Why Carrier Monitoring is a Necessary Evil

Freight fraud lurks around every corner these days, and it’s hard to operate your freight business without the threat of fraud and its dire consequences keeping you up at night. But what if we flip that problem on its head? What if you viewed it as a “trust” issue instead of a “fraud” issue and you put measures in place that help ensure you only work with freight partners you can trust? Trust is the very foundation of a healthy relationship, in the freight world and beyond, so what does it take to build trusted freight partnerships and a network you can trust?

Enter carrier monitoring, a critical component of moving freight that helps protect your business and mitigates risk. While carriers can have mixed feelings about being monitored, a carrier insurance monitoring program signals to all parties in the freight lifecycle that you’re running a safe, legitimate, professional, and law-abiding business that adheres to regulatory requirements and provides safety guardrails that protect everyone.

What is carrier monitoring?

Carrier monitoring is the process of tracking and assessing the compliance status of carriers, both large companies and independent owner-operators, in an effort to manage and mitigate risk and ensure the safe movement of cargo. And since a carrier’s status can change after the vetting, hiring, and onboarding stage, it’s essential to monitor them throughout the time your client’s cargo is in their hands.

What does carrier monitoring track?

Carrier monitoring keeps track of several aspects of how a carrier performs, including safety ratings, insurance status, compliance issues, and whether they hold the legal authority to operate as a trucking business. By monitoring a variety of factors, you can build, nurture, and grow a carrier network you can trust, and avoid falling victim to fraud.

Safety rating – A carrier’s safety rating, their compliance with a set of safety standards, is measured and evaluated by the FMCSA and is based on compliance reviews.

Carrier authority – All carriers are required to have legal authority, granted by the FMCSA. If a carrier you hire does not have legal authority, your business is potentially at risk of non-compliance.

CSA-e percentile score – This is a percentile ranking that compares a carrier’s safety performance against other carriers. It’s based on roadside inspection data, accident reports, and safety violations.

Insurance status – Carriers must have valid up-to-date certificates of insurance in order to operate legally and within compliance. You, as a broker, are responsible for verifying the validity, accuracy, and legitimacy of your carriers’ insurance certificates, or you could be held liable in the event of cargo damage or loss, or worse.

How does carrier monitoring benefit brokers?

Freight brokers need to monitor carriers while they’re hauling their customer’s cargo for several reasons, primarily to mitigate risk associated with non-compliance, which puts a broker in danger of financial liability as well as damaging their reputation and losing clients.

For compliance and liability purposes, it legally falls on the broker to vet carriers to make sure they meet safety and regulatory standards. A broker can be held legally responsible (liable) if a carrier they hire has an accident or freight is lost due to negligence or non-compliance. Carrier monitoring helps prevent fraudulent activity, including identity theft or double brokering, to name a few.

To further reduce risk, monitoring a carrier for financial stability assures you a carrier can complete their assigned load without disrupting the process due to financial challenges. Additionally, tracking a carrier’s safety rating helps brokers select safe and reliable partners and assures customers their freight is in capable hands with a proven track record.

Arguably the most critical item to track—the one that presents the most consequences, is to verify a carrier’s insurance status and that they have a valid, current certificate of insurance (COI). Carrier insurance monitoring is critical to protect you against loss if an accident occurs or cargo is damaged.

How can carriers ensure their monitored information is accurate?

While truck drivers would likely rather not be monitored, the overall attitude about carrier monitoring has evolved. Smart carriers realize insurance monitoring and monitoring for safety and compliance is for the good of the industry as a whole, especially as fraud runs rampant in recent years. A primary concern is that the information being monitored and reported on returns inaccurate data that unfairly interferes with the driver’s ability to drive and earn wages. That’s why it’s important for carriers to keep accurate records and careful documentation. By understanding the process and keeping your requirements up to date, as a carrier, you can challenge findings you deem incorrect and dispute them through the FMCSA‘s SAFER system.

Ensure you’re working with trusted carriers with SaferWatch.®

In addition to mitigating risk and fraud, carrier monitoring improves overall efficiency of your organization—if your carrier monitoring process is automated. Automated carrier monitoring, such as Truckstop SaferWatch, provides real-time updates on a load’s status and location, reducing the need for ongoing check calls, which can be tedious, time-consuming, and annoying to the driver. In fact, many shippers require real-time tracking to keep tabs on their loads and their customer’s cargo.

An effective solution such as SaferWatch helps you access and monitor qualified carriers quickly, reducing the time and resources spent on manually tracking down important carrier data throughout the freight lifecycle.

Consistently working with compliant and trustworthy carriers reflects positively on your broker business and helps establish and maintain your reputation as a reliable shipping partner. Proactive monitoring helps you quickly spot issues, so every haul goes smoothly, and your customers are pleased.

Implement an automated carrier monitoring process today to keep risk at bay, ensure industry compliance, and build a circle of trust that drives your brokerage to long-term, sustainable success.

Get a free demo of SaferWatch today!