Beating Driver Fatigue on Long Hauls
The National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) requires, amongst other things, the ability to identify and maintain safety and compliance measures throughout your business. This means keeping your drivers safe and the fleet efficient is top priority, but you probably don’t think twice about the time it takes to do this. The paper work required to stay on top of everything can be easily misplaced and, let’s face it, some people’s handwriting could use a bit of work. Not to mention the time spent waiting for paperwork to get back to you, checking to see if it’s correct and then inputting it into another system. Even overlooking the simplest thing means going back and double, even triple checking information. Ultimately, this means workflow suffers greatly at the hands of paper-based processes.
How can technology help? Here are three ways you can reduce paperwork and bridge the gap between drivers out on the road and staff back at the office. Saving everyone time, encouraging communication and improving on previously manual workflows.
Customisable Check Lists
An electronic checklist allows your drivers to check vehicle roadworthiness before trucks are loaded up and on their way. If you have multiple vehicles within your fleet, all with varying specs, a one-size-fits-all list won’t do. With fleet compliance solutions, you can create your own checklists quickly and easily share them across the business. Input questions and criteria to match and improve your existing processes. For example, does your fleet require checklists with yes/no formats or do you need more detailed information? Do you want to easily export it to a spreadsheet? Built-in camera functionality will also allow drivers to simply snap a photo of a fault on their device and send it back to the office. Combined with real-time alerts of any faults occurring on the road, your business will be able to build a more efficient workflow, minimise risk and give everybody visibility of issues as they happen.
Accurate Electronic Forms
Time is of the essence for a successful fleet, whether it’s getting a delivery to its destination on time, or transferring paperwork quickly into a spreadsheet for payroll. Unfortunately, drivers are constantly in and out of depots so it’s challenging to get the information you need quickly and accurately. With days spent out on the road focused on adhering to complex routes and trying to get jobs done on time, it’s easy for paperwork to take a back seat. When it does come back to the office it’s often hard to read, damaged or inaccurate with vehicle issues going unrecorded. Replacing paper-based processes with an electronic in-cabin solution allows data to be captured and sent back to the office in real-time, as soon as its recorded by the driver. Asking for additional details depending on the responses a driver enters will provide useful insights that can’t be captured on standard paper forms. Create, edit and review your forms all from one place and share them amongst your team no matter where they are.
Vehicle Compliance Tracking
Staying on top of vehicle compliance has historically meant a lot of time going over paperwork and nitty gritty details. To meet your Chain of Responsibility obligations or audit requirements, it’s important that information about your vehicles are easily accessible and up-to-date. You can record details such as axle group load and vehicle configuration electronically. Drivers can input data and share it instantly with relevant management and back-office staff, saving them the job of re-keying the data in manually. Comparing your most recent reports with previous ones means progress can be tracked and errors are identified more accurately. Most importantly, immediate alerts are raised and can be used by workshop staff to stay ahead of schedules and be prepared for maintenance before vehicles even return. With this data on hand, you can compare and track vehicle maintenance to make sure everything’s up to scratch.
It’s time to save a few trees and get smart about on-road compliance. Cutting down on paperwork and embracing electronic solutions will improve efficiency across your entire fleet, giving you time back to focus on business priorities.