Over the past few months I have been out visiting many of our customers, listening to them about their experiences and challenges in rolling out ELD to their drivers. Although most of the conversation has been about compliance, another important trend has emerged. Specifically, our customers want to know how they can minimize the impact of the new ELD Mandate regulations on their workforce. To put it plainly, they want an intuitive and efficient ELD system that allows them to just get their work done.
To that end, today we are announcing ‘Tap & Go’ - a big enhancement to our hours of service application - FieldMaster Logs - that will help to eliminate one of the bigger frustrations that we have heard around the complexity of driver login. Indeed, many ELD solutions on the market today require drivers to log in before they are able to submit their hours of service. However, this driver login procedure is time consuming and complex and the productivity of drivers is at a detriment because of it. Whilst having a level of security is essential, having complex log in credentials, whereby drivers must manually input lengthy usernames and passwords can cause frustration. Drivers are likely to forget their passwords whilst others find it difficult to input the details correctly on smaller devices.
Introducing ‘Tap & Go’
With our new Tap & Go technology, drivers will be able to leverage secure Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to streamline the login process. With just the tap of a compatible keychain, sticker or ID card, they are able to log in to their in-cab tablet, making it easy and quick to access and start their ELD workflow. This will ensure that drivers no longer need to spend valuable time manually typing in lengthy usernames and passwords which can cause frustration. With a simple tap, they are into the system and can focus on getting their work done.
This technology was designed to not only reduce the time it takes to get started; but also to eliminate extra administration. Many NFC tags are self-administered, meaning that drivers themselves can set up the cards directly from the tablet.
The feedback we have received from our early adopter customers has been extremely positive. Some quotes include:
"Our drivers love it, all the drivers said they thought it was a great idea when I gave out the tags"
“Lots of positive comments from the drivers. Much easier when moving from truck to truck throughout the week. I think it's a winner!”
The Tap & Go technology comes in the form of a low cost compatible card or sticker that can be readily purchased online from a wide variety of approved sources. There are a wide range of options for drivers including; existing NFC employee ID cards, keychains, badge cards or dime-sized stickers, which can be attached to a wallet or driver’s license.
Existing FieldMaster Logs customers running the AOBRD (2.x) version will receive the Tap & Go update automatically and will be pushed to their tablets starting on August 23rd. The ELD (3.x) version will be available in a few weeks.
To learn more about Tap & Go, sign up for a 30-minute live webinar on September 5th to see the new Tap & Go functionality for ELD login in action. The webinar will showcase the latest improvements to Trimble FieldMaster Logs and demonstrate how the new login process enables instant login:
Alternatively, watch our 30 second video to see how quick and easy it is to log in to Trimble FieldMaster Logs, without the need to remember tricky usernames and passwords.
