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MARCH 2014
ACT
PERMITTING SERVICES
ROUND TABLE
2290s and safety solutions, including
sleep apnea.
Comdata is always open for business,
continuously offering dedicated customer
service and support, along with multiple
methods of permit procurement,
including phone, fax, email and our
proprietary web based solution, NextGen
Connection (or NGC). NGC retains all
tractor, trailer, and trip information, and
offers real-time permit tracking. Comdata
offers daily, weekly and semi-weekly
billing, including carrier specific billing
reference data to ease reconciliation and
assist the carrier in billing their customer.
STATES INCREASINGLY HAVE BEEN
AUTOMATING PERMITTING APPLICATION AND
ROUTING SYSTEMS. HOW DOES THAT AFFECT
COMPANIES SUCH AS YOURS?
Juneau:
It’s easier now for carriers to
have direct access to different states,
especially for payments. They can do
trial and error with permits at state,
county and municipal levels. But it can
cost them big time if they think they’re
covered and they’re not. For example,
you can sometimes receive a state permit
without knowing you need additional
local permits. It can be difficult for them
to understand the information they’re
dealing with.
Mollno:
The experience varies with
the quality of the state’s system. Some
systems make it even more difficult and
time-consuming for us and the end user.
For example, our West Coast offices
aren’t allowed to touch Pennsylvania’s
system; it’s handed off to someone on the
East Coast who works with Pennsylvania
on a daily basis. And it works the same
way, vice versa, when the East Coast staff
has dealings in California. A state like
Kansas is pretty straightforward, but a
complex state needs a complex computer
system to handle all the variables.
States contract out to software
companies for development, and these
companies don’t always get the best
information from the states about what
works properly. In a number of cases,
WCS has talked with state officials
behind the scenes to set up the system,
but they never let us talk to programmers.
Conversely, states try to fix the problems
afterwards. The state, however, has
already blown its budget on the software
and there’s little left to fix problems. A
state may find it will cost more to repair
the problem than the initial cost.
Simpson:
When implemented properly,
these systems can expedite the permitting
process and improve our ability to
serve our customers. Permit America
has served as an evaluator and beta test
environment for several state agency
implementations. The biggest challenge
for the carrier is that each site is different,
and each state has different policies and
regulations. Despite ongoing efforts to
standardize policies and regulations, as
well as the automated systems, we are a
long way off from uniformity between
state DOTs.
Another limiting factor with all these
sites is the lack of useful data pre-loaded
into the system. Constantly changing
construction zones are also a challenge
for the automated systems. In addition,
state agency reliance on these automated
systems has caused a brain-drain in some
of the offices, limiting the availability
of conversations with a knowledgeable
official.
Terneus:
It has raised the performance
bar for Comdata, enabling us to provide
best-in-class service to our customers. To
maintain that position, Comdata must
demonstrate continuous improvement
and provide efficiencies from operational,
financial and technical perspectives. State
permit automation continues to evolve,
and Comdata has a distinct competitive
advantage as a result of our sharp focus
and commitment to technology.
WHAT IS YOUR COMPANY DOING TO PROVIDE
LOCAL PERMITS FOR CARRIERS?
Juneau:
Nova has been doing that for
counties and municipalities for years.
A permit may stipulate that it covers
routes set by the state but does not cover
non-state routes. Sometimes counties
will require a state permit as part of the
application for their permit while the
state is saying it needs the county permit
before it issues a state permit. Or the
county will not grant approval until a
date that’s after the state permit expires.
And they’re all starting to fine the carriers
more and more, which adds to the costs
carriers have to bill customers.
Some cities’ requirements are quite
strenuous. There’s a mayor in a small
municipality in New York that insists on
being notified before large loads arrive
because he wants to be present at the
intersection at the time of crossing.
Mollno:
That’s what we’re known for at
WCS Permits. We have the ability to do
local permits throughout the country.
We’re based in California, which we feel
is the most difficult state for dealing with
city and county permits. LA Harbor,
”
‘‘
Recent years have
seen an exponential
growth in the number of
local agencies requiring
permits to travel through
their jurisdictions. It
has progressed to the
point where in some
areas the state agency
is coordinating with the
local agencies to ensure
compliance.
MARY SIMPSON
Permit America,
Frankfort, KY
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