It is true to say that the take up of EWD has not been as rapid as both the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and the technology providers had originally anticipated.
There are numerous reasons behind this, ranging from the type of device the driver prefers, through to the perceived cost of implementation versus the benefit to both driver and business.
But most of the discussion to date has more or less ignored the underlying principle of what the implementation of an EWD solution should be doing, and that is to drive significant improvement in safety on the road as well as productivity for the transport businesses.
It is a well-known fact that if an organisation improves safety for its stakeholders, then there is a significant gain in productivity for that business.
There are clear signs that some of the larger transport businesses are now recognising the safety and productivity gains that can be made with the business wide adoption of the Smart eDriver EWD.
The Smart eDriver Business Portal is designed to provide paperless handling of work diary records; organisation of drivers into relevant reporting groups; notification of breaches and other events, current and historical; work and rest hours reports; daily availability of work hours; and many other functions that provide greater safety and productivity.
It’s worth having a look at some of the feedback that Smart eDriver has been receiving from drivers that have been using the system for a year now.
• “It saves a significant amount of time related to the administration of a work diary, it is simple to use, and it never runs out of pages or time.”
• “It eliminates human data entry error and tells you when something isn’t right.”
• “There is no such thing as having to submit multiple loose paper sheets to the business.”
• “With work and rest times calculated in minutes, not 15-minute periods as in the written diary, it provides better usage of time.”
• “It tells me how many work hours I have left as well as warning that I have a potential non-compliance.”
• “It provides more control to me as a driver for managing my fatigue compliance.”
The above feedback clearly shows how a Smart eDriver EWD can provide the right type of information to the driver and that enables them to better manage their time and enjoy a safer workplace.
With correct implementation, transport businesses can use the information that Smart eDriver generates to further improve safe operating of the fleet as well as gain significant productivity improvements.
So how does Smart eDriver EWD provide productivity improvements to a transport business? It’s all about aligning driver available hours to planned jobs and ensuring that there are no delays in deliveries due to unplanned driver breaks.
Imagine if you are a transport fleet supervisor and you are putting together the months schedule for all your drivers, how much more efficient would it be if you had a real time view of each drivers work/rest status, knowing when extended breaks would need to be planned for.
What if there is added complexity in that you must bring on a few temporary contract drivers to ensure you have adequate coverage, wouldn’t it be so efficient if you had their current work/rest status immediately at hand so that you could simply take that into account when planning their work? A system that tells you how many available hours a driver has per day for the next three days?
Smart eDriver provides this real time view of individual drivers because it is a standalone EWD.
It does not have any dependencies on any other system, it is independent.
This is so important when you bring on new drivers, or you have contract drivers that work for multiple businesses, or you decide to change your telematics system.
In each scenario, the Smart eDriver EWD is personal to the driver, and their records stay with them, and the relevant data can be made available to you in real-time when those drivers are working for you.
While there is a NHVR requirement that the providers of EWD systems can transfer driver work/rest times from one system to another, this does not provide the same depth of information that Smart eDriver collects for each individual driver.
Step Global has made it possible for the Smart eDriver to run on as many iOS and Android platforms that the majority of drivers use, whether it be a company supplied smartphone/tablet, or it be a personal smartphone.
Smart eDriver is a low-cost solution and very easy to use.
A driver working for one business that uses a telematics based EWD, and a second business where Smart eDriver is used, can easily be accommodated by the Smart eDriver business portal.
In fact it’s just as likely that the driver will use Smart eDriver for both businesses.
For more information on Smart eDriver and how it can help your business, contact sales@stepglobal.com.
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