A Paperless Future: Getting Your Fleet On Board with the FMCSA’s ELD Mandate

For the management and operations of compressed gas, adhering to compliance is crucial for safety, as failing to do so could produce disastrous results.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released the final rule on Electric Logging Devices (ELDs) and Hours of Service (HOS) on December 16th, 2015. The ELD mandate replaces the current rules to increase driver and public safety by preventing drivers from misrepresenting their time on logbooks.

In March 2014, the FMCSA announced the proposal to begin creating the documents detailing regulations. Immediately following this announcement, the three-month comment period opened, with the mandate being published in December 2015.

Mandate Overview

The FMCSA’s mandate expresses that in two years, it’s required for all drivers of commercial motor vehicles who are subjected to log book requirements to use an ELD.

Short-haul drivers who do not prepare a driver log, because they meet the 100 mile (for CDL drivers) or 150 mile (for non-CDL drivers) are not subject to the ELD requirements. If at any time these drivers exceed the limits of the log book exemption more than eight times in a 30-day period, they are subject to the ELD requirements.

The rule also requires motor carriers to carry up to eight supporting documents for every 24-hour period a driver using an ELD is on duty. The documents must meet the following criteria:

• Driver name or carrier-assigned identification number
  • on the document or on another document enabling the carrier to link the document to the driver
  • or the vehicle unit number if that number can be linked to the driver;
  • Date
  • Location
  • Time

If a driver submits more than eight documents to the motor carrier for a single day, the motor carrier must include the first and last documents for that day among the eight documents that must be retained.  If a driver submits fewer than eight documents, the motor carrier must keep each document.

The supporting documents that must consist of the following five categories:

• Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules, or equivalent documents that indicate the origin and destination of each trip
• Dispatch or trip records
• Expense receipts
• Electronic mobile communication records that communications transmitted through a fleet management system
• Payroll records, settlement sheets, or equivalent documents that indicates payment to a driver.

The final rule also prohibits using an ELD in the harassment of CMV drivers.

Major Benefits

The main benefits include reducing cost, reducing risk, and increasing revenue.

The ELD mandate will reduce fuel and labor costs, as well as yearly vehicle replacement costs.

By completing more jobs per day, eliminating non-revenue generating trips, and providing proof of delivery for payment, revenue will increase as well.

It also eliminates HOS violations and aims to reduce accidents. The location intelligent is also in place to improve safety.

The ELD mandate will also help CPV Manufacturing be more efficient. Click here to learn more about CPV Manufacturing and their products.