Centurion Travel has revealed that it has seen a reduction in administration time by using tachograph and compliance software from TruTac, which is helping it to pursue Earned Recognition (ER) status.
The Radstock-based operator started to digitalise its tachograph operations in 2019 through TruTac’s TruAnalysis passenger transport specific PSV tachograph analysis reporting system. The process was completed in September 2021 and Operations Director Steve Spiller reveals the company has since saved time on administrative tasks.
The move is allowing the company to focus on becoming a DVSA ER provider, whereby it will be recognised as meeting exemplary driver and vehicle standards. TruTac will help the operator prepare for accreditation; Centurion Travel is now running a trial with TruAnalysis to tweak its performance before submitting an application.
“Even on a small fleet like ours, (TruTac) saved a colossal amount of admin time,” says Mr Spiller. “Probably 90% of the infringements were caused by human error under the analogue system. Drivers would put down the wrong date or the wrong registration number. They would get the kilometres wrong, and we would spend hours looking for the missing ones, because the driver had just written a seven in place of a five.
“I understand why that happens. When people are having to fill out tachographs, they make simple, honest mistakes, but those mistakes can have serious ramifications for reporting.”
Mr Spiller also believes that switching to a digital tachograph system has had a positive effect on drivers.
“When drivers are working with a digital system, they pay more attention to what they’re doing,” he explains. “Because they’ll make an irreversible issue if they don’t. They take it more seriously, and they hold it in higher regard then they did the paper discs.
“It’s also meant we’ve not had to penalise drivers for minor errors. You don’t want your boss wrapping your knuckles on a Monday morning because you wrote the wrong figure in a box, but you can’t get it wrong with this system. It’s taken out all of those problematic elements by being simple to use.”
Centurion Travel is also running driver payroll through TruTac’s TruTime.
