Setting Up Your HOS Account

HOS Admin Reference

GPS Portal account setup is typically completed by your assigned Account Manager according to specs established during the kick-off meeting. This account configuration also includes the completion of setup tasks for the HOS Portal. Although your assigned Account Manager will perform the required account setup tasks, we have provided the following instructions for setting up your HOS account in case you would like to make any edits and/or changes to your HOS Portal.

Home Terminal

A driver’s home terminal, or domicile, is the terminal from which the driver is dispatched and to which the driver returns with the most frequency. The home terminal determines which time zone is associated with the driver log and which logs a driver or non-driver user may access via the Portal. In addition, you can optionally filter records by home terminal within the application.

You must add home terminals before adding or importing drivers (because every driver must be associated with a home terminal).

Example:If all drivers in your organization are based in a single location, create a single home terminal to which all drivers will be assigned. The home terminal name and address will be shown on every driver log (record of duty status). The home terminal name will be visible in the Group Filter list for any user who has access to that particular terminal (or access to all terminals).

The home terminal phone number is not shown on the driver log.

To add a home terminal:

  1. From within the HOS portal, hover your mouse over the Admin menu, and click Home Terminals.
  2. Click New.
  3. On the Home Terminal page, enter information for the following fields:

    Field Description
    Home Terminal Name The name that appears in the Group Filter drop-down list and on the driver log.
    Time Zone The time zone used for the daily logs for all drivers assigned to the home terminal.

    Adjust for DST: Select if Daylight Saving Time is observed where the home terminal is located.
    Address Enter the address of the home terminal (including the City, State or Province, and ZIP or Postal Code.
    Phone Enter the main phone number for the home terminal (optional).
  4. Click Save.

Organization Detail

Organization Detail includes identification and preferences for your organization.

To edit your Organization Detail:

  1. From the HOS Portal, hover your mouse over the Admin tab, and click Organization Detail.
  2. On the Organization Detail page, enter the information for the following fields in the Organization Information section:

    3. Field Description
    Organization ID Identifies the organization.
    Company Name The name of the company that serves the motor carrier. This field is required.
    USDOT Number The number assigned to the motor carrier by the United States Department of Transportation. This field is required.
    Provisioning Key The key used to provision the organization's mobile logging devices to exchange vehicle-specific information with the web server.
    Address Fields (multiple) The motor carrier's main office address.

    These fields include Address Line 1, Address Line 2 (optional), City, State/Province, and Zip/Postal Code

    Address Line 1, City, State/Province, and ZIP/Postal Code fields are required.
    Phone The motor carrier's main phone number. This field is required.
  3. In the General Settings section, change your settings (if desired).

    4. The following general settings (Data Exchange) may be configured:

    Settings Description
    Once a day at Determines whether the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization should attempt to communicate to the server at least once a day at the specified time.

    If enabled (checked), devices will attempt to exchange data with the server at least once a day at the specified time.
    On driver sign out Determines whether the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization should attempt to communicate to the server when a driver signs out of the device.

    If enabled (checked), devices will attempt to exchange data with the server whenever a driver signs out of the device. NOTE: This setting cannot be disabled.
    Send new data within Determines whether the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization should attempt to communicate to the server within a certain time period after recording new data.

    If enabled (checked), devices will attempt to send any new data within the specified time interval.

  4. Click on Hours of Service, and change your settings (if desired).

    5. The following Hours of Service settings may be configured:

    Settings Description
    Vehicle In Motion Threshold (AOBRD) The number of miles that a vehicle can travel before the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization will record a driving event. Note: This field only applies to non-ELD compliant devices.
    Vehicle Stopped Threshold (AOBRD) The number of minutes that a vehicle must remain stopped before the devices that are provisioned to this organization will record that a driving event has ended. Note: This field only applies to non-ELD compliant devices.
    Automatic Off Duty (AOBRD) – Assign Off Duty if left On Duty for Determines whether the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization should automatically record a duty status change for a driver who has been in on-duty, not driving status for a particular length of time.

    If enabled (checked), any driver who signs in to a device and then remains in On Duty (ON) status for the specified time interval will be signed out of the device with a duty status of Off Duty (OFF). Note: This setting only applies to non-ELD compliant devices.
    Personal Conveyance – Enable Personal Conveyance On AOBRDs For non-ELD compliant devices, this determines whether the mobile logging devices that are provisioned to this organization should display an option for recording that a driver is operating the vehicle as a personal conveyance.

    If enabled (checked), devices will display an option to record duty status as Off Duty, Personal Conveyance (OFF-PC). For ELD compliant devices, personal conveyance is enabled or disabled for each driver.
    Border Crossing Support – Show country selection on reports Determines whether country selection should be enabled for certain HOS reports.

    If enabled (checked), HOS reports that display country-specific HOS calculations or driver log information will allow the user to choose a country (US or Canada).
    ON/Sign Out – Allow drivers to sign out in ON status Determines whether drivers are allowed to sign out of the application with an ON Duty (ON) status.

    If enabled (checked), when a driver signs out, they will be able to choose between an On Duty (ON) status or Off Duty (OFF) status. This setting only applies to ELD-compliant devices (NOT AOBRD).
    Vehicle ID Confirmation – Show Vehicle ID Confirmation at Login Require drivers to confirm vehicle ID during login.

    If enabled (checked), a prompt will appear during the log in process asking the driver to confirm vehicle ID. This setting only applies to ELD-compliant devices running eFleetSuite v1.7.111.4a or higher.
  5. Click Save.

User Roles

A user role is a collection of permissions applied to one or more Portal features. There are two classes of user roles: System or Custom.

You must have a user role that includes the View/Modify permission to the Admin feature to add, edit, delete, or restore a user role.

System Roles

System user roles are the default user roles that exist for every organization. These include:

Role Description
Administrator Allows a user full access to all licensed Portal features, excluding the Driver Portal.
View Only Allows a user to view, but not modify, records for a limited set of licensed Portal features.
View/Modify Allows a user to view and modify records for a limited set of licensed Portal features.

Custom Roles

Custom user roles are created and defined by your organization to accommodate the specific needs of your Portal users. There can be as many different custom user roles as there are individuals with different sets of responsibilities.

Example:Supposing that the Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) application is a licensed feature, a Mechanic user role might be created to include only View/Modify permission to the DVIR Reports feature and no other features. This would allow Portal users with this role to view/print DVIRs and certify repairs, but would prevent the users from accessing other Portal features. A Head Mechanic user role might then be created to include View/Modify permission to both the DVIR Reports and DVIR Checklist features, allowing users with this role to do everything that Mechanics can do and also add, edit and remove part and defect descriptions included on the default checklist used to create a DVIR.

Take note that the default permission for each feature when creating a custom role is No Access. In general, you will want to specify View Only or View/Modify permission (see descriptions below) for at least one feature before assigning the custom user role to a user.

Role Description
View Only allows users to view and print records relating to the feature but prevents them from making any changes to those records.
View/Modify allows users to view/print records and create, update, delete and restore records.

A web service allows different computers to exchange data with each other over the internet without human intervention. If a user will be using the website only, it is not necessary to give that user any sort of Web Service Access.

Setting up User Roles

It is helpful to focus on the main roles (e.g., Terminal Manager, Maintenance, and Dispatch) of your users while adding/setting up user roles.

To add a user role:

  1. From the HOS Portal, hover your mouse over the Admin tab, and click Users.
  2. Click Create New User Role.
  3. On the User Role Detail page, enter information for the following fields:

    Feature Description
    User Role Name A unique identifier for the role.

    Note, the system will only accept an entry that does not currently exist and/or has not previously existed (includes deleted and non-deleted records). This field is not case sensitive.
    Admin Access to Users, User Roles and Organizations.
    Devices Access to Devices.
    Resources Access to Devices, Asset Types, Asset Groups, Assets and Locations.
    HOS Reports Access to Driver Logs, Print Multiple Logs, Availability Report, Conflicts Report, Device Failure Report, Driver Vehicle Usage Report, Log Edit Report, Internal Audit Reports, and Violations Report.
    DVIR Reports Access to Inspection Reports and Asset Utilization Report.
    DVIR Checklist Access to Inspection Checklist.
    Telemetry Data Access to Mapping and vehicle-specific data points.
    Driver Portal Allows a driver to sign into the web site to access Change My Status.
  4. Click Save.

Users

A user profile allows web access to the HOS Admin portal. Once you create a user profile, the user type cannot be changed. Therefore, if an existing user now requires access to the mobile application and Driver Portal feature, you must add a separate driver profile for the user.

A driver is a person employed by a motor carrier who operates commercial motor vehicles as part of his/her duties. If a driver requires access to web application features, do not create a user profile; instead, simply edit the driver’s profile to permit web access, being sure to assign an appropriate user role.

Setting Up Users

Note the following information regarding users:

  • When changing the User Role or Home Terminal Access for a user who is currently signed in to the website, the new permissions will take effect the next time the user (re)loads a web page.
  • If the viewer’s Home Terminal Access is restricted to a particular home terminal, that viewer cannot change the Home Terminal Access for any user.
  • A user can never change his/her own User Role, Home Terminal Access or Enabled status.

To add a new user:

  1. From within the HOS portal, hover your mouse over the Admin menu, and click Users.
  2. Click New.
  3. On the User Detail page, enter inforamtion for the following fields:

    Field Description
    User ID A unique identifier for the user. No two users or drivers in an organization may share the same ID, even if they are assigned to different home terminals.
    First Name The user's first name.
    Last Name The user's last name.
    Password/Confirm Enter a password that the user can use to log into the HOS Admin portal.
    User Role Determines the user's level of permissions to web application features.
    Home Terminal Access Determines whether the user can access records for all home terminals or only a specific home terminal.

    Note, if the admin's Home Terminal Access is restricted to a particular home terminal, that admin can only add users with Home Terminal Access to that same home terminal.
  4. Click Save.

Drivers

A driver is a person employed by a motor carrier who operates commercial motor vehicles as part of his or her duties.

Create and Manage Driver IDs in both GPS and HOS Portals. They should match exactly or be associated to one another (see below). Vehicle IDs should also be managed in both GPS and HOS Portals. The Vehicle IDs within the HOS Portal can only be changed from the tablet during provisioning or re-provisioning.

To add a new driver:

You can alternatively create HOS driver profiles from within the GPS Portal (Pro and Enterprise Only) to expedite the process of adding drivers. You can also use the GPS Portal (Pro and Enterprise Only) to fix any broken associations between HOS driver profiles and GPS driver profiles.

  1. From within the HOS portal, hover your mouse over the Setup menu, and click Drivers.
  2. Click New.
  3. On the Driver Detail page, enter information for the following fields:

    Feature Description
    Driver ID Assign an identifier to the driver, such as an employee number or some other unique identifier. The Driver ID may not be altered once the driver has a Duty Status recorded, and it MUST match the Reference ID in the related driver record in the GPS Portal.

    FMSCA Rules state that the driver's Drivers License number nor Social Security number must NOT be used as, or as part of, the Driver ID.
    First Name Enter the driver's first name.
    Middle Initial Enter the driver's middle initial (if provided/applicable).
    Last Name Enter the driver's last name.
    Home Terminal The home terminal to which the driver reports for duty.
    Primary Driver Type Determines the primary HOS rules to be applied when calculating driving time availability and violations. If the HOS application is enabled for your organization, select HOS EXEMPT in the case that the driver operates a commercial vehicle, but is never subject to hours of service regulations. If the driver is subject to HOS regulations, select US (if the driver is domiciled in the United States) or Canada (if the driver is domiciled in Canada).

    "Oil field special" driver type is available to select for drivers who may need to record time as "Off Duty, Waiting at Well Site" or "Off Duty, Sleeping at Well Site."
    US Driver Type Select the driver type(s) that reflect the type of commercial motor vehicle driven and cargo to be transported for US types.
    Allow Authorized Personal Use of CMV (PC) on ELD If checked, the driver will have the option to select this condition while Off duty and using an ELD compliant device, to allow the vehicle to be used for personal travel to and from the driver's home or en-route lodgings without triggering driving periods.
    Allow Yard Moves (YM) on ELD If checked, the driver will have the option to select this condition while On duty and using an ELD compliant device, to allow the vehicle to be moved around the carrier's or terminal's home yard without triggering driving periods.
    Canada Driver Type If the driver operates in both US and Canada, select the secondary driver type from the drop-down list for Canada. Otherwise, leave set to None.
    Driver's License Number/Driver's License Issuing State or Province The driver's license number and the state or province that issued that driver's license. Driver's License information is required by ELD rules. An error will be displayed if the Driver's License information that is entered already exists for another Driver. Only letters and numbers may be entered (leave out punctuation marks, such as '-').

    The existing Driver's License Number (if any) will be displayed to the right of the Driver's License Number entry field. Only the last 4 digits will be shown, e.g., "********YY27". To update the Driver's License Number, type it into the entry field, and click Save.
    Permit Web Access Determines whether the driver is permitted to access the Portal. If enabled (checked), the driver is permitted to sign in to the Portal. If disabled (unchecked), the driver is prohibited from doing so.

    Disabling a driver’s web access prevents the driver from signing in to the Portal but does not prevent the driver from signing in to the mobile application. To prevent the driver from accessing the mobile application, delete the driver’s profile.

  4. Click Save.
  5. Ensure the driver exists in the GPS portal and has the HOS Driver ID as the Reference ID (see Adding a Driver for a definition of this term). If not, create the GPS driver record now or edit the record as needed.

Default Driver Password

A secure default password is automatically generated when a driver is successfully added to the HOS Portal. The default password consists of the first four letters of the driver’s last name in capital letters and the last four digits/characters of the driver’s Driver’s License number.

Example:
Driver Name: Jack Burton
DL Number: EXAMPLE1234
Default Password Generated: BURT1234

Entering Initial Log Records

You can ensure a smooth experience for drivers who are signing in to the electronic logging device for the first time by entering 8 days of intial log records. This allows the application to calculate a driver’s available driving time and display this information on the electronic logging device. To do so, request paper logs from your driver to recreate the driver’s log records (enter on-duty and off-duty status events) using the instructions provided below.

We recommend that your driver continue to produce a paper log each day until such time that you and the driver are comfortable that the data received correctly reflects the performed work. The electronic logging device will display accurate driving time after receiving 7-8 days of driving records; however, drivers should maintain paper logs, in addition to using the tablet, until they are 100% proficient in using the electronic logging device.

There are two other options available if there is an issue obtaining your driver’s log records (e.g., driver unable to send paper logs, or driver is new and does not have previous drive time history, etc.):

  • Choose to not enter initial log records – Drivers will receive N/A for available driving time on the electronic logging device for remaining driving time during their first week of using the electronic logging device to record on-duty and off-duty events.
  • Add a single Off-Duty event – Add an Off-Duty event at your drivers Home Terminal at 12:00 AM on a date that is 8 days before (or more) the current date using the instructions provided below, with the exception of entering 12:00 AM for Step #13 and “First Duty Status” for Step #14. Drivers must maintain paper logs while logging on-duty and off-duty statuses on the electronic logging device, if following this option.

To enter initial log records:

  1. From the HOS Portal, hover your mouse over HOS and click Driver Logs.

    You can also click on HOS, then click on Driver Logs from the Hours of Service screen that appears.

  2. Click on the drop-down window next to Driver: to select the driver.
  3. Click on the Date: field to select a date that is 8 days prior to the current (today’s) date.
  4. Under Log Format:, click on the radio-button next to the log format you would like to see. Options are as follows:
    Format Type Description
    Driver Default Displays your logs in the format chosen for your Driver ID.

    This format is selected by default.
    US Format Displays your logs according to the US format.
    Canada Format Displays your logs according to the Canadian format.
  5. Click View Logs.

    6. The log for the selected date and driver is displayed.

  6. Click New Status Change.

    7. The Status Change page appears.

  7. Click the drop-down window next to Type/Status:, and select applicable status type. Off-Duty is selected by default.
  8. Optionally, enter a description in the Location Description: field (not required).
  9. City/State is selected by default for Location Type:, keep this selection as is.
  10. In the City: field, enter the city of the driver’s Home Terminal.
  11. Click the drop-down window next to State/Province: to select the state or province of the driver’s Home Terminal.
  12. Optionally, click the drop-down window next to Vehicle: to select the driver’s vehicle (not required).
  13. Click the drop-down windows next to Start Time: to enter the applicable start time of the status type selected. If opting to enter a single off-duty status, enter 12:00 AM on the date that is 8 days previous to the current date.
  14. In the Reason for Change: field, enter “Create Initial Records” or a similar description of your choosing. If opting to enter a single off-duty status, enter “First Duty Status.”
  15. Click Save.

    16. The updated Driver Log for the selected date appears. You can verify that your change was submitted by scrolling down to the Log Events section of the Driver Log. The change will be shown in red.

  16. Click Next Date> to navigate to the Driver Log for the next day and complete Steps #6-#15 until you entered status changes for the 8 days required. If opting to enter a single off-duty status, you are not required to enter status changes for 8 days.
  17. Contact the driver and direct the driver to log in to the Portal to accept submitted changes to Driver Logs.

    18. The driver must log in to the Driver Portal and accept your submitted status change before the application can accurately calculate available driving time.

    For AOBRD users: Any changes submitted to a log that is 7 days or older will not be automatically applied the next time you sign in to your device and will require you to log in to the Driver Portal to accept or reject any proposed changes.

Location

You may enter a location to increase the accuracy of stop details and/or specify the Home Location or Service Location of vehicle/asset belonging to your company. If unused, the system may not be able to differentiate individual stops from one another if the vehicle makes stops at several places within the same city. If used, if a vehicle makes a stop within the configured radius for a custom location, records created at that stop will include the custom location name as well as the city and state or province information.

Definition:
Location – A custom description for a specific latitude and longitude. Example: Scottsdale, AZ (Service Garage), Scottsdale, AZ (Headquarters), etc…
Yard – A special type of location used to define the boundary of a motor carrier’s property. Yards can be used to represent the carrier’s main terminal or any other hub where drivers may be moving vehicles without leaving the carrier’s property.

Devices using ELD-compliant software (NOT AOBRD) use the organization’s configured yards to determine when the driver has exited the carrier’s property, and will automatically clear Yard Moves status and switch driver status from On Duty (ON) to Driving (D). This will also occur if the driver in Yard Moves status exceeds a speed of 20 MPH for devices running ELD-compliant software version 1.7.111.4a or higher.

If a driver is within boundaries of a Yard and turns the ignition off and then on again, the driver will NOT have the Yard Moves status cleared; however, the Yard Moves status will be cleared automatically if a driver turns the ignition off then on again outside of Yard boundaries.

Adding a Location

To add a location:

  1. From the Setup menu, click Locations.

    2. The Locations screen appears.

  2. Click New.

    You may also use the import feature to enter multiple locations into the HOS Portal at one time. To do so complete your import file (you may use the Sample Location Import Template), and click Import.

    3. A new editable row is added to the top of the Location list.

  3. Enter a name in the Name field.This is the name that will appear in parentheses after the city and state or province when driver or vehicle information is recorded at this location.
  4. Enter the latitude and longitude of the location in decimal degrees (e.g., 41.948333, -87.6555556) in the Latitude and Longitude fields.
  5. Select a location type (Location or Yard) from the Type drop-down window.
  6. Enter a radius for the location (e.g., 0.5 = half a mile) in the Radius field. This indicates how close the vehicle must be to the specified latitude and longitude to be recognized as having arrived at that location.
  7. Click Save.

    8. Your new location/yard is saved and the row exits edit mode.

Editing a Location

To edit a location:

  1. From the Locations screen, locate the row containing the location you wish to edit.
  2. Click the Edit.

    3. The row enters edit mode.

  3. Make your changes to the location’s details.
  4. Click Update.

    5. Your changes are saved and the row exits edit mode.

Deleting a Location

To delete a location:

  1. From the Locations screen, locate the row(s) containing the location(s) you wish to delete.
  2. Click Delete.

    3. Your selection is deleted.