Webfleet: drivers’ hours monitoring vital during Covid
Fleet management software provider Webfleet Solutions has emphasised the importance of ensuring a robust drivers’ hours monitoring regime amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“The coronavirus outbreak has had a huge impact on the transport industry, with lockdown restrictions and border closures placing increasing strain on supply chains across the world,” said Beverley Wise, director, UK & Ireland at Webfleet Solutions.
“Given the existing pre-Covid shortage of drivers in the industry and the need for some now to self-isolate, drivers could also be feeling the pressure to work longer hours to fill the gap.
“In the UK, the pandemic led to the Department for Transport temporarily relaxing the drivers’ hours rules to help keep the economy moving and to combat the effect of panic buying during the first few weeks of the crisis. This relaxation has now ended, meaning drivers are back to stricter laws around drive time and rest requirements.
“What has not changed throughout, however, has been the monitoring and management of driver hours, with tachograph data still expected to be recorded during the easing of regulations.”
The importance of robust tachograph reporting cannot be underestimated, Beverley warns, with convictions for drivers’ hours violations and tachograph offences leading to fines and, in some cases, prison sentences.
“Getting to grips with tachograph data however – downloading and analysing it – can be a time-consuming activity for drivers, with almost a third of Europe’s transport companies revealing they spend at least 30 minutes per vehicle each month retrieving the data,” she continued.
“Whether an organisation has five or 50 HGVs, these hours spent downloading data equate to less time on the road and, ultimately, reduced levels of productivity.
“Tachograph integrations with advance management software systems can help minimise this potentially laborious administration, while ensuring companies remain compliant with legislation.
“TachoShare from Webfleet Solutions, for example, is a remote download and archiving module that downloads tachograph data from vehicles and enables users to share it directly with their analysis software.”
Rather than drivers having to be in a specific location with the right downloading equipment, as is the case with traditional, manual downloads, TachoShare keeps trucks on the road and enables flexible planning, maintaining productivity and reducing the administrative burden, says Beverley.
Furthermore, it can also be integrated with existing third party tachograph data analysis software to help minimise disruption.
“Navigating rest periods can also be a concern for drivers,” she added.
“There are times when drivers are required by law to take breaks, but suitable rest stop are not available. This puts them under pressure to find appropriate parking spots or risk DVSA fines for pulling over where it is considered unsafe to do so.
“Apps on truck navigation devices can now help alleviate this problem, sending rest break alerts to drivers and pinpointing appropriate truck stop locations.”
