TruTac aids efficiency for M&H Carriers
Software provider TruTac has helped distribution specialist M&H Carriers increase the efficiency and compliance of its fleet by amalgamating a trio of management systems into one.
The company operates parcel, pallet, freight and two-man home delivery services from four depots across Scotland. It has a 150-strong mixed fleet spanning light vans and HGVs up to 44-tonnes.
M&H Carriers is a long-time user of TruTac’s TruAnalysis tachograph analysis, driver debriefing and compliance reporting software, along with its TruChecks app-based system for walkaround vehicle inspections.
Until recently, it had separate logins for each of its four depots, meaning the information was not displayed collectively, and comparable reporting was a challenge. The company approached TruTac with the aim of creating a single management portal to combine data, improve reporting clarity and efficiency, as well as manage vehicle data.
“Previously, we had one login for Inverness, one for Aberdeen, one for Dundee, and one for Argyll,” explained fleet manager Rob Wilson.
“TruTac spent a great deal of time merging logins, data and reporting structures behind the scenes, providing us with an integrated system that allows us to make far more strategic decisions. It’s made a huge difference to our internal reporting processes.”
He says the move has saved time by removing the need to examine reports and vehicle data from separate sites and allowed the company to make correlations and spot issues it otherwise might not have. Full data from all sites is now instantly available and displayed on graphical dashboards, providing a 360-degree view of the entire operation.
“Being able to review one combined report has given us complete fleet visibility at the touch of a button,” added Rob.
“Rather than viewing each depot separately, we now have a comprehensive overview of our entire fleet and are able to pull all kinds of reports to aid our operations – not only for the tachographs but also for things like common defects.
“For example, at the Inverness depot – and it may be due to the types of roads or the distances that vehicles based there have to travel – we often have issues with salt erosion on the back lights. Even at this time of year, they take a real battering.
“TruTac’s combined systems have really transformed the way we operate, streamlining things in a way we never could before. We now have clarity of our fleet, drivers and key operational data, allowing us to deal with issues even more quickly and efficiently.”
That greater visibility will prove invaluable as M&H Carriers embarks on a rollout of electric vehicles, as part of a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint. The firm has made significant investments to add ten new MAN eTGE e-vans to its Inverness fleet – according to M&H Carriers, the first logistics firm in the north of Scotland to do so – which will be used for last-mile deliveries.
TruTac, which is part of the Microlise Group, was also recently presented with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Crystal by the Queen’s representative, the Lord Lieutenant, at its Coventry office, having achieved the award for innovation in April 2020.
Managing director Terry Ramsey said: “We are incredibly proud and delighted to have won the prestigious Queen’s Award for our innovative contribution towards safety and drivers’ hours management within the bus and coach industry.
“This award is in recognition of our ongoing innovative solutions for PSV operators, much the same as we have developed for the HGV industry, to aid compliance and reduce the risk of fines and other DVSA penalties.”
Jemma James, commercial operations and marketing director at TruTac, added: “For the most part, this award marks the culmination of our combined work with the passenger transport industry and is particularly for the development of tachograph analysis for the PSV 375 ruleset (DVSA general guidance about drivers’ and tachograph rules for passenger-carrying vehicles).”
According to TruTac, many coach and bus operators were either relying on manual procedures to capture and record vehicle and driver activities or using software based on the HGV rule set which did not take account of the various rules for PSV. Both led to errors and difficulties in analysis, not least in presenting data for DVSA-related checks and auditing.
In overcoming these and other issues, TruTac’s software designers wrote an entirely different set of rules with unique algorithms, based on the PSV ruleset and the bespoke operational requirements of coach and bus operations within the UK and Europe.
The resulting software product, TruControl PSV – is a complete software suite developed for the industry – and was the defining reason TruTac went on to secure its commercial partnership with the CPT (Confederation of Passenger Transport).
Not only does TruControl PSV and CPT Tacho Analysis improve driver performance, says the firm, but it also reduces fatigue-related errors and infringements.
