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Data Driven: ELD’s can open door to big data preview image Data Driven: ELD's can open door to big data article image

Data Driven: ELD’s can open door to big data

If knowledge is power, then Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) could be the most powerful device on the truck. Sure, the device at its most basic is responsible only for monitoring hours of service, but the potential of networking and integrating data is impossible to ignore. Why settle for simple electronic logging when it can serve as a total fleet management solution in a box? A friend of mine drives for a 10-truck floral distribution company and makes regular runs from Ontario's Niagara region to Chicago, Michigan, and western New Jersey. The picture he paints of his distribution manager would be amusing if it were not (most likely) true. The manager must be a fellow who grew up trucking in the '60s, and still listens to eight-track tapes of Red Sovine and Dave Dudley. The routes are badly planned, trucks are frequently diverted en route, the vehicles are always breaking down, and all communication with drivers is done over the -telephone. And he doesn't believe in ELDs. My friend says his boss will wait until the last possible moment to equip his fleet - and then only because he must.
Helpful Moves: Trucks come to the rescue in BC and beyond preview image Helpful Moves: Trucks come to the rescue in BC and beyond article image

Helpful Moves: Trucks come to the rescue in BC and beyond

British Columbia residents were still fleeing the path of wildfires in mid-July when Shane Reynolds took stock of the supplies on hand. "We're storing 5,000 cots, 5,000 blankets, and other material," said the operations manager at Landtran Logistics' facility in Prince George. "We'll be helping with local delivery of supplies when the Red Cross tells us what has to be done." Having grown up in B.C., then working around Fort McMurray, Alberta, Reynolds knows the devastation that wildfires can bring. With a job in trucking, he understands the challenge of moving relief supplies. He was even part of a team that set up distribution centers after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S. in 2005. When disaster strikes, there are always goods to move and a need for trucks to move them.

June delays at border caused by leaky A/C

OTTAWA, ON - An outage of the Canadian Automated Export Declaration (CAED) system in June, caused delays at the border for some trucks over a 30-hour period. The Statistics Canada outage that affected the CAED, was caused by a leaking air conditioner the CBC is reporting. According to the news outlet, repairs incorrectly done led to an escalating set of circumstances that triggered the second major outage of the year for the statistics bureau.
SPECIAL REPORT: The early days of mandatory training preview image SPECIAL REPORT: The early days of mandatory training article image

SPECIAL REPORT: The early days of mandatory training

TORONTO, ON -- Darryl Robitaille belongs to a rare graduating class, one of the first future truck drivers to study under Ontario's new Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) regime. That means he had to complete at least 103.5 hours of approved training before the Ontario Ministry of Transportation would allow him to take the road test for an AZ licence to drive tractor-trailers. He failed on the first attempt. "The road test I did fine on," says the resident of Caledonia, Ontario, referring to actions like steering and backing. His challenge was with new questions linked to pre-trip inspections. "I was extremely nervous," Robitaille adds. This despite the fact that he personally completed a 200-hour training program, well above the mandated minimum introduced on July 1. But with a little extra studying he passed the test on his second attempt. Now he is looking to secure his first job behind the wheel. Robitaille can take comfort in knowing he wasn't alone.

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