iTECH: Taking the Plunge Into Electronic Logging

April 19, 2004 12:00 AM, EDT

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f onboard recorders for monitoring driver hours electronically are the wave of the future, Quality Carriers appears to be embracing the technology with open arms.

The technology is not new. There have been computers on trucks keeping track of operational information since the 1970s. What remains to be seen, however, is how welcoming other fleets would be to a wholesale changeover to recording driver duty status electronically.

And don’t forget the roadside inspector, who is used to reading hand-scribbled logbooks of varying degrees of legibility and often dubious accuracy.

Tampa-based Quality, which hauls chemicals and liquids with 3,350 tractors and more than twice as many tank trailers, is testing an electronic logging system in 100 of its trucks, said Keith Margelowsky, senior vice president of performance planning.

“If you’re looking at it from a priority standpoint, it’s a top 5,” he said of the company’s level of commitment to onboard recorders.

For the full story, see the April/May issue of iTECH, which appeared as a supplement in the April 5 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.