Ever since Thames Traders, Commer Knockers and Thornycrofts plied the highways of Australia, drivers have been using written work diaries (WWD) or “Log Books” of some description to manually record driving hours. Perhaps it’s time that recording of driving hours moved into the 21st century and went digital.
EWD’s provide a digital format for drivers to record and report driving hours, in real time. The need for written paper work diary entries are totally removed and the sometimes complex and confusing regulations are all handled electronically via an in-cab device or more recently within an app-based platform.
Personally, I believe the app-based platforms to be the way of the future for fleets and individual owners alike. There’s no need to install expensive hardware into your fleet. Hardware which as technology moves forward could quickly become obsolete.
App-based platforms allow drivers to utilise a company supplied mobile device/tablet, or the drivers own smart-phone to manage and record their driving hours.
Fleet can benefit from moving to EWD’s in multiple ways
Reduced admin burden
Logging of daily driving hours are automatically stored in the company’s online portal profile and archived for future audits and record-keeping obligations, (no more filing yellow copies in a box).
The laborious job of checking daily work diary pages (when they are finally handed in), for breaches and mistakes, following up with drivers to explain the error, rectifying errors and adjusting yellow WWD copies is totally removed from the compliance managers day, freeing up valuable time. I have had compliance managers report to me that on a fleet of around 60-70 vehicles, removing this task this alone can free up 2-hours per day.
Increased productivity and fleet utilisation
EWD’s provide real time reporting of driver hours and compliance. Through a web-based portal, compliance mangers and allocators can view exactly how many hours a driver has recorded for the day or week and ascertain whether another load may be completed, all without having to ring the driver, this has a two-fold benefit of also reducing driver distraction.
Managers and allocators can also assess individual driver hours over a 28-day period to view whether 24-hour rest and night rest obligations have been met and allocate loads and start times to suit.
Real time, minute by minute time counting
Finally, by switching to an approved EWD, drivers no longer have to account for time in quarter hour, clock time periods. Rest breaks are calculated and recorded by the minute meaning a break from 10.05am to 10.35am counts as 30-minutes rest, not 15-minutes as it would using a WWD. This adds up to better time and equipment utilisation.
Less frequent driver breaches
The app-based platforms as with fixed in-cab devices, provide alerts to upcoming rest breaks required and potential breaches. This function can provide a huge reduction in driver breaches, with the up-tick being, compliance managers can be notified immediately not having to wait days or a week for yellow WWD copies to be handed in.
There are several NHVR approved, App-based platforms available with the list growing rapidly. Hubfleet, Q-EWD, Logmaster and Smart eDriver to name a few.
The Bring Your Own device model seems to be popular, with monthly subscription plans based around your individual fleet requirements or alternatively there are options for single driver users.
Base plans are available from a little as around $14 per month rising incrementally depending on the add-ons you may require, like pre-start checks, telematics etc.
Can we throw away the pen and ruler? Perhaps just the ruler for now, but it seems we are definitely heading in that direction.
What do drivers think?
After 30-years in this game, I must admit that I was a little bit cynical of the electronic path of, driving hour record keeping. I mean, having the authorities retain electronic data for all eternity can only be bad, right? Maybe not.
I have recently switched from a WWD to the HubFleet app-based EWD and my initial experience has been very positive.
Using my own smart-phone I was sent a text and link with an invitation to access the HubFleet system. The initial setup was simple and took around five minutes or so. A login and pin number were set then I entered the driver base, company name and selected my fatigue option (solo BFM). This then set the system up with the driving hours and rest breaks calculating to the BFM rule-set.
Once set up it was just a matter of familiarising myself with the app features and functions which was made easier by the included training resources with links to “YouTube” tutorials.
The Hubfleet app is fairly simple to navigate with just a few initial hiccups to overcome, like switching to different trucks, mid-shift.
Starting a shift is simple with just a few details to enter and you’re off. If you logged out of the app you need to log back in again, but as my phone is pin locked, I don’t bother logging out each day, so I can just hit start shift. A page comes up with my work options, company name and driver base, no changes then hit next. As I predominantly drive the same vehicle every day, it’s just a matter of hitting the “Use previous” button next to the vehicle rego, number field and the app will automatically bring up the last rego number I entered.
The same is for the odometer. At the bottom of the page, it then asks if I want to change from rest (which I instigated at the end of the shift the previous day) to work, which I do so I then hit next and the shift has started to count hours. The top of the page tells me my current activity is “working” with a counter displaying the hours/minutes. Geo-tagging takes care of my location and auto-fills this in.
When using the same truck each day, this start shift process literally takes me 10-seconds and I’m good to go.
The Hubfleet app then does all the hard work and tells me that there are no potential breaches anticipated for my shift as long as I comply with the 6h 15 minute rest rule and the 14hr work in 24hr driving rule.
As my day progresses the app tracks my driving/rest hours and will send my device a notification when I’m approaching a required rest break. A warning is sent at 45 minutes, 30-minutes and 15 minutes. The main screen can be monitored at any time to manually check hours of work entered.
At the time of switching from work to rest, it is just a matter of entering the odometer reading (as you would do with a WWD) and switching from work to rest and geo -tagging will apply the location automatically. Once your rest break is finished, just complete the above in reverse and off you go. The counter then counts down to the next rest break.
The app counts my consecutive and non-consecutive night and 24-hour rest breaks for the last 28-days, this is a bonus as these are really easy rules to overlook when using a WWD.
In the event of a compliance intercept (which I haven’t had yet) the Hubfleet app should be locked in compliance mode before the device is handed to the inspecting authority for checking. This only allows the authorities access to the minimum required information contained within the app and they don’t get access to your kids birthday party photos because it’s locked.
The Hubfleet app allows drivers to operate across multiple business profiles, stored in the app, so if you drive for more than one employer, you’re ok.
After a month or so now I’m quite happy with using this method of compliance. My cynicism has abated and my errors compared to using a WWD (forgot to sign a page, added up hours wrong or didn’t enter an odometer reading) have reduced to zero.
I was a little concerned that the EWD might take away a little bit of the flexibility that a WWD provides but that is not the case. If I sit waiting to load and 30-minutes passes by and I didn’t record a break when I arrived as I didn’t think it was going to take that long, I can still go in and record a break to an earlier time.
Hubfleet plans start at $14 per month for single drivers and $19 for multi-driver accounts with customisable add-ons to suit individual needs. Fleet discounts may also apply.
The Hubfeet app saves me time and takes away that sense of nervousness when driving through an inspection station or weighbridge, it really is quite foolproof so far.
