How a TMS Improves Trucking Compliance

Safety and regulatory compliance are important aspects of the trucking and freight industry and a high-quality Transportation Management System (TMS) is a valuable tool that will help companies remain compliant. Transportation Management Systems centralize data, automate processes, and provide real-time insights, to allow fleets to prioritize safety and minimize the risk of violations and legal or financial repercussions. This article takes a closer look at how a TMS improves trucking safety and compliance and how a quality TMS will improve your business processes and drive success.

Benefits of a TMS for Trucking Safety and Compliance

Adherence to strict safety standards and regulatory requirements is essential for protecting drivers, cargo, the public, and your business. Non-compliance can result in severe penalties, including fines, license revocation, and damage to a company's reputation. A strong safety culture, paired with intuitive compliance measures, is important to maintaining a positive image and ensuring long-term success.

Investing in advanced technologies, like transportation management systems, allows trucking companies to streamline operations, automate compliance tasks, and reduce the risk of violations and penalties. A TMS can help companies manage safety issues like driver hours of service and vehicle maintenance, and monitor compliance with industry regulations — improving safety and protecting your business.

TMS platforms can aid trucking companies with much more than regulatory compliance. Available driver monitoring features analyze driver behavior to ensure safe operations. Fleet management and equipment maintenance features help track vehicle maintenance schedules, inspection results, emission testing, and provide real-time monitoring to remain compliant with safety and environmental regulations. 

Here is a better look at specific aspects of safety and compliance that a TMS can help you monitor and adhere to with a comprehensive suite of features.

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Motor Vehicle Transport Act (MVTA) Compliance

The Canadian Motor Vehicle Transport Act (MVTA) is a federal legislation that regulates inter-provincial and international trucking within Canada. It regulates driver hours of service with daily logs, vehicle maintenance requirements, cargo securement, and carrier safety ratings with a comprehensive list of regulations. The MVTA was put in place to promote safety, efficiency, and fair competition among trucking companies. A quality TMS platform can simplify compliance to the MVTA by automating hours-of-service tracking, streamlining maintenance records, and facilitating carrier safety rating monitoring — reducing manual entry tasks and the risk of compliance mistakes. Failure to be compliant with MVTA regulations can result in a $4,000 fine for the driver and $200,000 for the carrier.

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Compliance

A transportation management system can be a powerful tool to help you remain compliant with complex U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulations and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) safety standards. A TMS can help with safety compliance by automating tasks like electronic logging device (ELD) management, vehicle inspection reports, and driver qualification files. Available cloud-based storage provided by many TMS providers helps carriers maintain accurate records like licenses, insurance coverage, driver information, and additional documents in the event of an audit. In addition — a TMS can generate reports and analytics to identify potential compliance issues and reduce the risk of violations and safety incidents.

Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Compliance

A TMS can help simplify compliance with the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Act. The UCR Act requires freight carriers that operate across the United States, Canada, and Mexico to register annually and pay a fee — and the challenges presented by the UCR can be complicated because of the international and interstate aspects. A TMS can automate UCR registration processes, ensure the on-time renewal of your registration, and provide accurate reporting. TMS platforms provide a central information hub that can be used to manage vehicle information, mileage records, and more that are important for UCR compliance.

International Registration Plan (IRP) Compliance

Does your trucking company move cargo between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico? The International Registration Plan (IRP) is a cooperative agreement among the United States, Canadian provinces, and Mexican states that allows freight companies to operate across borders with a single registration. With the help of a TMS platform, trucking companies can ensure IRP compliance by automating registration processes, tracking mileage records across each region that impact taxes and fees, generating necessary documents and forms, and storing important fleet data.

International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Compliance

The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is a cooperative agreement among U.S. states and Canadian provinces that simplify the reporting of fuel taxes for carriers operating in multiple states and jurisdictions — which means freight carriers must track fuel usage, mileage, and more. A transportation management system can streamline IFTA compliance by automating fuel tax reporting, calculating fuel use by jurisdiction, providing mileage reports, and generating required reports. Integrating with third-party partners like PC*Miler® and ProMiles® provides additional mileage data and enables carriers to accurately determine fuel taxes. This element of TMS platforms helps ensure compliance, minimizes the risk of audits, and optimizes fuel costs.

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READ MORE: Top 5 Integrations for Your Transportation Management System

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We know many freight companies want to learn more about how a TMS improves trucking compliance and we hope this in-depth overview provides the answers to your questions. A TMS can be an indispensable tool for navigating the complex regulations of the trucking industry — from USDOT registration and regulations to IFTA reporting, a TMS provides the ability to improve operations and reduce the risk of safety and compliance violations. 

Contact TransPlus to learn how TransPlus TMS can help your freight company achieve regulatory compliance every step of the way!

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