TruckingIndustry.news

TCA Convention Underway at Wynn Las Vegas

by Jana Ritter - Published: 3/04/2013

At its annual convention currently under way at the Wynn Las Vegas, the Truckload Carriers Association's (TCA) has approved several changes to the organization's official policies on drug and alcohol testing, sleep disorders, and on-board technology. Today, XRS Corporation also debuted a new product at the convention, introducing the trucking industry to the first and only complete mobile platform for compliance and fleet optimization.


Wynn-hotel

TCA is the only national trade association whose collective sole focus is the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry.  The association represents dry van, refrigerated, flatbed, and intermodal container carriers operating in the 48 contiguous states, as well as Alaska, Mexico, and Canada.  Representing operators of more than 200,000 trucks, which collectively p roduce annual revenue of more than $20 billion, TCA is an organization tailored to specific truckload carrier needs. Since October of 2012, the organization's Regulatory Policy Committee, (led by Troy Robertson of Con-way Truckload), had been tasked with examining the regulatory landscape and timelines for upcoming government rulemakings pertaining to the trucking industry. Based on the committee's recommendations from, the following suggestions were implemented by the board:



• A new clause will be inserted into TCA's current drug testing policy, stating it supports changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and/or Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations to permit alternative specimens, such as hair, to be used to comply with federal drug testing requirements.
• TCA now supports a policy on sleep disorders that not only addresses a regulation, but also addresses the manner in which it is issued.
• TCA revised its policy language to support the development, testing and use of cost-effective on-board technologies that improve vehicle safety, driver performance, productivity, vehicle maintenance, and management. TCA supports federal motor vehicle safety standards for those technologies that have a proven significant safety benefit and a reasonable cost.

XRS Corporation has taken advantage of the TCA conference as a timely debut of their new product, with demonstrations available in booth #402. Combining all the features and benefits of the leading fleet management platforms in a single package, the new XRS mobile platform runs on more than 50 types of devices and automatically transmits vehicle and operator data directly to a management dashboard, preparing for compliance with the pending MAP-21 compliance mandate< for recording hours-of-service.

Mobile Devices

Nearly 90 percent of drivers already use mobile devices, meaning there are no additional hardware costs associated with the XRS platform, and XRS Corporation has partnership agreements with the leading brands in mobile communications in both the U.S. and Canada. XRS says one of the greatest benefits of their product is its flexibility for fleet owners and drivers, many who already use mobile technology for work productivity purposes. Lou Giardelli, chief information officer at New Century Transportation already agrees. "We're excited to deploy XRS as we believe that the features and functionality of the system will provide a better customer service experience for our clients. In addition, our drivers will also enjoy the advanced in-cabin user interface and increased functionality that XRS provides," he said.