Schneider National going to paperless logs

Schneider National Inc. soon will begin tracking the work hours of its 13,270 drivers electronically, a significant move in what could turn into a more general shift away from the trucking industry’s much-derided paper logbooks.

That shift may come voluntarily if, as Schneider believes, the electronic system boosts efficiency and reduces accidents.

It conceivably could come via government mandate – probably the longest shot – or through a subtle but potent regulatory change that pushes trucking firms to adopt the technology without an outright order to do so.

In any event, many in the industry believe the days of paper logbooks, which safety advocates say are easily falsified and allow truckers to violate rules on how long they may drive, are numbered.

“I think it’s almost certain,” said freight-transportation economist Noël Perry.

“I believe it’s inevitable, and I believe we ought to be anticipating how it’s going to change our operation,” said Bob Baylor, president of a Milan, Ind., trucking firm that recently installed a handful of electronic recorders.

Schneider’s switch comes as the company spends what Don Osterberg, senior vice president of safety, described as “tens of millions of dollars” to install sophisticated new computers throughout its fleet.

“This is a very important issue for us,” Osterberg said.

The new computers include several advantages over Schneider’s current system.

Internet access will give drivers an electronic link to home and ready access to weather along their routes. Instead of looking at maps and written directions – a source of distraction and thus, potential trouble – they’ll have spoken, turn-by-turn instructions to destinations. And the company will get more extensive data on “critical events” such as hard braking that should help it identify problem patterns.

But a key capability is electronic logging.
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