CUSTOMER TALK

HOW ARE YOU FINDING ASSET MAINTENANCE?

Following on from this interview, we also spotted in Commercial Motor in December that Campeys have purchased 19 New Generation DAF XG 450 FTG 6x2 mid-lift tractor units. The new arrivals, the first of which went on the road in mid-October, are returning an average fuel economy of more than 11mpg.

How are you finding Asset Maintenance?

The biggest, most significant difference is the system’s cross-integration with the Driver Defect App, and as a result, we’ve significantly reduced VOR days. We also use the automated planner for maintenance scheduling and MOT dates, which links with our third-party and external workshops for 360° integration. At the last count, over the last 12 months, we have completed more than 1000 PMIs. Plus, the system is easy to use; we’ve found there are fewer clicks to get to the information you need, which again reduces admin time.

So, what’s next for Campeys?

Digital wise I think we are almost there and we are very happy with the results. As a company, which going digital forms an integral part of, it is our ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.

Alongside working with Aquarius, we have also made significant investments over the last two years into alternative fuels, resulting in 10% of our fleet now fully operating on non-fossil fuel and bio-methane by the end of 2022.

We believe this is unprecedented for a family haulier who owns all its vehicles, and that we are leading by example. The figure would indeed also be higher if the truck manufacturers over the last 12 months had not faced production delays.

Moving forward, in terms of our environmental strategy, we have set-out a five-year plan to reduce our carbon emissions, and will continue to keep reinvesting in alternative fuels – by 2027 we aim to be running 50-75% of our fleet on alternative energies.

This strong commitment to advancing the environmental agenda in transport in the independent haulier sector, is one we think that sets us apart.

FOX GROUP TORQUE ELECTRIC TIPPERS

We’ve been enjoying listening to Commercial Motor’s latest Torquing Trucks podcast, and was particularly interested to hear Paul Fox, the CEO of Fox Group, talk about how his electric tippers are performing. In the interview he said he is happy and ordering more, but it has been a steep learning curve, with a few charging issues – and the difference between anticipated and the actual range is significant. Listen here

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Congratulations to L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage Ltd, who won the 2022 London Construction Award for Diversity and Inclusion. This award recognises industry-leading performance, showcasing organisations that are championing diversity and inclusion within the construction industry.

Speaking on social media, Lynch said they are committed to promoting equality and valuing diversity in an inclusive and supportive environment for their people.

RUN AWAY ACHIEVEMENT, RAISING MORE THAN £15,300

Well done to Dave Collett, owner of Collett and Sons Ltd, who recently ran 1,000 miles from Lands’ End to John O’Groats in aid of Overgate Hospice in Elland. Dave ran 100 miles per week for 10 weeks and raised an incredible £15,300 for the hospice – and his story about why he took on the challenge was featured in the national press.

DRIVING AID TO ROMANIA

In December, we were proud to support BM Transport with their Humanitarian Aid Trip to Romania. On the trip they had five fully loaded trailers, filled with essential items for those less fortunate.

AWARD WINNING PUBLIC SERVICES

Congratulations to Nottingham City Council for winning the Public Services Operator of the Year award at the recent Logistics UK Awards – huge honour and well deserved.

www.cvshow.com

OUR NEXT LEVEL, INTERACTIVE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The system, which has successfully been providing transport companies with a quick and efficient way for digitally broadcasting internal documents since 2019 - in line with FORS customer recommendations and the DVLA’s expectations for reviewing and periodically updating key company policies – has evolved to provide greater two-way electronic communication between the administrator and the driver / employee.

In 2022, we released an evolved, more interactive version of our Document Management System, and here Neil Chetwynd, one of our Senior Developers, shines a light on what changes have been made.

photo of Neil.

This follows customer feedback for enhanced interaction when sending, en masse or as a tailored circulation, company memos, policy updates, training materials, time sheets, expense claims and recruitment forms for example.

www.itthub.co.uk So, what’s new:

• Users have the ability to create interactive documents, which enables employee signatures and declarations to be captured, or for free type fields to be created.

• Employees are able to input an image into a document, for example an image of stock stored in a vehicle, or a driving licence or car hire documentation to provide evidence of validity.

• When an employee responds to a document or request, there is now a new section that allows the ‘distributor’ to take a more in-depth look at the documents and reply with specific answers.

This new way of interacting, further supports the way administrators can tailor document distribution to specific groups of employees via their smartphones, tablets or PCs.

In summary, for customers wanting to expand the range of employee documents they can broadcast, we have turned our ‘filing cabinet in the cloud’ up a notch technically to give users even greater interactivity and flexibility when communicating, and exchanging important documentation with staff. It also provides a digital audit trail that promotes best and safe practice in relation to health and safety, staff training and compliance reporting.

Document Manager also supports our core proposition of providing integrated, digitally-advanced solutions that help operators who need to efficiently manage all areas of driver and vehicle compliance. The system can be supplied as part of an Aquarius subscription package, or used solely in conjunction with our Driver Walk-Around App, or it can be supplied as a separate stand-alone software solution.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER FOR BM TRANSPORT

One of the first early adopters of the system was BM Transport, and Shauna Lennon, the company’s office operations manager recently said:

“Document Management has been a game changer for our compliance department in terms of time management; no more lists to see who has completed/ seen a document. It’s clear and concise which is exactly what the staff and employees need. Its user-friendly interface means our staff are more inclined to use it. We couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Its reliable and effective- exactly what every company needs!”

SOFTWARE DEMOS ARE A WASTE OF TIME, LETS JUST DO A TRIAL!

By Subir Gupta, our National Account Manager

Some might call this ‘sales’ and I would agree, but principally it is us as a support-led business showing you potential tools and methods that could help you achieve your target (s) sooner. Yes, we’d like the ‘sale’, but foremost any reputable software company will want you to be a happy customer.

If you think this statement is true, I will try and change your mind and advise that the best way forward IS with a software demo initially, as evidenced by a recent upsurge in requests over recent months.

Even with the world’s most user-friendly software, to truly understand its value to your business, the IT supplier needs to know why you are looking to invest in a brand-new system, or thinking of changing providers. Even a quick 15-minute software demo prior to going down the trial route will help. Your data can then be applied into a full live environment, and with training you’ll be able to see first-hand how it would work in your operation. This way too, you get the full customer service experience and a feel for the type of support your potential new software provider can provide.

As a transport operator for example, you might be wanting to reduce admin, reduce time, increase efficiencies or all the above and more. Being armed with this knowledge, means we can then use our experience to guide and help you achieve your goal (s).

Changes in process for a business is always challenging whether it be from a paper-based system to a digital, or as we are increasingly seeing in the market digital to digital. With the additional benefit of the demonstration, you can quickly assess if it will potentially meet your requirements. ”

So, if you are considering changing your software provider take the time to have a look and have a demo first.

MAKE REMOTE TACHOGRAPH DOWNLOADING WORK FOR YOU!

Top Tips on Choosing the Right Solution

Remote downloading is designed to make the process of managing tachograph data easier (and to make your life easier), so there should be no reason for it be a source of frustration. Everything should work as planned, and especially given the amount of time, money and resources that will have been invested in embedding the system.

However, we are increasingly coming across companies who have been ‘sold’ a solution, only to discover that they are not getting what they wanted. So, if you are frustrated with your system, or are looking to implement remote downloading, how should you go about selecting your chosen solution?

Top Tips on Choosing the Right Solution

Here are my top 10 tips to help ensure you are not disappointed …

1. Your supplier should conduct a full check on tachograph compatibility. This includes checking the tachograph part number, and whether updates are required to the tachograph head via a calibration station or update card. No one likes hidden costs!

2. Make sure the download units can be updated remotely. Save revisiting the vehicle unnecessarily!

3. Check that the units can conduct full vehicle data downloads and not just a restricted ‘last x days’. Be comprehensive!

4. Ask whether your provider can host your Company Card or to clearly explain your responsibilities if you are hosting it. 5. Ensure that you or the provider can ‘force’ and ‘schedule’ downloads. Maintain control!

6. Check how frequently the driver card and vehicle data will be downloaded. Remember that this technology allows more information to the user if data can be supplied more often. Have flexibility! 7. Be aware of the cost of downloads – especially if travelling outside the EU. 8. Check if your remote download solution can offer a ‘live’ tachograph feed on compatible vehicles. Have daily information at your fingertips! 9. Ensure that the downloads can be seamlessly synchronised with your tachograph analysis provider. But, if not, be aware of the administration process required to load the files into your incumbent supplier software. Never miss a file! 10. Before you sign on the dotted line, ask for testimonials from the supplier, so that you can be assured they have the right credentials.

We have extensive experience with remote downloading across all sizes of companies operating both here in the UK and Europe, so if you would like to talk through your options, get in touch.

UNACCOUNTED MILEAGE MISSING MILEAGE WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

With Marc Caplin, our Compliance Advisor

Marc discusses here how unaccounted mileage differs from missing mileage, and why in either instance, it’s the operator’s responsibility to ensure that all data is downloaded.

When it comes to vehicle data downloaded from a digital tachograph, there are some keys things that operators need to actively monitor. These include vehicle over-speeds, unaccounted vehicle movements (where the vehicle has been driven with no driver card used), and missing mileage.

In the days of analogue, missing mileage had to be investigated by an operator manually leafing through reams of paper charts, carefully comparing start and end odometer readings. The introduction of digital tachographs in 2006, thankfully, changed all that and, with the aid of the appropriate software, the process of analysing a vehicle’s missing mileage became a lot easier.

But let’s pause for a moment, because although developments in technology may have converted scruffily scribbled odo readings written on old paper charts into a stream of 1s and 0s, there are a few things that an operator needs to consider when dealing with missing mileage.

Firstly, what do we mean by “missing mileage”?

In the “good old days”, if there was a difference between the end odo reading of one chart with the start odo reading of the next one along, chances are the vehicle had been moved without a chart in. Nowadays, when we refer to “missing mileage”, the details of which are usually presented by an operator’s tachograph analysis software, the situation is not always so clear-cut. When dealing with digital tachographs, there is a clear distinction to be made between mileage that is unaccounted for through vehicle usage and data that is actually missing from your tachograph analysis system.

Unaccounted mileage

Let’s examine each scenario in turn, starting with the more conventional mileage that has been accumulated through vehicle usage. We should more correctly term this type of data as “unaccounted mileage”.

1.Perhaps the vehicle has been moved for a short distance a round an operator’s yard or other private premises. These short periods of unaccounted mileage of perhaps one or two kms can be easily cross-referenced as they will usually be accompanied by similarly short periods of unaccounted vehicle movement which have been recorded on the tachograph memory. In addition to the vehicle’s odometer readings, the tachograph will record the amount of time that the vehicle has been driven with no card inserted which will marry up with any unaccounted mileage. We are very often asked what an acceptable single instance of unaccounted mileage is deemed to be in this scenario and the answer can vary depending on who you ask. As a rule of thumb, anything more than 5km should be investigated but some operators will err on the side of caution and investigate anything over 3km. Many operators will assume that anything less than this must be yard shunting or other similar activity but sometimes assumptions can carry an element of risk!

2.Alternatively, unaccounted mileage may be recorded due to a vehicle being driven without a driver card quite legitimately for up to 15 days if a driver is awaiting a replacement card due to their original being lost or stolen or has developed a malfunction. In this scenario, the guidance is very clear – the driver should generate a vehicle printout at the start of their duty period and one at the end, both of which should carry the driver’s personal details on the back. These should then be treated like any other tachograph record and carried with the driver for 28 days and handed in to the operator accordingly. This unaccounted mileage, of which there would be a considerable amount, can then be viewed within your tachograph analysis software and, in most cases, can be supplemented with explanatory notes and copies of any relevant printouts.

3.A third cause of unaccounted mileage may be caused by workshop activity; a vehicle may have been moved by a mechanic as part of routine maintenance. In our experience, some mechanics and fitters use driver cards and some do not. These types of occurrences can be easily accounted for using maintenance records with notes added to your analysis system.

4.Lastly, and let’s face it the real reason enforcement authorities ask operators to analyse this information in the first place, unaccounted mileage can be caused by drivers using their cards “creatively”. It is a source of constant amazement to us that, despite all the technology fitted to modern vehicles, some drivers still seem to think they can disappear into thin air simply by removing their driver card. Despite operators’ best efforts, nestling in the bowels of their analysis software there will often be an instance of a driver pulling the card out in an effort to get back to base when they have run out of time, or to generally swerve some sort of infringement. This sort of activity is actually quite easy to detect as it will not only create a variance in odometer readings, it will also generate a clear instance of unaccounted vehicle movement expressed as a period of time. Some systems, such as our own ClockWatcher Elite, will display this information graphically making it easier for operators to investigate; others will produce this data in the form of unaccounted mileage and unaccounted vehicle movement reports which can then be cross-referenced. Either way, the data is there – it is down to the operator to check, if found, debrief these types of occurrences appropriately.

So, there are some instances where unaccounted mileage might occur – let’s look at mileage information that is actually missing.

Missing Mileage I could, at this stage, disappear down a technical rabbit hole and go into great detail about which part of the vehicle file is used to calculate unaccounted mileage (don’t worry, I won’t) but in short, unaccounted mileage is calculated by lining up successive vehicle files and looking at insertion and ejection records therein.

“As a rule of thumb, anything more than 5km should be investigated but some operators will err on the side of caution and investigate anything over 3km”

In addition to the more conventional reasons, we have looked at above, sometimes vehicle data can actually be missing from an operator’s analysis software. It is not uncommon in cases where a missing vehicle record which spans a number of weeks for unaccounted mileage records to be several thousand kms. This is because an analysis system is trying to compare the last ejection record contained within a vehicle file with the insertion record of the next one along which may have arrived several months later. Vehicle data can go missing for several reasons. Data gaps are not confined to manual download methods, however; sometimes operators that use remote download technology may also experience disruption to their data from time to time. Although they save huge amounts of time and manpower, automated systems should not be taken for granted. Operators should run unaccounted mileage reports regularly to detect conventional instances of unaccounted mileage, but also to detect any technical issues which, if found, should be reported to their download provider.

The most basic reason is that data has not been downloaded in time; perhaps the operator has left it too long between downloads and the configuration of their chosen download device does not look back far enough in time. This is not something we routinely come across as most operators we speak to will download their vehicles monthly in line with current advice from Traffic Commissioners. In any event, most download devices will have a full download facility which will look back across a longer period which should fill in any gaps. Very occasionally, unaccounted kms can also be generated due to an error within the data itself. For example, if your analysis system receives a vehicle file which does not contain the relevant parts of the record needed to compare odometer readings the system may produce an unexpected unaccounted mileage result. As these anomalies can often originate from within the tachograph, it would usually involve more in-depth investigation to determine the cause.