XPO | Samsara shenanigans

[steercrazee]

If you use the phone app from home and another driver is using your tractor it can cause problems we were told. Was also told if you forgot to log out while using phone it could track your personal vehicle as your tractor. Don't know if any of this is true but at my home terminal we were told do not under no circumstance use your phone and if we had any problems with the e.l.d get with management to fix it. They almost fired a guy for using his phone and when asked he lied that he didn't but there records showed he did then he said he forgot or something and didn't remember. If not for the tm stepping in and pleading corporate wanted him gone. Thanks to the tm he is still driving. He shouldn't have lied. I think that pissed them off more than the actual act of using his phone. After all the hoopla going on most drivers just deleted it off their phones.

 

[icuicp]

If you use the phone app from home and another driver is using your tractor it can cause problems we were told. Was also told if you forgot to log out while using phone it could track your personal vehicle as your tractor. Don't know if any of this is true but at my home terminal we were told do not under no circumstance use your phone and if we had any problems with the e.l.d get with management to fix it. They almost fired a guy for using his phone and when asked he lied that he didn't but there records showed he did then he said he forgot or something and didn't remember. If not for the tm stepping in and pleading corporate wanted him gone. Thanks to the tm he is still driving. He shouldn't have lied. I think that pissed them off more than the actual act of using his phone. After all the hoopla going on most drivers just deleted it off their phones.

I thought it links to the tractor via Bluetooth or wifi once you start driving. XPO uses handhelds on the dock and also same ones in tractor.

I've never had my handheld mistake forklift movement for tractor movement. Because of this , think the tractor and handheld have a way of detecting one another. I've also left with handheld to go to lunch in personal vehicle and handheld never registered me as driving. Only in tractor does it notice me driving.

 

[steercrazee]

I thought it links to the tractor via Bluetooth or wifi once you start driving. XPO uses handhelds on the dock and also same ones in tractor.

I've never had my handheld mistake forklift movement for tractor movement. Because of this , think the tractor and handheld have a way of detecting one another. I've also left with handheld to go to lunch in personal vehicle and handheld never registered me as driving. Only in tractor does it notice me driving.

I don't really know. Just management and some corporate had a big fit and we were told to stop using it on our phones and to delete the app and they didn't want to have to tell us again. I did and i think most did just to stay out of trouble. It was a big stink. I miss people net

 

[Fly-by-night]

Samsara doesn’t have to be directly connected to the truck to run the app on your phone. The app is the same platform as on the tablet in the truck. We were told the same at Estes, at first they wanted us to download Samsara to our phones, then said delete it and don’t use it on personal device. Idk why, I’ve had to when my tablet wasn’t functioning and it worked fine, and when the tablet came back up my logs were just fine. Oh, and Estes does pay us something like $35 for our cell phone usage.

Oh were to start??? Yes anyone can download the Samsara app, but just because you have the app doesn't mean you can use it in any truck at any company. The truck has to have the Samsara VG (vehicle gateway) installed and connected to the J1939 or OBD2 port. Those are the ports by your left foot. New trucks now have that same port at the center of the dash for easier install of ELD systems. So if the truck or company doesn't use Samsara the Samsara app will not work for that truck. So yes Samsara does have to be connected to the truck.

 

[Fly-by-night]

I thought it links to the tractor via Bluetooth or wifi once you start driving. XPO uses handhelds on the dock and also same ones in tractor.

I've never had my handheld mistake forklift movement for tractor movement. Because of this , think the tractor and handheld have a way of detecting one another. I've also left with handheld to go to lunch in personal vehicle and handheld never registered me as driving. Only in tractor does it notice me driving.

That's because Samsara doesn't use the gps sensor in your phone or HH to record movement. It gets its vehicle movement from the Samsara VG (vehicle gateway) that is connected to the truck via cellular or sat signals.

 

[Fly-by-night]

If you use the phone app from home and another driver is using your tractor it can cause problems we were told. Was also told if you forgot to log out while using phone it could track your personal vehicle as your tractor. Don't know if any of this is true but at my home terminal we were told do not under no circumstance use your phone and if we had any problems with the e.l.d get with management to fix it. They almost fired a guy for using his phone and when asked he lied that he didn't but there records showed he did then he said he forgot or something and didn't remember. If not for the tm stepping in and pleading corporate wanted him gone. Thanks to the tm he is still driving. He shouldn't have lied. I think that pissed them off more than the actual act of using his phone. After all the hoopla going on most drivers just deleted it off their phones.

If you remember when Samsara first came out we were told at the end of the day we are to go off duty and delete the truck before logging off Samsara for the day. We all saw how well many followed directions. I know many drivers that were wrote up and sent home because they stayed on-duty with the truck still in there log. Then someone came in and jockeyed with that truck putting them in drive totally f'ing up there logs. To fix this problem XPO had Samsara make changes by, when you log off Samsara you are put to off duty and the truck is deleted. Just think many could not follow simple instruction while using Samsara on the HH so do you really what them to use there phones. I sure somewhere someone or the company got burned with the whole cellphone thing.

 

[Triplex]

If you remember when Samsara first came out we were told at the end of the day we are to go off duty and delete the truck before logging off Samsara for the day. We all saw how well many followed directions. I know many drivers that were wrote up and sent home because they stayed on-duty with the truck still in there log. Then someone came in and jockeyed with that truck putting them in drive totally f'ing up there logs. To fix this problem XPO had Samsara make changes by, when you log off Samsara you are put to off duty and the truck is deleted. Just think many could not follow simple instruction while using Samsara on the HH so do you really what them to use there phones. I sure somewhere someone or the company got burned with the whole cellphone thing.

You hit the nail on the head with "drivers not following directions" with ELD usage. At a NY DOT inspection one time (using my smart phone as ELD by the way) the inspector was a really nice guy and he had me look at his computer screen in the inspection van as he examined the ELD info. He pointed out how many times that particular tractor had movement over recent days with out driver information. He totally understood that it was local P&D drivers using that road tractor and not properly logging into the system. He asked me to remind the company to have drivers follow the instructions so those situations don't continue.

 

[Songremainsthesame]

That's because Samsara doesn't use the gps sensor in your phone or HH to record movement. It gets its vehicle movement from the Samsara VG (vehicle gateway) that is connected to the truck via cellular or sat signals.

That’s why if I need to log into Samsara on my phone for some reason (I.E. to check for a load assignment that is not showing on my online dashboard because the depart time is scheduled for more than 2 hrs of current time) I make sure not to select a vehicle before completing login. That way the data being collected on the box in the truck won’t be imported into my personal Samsara file and screw up my logs. This I believe is the real reason they don’t want us using the app on our phones, too many drivers screwing up and logging in mid-break and it jacking up their logs because they didn’t make sure they weren’t tying themselves to a vehicle. Even though my truck is sitting out in the hotel parking lot while I’m on break I log out of the system entirely when I go off duty and I make sure not to select a vehicle until I’m ready to PC back to the terminal to start my next tour. I don’t want any possibility of a glitch.