For fleets and carriers hauling perishable food that must meet a new federal regulation requiring prevention of cross-contamination in between loads and the constant monitoring of load conditions during transit, BOLT System offers a fleet management solution.
Federal regulations will soon require carriers to constantly monitor temperatures inside refrigerated and non-refrigerated trailers and vans when they haul certain perishable food for human or animal consumption. The sanitary transportation rule will also require bulk food haulers to clean after each trip any trailer surfaces or equipment that come into direct contact with food so the next load isn’t contaminated by possible allergens. Carriers must be capable of exchanging information with shippers about prior cargos, and they must also keep copies of their compliance records for up to 12 months, providing enforcement officers immediate access to data for the past six months.
Large carriers with revenues in excess of $27.5 million and private fleets with more than 500 employees must meet new sanitary transportation requirements by April 6, 2017. Smaller carriers will have another year to come into compliance.
“BOLT System is one of the few fleet management systems if not the only one that currently offers carriers a level of cargo monitoring and recordkeeping that meets these new requirements,” said Jerry Robertson, chief technology officer for BOLT.
“When we started developing our fleet management system more than 10 years ago, we worked on providing our fleet customers the ability to monitor and track cargo and provide that information to their shippers in real-time while it’s in transit,” he said. “That’s how we’re far ahead of many of our competitors in providing fleets and carriers a way to meet the sanitary transportation rule.
“Carriers both large and small may be surprised to learn that if their van bodies or trailers have separate compartments for refrigerated and frozen items, the refrigeration units on their trailers may not be able to monitor each compartment,” said Robertson. “As a result, they may have to replace them much sooner than expected. Non-compliance could result in the loss of an entire shipment if an enforcement officer takes a reading in the middle of the van or trailer and finds a higher temperature than allowed.”
Go to www.boltsystem.com for further details.
