Reduce the Busywork of Unassigned Drive Time Events with UDT Manager 2.0

Fleet managers and back-office team members often spend hours each day painstakingly researching, updating, and annotating their fleets’ unassigned drive time (UDT). This valuable time could be spent on more critical tasks and represents thousands of dollars wasted annually. Fortunately, the latest fleet management software includes easy-to-use tools specifically designed to reduce busywork associated with UDT events. 

UDT and the FMCSA

When the FMCSA introduced their electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, they required ELDs to be activated (with driver login) and all mileage accounted for any time a vehicle’s wheels are in motion. In the case of unassigned hours, under 49 CFR 395.32(c), a carrier must either update the record with an appropriate explanation or reassign the time to the correct driver. Fleets are also required to retain unidentified driving records for at least six months and make them readily available to safety officials upon request.

While this mandate may seem straightforward, the various causes of UDT can lead to quite a bit of detective work for Safety and Compliance Managers. From tracking down drivers who forgot to log in and locating dates when vehicles were moved around the lot (a “yard move”) to keeping up with maintenance (a “shop move”) and documenting lost signal connections between ELDs and servers, managing UDT often becomes a time-consuming task. Excessive amounts of UDT also raise red flags for the FMCSA, triggering costly and time-intensive audits investigating potential hours of service (HOS) fraud. 

Tools to Streamline UDT Management

As with its entire suite of fleet management tools, Platform Science’s UDT Manager 2.0 is designed to improve user efficiency and job satisfaction by reducing busywork and increasing operational accuracy. Working alongside fleets to identify pain points associated with unassigned drive time events, Platform Science developed a software tool that helps sort, update, and annotate UDT records more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

UDT Manager 2.0 includes the following: 

• Faceted Filters: With faceted filters similar to those found on retail websites, UDT Manager 2.0 simplifies record sorting and enables custom searches filtered by truck, distance traveled, location, and other variables 
• Single-Screen View: The newest version of UDT Manager makes event information easier to compare and process by displaying all results on a single screen, eliminating the need for multiple tabs 
• Driver Suggestions: UDT Manager 2.0 reduces detective work by automatically suggesting up to five drivers most likely associated with each UDT event based on system data
• Bulk Annotation: Faceted filters allow users to sort UDT events by location and annotate as a yard or shop move (the most common causes of UDT events), decreasing the volume of UDT events requiring sorting to help users focus on events needing further investigation
• Bulk Suggest: This feature enables multiple UDT events associated with the same truck to be suggested to a single driver with just one click
• Audit Trails: The full history of each UDT event is displayed in its details section—including the total lifespan of the event from creation to driver acceptance— mitigating the potential for HOS violations while increasing users’ peace of mind
• Expanded Data Exports: With the ability to export up to 5,000 records over a six-month period, UDT Manager 2.0 helps users quickly filter and select the records they need for, simpler operational audits, reporting, and analysis

UDT Manager 2.0 empowers back-office managers to work smarter—not harder— by lightening the workload created by unassigned drive time events. And with more accurate UDT records, fleets have what it takes to maintain compliance, prevent audits, and identify areas for improvement across their operations.

Learn more about UDT Manager 2.0 and other fleet management tools at platformscience.com