November 2002

As the countdown begins to the introduction of digital tachographs in 2004 (m.logistics, last issue), concerns are being raised in the user community about possible incompatibilities with existing vehicle-mounted computers.

Such worries are summed up by Mark Clisset, operations director for vehicle hire company Lex Transfleet, who says: "Having a digital tachograph that records speed and drivers' hours but uses different software from that of a telematics system that could record similar data is illogical."

He says vehicle manufacturers "should be working with the Government to resolve not only this issue, but also the way in which different telematics systems need to integrate with each other to make output data more consistent and manageable."

Clisset says there is "an urgent need" for a common protocol to be introduced for different makes. The truck makers' emerging open FM-Standard could of course help promote that objective, but only if it is generally adopted.

 

Although such sentiments are echoed quite widely in the transport world, specialised on-board systems manufacturers maintain that their equipment is these days seen as having a somewhat different role from that of tachographs alone. Their expectation is that tachographs will simply provide the basic information required by law, while separate telematics systems will handle more complex functions.

This is very much the line taken by Alcatel with a new on-board computer it plans to launch next year. Its OBC unit "does not replace the tachograph," it points out, but alerts the driver when working hours are up, and also transfers data via satellite to an office. Significantly, the OBC supports the FMS-Standard, as well as the source SAE J1939 standard for on-board equipment.