There are heaps of information floating around regarding Electronic Logging Devices in Canada. Some of this information is accurate and some is not. Misleading info such as, ELD’s rostered on the FMCSA in the United States will be Grandfathered into the Canadian ELD mandate, this is NOT the case. Or even that Single-truck operations or operations with less than 10 vehicles are exempt. There is NO exemption based on fleet size in the ELD mandate.
My personal favourite piece of false information is ” 3rd party certification just a onetime stamp” or “it’s just a formality”. Contrary to what many people out there, believe, the concept of 3rd Party Certification is more important and more thorough than these people realize.
The Canadian ELD Mandate’s 3rd party certification program covers a four year period. Once the initial certification is complete the Standards Council of Canada requires periodic assessment of each certified ELD model to a minimum of 25% of the test plan plus additional functions as required.
The focus of each review will be as follows:
Year 1 – ELD record sampling.
Year 2 – HOS auditing and additional ELD functions.
Year 3 – Assessment of changes to the standards or regulations, client interface, or administrative functions.
Year 4 – Recertification.
This 4-year standard is a performance-based curriculum. The codes and specifications set forth will be measured on the ability to demonstrate ongoing proficiency.
What does this mean for me?
We can all agree that ELD’s are here to stay. What we need to know is how does this 3rd party standard help? Only through vetting an ELD choice, can anyone hope to comply with required regulations and standards while preventing HOS fatigue violations, record falsification, or tampering. When reviewing ELD products all of us should be asking:
“Is your ELD Complaint?”
“Does your ELD Technology reflect adequate and ongoing proficiency?”
“Are your Customer Service and Technical Teams in it for the long haul? i.e. are you prepared to maintain compliance and service over this 4 Year Period?”
“What happens in 5 years? will you be there for your customers after the first 4 years and into the next?”
By creating accountability the Canadian government has ensured every fleet starts on the same level when implementing an ELD. All you have left to ask is, are you going to be getting the most out of your ELD?
