Driving tacho compliance with online analysis
Online digital tachograph analysis can be a huge help for transport managers in protecting their operator licence, says Derek Broomfield, chairman of Novadata
Online digital tachograph analysis is an invaluable aid to the transport manager, as it helps to generate reports for board presentations and to demonstrate compliance to the authorities.
Choosing the right digital tachograph analysis can also help you to qualify for membership of the DVSA Earned Recognition scheme, by helping to create robust records of compliance and best practice.
An online digital tachograph analysis solution not only promotes accurate record keeping, it can also provide a secure online resource for storing tachograph data so that it can be accessed away from the office wherever there is a stable internet connection.
The online system can provide timely prompts to download vehicle units and driver cards so that essential deadlines are never missed. As well as tachograph analysis, you can choose from a vast array of automatically generated reports, all of which aid compliance with O-licence undertakings.
Managers can choose to receive automated alerts which flag up errors or infringements in tachograph usage. This alerts the manager promptly to any problems with drivers using a tachograph incorrectly. Prompt action is needed because it is possible to be penalised with up to five breaches of drivers’ hours regulations or incorrect use of the digital tachograph at a time.
The fines for drivers can add up to £1,500 in fixed penalties from a single roadside inspection by a DVSA official or police officer. An online solution, however, can flag up a problem at the first infringement, and avoid this happening.
It is essential that drivers understand how to use their vehicle’s digital tachograph correctly in order to keep accurate and robust records. There are several makes and many different models of digital tachograph and there are, therefore, many slight, but critical, variations in how each one works.
One key difference is in how to make manual entries, one of the operations in which mistakes are most commonly made.
The consequences of failing to use the digital tachograph correctly can be far reaching. Firstly, if your tachograph recording does not accurately reflect your working day, you will unwittingly create a false record of the time that you spend working and driving.
The distinction between working and driving is important, as the driver must accurately record other work as well as driving, in addition to rest periods and available time. One of the most frequently made mistakes is to forget to switch on the digital tachograph and to set it to ‘other work’ while you conduct the obligatory daily walkaround vehicle check.
All too frequently we see drivers who still do not realise that recording the time taken to conduct the daily walkaround check is essential for compliance.
Without this ‘other work’ data, the tachograph record doesn’t accurately reflect the hours that the driver has actually worked, and it also creates the impression that no walkaround check was performed, implying that the driver reported for work and drove away immediately, without performing the required checks.
If there is no robust record of the time taken to complete the check, you may find it difficult to demonstrate compliance with your Operator Licence undertakings. This is compounded if there is also no robust method of recording the walkaround check itself.
It is therefore essential that drivers are well trained in the use of their vehicle’s tachograph. When planning periodic Driver CPC training, it is wise to use one of the seven-hour modules to refresh their training in tachograph and drivers’ hours best practice.
A helpful way of instilling in drivers the need to record the time taken on the walkaround check is by digitising and integrating both functions.
As well as creating a secure online resource of digital tachograph data for analysis and reporting, an online digital tachograph analysis solution can be fully integrated with a digital daily walkaround vehicle check solution in the form of an app, so that the records of each can be stored centrally and accessed with ease.
Further functions can also be integrated with a digital tachograph analysis solution. Driving licence checks can also be integrated, so that the online resource will eventually provide a complete picture of driver eligibility, from a valid licence, to hours worked and availability to drive.
Vehicle fleet maintenance, another area in which compliance is essential in order to protect your O Licence, can also be integrated with digital tachograph analysis, in the form of an online Fleet Management module.
Using this newer module, accurate and robust records of key tasks such as servicing, planned maintenance, MOTs, safety inspections and tachograph calibrations can be recorded. The manager can plan each task and see, at a glance, how each task is progressing and when it has been completed.
Essential documents such as insurance and vehicle tax can also be stored online. Although each module can be used on its own, the more you integrate, the more complete your data; and therefore, the more complete the picture of your compliance.
The UK traffic commissioners have made it increasingly clear in recent years that they expect O-licence holders to actively manage and protect their O-licences, and have expressed the view that this ought to be an item on every board meeting.
With the possibility of integrating digital tachograph data with other aspects of successful transport management in a single, secure online resource, transport managers will find it easier to generate an informative board report which reflects an accurate assessment of the organisation’s state of compliance.
As any flagged issues can, therefore, be tackled in a timely manner, we see this both as a good way to protect individual O-licences, and also a very hopeful sign for best practice across the industry as a whole.
