELDs, drivers may not log in to the ELD, and drivers may mistakenly omit information from required fields. To avoid ELD problems, a monitoring process should be implemented and each driver's account should be properly configured with the correct legal company name as seen on the CVOR, safety fitness certificate, or NSC number. The most important details of the phrases ELD, drivers, Fulgham, fleets, and fleets are that drivers should be properly trained and understand the Hours-of-Service rules and how to use individual ELD devices. Additionally, use the ELD data collected to monitor driver compliance, customer cooperation, and trip metrics
to ensure they don't force drivers to run non-compliantly.Kris Fulham, transportation compliance consultant with Edmonton-based CayCan Safety Consulting, found that if drivers are putting in bad data, they will get a bad violation report.
Regulations still require supporting documents to verify driver logs, even though ELDs use GPS to track locations. Those who drive oil field service trucks to sites where they work on other equipment also need to log such time as on-duty/not driving. In some cases, fleets can miss alerts due to the way systems are integrated, and if the alerts haven't been set up properly, the right people might not see them. Finally, trucks that move without an assigned driver must be checked before dispatching a load. The most important details of the phrases ELD, drivers, Fulgham, Canada are that an ELD can be manipulated to get through a roadside check, but drivers and carriers who are tempted to continue with illegal behaviors will be caught.
Unassigned driving is also a problem, as it can be difficult to retroactively fix situations in which one or more of the drivers who share the same truck fail to enter driving and off-duty/not-driving time. Companies can set up profiles called "yard moves" or "mechanic" to account for mechanics who drive a truck around a fleet yard or travel to an outside shop, but then assign all unidentified driving to that profile, which goes against Canada's technical standard. Every driver account has to be a unique individual tied to a valid driver's licence, and if a dummy account is created to handle unidentified driving, you are in violation. There is no easy answer to this problem short of creating profiles for everyone in the company who could ever conceivably find themselves behind the wheel. The most important details revealed by Fulgham and Desmarais are
that fleets often use an abbreviated name for the company, or a "popular" name rather than the carrier's complete legal name, leading to mistakes.
This includes using a "doing business as" (DBA) name instead of the official company name, and pre-populating the ELD with the correct data. Additionally, drivers often log their full 10 hours off-duty before coming back on duty, which can lead to dangerous consequences such as taking nine hours off over midnight, not qualifying hours. As a result, they are looking into the certification body and Transport Canada as well as General Hours-of-Service training for truck drivers and operations staff. Operations staff in Canada need to be aware that trips on paper logs might be impossible or tight when using an ELD, and drivers should be aware of the situations with ELDs. In the event of a malfunction, the driver must report the error and create a case number for reference.
The company needs to have several people on staff to handle the problems and others. It is still early days for ELD enforcement in Canada, and an auditor may be necessary to look at how the transition is managed. The fees for the service will be much lower than the costs that come after chalking up inadvertent violations.
