Less derv, more data
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TIME was when most transport bosses knew precious little about what their drivers did when they went out on the road, but this has started to change. Last month CM reviewed methods of obtaining management information from tachograph charts more easily, quickly, and accurately than can be done by eye, and the potential benefits. Particularly, CM looked at the TARDIS system from TachAnalysis in Glasgow.
Now, straight from Silicon Valley in California, is an expensive but clever kit which stores much of the information collected on tacho charts, and a whole lot more besides. It gives detailed fuel consumption figures and, it is claimed, educates drivers to drive more economically.
The equipment is made by Anchron Inc and is, according to Anchron UK managing director Bernard Marks, a year ahead of the field. It comprises an in-cab display, a recording box, and equipment for measuring fuel used, engine speed, oil and water pressures and vehicle speed. These are recorded against the system's own clock. The equipment is entirely independent of the tachograph, and the memory is "non volatile", which means it cannot be erased by a loss of power.
Back at the transport depot, most well-known makes of computer hardware and peripherals can be used for storing and displaying the information collected.
The system was explained to me by Jim Kerrigan, an enthusiastic American vice-president of the Anchron company, who is responsible for promoting the product this side of the Atlantic. Data is collected from the moment the driver starts up the engine, and can be assembled both by driver and vehicle in cumulative form. The system monitors whether or not he has allowed the engine to warm up to standards set by the company, although this will be regarded as of little benefit on modern engines by some engineers. What may be useful, however, is a similar facility for when the engine is being switched off, which will show if the engine has been idled sufficiently to maintain oil pressure to the turbocharger.
Driving patterns are indicated by showing the amount of time the engine has spent above an upper rev limit, again set by the company. Irregular oil and water temperatures are also monitored, so that potentially serious mechanical problems can be identified before the lorry breaks down.
Engine idling is an important consideration both in terms of fuel used and wear and tear on the engine. Whether a vehicle is loading at a warehouse or tipping at a supermarket there is a temptation for drivers to leave the engine idling unnecessarily. The system will pick this up, and again the company sets the limit. This facility was particularly designed for America, where engines are sometimes left on for long periods to keep the air conditioning running. It is likely to be useful in Britain also.
Operators may want to set speed limits for drivers for a variety of reasons — safety, legal, or economic. A maximum of 62 mph is favoured by some companies, for example. The Anchron system will record the amount of time spent going faster than this.
A driver's exceeding the company's speed limit may not be a matter for discipline. He may have an unrealistic schedule, for example. If that is true, the traffic manager should know about it because if the driver has to drive hard, he is reducing the profitability of the job, points out Mr Kerrigan. If the driver has simply been spending too long in a cafe, this will also be shown.
The system collects running details of miles covered, gallons used, and fuel consumption, not just cumulatively but chronologically. Thus, it can tell the transport manager the pattern of a driver's work. If he leaves in the morning and does five deliveries, for example, it will show how long it took to get to each drop, how long he spent at each drop, and the mileages and fuel consumptions. The information can be collected both by driver and by truck cumulatively.
The Anchron system has an in-cab display so that the driver can see his performance, as he goes along. By educating the driver, this can bring enormous benefits, the company claims. Improved driving will reduce fuel bills by 10 per cent as least, it asserts. Many hauliers will be sceptical about this claim but it is one which is being made by other makers of in-cab display units, with the support of an increasing number of examples from operators' experience.
League tables can be drawn up using the system for both lorries and drivers. Around 500 Anchron systems have been fitted so far in the United States, and all in companies where they have been linked to bonus schemes for economic driving. Where each driver has his own vehicle, the driver's performance can be compared with the capabilities of the vehicle rather than with other drivers, says Mr Kerrigan.
Fuel economy, of course, is not always the priority. A driver may get 11 mpg out of an artic, but there is no point in a London haulier despatching him off to Glasgow if he is not going to go faster than 45 mph. He would be gone all week. On the other hand, there are other jobs he may very well he suited to, on which his steady driving may increase the profitability of the job.
Hauliers have a rough idea of how their drivers handle the lorries, but equipment like Anchron's can give a more accurate assessment and help them assess each driver's contribution in cash terms. It also gives drivers a measure of their own expertise.
One additional use of the system is for setting standards. The data collected can be categorised, for example, by standard of road, provided the system is told every time the lorry moves onto a different kind of road. (This facility was originally designed so that American trunkers could record mileages in each state).
Anchron has fitted systems to several medium-sized haulage fleets in Britain and Europe, and reports favourable reaction so far from both managers and drivers. Volvo is the first of several truck makers in Europe to accept the system for assess
ment trials.
The Anchron system is one of many which are intended to monitor fuel consumption and encourage the driver to use the lorry more economically. Economic driving is also the reasoning behind the fitting as standard of the more modest Visar system in the Daf 3300. Mercedes has started fitting a system similar to Visar, and Kienzle, the German tachograph maker, is developing a complex management data system for large fleets which includes a cab display unit.
Anchron in America is now developing a variation for owner drivers, which will relate data directly to specific jobs and invoicing.
Old methods die hard, and the older they are the longer they seem to take to die, especially when their replacements cost more. This article was bashed out on a type-writer which is 14 years old, despite all the talk about new technology. But where computers have been adopted, whether in transport or in journalism, experience has shown that they often lead to the creation of more work for management.
This is because the new technology makes it possible not only to do essential tasks more quickly, but to look at whole new areas of management to ensure close cost and control and profitability. No-one would argue that the most important thing in haulage is getting something to put on the lorries, ensure close cost control and profitability. No-one would argue that the most important thing in haulage is getting loads to put on the lorries, but given that there is traffic it makes sense to keep costs as low as possible while keeping customers happy.
Completely electronic systems such as Anchron's would seem to be more sensible in the long run than TachAnalysis's. A paper chart covered in wax and scraped by a sharp needle seems antiquated compared with silicon chip technology, which should prove more versatile and accurate.
Logically, there is a strong argument for saying that the tachograph as we know it should become obsolete. But it is here to stay for a while yet. EEC laws require a mechanical recording device to be installed and that means the tacho.
"There are no signs of change at the moment. The chart provides a permanent record of the driver's day's work which cannot be destroyed," according to Lucas Kienzle. "It also carries an incredible amount of information."
So for the forseeable future, operators who want to use electronic systems will have to maintain a system of data collection which produces a large degree of duplication.
Anchron's equipment costs £2,000 per set fitted. The company claims that this can be recovered on high mileage artics in one year. No doubt operators can get a discount if they buy a few, but even so it is expensive if seen as a toy. Anyone with a tight budget will have to be certain that they are going to get their money's worth in benefits and cost savings. (Brewers, who are not usually afraid of investing in new ideas predictably are among the most eager to give the equipment a trial.) But operators may be tempted to wait. The sort of technology described here does not stand still. The capabilities are likely to increase and prices to fall. Makers believe that the question for operators is not if they should start to invest in equipment for gaining more management information, but when and how.