The tacho doesn’t have to be taxing

The tachograph has been a mainstay of HGV drivers’ and operators’ lives for many years. And not always a welcome one. While it fulfils its compulsory duty of collecting data on driver hours and rest periods, managing this data is not always straightforward.

But with the penalties for failing to comply with tachograph and driving hours regulations growing increasingly severe, it is not something that fleet managers can afford to overlook. That’s why over 40% of them spend more than two hours every week correcting and following up on mistakes in driver tachograph data to ensure compliance.

However, tackling the tachograph no longer has to be such a drain on time and resources. The digital tachograph helps drivers and fleet managers take their time back and turn tacho data into transformative insights.

What is the digital tachograph?

The digital tachograph is much like its analogue cousin – but better. It’s fitted to your vehicle to monitor driving hours and help enforce maximum limits and minimum break periods. Verizon Connect’s tacho devices also report on vehicle and engine data, all remotely and in near real-time.

Driver card information and vehicle data are collected separately with drivers ‘signing in’ to the tachograph using a dedicated key fob. All information on driving time, speed, distance and rest periods is then allocated to the individual driver for easier and more accurate reporting. As well as helping simplify compliance responsibilities, this data can also be used to coach safe driving and enhance the productivity of your fleet.

Driver and vehicle data is automatically downloaded and stored at regular intervals without the need for physical access to either the card or the vehicle. So up-to-date information is always available without downtime or disruption.

From compulsory chore to powerful tool

A digital tacho solution turns a time-consuming chore into a power tool by digitising and automating the tachograph compliance process. With this ‘live’ data to hand, fleet managers get better visibility into their operation and faster access to insight, so you can stay on top of compliance and make better plans for your drivers throughout the working day.

When you combine tachograph information with the data gathered by your fleet management solution, you can:

• See the status of the drivers in your fleet with live map integration.
• Monitor tachograph, driver card, vehicle and engine data in near real-time.
• See vehicle location and driving hours to assess who is within safe limits for the next job.
• Take a proactive approach to tacho management by encouraging drivers to take breaks.

With location and ETA data in your live map alongside start time, drive time remaining, next break due, and next rest due, you can encourage drivers to take breaks and assess who is nearing limits before assigning new jobs. It is also possible to set alerts based on driving hours, so you’ll receive a proactive warning whenever a driver is at risk of an hours violation.

Connect every dot with Verizon Connect

The tachograph may be a compulsory component of running a heavy fleet. But tacho issues do not have to be. Fleet managers are not forever destined to spend valuable hours collating data, fixing errors and reporting to stay on the right side of compliance.

Digital tach solutions drastically reduce the manual part of the tachograph process, helping to improve accuracy, eradicate driver error and simplify compliance.

And the digital tachograph is just one application in our portfolio designed to help your fleet work smarter, safer and more efficiently. When combined with fleet management solutions, asset tracking, fuel card management and more, you get greater visibility into your mobile operation with easy access to the data you need to keep your fleet moving.

See what your fleet can look like with the help of Verizon Connect.