Canada-based specialized carrier Equipment Express moved a 1,000-ton press to Tennessee last year with three superloads, three permitted oversize-overweight loads and two legal loads.
Many of the carrier’s loads, which are often permitted and require special timeframes for movement, can’t fit into typical parking spaces, so Equipment Express uses smart compliance to help plan stops at safe areas while ensuring its drivers meet hours of service regulations.
Brian Sillett, compliance and safety manager at Equipment Express, which uses Isaac Instruments telematics, said Thursday during a TCA webinar with Isaac that is one of the many benefits to using smart compliance technology to create a more efficient fleet.
Another benefit is simplified roadside checks. Drivers can display information for compliance officers on their tablet from the last eight to 14 days, and with the information readily available, it reduces delays, which will be helpful next week during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s International Roadcheck event, which is a 72-hour high-visibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and enforcement initiative that will take place May 17-19. This year’s blitz will focus on wheel ends.
Melanie Simard, director of compliance, client service and technical support at Isaac Instruments, said the smart driver’s vehicle inspection report (DVIR) tracks each inspection point as the driver goes through the process, and they can show the inspection officer tracking on their tablet.
“We used to train drivers to have the same typical process of inspecting their trucks step-by-step. When you’re a creature of habit … you have more of a chance of missing an inspection point,” she said. “With the smart DVIR, all those points can be listed and configured to your liking and to your organization … At a roadside inspection, the driver has to show the roadside officer this list, and in the past, the list was in the permit binder, the permit binder was somewhere in the truck. Where? With the smart DVIR, it’s right there on the tablet… It helps them make sure they did not forget a point.”
Smart compliance technology makes for more thorough pre- and post-trip inspections, and it makes for a more efficient fleet and happier drivers and customers. Simard said fleets can reduce or maybe even eliminate major breakdowns by noting minor defects proactively and getting those repaired.
