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Alerts and geofences

Set up alert rules for HOS, speeding, idling, geofences, malfunctions and more, work the alerts inbox, and draw geofences to track visits and detention.

For admins

What these pages are for

  • Alert rules decide what raises an alert (for example speeding over 70 mph, or drive time under 30 minutes), for which vehicles and drivers, and who is told.
  • Alerts is the inbox where alerts are acknowledged and resolved.
  • Geofences are named areas (yards, customers, terminals and so on). EZ Logs records every arrival, departure and dwell time, and you can alert on them and report detention.

All three are under Operations > Alerts & places: Alerts, Alert rules and Geofences. Alerts also appear in the portal notification bell and on the dashboard.

Note: Alerts and Geofences are optional features. Geofences also need the Live map feature. If you do not see these pages, contact EZ Logs support to turn them on. Some rule types need another feature (for example DVIR defect needs DVIR, Document expiring needs Documents); they are hidden while that feature is off.

Who can do what

  • Owner and Carrier admin: create, edit and delete rules and geofences; acknowledge and resolve alerts.
  • Support (read-only): sees rules, alerts and geofences; action buttons are hidden.

Rule types

GroupRule types
Hours of serviceHOS time running out, HOS violation
DrivingSpeeding, Idling, After-hours use, Excess idle time
GeofencesGeofence arrival, Geofence departure, Geofence dwell (detention)
ELDELD malfunction / diagnostic, Device silent, Unidentified driving
EquipmentDVIR defect, Maintenance due, Work order overdue, Reefer temperature out of range
PaperworkDocument expiring
DispatchLoad stop late, Load stop detention, Load ETA at risk
Safety and fuelSafety event, Fuel purchase anomaly

Create an alert rule

  1. Go to Operations > Alert rules and select New rule.
  2. Choose the Rule type. The hint under it explains when it fires.
  3. Enter a Name, the Severity (Critical, Warning or Info) and the Cooldown (minutes): the minimum time between two alerts for the same vehicle or driver.
  4. Under Condition, set the type's threshold. Examples:
    • HOS time running out: the HOS clock (Driving 11 h, Shift window 14 h, 30-minute break, Cycle 60 / 70 h) and minutes left.
    • Speeding: Speed over (mph) and For at least (seconds).
    • Document expiring: days before expiry, and Also alert when a document has expired.
  5. Under Scope, choose the vehicles, drivers or geofences the rule covers (all by default).
  6. Under Active hours, tick Only evaluate during these hours if the rule should run only at certain times.
  7. Under Recipients, choose All owners, All carrier admins, specific users and, for driver-facing types (HOS, speeding, idling, after-hours use, document expiring), The driver (in the ELD app).
  8. Under Channels, choose Portal notification (bell), Push to the driver's phone (needs the driver as a recipient) and Email.
  9. Optionally select Test rule to replay the last 7 days of data and see what would have fired.
  10. Leave Rule active on and select Create rule.

Note: Email alerts are not sent yet: email delivery is not configured, so email deliveries are recorded as pending. Use the portal bell and driver push.

On the Alert rules list you can switch a rule on or off with Active, edit it with the pencil icon, or delete it. Deleting a rule keeps its alerts in the inbox and resolves the open ones.

Work the alerts inbox

  1. Go to Operations > Alerts.
  2. Filter by Status (Active (open + acknowledged), Open, Acknowledged, Resolved, All), Type and Severity.
  3. Select an alert's title to see the details: when it triggered, vehicle, driver, geofence, location, the rule, and the Deliveries (portal, driver push, email).
  4. Select Acknowledge to show that someone is on it. In the details panel you can add a Note (optional).
  5. Select Resolve, enter a Resolution note (for example "coached the driver") and confirm with Resolve alert.

Create a geofence

  1. Go to Operations > Geofences and select New geofence.
  2. Enter the Name and choose the Type: Customer, Yard, Terminal, Fuel stop, Shop, Restricted area or Other.
  3. Choose the Shape:
    • Circle: click the map to place the center (or enter Center latitude and Center longitude), then set the Radius.
    • Polygon: click the map to add points, then close the shape.
  4. Optionally add the Address (optional), Tags (optional) (comma-separated) and Notes (optional).
  5. Keep Active (record visits and alerts) on and select Create geofence.

Select a geofence on the map or in the list to see its shape, address, vehicles inside and its Visits. Use Edit to change it or the trash icon to delete it.

Visits and detention

The Geofences page has three tabs:

  • Geofences: the map and list (filter by Type and Tag).
  • Currently inside: vehicles inside a geofence right now.
  • Detention: visits longer than a threshold. Choose the Period (last 7, 30 or 90 days), Geofence, Type and Threshold (minutes), then select Export CSV to send detention evidence to a customer.

To be told when detention starts, create a Geofence dwell (detention) alert rule. With the optional Reports feature, the Geofence detention report shows dwell time by geofence over time.

Notifications

The bell in the portal header and the Operations > Notifications page list the portal notifications sent to you, including alerts whose rule uses the Portal notification (bell) channel.

Still need help? Email hello@ezlogs.co.