Tach verdict: not proven
Page 26
Page 27
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
They can improve operating efficiency but given the extra costs involved do not help the Wincanton bottom line, says David Yeomans THE NEXT PAPER, "Tachograph — tool or toy?" by David Yeomans, gave the conference the opportunity to debate whether there are any cost benefits attributable to fitting tachographs to commercial vehicles.
Mr Yeomans reminded the conference of the history of the instrument. He explained that EEC Regulation 1463/70 as amended requires the installation and use of tachographs on goods and passenger vehicles throughout the 10 member states of the Common Market. This had been delayed in the UK from January 1, 1978, to January 1, 1982.
The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) Regulation 1979, SI Number 1746, was approved by Parliament at the end of December 1979 and applies the EEC regulation to all vehicles. This regulation came into force on January 14, 1980, but refers only to Great Britain; separate regulations were made for Northern Ireland. Vehicles based in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not covered by EEC regulations.
There are five regulations controlling the use of tachographs, Transport Act 1968; EEC Directive 543/69; EEC Directive 1463/70; The Community Road Transport Rules (Exemption) Regulations 1978; and The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment Y Regulation 1979.
The tachograph concept is not new, he said. It originated more than 40 years ago in the Kienzle factory in the heart of the Black Forest in Germany. The first use of tachographs was in Poland in the late 1920s. Mr Yeomans said that during the late Twenties and early Thirties conditions in the German road transport industry were bad.
"Even the employers realised that road transport was getting out of hand and that various economic and safety factors were mitigating towards rationalisation of transport. Because of this, some employers started to fit tachographs so that they could plan their vehicle usage more profitably," he said.
After the war, in Germany drivers' conditions reverted to being almost as bad as they had been in the 1920s. The German transport trade union officials became greatly concerned, because they could see that there was danger ahead for drivers who were being worked too hard. The union realised that the tachograph could protect their members, and at the same time the instrument would allow the union and the employers to check that any working agreements were being observed.
The union realised that the image of the industry could be improved by reducing road accidents — previous experience from voluntary use of tachographs in commercial vehicles and buses had shown a 50 per cent reduction in accidents, compared with non-instru mented fleets.
It was largely owing to unic pressure that the German go ernment introduced regulatioi in 1952 making tachograpl compulsory on all gooc vehicles of over nine tons gv and all large passenger vehicle The application of the tech, graph in the United Kingdoi evolves from the requirement fit and use tachographs in tt same vehicles as are covered t the EEC Regulation on Driver Hours — 543/69. The teni "vehicles" covers motc vehicles which are used for th carriage of passengers or gooc by road and are registered in member state.
In the UK the trade union! while maintaining an outwar appearance of following th policy makers have adopted, i general, a more pragmatic aF proach to the tachograph, realil ing earlier than the polic makers that the tachog rap would be introduced o schedule.
The unions sought to obtain payment for tachographs befor their introduction on Decembe 31, 1981. In many cases the succeeded, or at least were abl, to suggest to their members tha acceptance of the tachograpl had enabled them to secure higher basic rate for them.
Having outlined briefly thE history of the tachograph, MI Yeomans turned his attention tc its cost benefits or penalties.
He explained that the operatol has the cost factor to consider.
"In my company we haw taken a view of the cost over period of five years, taking intc account downtime for repairs calibrating and resealing," hE said.
Wincanton estimates that thE annual cost of operating a tacho. graph to be £223.00 made up of: Depreciation "This, in my opinion, is a poo investment in equipment whicl is still very basic," he argued "The development of th( electronic automatic tachogra0 head is a major step forward, bu even so still needs a certaii amount of manual input into thi company's data systems befon it provides any analysis of thq vehicles' operations."
In judging its cost effective ness, it has to be accepted thal the presence of the tachograpr the cab must bring a greater rareness to the driver of his bring standards. He felt that ed effectively, the tachograph 'proves driving standards and duces fuel, maintenance and re costs. It can also help to imove efficiency by rerouteing !hides to avoid regular traffic )lays and highlight delays inirred at loading and unloading Ants.
"It is, therefore, fair to say that ith additional management fort and driver co-operation, wings can be achieved, which ould go some way to meeting le cost of installing and operatig tachographs," he said. owever, there is an additional )St burden in the form of adlinistration.
It is the incumbent on the perator to ensure that the river abides by the drivers' ours laws and completes a hart for every working day, rhen the vehicle is driven.
"To meet this requirement I rould suggest that it is the perator's responsibility to heck all tachograph charts," he aid. While there are a number if sophisticated instruments Ivailable to help in the task, most suffer from the problem that an individual has to inspect the charts through a magnifying glass.
Electronic analysis would be a great advantage because visual audit is very time consuming. The manufacturers' two-minute per chart claim is attainable, but only in short bursts and to cover the basic legal aspects of duty time, drivers' hours and breaks. On average three hours per day is the very maximum anyone can withstand, so it therefore takes two and a half hours to analyse a 50-vehicle fleet, he said.
In order to speed up the analysis of tachograph charts, Wincanton had been compelled to buy expensive analytical equipment which produces analyses of tachograph charts which cannot be input into computerised accounting systems without going through data preparation.
He felt that companies not only need information on vehicle and engine performance, fuel consumption, etc, but also operational data such as mileages, run, route details, and hours worked. "I believe the transport industry should unite to develop equipment which will not only meet the requirements of our legislators, but also produce software which is compatible with that required as input by modern computers. Only then will they be making the most of modern technology to control their fleets effectively," he said.
The tachograph, with the aid of analysis equipment, can produce information which helps improve vehicle utilisation and routeing, assist on safety and insurance aspects, axle loadings and measure the performance of the vehicle, he said. But only at the cost of expensive equipment and administrative input.
"Whether or not the tachograph is a tool or a toy to you in your business depends on the use that you are making of it. It is my view that in Wincanton Transport, while the tachograph can improve operating efficiency, the additional cost of administration to achieve it, results in little or no benefit to the bottom line," he added. "In this case, it leans towards being a toy."