The Evolution Of ELD In The Trucking Industry
Government in the United States has already mandated the use of ELDs or electronic logging devices in the country and the very same mandate will soon be rolled out in Canada. This will impact all trucking companies in the country including trucking in Kitchener therefore it is not surprising that the topic of ELDs has been considered as one of the most controversial in the industry for the last few years.
When it comes to ELDs, one assumes that all it does it to track the hours of service or HOS rendered by a truck driver but there are a number of beneficial features that are actually included which are often taken for granted.
According to Manitoulin Transport’s VP of sales, Rob Eskens, the technology has evolved so much in the last few years starting in 2010 until now. Their company has been using the technology and has already moved on to ELD by People Net along with an on-board system eight years ago. This gave the company the chance the compile all the big data that has been gathered by the fleet managed by the company. Then these new programs are placed into one spot which makes the information more manageable for them to analyze later on.
Eskens admitted that it positively impacted their efficiency because they are able to analyze each unit. Furthermore, the ELD is just one part of the whole on-board computer system that is used by the company. The computer can monitor a number of features such as the speed and idling. It also gives the company the ability to lessen the exhaust emissions of the truck.
A lower emission is the goal of every trucking company because aside from the decrease in the fuel consumption and the dollars saved, clients are now more environmental conscious. Therefore a trucking company will have a higher chance of landing a client when their fleets are known to put in conscious effort in order to reduce their contribution to the greenhouse gases. With the help of the an on-board computer system, trucking companies can reduce their carbon footprint and have something to show for it to their clients.