The anchor story in this feature about how blockchain technology could impact trucking as an owner-operator:
Blockchain in Transport Alliance President Chris Burruss sees location data as ripe for blockchain treatment, both for backward-looking and real-time tracking purposes. Cellular and telematics tracking of location data is nothing new, but blockchain systems could do a better job of allowing such data to be harnessed for automating detention-pay contracts and helping drivers and shippers/receivers work within available hours.
Existing technology makes it possible to define a geofenced location within another geofenced location. Using geofencing and sensor-produced shared data could add sophistication to pricing schemes in smart contracts.
For example, when a driver crosses the receiver’s first geofence boundary, it triggers an update for the receiver, which could include the driver’s available hours if he’s using an electronic log, and sharing of information about docks with the carrier, Burruss says. Then if the driver “sits in the line for two hours,” the system knows it. “There’s a secondary geofence then around the dock. You now have a record of when that driver entered the secondary geofence to unload.”
Using that data as part of a blockchain smart contract would benefit both the fleet and the driver, who gets paid automatically for the documented detention time in addition to his take on the load. If perhaps that driver is almost out of hours and the facility personnel know it, prioritizing loading or unloading could be possible with the right contract terms and smarter management of in and out times.
Burruss acknowledges this is one area where “there will be resistance to sharing information.” That notion is evidenced in widespread owner-operator opposition to the ELD mandate, which puts a third-party GPS monitor in virtually every truck.
Where agreement can’t be reached about the suitability of blockchain use for a particular problem, Burruss says, “maybe you move on to the next discussion. That’s why it’s important when we talk about use cases that we find the ones where there is consensus.”
