RHA thinks link
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
/The Road Haulage Association is looking to invest in a new computer system which could provide a direct electronic link between its seven district offices and its London headquarters by early 1987.
Under the scheme, which RHA director general Freddie Plaskett is proposing to the association's main board, each district office will have a visual display unit and printer linked to the RHAs London mainframe computer. Plaskett hopes to have the system operational by spring next year "at the very latest".
The computer links would allow RHA district staff to spend more time dealing with the needs of the association's 11,000 members says Plaskett, rather than on time consuming bookeeping and administration.
Although the scheme is initially intended to give district offices quicker access to central membership and accounting data, it could also be linked with the RHA's insurance and financial services, and possibly a vehicle recovery scheme.
A feasability study has already been carried out on the project — described by Plaskett as the "only unfulfilled promise" left since his appointment back in 1982. To ensure compatibility a further two studies will be commissioned to avoid choosing the wrong hardware or software. The proposed investment in computers will not, according to Plaskett, be used to revive the RHA's Cargofax computerised load-matching system which lost "quite a lot of money", despite the fact that the RHA has been approached by a Continental company offering a new system.
The cost of the proposed district links has not been revealed.
The decision to hold the RHA annual conference abroad appears to be more than vindicated. Attendence at this year's conference — to be held from November 2-9 at Sorrento in Italy — has already passed last year's total of over 400 people with two months still to go.