Is Your Fleet Ready for the New Food Transport Rules?

The regulation applies to shippers, receivers, loaders, and carriers involved in the transportation of human or animal food within the U.S. Photo: Carrier Transicold

April 6, 2017, was the deadline, except for small businesses, to begin complying with the Food and Drug Administration's new regulations on the safe transport of food. (The compliance date for small businesses is April 6, 2018.)

FDA was required by the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 to establish regulations to reduce the risk of food becoming contaminated during transportation. FDA proposed these regulations in 2014 and finalized them in the spring of 2016.

The regulation applies to shippers, receivers, loaders, and carriers involved in the transportation of human or animal food within the United States. There are a few exceptions, including:

The regulations, found in Part 1 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), apply to vehicles and transportation equipment, transportation operations, training, and records.

The shipper is the entity that is ultimately responsible for the safe transportation of the food product. However, the shipper can, by written agreement, assign responsibilities to other entities. If the shipper assigns responsibility to the carrier for ...Read the rest of this story

Air-Weigh Introduces New LoadMaxx Trailer Scale

The new LoadMaxx Trailer Scale from Air-Weigh combines the best of previous LoadMaxx and Quickload trailer scales into a single trailer scale with two options: LoadMaxx base model, and LoadMaxx with ComLink.

The updated LoadMaxx scale retain features that customers rely on, such as the icon-based touch screen display, built-in LED alarm lights, dual-point calibration with a high-precision pressure sensor for weight accuracy, temperature and altitude compensation, PIN protected calibration and English, Spanish and French language options.

The ComLink option now available for the LoadMaxx trailer scale enables drivers to view steer, drive, trailer, GVW, and net payload on an in-cab LoadMaxx tractor display. Tractor/trailer weight information can also be sent to the fleet's management software via the built-in data communication interface. When used with the Bluetooth compatible LoadMaxx Tractor Scale, weight data is also available on any Smartphone or tablet through Air-Weigh's LoadMaxx App.

“In our ongoing effort to optimize fleet efficiency, the new LoadMaxx trailer scale has evolved to offer the best of our previous trailer scales, as well as important new features,” says Air-Weigh CEO Martin Ambros.“ Our goal for fleets is to maximize the payload they haul, and minimize the complexity and effort in their operations.”

ComLink is also available as a simple plug-and-play upgrade to the economical LoadMaxx base model. Among the other new features, the LoadMaxx trailer scale can store up to four manual calibrations for multiple axle configurations. For example, a tandem trailer with a liftable axle can now have two calibrations – one with all axles down, and one with the liftable axle up.

“This is an exciting new generation of LoadMaxx Trailer Scales” says Bob Zirlin Air-Weigh's Director of Trailer OEM and Dealer Sales. “It reflects Air-Weigh's commitment to provide a comprehensive on-board weighing solution for all weight sensitive trailer applications. The new LoadMaxx trailer scale ...Read the rest of this story

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Element Releases Xcelerate Fleet Management Platform

Screenshot of Xcelerate courtesy of Element.

Element Fleet Management has fully launched its new fleet management platform, Xcelerate, the fleet management company has announced.

Element first previewed its next-generation, analytics-driven information technology product at a roundtable in early October. The company built the Xcelerate on the Apache Cassandra database management system that's used by Netflix, Apple, the Weather Channel and others.

Xcelerate includes an intuitive user interface and reporting features that are optimized for drivers as well as fleet managers with a mobile app and website that was launched in the summer of 2016.

Element made the platform available to its customers in early 2017, and has begun adding new analytics tools to the core platform, according to the company.

The platform is designed to allow Element to integrate diverse data, such as weather, parts data or geography, and combine them with Element's vehicle, accident, fuel, maintenance and telematics data.

"Xcelerate will give fleet managers an advantage because it allows them to explore cross-connections across a wide range of fleet and third-party data. With Cassandra as the foundation, this can also happen very quickly," said John Wall, chief technology officer, Element. "Our infrastructure is uniquely able to help customers uncover data connections that were difficult to prove, or insights on questions we didn't know to ask."

Related: Introducing Xcelerate: Element's New Fleet Management System

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J.B. Hunt Launches Online Marketplace for Shippers and Carriers

Screenshot via Google Play

J.B. Hunt has announced the launch of Marketplace for J.B. Hunt 360, the latest component of its supply chain solution aimed at creating an e-commerce platform for shippers and carriers.

Marketplace and J.B. Hunt 360 are a result of the company's investments in the future of the supply chain process. Hunt also announced that it will dedicate more than $500 million over the next five years to that effort. The money will be used to improve operating systems, develop cloud infrastructure, and create innovative technologies. To support the transformation, the company has doubled its engineering and technology team.

“Technology is a huge force propelling us into the future,” said John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt. “Customers are demanding greater visibility and information into their supply chain in real time. J.B. Hunt 360 is our comprehensive solution to meet that demand, combining J.B. Hunt's 55 years of operational excellence with the latest technology available in the industry.”

Marketplace will connect shippers and carriers in J.B. Hunt 360 by using real-time data and artificial intelligence to match freight with capacity, creating optimal pairings of loads and carriers to improve efficiency and cost savings. Carriers can make instant offers on available loads and shippers are provided with a true market pricing on shipments. The system will automate carrier selection based on preference, ratings, reviews and other factors.

Hunt said its Marketplace is backed by the company's contracted carriers representing a combined capacity of more than one million trucks. Future updates to J.B. Hunt 360 will include interactive voice command and response, real-time load recommendations, and automation tools for shippers and carriers. The platform's predictive analytics will provide more precise delivery times, resulting in better customer service and smarter decision making, according to J.B. Hunt.

J.B Hunt 360 is accessible online and through ...Read the rest of this story

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