An Automatic on-board recording device (AOBRD) is  an electric, electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical device capable of recording driver’s duty status information accurately and automatically as required by § 395.15. The device must be integrally synchronized with specific operations of the commercial vehicle in which it is installed and, at a minimum, must record:

• Engine Use
• Road speed
• Miles driven
• Date and Time

AOBRD’s are defined in § 395.2 and regulated in § 395.15.  These regulations were introduced in 1988 and are nearly 30 years old.  The systems that implement  AOBRD technology tend to be based on older technology and will become obsolete on December 18, 2017.

ELDs Meet FMCSA’s 395.20 Regulations

Last year in the ELD Mandate, FMCSA introduced a new class of devices, Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), that are defined in § 395.20 regulations.  These new devices are required to be used by drivers who are subject to record of duty status (RODS) regulations by December 18, 2017.

ELDs represent the latest in technology and are much more sophisticated than the soon to be outmoded AOBRDs.  Among other things ELDs must be integrally synchronized with the engine on a commercial vehicle and must capture:

• Engine power status
• Vehicle motion status
• Total miles driven
• Total engine hours
• Engine power status
• Vehicle speed
• Vehicle location

ELDs are more advanced than AOBRDs and are required to automate the capture of RODS data automatically at each duty status change, every 60 minutes while the vehicle is in motion, at engine power-on and off events, and at the beginning and end of personal use and yard moves.  In addition, ELDs must be capable of automatically transferring RODS data to FMCSA and must monitor themselves for diagnostics and malfunctions.

The LiveViewGPS ELD implementation uses an Android or iOS device that connects wirelessly to an dongle or telematics device that is connected the the vehicle bus.  To meet the vehicle monitoring requirements, vehicle data is streamed continuously from the vbus device to the Android or iOS mobile device.  The mobile device processes this information on a background thread, performs the necessary calculations, presents the information to the driver using the familiar grid chart, and synchronizes it with back office servers that run on Amazon Web services.

Around 23 million people in the United States have had a thief take at least one package from their house in recent years.  And, home surveillance cameras catch these thefts even in broad daylight.

As  U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2017 was about $115 billion (an increase of more than 3.5 percent over the second quarter of the year), according to The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, burglars are seeking these omnipresent Christmas packages this holiday season, making them a popular sought after item.

The good news, however, police departments are now taking advantage of GPS trackers to catch these “porch pirates” in the act. According to the California Campbell Police Department’s Captain, Gary Berg, they’re putting out baiting packages to catch the crooks who are taking the packages.

As the report calls them, the “Porch Pirates” usually tail the delivery drivers and once the drivers are out of sight, they nab the merchandise.

This time around, the home security cameras at Rick Deckman’s house cause the act in real-time. Deckman said the thief tailed a driver of United Parcel Service (UPS) to his home in Malibu in broad daylight and grabbed the two packages he had out at his front door.

Deckman told NBC News that he was blown away. He said he couldn’t believe that this happened to him.

For Deckman and other consumers, shopping online has always been a convenience, but now no longer outweighs the drawbacks of their packages being possibly stolen. Leaders in the industry have made a commitment to address this problem since public confidence in security is crucial in the business model of the mail delivery industry.

Jeff Rossen, TODAY’s national investigative correspondent, demonstrated his GPS tracking technology by snatching a bait package the Campbell police planted at a doorstep. After taking the package, he didn’t tell police where he was going.

However, since the package contained the GPS tracker, Rossen didn’t need to tell them where he went off to. It only took moments before police caught up with him and stopped his car, despite taking a back road and indirect route to a secluded park. Berg told him that if he’d been an actual thief, he’d have already been in handcuffs.

The UPS not only anticipates it will be delivering around 630 million packages during the time period between Black Friday and New Year’s but also is providing its customers with alternate ways of receiving their packages.

The company, this past summer, proposed to expand its UPS Access Point network. This is their service that offers pickup and drop off of packages primarily at neighborhood grocery and convenience stores, delicatessens and dry cleaners to around 22,000 worldwide and 8,000 U.S. locations by the end of the year.

A company spokesman for UPS, made a statement to NBC News, acknowledging that package theft was gaining spotlight as more cases of stolen packages are being caught by similar home surveillance technology like Deckman’s as well as posts on social media platforms by victims in some cases.

The spokesman said that along with Access Point, UPS customers could also go online and contact drivers to indicate their alternative drop-off location choices.

Also in California, Rancho Cordova police have just recently started a program to catch thieves. Police dress up in street clothes and drive unmarked cars delivering packages that contain fake electronics and GPS technology to Sacramento suburb homes. Although there haven’t been any arrests made through this program as of yet, officials do say they think these decoy packages could very well help deter and even stop future thefts, according to Deputy Matthew Deaux.

And, Deaux told NBC News that the more potential thieves know they’re doing this, the less inclined they’ll be to do it.

When it comes to cold chain shipping, extra precautions must be made to ensure that the cargo you’re carrying is protected from the elements, throughout all aspects of the shipment. It doesn’t matter what type of cargo you’re carrying; the same degree of care and attention must be made to ensure the safe arrival of the materials being shipped.

GPS fleet tracking can be a crucial tool in ensuring the items you’re responsible for arrive safely at their appropriate destinations. Below are a few ways GPS fleet tracking can help.

Real Time Tracking for Customers

Not only is it important to you that your items arrive safely and on time, but also to the customers receiving these items. With GPS fleet tracking you can allow your customers to track the whereabouts of their shipments as well as monitor temperatures and other key details in real time along the way. This means you’ll experience fewer frantic phone calls from customers concerning their shipments and they can breathe easier knowing that all is well with their deliveries.

Receive Data Feedback in Transit

Live GPS fleet tracking allows you access to valuable data about shipments and cargo while they are being delivered. You no longer need to wait to download information about the shipment, you can have access, at any time to information about what is going and to verify compliance at any time during the shipment.

Improved Record Keeping

Records are extremely important when it comes to compliance and providing verification of consistent temperatures and other key details. Not only will the advanced record-keeping capabilities of a solid GPS fleet tracking system aid in the cold chain supply process, but also with your business records related to fuel consumption, driver behaviors, driver time on the road, and other key details along the way.

Better Route Planning

Better planning of routes, with the assistance of a fleet tracking system helps to ensure less time on the road for drivers, and cold chain cargo, and lower fuel (and labor) costs for your business. GPS tracking can help you plan routes that are more efficient for time, fuel, or find the best combination of the two to save your business the most possible money along the way while offering customers the comfort of knowing the route their cold chain supply items will take to reach their destinations.

With so many perks like these it’s a wonder that all cold chain supply organizations have not yet made the leap to GPS fleet tracking. If you haven’t done so already, now is the perfect time to make your move.