Jan/Feb 2005

Computer software and telematics can help you take account of the fundamental changes sweeping through drivers' working time. We look at a couple of approaches here, and will follow up in our next issue

According to the Freight Transport Association, as many as 70 per cent of companies whose operations will be affected have yet to take any action over the Road Transport Directive, which becomes law in March.

If you think you're covered because your transport planning system already takes account of existing drivers' hours regulations, think again. If you think nothing could be more complicated than those regulations, think again. The RTD will also have an impact on those operations not covered by drivers' hours, including any involving vehicles under 7.5 tonnes gross, such as those used on home delivery operations.

While there is no doubt that the rules are complicated, that is unlikely to be an acceptable excuse if you fall foul of them.

A key change is that all working time, not just driving time, must now be recorded to demonstrate compliance with the rules. The working times and periods of availability will need to be recorded for all your workers, and must be available for inspection by VOSA at any time they are requested.

Significant impact

One area where the new rules could have a significant effect is in vehicle routing and scheduling. Specialist Paragon points out that they will add a further layer of complexity if you're planning schedules on a daily basis. It reckons you may need to update any existing routing and scheduling software to take account of the new constraints on working time.

Because of the 48-hour average working week, the amount of work a driver does at the beginning of the reference period will dictate his or her availability as the reference period progresses. Similarly, the absolute weekly maximum of 60 hours means that in a peak week, the length of a driver's final shift of the week may be dictated by the hours worked earlier in the week.

Paragon is developing a driver history system that will record and monitor a driver's working hours, generating the necessary reports showing actual driver activity. Other third-party driver history systems now available include those from the Freight Transport Association, RAC Software, Road Tech Computer Systems and Trutac.

By linking a driver history system with routing and scheduling software, you can tell the system exactly what driver shifts are available. It will then calculate schedules that match driver availability. "Linking the Paragon software to a driver history system turns a tool that simply reports compliance into one that plans it," comments Charles Nockold, Paragon's marketing and business development director. "It will also help companies maintain an even workload for drivers across their reference period, and save them from breaking the sixty-hour limit in a peak week."

Periods of Availability

The chief flexibility in the new rules arises because breaks and Periods of Availability or POAs (these include planned waiting time) are excluded when you're calculating working time. There are new rules governing night work. It is also possible to schedule split meal breaks for increased flexibility.

The "Periods of Availability" (POA) item has been a real topic of contention. The key principle is that if a period of delay or waiting is planned for, then it does not count towards working time. Moreover, there is some scope to redefine unplanned waiting as planned in a real-time scenario.

Take an example. Suppose a driver is delayed at a customer site, or is unexpectedly not involved in loading or unloading. In this situation, providing the customer tells him about the delay or change of plan at the point of arrival, then the waiting time becomes "planned", and working time becomes a POA.

However, operators will have to be very careful they obey the rules when altering a planned working period to a POA, warns Derek Beevor of Road Tech. His company has a product called Road Tech RTD - a wireless Internet-based real-time working time data recording and hours analysis system, designed to help fleets manage hours.

RTD allows users to make real-time updates to drivers' hours from a desk, mobile phone or PDA. All time periods including start/stop work, breaks and POAs can be logged from any of the access points (PC, mobile phone and so on), and are then stored on Road Tech's servers. Working hours, holidays and sick-days can all be logged - an important factor when you're calculating the required reference periods.

To log working time, all you need is a GPRS-enabled mobile phone, Internet access or a touch-screen. Drivers simply log the times that they start and finish work or their breaks. Managers can also enter data manually from drivers' timesheets.

The RTD software records the times, calculates total working hours and informs you of any infringements that have been made. Analysis can be presented as a text report or in graphs, viewable on a PDA or on an office-based PC.

By offering real-time updates, RTD allows users to manager drivers' time proactively. The downloadable software is free of charge and there are no hidden call costs. It can also be linked to Road Tech's in-cab Cablink traffic management system, in which case the hours data would be recorded on a daily basis simply by using the system.

The company has been offering a free trial, though it ends in March 2005. But even after that, it costs only £1 per week per driver. The cost includes free software to run on the PC or mobile device.