Logging hours of service

Department of Transportation Hours of Service regulations dictate how many hours a driver can work (per day and per work period). It also mandates how many hours a driver must be off between work periods. The Driver Hours of Service feature helps you keep track of driver hours so that you can make driver assignments that comply with these regulations.

This feature keeps a log record of hours worked based on information reported by the driver. From these entries and the driver’s Hours of Service rule, the system estimates the number of hours the driver is available for work. The available hours information is displayed in the Driver Hours of Service window.

  1. The Department of Transportation occasionally updates the Hours of Service regulations. Trimble recommends you contact the Department of Transportation to verify your policies meet Federal regulations.

  2. The Driver Hours of Service window data is strictly informational; it does not prevent dispatch.

In the Driver Hours of Service window, you can:

  • View driver hours

  • Record driver hours

  • Perform the 34-hour reset

This illustration shows the layout of the Driver Hours of Service window.

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Driver

Driver’s ID and name

Driver’s service rule
(unnamed field)

Service rule assigned in the driver’s profile

Start Date & End Date

Start and end dates used for record retrieval

Note: The system can retrieve a maximum of 70 days. Attempting to use a longer date range causes an error message to open. It states, "You can retrieve only a maximum of 70 days."

Date

Date the action occurred

Drive

Total number of driving hours for that day

Sleep

Total number of sleeping hours for that day

On Duty

Total number of on duty hours, excluding driving hours

Off Duty

Total number of off duty hours is automatically calculated based on previous entries for the day

Reset Hours

Allows you to perform a 34-hour reset
For more details, see Performing a 34-hour reset.

Set

The system automatically selects this field if you add hours in any of the previous fields.

Note: If your driver has no on-duty hours for the day, selecting this checkbox will add 24 hours to the Off Duty field. You must do this before performing a 34-hour reset. If not, an error message opens when you save. It states, "34 Hour Rule violation - cannot reset at …​" and lists the current date.

Available Hours

Number of available hours the driver has for the day

Note: A General Info Table setting sets the maximum number of available hours. For details, see Specifying the maximum daily available hours.

Available Rule Hours

Number of available hours the driver has for the period based on the service rule

Error Message

Displays error messages

You can open the Driver Hours of Service window in the Card Planner and the Planning Worksheet.

In the Card Planner, do one of the following:

  • Right-click on the driver in the Drivers assigned work pane, and select Driver Hours of Service from the shortcut menu.

  • Right-click on a driver’s assigned trip in the Assignment Plan pane, and select Driver Hours of Service from the shortcut menu.

    image15

In the Planning Worksheet, do one of the following:

  • Right-click on the driver in the Resources scheduled to work pane, and select Driver Hours of Service from the shortcut menu, and select Driver Hours of Service from the shortcut menu.

  • Right-click on an order assigned to a driver in the Trips assigned to resources pane, and select Driver Hours of Service from the shortcut menu.

    image16

Setting up the system to track hours of service

Fuel Dispatch allows you to set several hours of service options. This provides the ability to make changes to the system as the Department of Transportation makes changes to regulations.

You can:

  • Specify the maximum daily available hours

  • Define your service rules

  • Change a driver’s service rule

Specifying the maximum daily available hours

The Department of Transportation mandates the maximum number of hours a driver can drive and be on duty within a 24-hour period.

Trimble recommends you contact the Department of Transportation to verify current maximum working hours.

To ensure that log entries do not exceed the DOT mandate, you can specify the maximum hours available for drivers. To do so, make an entry in the MaxDailyOnDutyHours General Info Table setting.

The hours you specify appear in the Driver Hours of Service window’s Available Hours field. The field value changes once you record hours in the Drive and On Duty fields.

In this example, we recorded 11 into the Drive field and 2 into the On Duty field. The system subtracted these hours from 14 and updated the Available Hours field to 1. This means the driver has one hour available for the remainder of the day.

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Defining your service rules

The service rule determines how many hours a driver can be on duty over a certain number of days. The system uses this rule to calculate and track individual driver’s hours of service.

The system comes with several standard service rules pre-defined. If needed, you can add your own rules in the ServiceRule label.

To add a new service rule, follow these steps:

  1. In System Administration, do one of the following:

    • Click the image5 Labels icon.

    • Go to Edit > Label File.

      The Edit User Definable Fields window opens.

  2. Select the ServiceRule label in the Field Name field.
    The existing label options are shown.

    image6

  3. Click image7 Insert.
    A blank row is added.

  4. Make the appropriate entries in these fields:

    Description

    Enter a description for the service rule.

    Abbr

    Enter a unique abbreviation to represent this row. The required format is days/ hours, such as 7/60.

    Code

    Enter a numeric value. The system uses this value to sort the list.

  5. Save your changes.

Specifying the default service rule

The service rule determines how the system will calculate a driver’s hours of service. The system assigns the default service rule to every driver you create. Use the SERVICERULE General Info Table setting to specify the default service rule.

If you create driver profiles in TrimbleSuite’s File Maintenance application, the default service rule is applied. If you create driver profiles in Fuel Dispatch, the default service rule is not applied.

Changing a service rule for a driver

When you create a new driver profile, the system assigns the default service rule automatically. On an individual basis, you can set a different service rule in the driver’s profile.

If you change a driver’s Service Rule, it will change the hours of service calculations that occur in the Driver Hours of Service window. Trimble recommends that you contact your Fuel Dispatch system administrator before changing this rule.

  1. Open the driver’s profile.

  2. Select a service rule in the ServiceRule field.

    image13

  3. Save your changes.

Recording hours of service

You record a driver’s hours of service in the Driver Hours of Service window. The system tracks the total number of hours available automatically for:

  • The day
    Hours display in the Available Hours column.

  • The period defined by the service rule
    Hours display in the Available Rule Hours column.

image14 See it in action

To enter a driver’s hours, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Driver Hours of Service window.

  2. In the Driver field, enter the driver’s ID and press TAB.
    The driver’s hours of service display in the grid.

    image17

    Note: By default, the window shows a range of days from two months prior to two weeks in the future.

  3. Use the image18 Calendar to the right of the Start Date and End Date fields to choose the appropriate date range.

    Note: The system can retrieve a maximum of 70 days. If you attempt to retrieve more days than the maximum, an error message opens. It states, "You can only retrieve a maximum of 70 days."

  4. Make the appropriate entries in the following fields:

    Drive

    Total number of driving hours for that day

    Sleep

    Total number of sleeping hours for that day

    On Duty

    Total number of on duty hours, excluding driving hours

  5. Save your changes.

Performing a 34-hour reset

The Department of Transportation has regulations that set the maximum number of hours a driver can be on duty before they must take a 34-hour break. When a driver has been off duty for 34 hours, you can reset his service rule. This process is referred to as a 34-hour reset.

To perform a 34-hour reset, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Driver Hours of Service window.

  2. In the Driver field, enter the driver’s ID and press TAB.
    The driver’s hours of service display in the grid.

    image17

    Note: By default, the window shows a range of days from two months prior to two weeks in the future.

  3. Use the image18 Calendar to the right of the Start Date and End Date fields to choose the appropriate date range.

    Note: The system can retrieve a maximum of 70 days. If you attempt to retrieve more days than the maximum, an error message opens. It states, "You can only retrieve a maximum of 70 days."

  4. When a driver has no hours recorded for a day, select the Set checkbox.
    The system will add 24 hours in the Off Duty field.

    image19

  5. Select the Reset Hours checkbox for the date you want to reset the hours.
    The Available Rule Hours field is reset to the maximum hours specified by the driver’s Service Rule.

    Notes:

    1. Drivers must have 34 consecutive off duty hours before you can reset their hours.

    2. For details, see Changing a service rule for a driver.

      image20

  6. Tab out of the Reset Hours field.

  7. Save your changes.

    Note: If you attempt to save a reset without 34 consecutive Off Duty hours, an error message opens. It states, "34 Hour Rule violation - cannot reset at …​" and lists the current date.