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ALL TOGETHER NOW
Page 60
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Fed up with having to run different fleet management software packages for drivers' hours and now the Working Time Directive? Brian Weatherley looks at a new solution to the problem.
The WorkingTime Directive (WTD) is a case in point, with hauliers having to adopt additional fleet management systems beyond those currently used to track drivers' hours.
However, hauliers Looking fora onesize fleet management package can now turn to Tachodisc. Its new Clock Watcher system allows an operator to handle both the current drivers' hours and the WTD with one software package —and it's ready for forthcoming legislative changes including smart-card tachos and the New Drivers' Hours Rules that are planned for 2006.
According to Guy Reynolds, director of Aquarius IT, which developed the package with Tachodisc: "It's software that allows tacho analysis and WI'D compliance in-house. As far as we know it is the only system on the market that does both." Reynolds claims ClockWatcher is "easy and inviting to use and you don't need the latest windows XP to run it — you can use it on existing PC's".
The elements of Clock Watcher, which has been trialled successfully with a 120-truck UK fleet operator, are listed in the panel below. Reynolds believes it has a number of advantages over existing software packages or when sending charts away to conventional bureaux. "It's at your site, it's not 'remote' or via an internet connection," he explains, adding:"If you use a bureau what happens to all your information especially if you no longer want to use that bureau?"
Clock Watcher also offers the potential for cost savings by consolidating a number of software systems—and customers can not only configure their own WTD reference periods to suit their operation; the system also provides advance "time running out" warnings to alert an operator if a driver or worker is likely to exceed the 48-hour weekly average across the reference period.
It can handle "twin-track" data collection from existing paper charts and driver smart cards with full hours' analysis in read-only tamperproof format:infringement reports; and a "speed log". All management data is stored digitally, as required by VOSA.
The basic entry price for the ClockWatcher software is i.195.
Thereafter customers are charged LI per driver per week over a fixed 12-month contract (invoiced quarterly) for consolidated drivers' hours and WTD data input by the operators themselves, either electronically by the hardware devices listed below, or by keying in "hard copy" data.
All support and updates are free. "When the new Drivers' Hours rules come in 2006 they will be included in the cost," says Reynolds.