Tanat Valley tackles defect checks with Aquarius
Passenger transport operator Tanat Valley Coaches has been using a digital defect checks system from software provider Aquarius IT, as one of the company’s newest ‘Digital to Digital’ coach customers.
Based on the remote Shropshire/Welsh border, Tanat Valley Coaches’ team is experienced in using integrated digital systems to manage its driver and vehicle compliance responsibilities, but sought a solution that would enable drivers to conduct digital defect checks offline in rural areas with poor signals.
“Everything was workable with the paper-based defect system we used, but uniquely with Aquarius we found a digital solution that would enable us to manage daily driver defects in poor signal areas, offline,” explained operations manager Zak Edwards.
“This has proved to be a game changer administratively and logistically, as we can ensure daily checks are sent to us even if the location that the driver did the check in has a poor signal.
“With Aquarius’s Defect Check App, the drivers can perform the checks offline and then as soon as they get into a better signal area they can send the check through at the touch of a button. I’m not aware if there are any other systems that can do this, or at least not one that can be customised to this level.”
Zak added: “For us, this has completed the loop, because we now have everything related to driver and vehicle data on one integrated digital platform.”
Aquarius IT emphasises the far-reaching benefits road transport operators can reap when analysing tacho data on one digital platform – alongside vehicle maintenance, walk-around checks, time and attendance, and licence checking, for example.
“This level of data integration is proven to significantly reduce day-to-day administration burdens, reap time and cost savings, and vastly improve service and safety levels, while also enabling managers to make evidence-based decisions that result in wider operational efficiencies and profitability,” said the company.
Equally as important, says the Aquarius team, is ensuring when choosing an integrated software package that it features all the tools required for your business.
“Tanat Valley Coaches are a prime example of this, because by using Aquarius’s suite of technology-led solutions they’ve been able to unlock new levels of integration,” the firm added.
More information on Aquarius’s integrated fleet management systems can be found on its website.
