Dec 07/Jan/08

Digital tachographs have been fitted in UK trucks for more than a year now, but there are plenty of analogue units still in service too. We take a look at how easily you can integrate your analysis of the two kinds of data, and how you can put it to good use

Digital tachographs are making it easier for managers to ensure drivers' compliance with EU drivers' hours and working time directive rules. Operators have a legal obligation to check drivers are complying with drivers' hours rules, whether that information is stored on an analogue chart or on a digital smartcard or tachograph.

There is growing realisation, however, that up-to-date digital data on drivers' hours can also provide valuable operational management information, helping managers to monitor compliance and reducing the risk of accidental breaches of drivers' hours regulations. The data is even more useful if exported into applications such as scheduling and payroll.

Digital data from tachographs can be analysed very quickly using the latest analysis software, and vehicles with old analogue tachographs (and the drivers driving them) can be included in this process as well, providing that you invest in chart readers or analysers that can convert the data into digital format.

 

The data is stored both on the tachographs themselves (in the case of digital instruments) and on either the driver's smartcard or a paper chart. Data from both is required to get a full picture of activities. Most tachographs companies use either dedicated memory 'sticks' or a bespoke device to download data from the in-vehicle tachographs. If this seems a little old-fashioned in these days of wireless data, remember that the manufacturers are constrained by detailed technical specifications laid down in European law for digital tachographs, and these were drawn up over six years ago (a perennial problem in this field).

Data from the driver's smartcard or chart is then downloaded into the analysis software. Many fleet operators then give drivers a printout of the hours recorded. It is in the driver's interests as well as theirs, remember, to stay within the law.

Although some operators are replacing analogue tachographs with digital models, the majority are trying to manage data from both digital smartcards and analogue charts at the same time. Depending on how vehicles are allocated within a given fleet, the same drivers could find themselves driving vehicles with both types of tachographs at one time or another, which means that the all-important hours data may be stored in at least two places.

To overcome this problem by pulling the analogue information into the system, tachograph analysis systems can include a chart analyser that reads the chart and stores the information digitally.

Should you do this in your own fleet? Well, according to Derek Beevor, managing director of Road Tech Computer Systems. combining digital tachograph readings with analogue chart data is essential if transport managers are to have a complete picture of driver activities. His company has made a speciality of pulling old-style and new-style tachograph data together in this way.

Beevor recommends scanning drivers' charts whenever they return to the depot. 'The driver simply hands over the chart for scanning and it is handed back to him. Charts don't go missing, so managers have a complete picture of activity.'

Actia

Actia manufactures the Smartach digital tachograph. Its D-box downloading tool is the size of a small calculator, and is compatible with all digital tachographs. It has a built-in smartcard reader and R232 and USB ports for connecting to a PC. It can also read smartcards. It is battery-operated, but can also be powered from the tachograph or a PC.

Tachostore is the software the reads and stores date from the D-box. This can then be emailed to appropriate managers. Data management options include analysis by company, by agency and by site. There are colour prompts to indicate the status of the vehicle download.

One feature allows the user to choose download options (either a full download or a partial download), saving time. If, for example, a manager suspects a particular driver is regularly speeding, he can configure the unit so that just instances of speeding are downloaded.

The data can also be uploaded to a remote server, which is useful for multiple sites. A mobile data transfer option using GPRS is under development.

Stoneridge

Optac is the range of tachograph analysis products from tachographs manufacturer Stoneridge. The basic Fleet Viewer device allows managers to view and store details of driver and vehicle activity captured in digital tachographs and drivers' smartcards.

The Download tool is connected to a PC, where the data is input into the Optac software. This provides a simply graphical display of driver and vehicle activities, and calculates the duration for each activity (drive, rest, other work, available). Warnings are given if it detects unknown drivers and overlapping periods for particular drivers. Reminders are flagged for due downloads and backups.

Other reports available include speeding, events and faults, and distance travelled.

The data is stored in a time-stamped tamper-proof format, so can be used to demonstrate compliance to VOSA inspectors.

Optac 2 is the version for fleets that include both analogue and digital tachographs, and includes a chart scanner. It stores information from up to 20 digital tachographs and 500 smartcard downloads or a combination of both. Optac+ has additional management software.

Siemens VDO

Use of digital tachographs took so long to be incorporated in law that Lucas Kienzle, the company that first designed the DTCO digital tachograph, went through several incarnations during the gestation period. Latterly it was part of the VDO division of Siemens, but only last month parent Siemens sold its VDO business to Continental AG, perhaps best known for its tyres division. However, the UK operation was still called Siemens VDO when we closed for press.

And VDO, like other manufacturers, is making it easier for operators to utilise digital tachograph data, making information from the DTCO usable with a range of intelligent analysis instruments for recording, processing and evaluating vehicle data, as well as driving and rest times.

TIS-Web and TIS-Office are its management software products, while TIS-Compact Plus is a straightforward inexpensive archiving program for fleets of up to ten vehicles, which uses a configurable memory 'stick' that is inserted into the tachograph interface.

Even with TIS-Compact, the fleet manager can have the driving hours, working and resting periods of the employees displayed and printed for every working day at the touch of a button. On request, the software can also generate a speed profile of the last 24 driving hours, which can be used to analyse driving performance. In addition, the system reminds the fleet manager that a download is due.

If more thorough analysis is required, the program can be upgraded to TIS-Web or TIS-Office at any time. These accept data from analogue charts.

PANEL

Analysis on the web

To find out how easy tachograph analysis software is to use, we trialled RoadTech's Tachomaster product.

The unusual thing about Tachomaster is that although it can reside on a PC, it is designed to be Web-based. Instead of buying it or paying annual licence fees, users simply pay £1 per driver per week.

The office smartcard reader takes a minute to download the data held on the driver's smartcard. The analogue chart reader takes around 15 seconds to read a chart, converting the information to digital data. This process is not as automatic as analysing a digital tacho card, but it does mean that the transport manager has a complete picture of a driver's activities, regardless of what vehicle he or she has been driving. The software checks that the chart hasn't already been allocated to another driver, and multiple charts can be allocated to one driver.

As the data capture process completes, the data is uploaded to the Tachomaster web site and synchronised - and this is all done automatically.

A quick look at the Web-reporting function shows why Tachomaster has proved popular with operators such as CEVA Logistics and the AA (see m.logistics, issue 31). Reports on the configurable home screen can include top ten ranking of driver availability in terms of hours remaining, daily driver infringements, the last card reading and the last vehicle reading. The systems also flags when drivers are reaching the 28-day limit.

There is a calendar summary for individual drivers, which includes days worked and data recorded. The data is colour-coded green for no infringement, red for infringement and amber to indicate no infringement but a possible speeding offence. Any infringements are show by date, time and type and the events leading up to them. There is also a simplified explanation of the law and how it was broken in any given instance.

Vehicle activity reports include total time the vehicle was moving, how many people drove the vehicle, and the average duty completed per day, giving some useful vehicle utilisation information. If the vehicle has been driven less than four or six hours, this is flagged up. By integrating accurate mileage information with fuel records, managers can compare driver's fuel efficiency.