We know that finding the right ELD for your fleet can be a challenge, and going to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website to find certified ELD companies hasn’t been the simplest process.
Which company do you choose? How do you know which is the better choice? Are all ELD providers the same?
The answer to that last one is no. Any company who wants to call themselves an FMCSA-compliant ELD provider must register with the FMCSA in order to be listed on the website. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean all the options are the same, and it leaves the door open for a company to call its product compliant without having to do the hard work to make sure it is.
Understanding the Certification Process
There’s been some confusion over the past few months about what “certification” really means, especially with some companies calling themselves FMCSA-certified. In fact, the process is self-certification. Each company has to submit information, details, and documents to show that their ELD follows FMCSA rules and regulations. There’s a lot of ambiguity in this process because there’s no requirement to make sure the information is accurate.
Why does this matter? If you choose an ELD that isn’t truly compliant, once the FMCSA realizes it, you’ll only have eight days from the time you’re notified to replace your ELD. That’s one hassle and headache you definitely don’t want. You’re better off choosing a product that takes the self-certification process seriously and works hard to be compliant, even as requirements and rules change.
Third Party Compliance Reviews and Working With a Big 4 Accounting Firm
Here at Gorilla Safety, we’ve partnered with KPMG, one of the “Big 4” accounting firms to provide our clients the utmost confidence in our ELD. We want you to have peace of mind when you buy our product. You need to know the rug won’t be pulled out from under you while you’re trying to run a business and while your drivers are out on the road.
KPMG reviewed our testing procedures, the results, and security governance in order to provide the Gorilla Safety team with the tools necessary to be sure we remain compliant. ELD providers have the option of self-certifying based on the FMCSA ruling or the testing manual provided. We’ve erred on the side of safety and use the ruling because there are discrepancies between the two. Other companies may not.
The potential differences from one ELD provider to another could be the difference between staying on the road and getting put out of service and/or fined. We want to make sure our customers have peace of mind when they work with us, so KPMG gives us a system to check our testing procedures and review the test results, among other things. The result is a better ELD for you and confidence that we’re taking care of things on the backend to help you stay compliant with the ELD rules and regulations.
If you’re ready to make the switch to a better ELD or you want to get compliant before the deadline, contact us. We’ll be happy to show you how we’re different from the rest.