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Better late than never
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At long last, VOSA has launched its operator self-service system. Emma Penny looks at how the El .5m project will work in reality.
It's been a long time in the making, but VOSA has finally launched its self-service system. It seems like we've been writing about this system for years — and indeed, as far back as April 2001 we were told it would be up and running that July. Of course it wasn't, and in October that year CM said it was "so late it's now beyond a joke".
What we didn't realise then (in retrospect. probably neither did the powers-that-be at VOSA) was that it would take a further three years before it was launched. Now, 36 months on from that promised delivery, the system has finally gone live nationwide and is available to everyone in the industry.
When something is that late,expectations can only rise. And, from first appearances, it seems to have been worth the wait. It promises to remove a lot of bureaucracy, and to significantly speed things up for everyone involved.
For operators running in several traffic areas, or with more than one operating centre, swapping vehicles around can be an administrative nightmare of form-filling, cheque writing and blue 0-licence discs never quite catching up with the truck they're meant to be on. But now a click of a computer mouse— at any time of the day or night—should replace all of that
Star performer
David Jamieson, Under Secretary of State for Transport, certainly seems delighted with the project — but then his department has shelled out the 1,1.5m cost. He sits on the government's "E-delivery" Cabinet committee and says the system is regarded as one of the star performers: "I am really pleased that VOSA and the transport industry are at the cutting edge with this; it's not perhaps the general public perception of this industry!"
Even the Freight Transport Association's Gavin Scott, who was briefed to keep a close eye on the system during its development and trials, is pleased.
haven't heard any valid criticism of it," he says. "In its present format it will be more useful to bigger operators,but when it develops further for instance, being able to book MoT tests on-line it will become really useful."
About 20 operators have been trialling the system over the past couple of years. Among those involved in testing it was Graham Powell, assistant transport manager for the Palmer and Harvey McLane Group.
Based in Hove. East Suusex. he's part of a team which looks after 900-1,000 trucks which move around depots very quickly in response to see-sawing demand for their main cargoes of confectionery, tobacco and alcohol.
-We've been trialling this for about a year, and it is won derful," Powell reports. "It's MAME far easier. The paper system was very tedious, and as we swap vehicles between operating centres fairly frequently in summer we found that discs were never reaching those vehicles as they'd move on again."
Bill Buckley. VOSA's licensing director, confirms that this is one of the areas for further development. He says operators will eventually be able to pay with credit or debit cards, as well as renewing their licences on-line. -The ultimate would be a system which will flag up that a truck needs an MoT in three weeks' time, and asks if you'd like to book it in for an MoT." he concludes. "But that is some way down the line. It's a concept now, but the technology is there to turn that into reality."
There's no doubting the potential of this technology:let's just hope it's hacker proof... •