ELD logging mobile apps: The features your fleet needs
All ELD logging apps have the same underlying purpose – to keep your drivers compliant with HOS regulations. But every app maintains HOS compliance in very different ways – ways that can have a huge impact on your fleet’s efficiency and profits.
When looking at mobile apps, fleet managers need to focus on two broad issues:
- Usability: Drivers are busy and HOS is complicated. A difficult-to-use ELD logging app will make drivers more likely to make logging mistakes. Your business will lose money to a higher frequency of FMCSA fines.
- Features: Some ELD logging apps focus on HOS compliance and nothing else. These bare bones app prevent FMCSA fines but don’t increase operational efficiency. More comprehensive apps include a variety of features that make organizations more efficient and more profitable.
Here’s a breakdown of the usability and feature specs you should look for when choosing your ELD logging app:
ELD logging app usability
ELD logging apps need to have a clear, easily understandable interface. Drivers aren’t going to want to use anything that’s too complicated. The best ELD logging apps will have tutorials drivers can switch on to guide them through the app. These make sure that even the least tech-savvy drivers will be able to maintain FMCSA compliance and avoid logging errors.
Another way that these apps can help drivers avoid logging errors is through automated HOS checks. Apps that flag possible violations show drivers where they might have made mistakes. Then, drivers are given the opportunity to correct their errors and avoid fines.
But if drivers didn’t make a mistake and did break HOS regulations, flagging potential errors won’t help. That’s why HOS voice assistants are so important – they prevent HOS violations before they happen. Drivers or managers can set the alert they prefer – for example, 30 minutes or 1 hour before they have no remaining driving hours. When this limit is hit, the ELD logging app’s voice assistant tells the driver, so they know it’s almost time to get off the road.
Finally, some ELD logging apps allow managers to review drivers’ FMCSA logs for errors and suggest changes. For example, if a manager sees that a driver stayed “On Duty” after they had already left work, they can send that driver a message showing them exactly how to correct the error.
One ELD logging app has all of these usability benefits – the FleetUp Driver mobile app. And when it comes to extra features, FleetUp Driver is even more powerful.
ELD logging app features
Any business that needs to use ELD logging apps is a business with a dispersed workforce. Having dozens of employees over hundreds of miles makes management difficult. But apps that include a work order feature help everyone, no matter how far away from each other, stay on the same page. When managers send a driver a work order, a notification will appear in the driver’s app. They can stop, bring up the work order, and let the manager know they’re on the job.
Document scanners are another feature that reduce the friction of managing an on-the-move workforce. These instantly connect drivers to the home office. Whenever drivers fill out or receive a document they need to file, they simply aim their smartphone’s camera at it, take a picture in the app, and share it with the appropriate colleague back home.
But drivers aren’t the only workers who spend time outside of the office. In the 24/7 business of transportation, managers might need to respond to middle-of-the-night emergencies or monitor problems in one lot while they’re visiting a loading dock in another city. That’s why it’s not just drivers who need mobile apps, it’s managers. And the FleetUp Admin mobile app is the exact tool managers need to stay connected to every aspect of their fleet, at all times, no matter where they are.
FleetUp mobile apps: The industry’s best ELD logging solution
Each one of these usability benefits and premium features are available via a single fleet platform – FleetUp. Keep your fleet compliant, efficient, and profitable. Put FleetUp on your phone.
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