Extracting the digits The introduction of digital tachographs has seen
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an increase in the number of hauliers signing up for Tachodisc's services WOraS: Koger brown Tachowsc has been involved in every facet of the tachograph market since its inception in 1979, and up until 10 years ago the firm was mainly known for manufacturing analogue tachograph charts and offering analysis services for customers. Nowadays, it also provides repair of analogue tacho heads, supply of paper products such as defect books, analogue tachograph analysis and training. However, the introduction of digitachs about seven years ago saw the company move with the times into the supply of digital software, analysis and training. The firm invested significantly in technology and created its own analysis software system, which is supported by an extensive range of professional bureau and consultancy services.
CM is at the firm's premises on an industrial estate in Warrington to experience life in 'the bureau' — effectively an extension to a road transport operation to which hauliers can outsource their tacho analysis requirements to manage compliance.
According to MD Karen Crispe, digitachs have served to positively change the way the industry approaches and manages tachograph analysis.
"With the introduction of digitachs, operators became more dependent on the expertise of professional analysis and they have seen that the payback from these professional services extends beyond the necessities of protecting their 0-licence, and that digital and analogue data can be used as an effective fleet management tool."
Analysis bureau manager Angela Eardley (pictured top right) heads a team of analysts whose job it is to apply their specialist knowledge to help operators manage their analogue and/or digitach compliance requirements.
Eardley says: "We use our expertise as analysts to translate and visually check the tacho data to ensure customers maintain and sustain compliance, while giving firms that might be in trouble the advice needed to help them turn their operations round. With compliance being so important, many of our clients say they can sleep safe in the knowledge that they have experts monitoring their legal requirements."
Detecting infringements Unsurprisingly, Eardley says the majority of infringements her team detects are ones that involve mode switch, drivers' hours and break/rest periods.
She adds: "All the staff are highly experienced in both analogue and digital analysis and are able to quickly detect infringements or if something is amiss Digitachs have also given us the scope to provide operators with meaningful, real time information. This ensures we can quickly provide customers with the information they need to be able to take the next necessary course of action.
"We pride ourselves on our levels of customer service and offer a friendly but professional and personal service, from standard tacho analysis to health checks, audits, consultancy, counselling and on-site customer visits."
In preparation for the introduction of digitachs, Crispe brought Guy Reynolds on board as a director to manage the technical/software side of the business. Both Reynolds and Eardley work closely: they combine their expertise in IT, analysis and compliance to ensure the software evolves in line with legislation and customer needs.
Catering to an operator's needs Reynolds says: "Thanks to our analysis software, Tachodisc can create reports on driver performance or company procedures relating to tachographs, showing data from multiple depot locations, drivers and vehicles.
"It can collate and download driver card expiry statistics, and show information on licences as well as driver medical checks that have been undertaken.
"Operators can also ask for traffic light indicators as part of the service — red signifying that action needs to be taken, such as ensuring driver downloads are being completed within the required timescales. Analysed information can be supplied to customers on a monthly, weekly or daily basis; the service is entirely down to the operator's needs."
The bureau team also sends regular email reports to customers including driver summaries with timeline, summary violations, working time directive reference periods and distance travelled by drivers.
Using the drivers' hours data from the tachograph, Tachodisc can produce an infringement league table by driver and by offence, putting the driver with the least or most amount of infringements at the top of the table.
Reynolds adds: "We can bring up the record for a driver and show when and what disciplinary action has been taken against that driver and for which infringements.
"This information is displayed in chronological order and can show a clear audit path. The system can then link specific infringements with disciplinary action taken, add text explanations and produce printed reports based on the dates incidents took place."
Tachodisc's bureau team are also able to produce a fixed penalty guidance report from the software, as well as a theoretical cost for graduated fixed penalties (GFPs) from the drivers' hours infringements.
Reynolds says: "We are also able to create mileage and harsh braking reports including a comparison of the braking data for a driver against the industry standard.
"Ultimately we work with customers to advise what information can be extracted from the data, so that they can make informed decisions about what exactly they need."
The service includes all software updates, technical assistance and after-sales assistance.
As and when legislation changes are made, the software is also updated.
The bureau is backed up by a highly skilled technical and aftersales support team, and Crispe says that Tachodisc has had to expand its team in recent years to deal with the growth of the business.
Crispe believes digital and analogue data can be used as an effective fleet management tool, and by utilising the experience of professional analysis, operators can protect their 0-licence and avoid the attentions of the traffic commissioners.
Recent reports suggest that 32% of all UK registered trucks are now fitted with digital tachographs, but Crispe believes the figure is far higher She says: "From what we have observed in the past few months we think that the ratio is now about 80/20 in favour of digital, the pace of change has really accelerated in the past year or so."
She concludes: "The digital age is no longer a vision for the commercial transport industry, but a reality, and we will continue to use our extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of the legislation to help operators find solutions that will help them manage their compliance requirements." • DRIVER CPC COURSES Tachodisc has provided training in transport legislation since 1979 and currently employs more than 50 staff.
Since September 2008, the firm has been an approved JAUPT training centre offering Driver CPC courses, holding classes either at its offices in Warrington or the customer's premises.
It offers JAUPT-accredited seven-hour Driver CPC courses, in subjects covering: • drivers' hours law, tachograph regulations and digital tachographs • EU drivers' hours, tachograph records, working time regulations and defect reporting • driver safety controls and economical driving • accident awareness/vehicle evacuation • safe loading and defect checks • manual handling and driver wellbeing • health and safety TACHODISC SERVICES Tachodisc's services include: • professional analysis bureau services • analysis software • digital downloading devices • printer rolls as well as standard and bespoke analogue tachograph charts (Tachodisc is the UK's only manufacturer of EC-approved analogue tachograph charts and has produced personalised tachograph charts for many blue-chip organisations as well as firms in Israel, with instructions printed in Hebrew) • standard and bespoke systems such as defect reporting and log books • vehicle accessories • a drivers' hours law helpline • technical support helpline