19 minute read
WELCOME
from CONNECTED
Issue 1 - Winter 2023
PAGES
Page 2 WELCOME
From Director Mark Johnston, welcoming everyone to this first issue of Connected.
Page 3/4 DRIVING INTO 2023 WITH A NEW BRAND IDENTITY AND LOGO
Liz Haselden, our Marketing Manager shares why the company’s new brand identity marks a major milestone in the company’s history.
Page 5/6 IT’S A GLITCH
Warning about the serious technical glitch that has been uncovered when remote downloading from some GEN2 tachographs.
Page 7/8 NEWS ROUND UP
The latest company news from our IT, sup port and compliance teams.
Page 9/11 CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Campeys of Selby share their experiences of going fully digital.
PAGE 12 CUSTOMER TALK
A round up of our customer’s news and recent successes. PAGE 13/14 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
In this issue we take a closer look at Document Manager.
PAGE 15/16 VIEWPOINTS
Subir Gupta, our National Account Manager offers his views on software demos and advice on choosing the right remote downloading solution.
PAGE 17/19 TALKING COMPLIANCE
Missing Mileage? Marc Caplin, our Compliance Manager explains all.
PAGE 20 CONTACT US
WELCOME
To the first issue of our all-new CONNECTED magazine, which as the name suggests has been created as another way for us to connect, share our latest news, and provide technical and compliance advice. We will also be showcasing the work of our customers and for this launch issue we have turned the spotlight on Campeys of Selby who are investing significantly in alternative fuels.
The carbon zero agenda is one I’ve been following closely. I recently attended the launch of Freight Carbon Zero, and it was interesting to hear the UK’s largest operators debate the realities of achieving carbon zero, with some positive and ready to embrace the challenge, and others perhaps more realistic. While this doesn’t directly affect Aquarius at this moment, we know from talking to our customers ho important it is, especially with even more Clean Air Zones being created in cities around the UK as well, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on the debate and sharing our insights in future issues
Turning back to Aquarius, we are pleased to report that we have recorded one of our busiest years in 2022 and central to this success, we believe from talking to customers, has been our Asset Maintenance portal and how it automatically cross-references with our tachograph analysis software, Driver Defect App, Time & Attendance, and eSIGN technologies. More than 75% of our customers who joined us this year are now using the full capabilities of our software, which shows how the tide has turned. COVID has definitely been the driver for more and more companies wanting to make their operations fully digital, and we are seeing a lot of operators as well, not only now turning from paper to digital but from digital to digital so they can have all driver and vehicle data on one platform.
This total-system approach is not only proving to be beneficial for compliance and safety – as well as for those seeking Earned Recognition – we are also seeing now how it is helping our customers run more efficiently, both financially and practically.
Looking ahead to 2023, we are excited to help even more customers, large and small, embrace the full capabilities of our software so they too can reap all the benefits – and with our new brand identity, we are looking forward to being able to demonstrate how our family of digital solutions provide a real ‘connected’ solution for processing, managing, analysing and reporting on all aspects of driver and vehicle data.
We hope you enjoy reading this first issue, and please get in touch if you’d like to be included in future issues or have any ideas for technical or compliance related features. This year the team will also be out and about at:
www.itthub.co.uk/ - ITT Hub www.cvshow.com/ - Commercial Vehicle Show www.roadtransportexpo.co.uk/rtx2023/en/page/home - Road Transport Expo www.www.coachandbusuk.co.uk/ - Coach & Bus UK
Mark Johnston Director
Last October, we celebrated our 18th anniversary by unveiling a new brand identity and logo, which we had designed to reflect our digital evolution as a company and our distinct position for offering forward-thinking fleet compliance and data management By Liz Haselden, Aquarius’s Marketing Manager systems for the road transport industry. ” The new branding marked a major milestone in the company’s exciting journey. It will feature at the heart of our go-to-market strategy for 2023 and will underpin our ongoing commitment to delivering total system solutions that innovatively provide road transport operators with an efficient, smarter, and greener way of managing their compliance responsibilities, for both driver and vehicle data.
So why the change? Moving forward, our new branding, which includes new digital icons for each of the products, will enable us to visually illustrate our evolvement across all marketing and business platforms.
This will help us to show how our family of digital solutions provide a real ‘connected’ solution for processing, managing, analysing and reporting on all aspects of driver and vehicle data.
In line with the new branding, we also launched a new website which showcases our full portfolio of digital solutions, including Tachograph Analysis (Elite), Asset Maintenance, Vehicle Defects, Remote Downloading, Driver Debriefs, eSIGN, POD, employee’s Time and Attendance, Licence Checking, plus lots more, including the latest electronic Document Management system and Aquarius App.
Since developing ClockWatcher 18 years ago when we became the first company to offer analysis software for both analogue and digital tacho data in a stand-alone package, our in-house team have continued to innovate, problem-solve and always be one step ahead of the technological – and legislative - curve.
We pride ourselves on listening to customers and creating real-life solutions, and this can be seen by the success of all our products over the last few years, like Asset Maintenance and Document Management – in particular how they all offer customers a reliable, focused and a truly integrated compliance and fleet management solution.
To mirror this marketing re-brand, the software has also followed suit with a new look from log in to reporting. We’ve streamlined the navigation, upgraded the help section and made several advancements to the overall running of the system.
Ultimately, over the last 18 years, as a team, we have focused our expertise on creating a range of reliable technology solutions that enable operators to easily monitor, cross-reference and manage all areas of fleet management data relating to vehicle and driver activity. This total-system approach has proved to not only be beneficial for compliance and safety; it has helped road transport businesses all across the UK and Ireland run more efficiently – both financially and practically.
And now, with an even greater noticeable shift in more and more operators, large and small, wanting integrated fleet management technologies to replace current paper or standalone digital systems, we are looking forward to helping them transform how they manage, communicate, connect and report on all areas of vehicle and driver compliance in 2023 – and hopefully our new branding will help guide them that little bit easier.
Mark Johnston, Aquarius IT’s Customer Services Director, said: “We are pleased that our new brand identity and logo retains a colourful link with our history, but more so that it serves to represent the Aquarius IT of today and how far we have come in leading technological innovation over the last 18 years with our solutions-led fleet compliance and Earned Recognition approved management systems.” Guy Reynolds, who co-founded Aquarius IT in 2004 with Dave Bailey, added: “As a company, we have seen considerable growth over the last 18 years, and we are proud of our success and our continued commitment to helping road transport operators embrace all the developments in digital technology.”
“We have all been on a digital journey, especially over the last few years, which is why the new branding comes at an important time. It solidifies our position and gives us the visual tools and processes to be able to show our progression as an IT company and our mission for the future.”
Since October you may have seen us talking in the press, warning UK transport operators about a serious technical glitch that has been uncovered when remote downloading from some GEN2 tachographs. And, the purpose behind this warning is for us to help operators understand that this is not an analysis software issue, and for them to know how to ‘work around’ the problem until a fix is found.
Talking to Motor Transport magazine, Guy Reynolds, Aquarius IT’s Director explained that the issue seems to occur when the tachograph tries to authenticate remotely with an expired company card that has been left in a card reader at a company/customer site or a hosting rack of a remote download service provider. If the system then tries to initiate a download using the expired company card, it results in the tachograph becoming incapable of remote downloading with a valid company card thereafter; with no obvious way to reset it, leaving operators only able to manually download data from the front panel. At this-stage, it appears to only affect certain GEN2 tachographs dating from June 2019 onwards, which is why the problem has surfaced more and more, as the first company cards to be used in a GEN2 tachograph are now expiring.
So, what is happening? Our experience and testing have shown that if the company card is left in the rack after its expiry date with or without a new GEN2 card, and the tachograph tries to authenticate it, the system will fail and it will become incapable of remote downloading – even if you try to use a new valid company card thereafter.
The same situation also applies in the following, more common-place, case scenario:
1. A GEN1 card is in the hosting rack and is due to expire on 31st July for example. To ensure continuity a GEN2 card dated from 1st August is placed in the rack alongside the GEN1 card, on and around the 31st July. This is a standard remote downloading practice to ensure no scheduled downloads are missed.
2. On 1st August, the tachograph authenticates with the GEN2 card – all is good.
3. On 2nd August, the tachograph then defaults to try and automatically authenticate with the now out of date GEN1 card. Instead of rejecting the card, it locks up and refuses to remote download ever again.
The result for operators is:
• the tachograph is now rendered permanently unusable for remote downloading • there is potential for missed hours • they will have to revert back to manually downloading the vehicles and manage the logistically challenging and costly process this will create.
Guy has confirmed that there are many unanswered questions as to why and how this is happening, but there are rumours circulating that a resolution is imminent, but whether this is days or months, no one knows at this stage.
In the meantime, Guy advises that although there might be minor continuity issues, the safest way forward is to remove the old company card the day before the last day of the month, i.e., if the last day is the 31st, remove it at some point on the 30th, and replace it with new company card, which will start working from the 1st of the month.
There may be a few vehicles that may not download on the last day of the month, but they will catchup in the coming days; and it’s a small price to pay until the root of the problem, and a solution is found.
He also added that this problem appears to be specific to the UK, but that’s not to say it isn’t happening in other countries.
www.roadtransportexpo.co.uk/rtx2023/en/page/home
NETWORKING AT EURO BUS EXPO
The last show for us in 2022 was Euro Bus Expo and after four years away it was really good to be back at the bi-annual event held in NEC. One of the highlights was meeting the new Minister for Buses and Coaches, Richard Holden, who came on to our stand to learn more about our products and services, and how we assist the road transport industry. It was also good to hear from Richard Turfitt, Senior Traffic Commissioner, and catch up with industry colleagues and customers.
During the show, the prestigious Route One awards also took place and Oxford Buses, one of our customers, won Outstanding Customer Experience Award – congratulations!
We are looking forward to getting back out on the road again in 2023, and we’ll be at the Commercial Vehicle Show, ITT Hub, Road Transport Expo and Coach Bus – for a round up of what each show offers, read Liz’s blog here.
OUT OUT - CELEBRATING THE INDUSTRY
On the subject of awards, the team recently got suited and booted for two of the most prestigious events in the 2022 road transport calendar.
It was a fantastic night of celebrations at the 2022 Motor Transport Awards, which culminated in us presenting the Service to Industry award to William Stobart. We’d also like to give a special mention to one of our customers, JPE Holdings, who won the Operational Excellence Award.
JPE Aggregates is an exemplary operator and as a team, we are super excited that they have won this coveted award – and we are super proud of the role we played in helping them achieve their Earned Recognition status.
Then it was on to Belfast for the Export and Freight awards, and in partnership with Cubo, Guy Reynolds presented the Fleet Truck of the Year award to DAF Trucks UK.
TAKING A SHOT
In 2022, we were delighted to sponsor Lloyd Jones, who works in our Technical Support team, in support of his role as a volunteer for the England Amputee Football Association, who’s senior team competed in the World Cup last September.
Since 2017, Lloyd has been volunteering as the England Amputee Football Association’s official photographer, travelling the world to capture the team in action. This has included travelling with the senior team to the Euros X2 (Istanbul 2017 and Krakow 2021) and the World Cup (Mexico 2018), as well as other tournaments and the many training camps in between. His latest adventure was at the World Cup in Turkey, where he celebrated England coming ninth in the world, and he writes in his latest blog that he had an amazing experience with the team. He said: “Being able to photograph in Fenerbache’s stadium and also being able to witness the final in Galatasaray’s stadium with over 20,000 fans is something I could have only dreamt of.”
HAIRY TIMES, RAISING MONEY FOR MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
For Movember, Marc Caplin and Lloyd Jones (fresh from the World Cup) smashed their fundraising target and raised more than £500 in aid of research into male-related cancers and suicide prevention. As you can see from the photo, Marc, who organised the staff fundraiser, grew his version of a Ned Flanders tash!! Liz Haselden also joined the fundraiser by running 60k throughout the month of November, with Erin Jones and Connor Haslam also walking their way through the month. Aquarius has since matched the total raised, meaning more than £1000 will be donated to Movember.
COMPANY NEWS STORY
APPRENTICE OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to Adam Jones, our Level 4 Software Development Apprenticeship who recently won TDM’s Apprentice of the Month Award.
Adam’s nomination came from his Apprenticeship coach, Nathan, who was keen to express and recognise Adam’s growth and continued development in his Apprenticeship with us in our Birmingham office. Nathan said: “Adam is exceeding expectations in his apprenticeship with Aquarius, both in his technical knowledge and professional behaviour. Due to this, he has been given a new role within the company that is focused on advising how new government legislation will practically affect current projects.” ISSUE 1 - WINTER 2023
During lockdown, we were delighted to secure Campeys of Selby as a new software customer, and recently Subir Gupta, our National Account Manager, caught up with the Transport Manager, Harry Campey, to ask about his journey with Aquarius IT so far.
First, to set the scene, Subir asks for a little bit of background information on Campeys.
Campeys of Selby is a fourthgeneration, family-run business that is based in Selby, North Yorkshire. The company first started in the 1940s and was taken over by the current generation of Campeys in 2005 - throughout our focus has always been on meeting the individual needs of our customers. Since we took over the company in 2005 with just two trucks, we’ve grown into a nationwide company, operating a fleet of over 100 vehicles, and 180 trailers.
What services do you provide?
Services include general haulage, palletised deliveries, warehousing, and specialised glass transportation. We are one of a few UK hauliers that specialises in glass delivery – it’s a niche, high risk service, and we have outstanding KPIs. We are also a member of Palletforce and in their 100% club
Turning to Aquarius.
Was it a risky strategy to think about changing / investing in new digital technologies during a pandemic? Not for us, we actually flourished during the pandemic with sales more than doubling – this was largely organic growth which is a testament to our customer-centric approach.
In support of this growth and our customer’s growth, we, therefore, had to adapt quickly; we purchased outright another 50 new and used vehicles, created more employment opportunities, and invested in Aquarius IT’s digital technologies to help us manage this growth and our compliance requirements.
Specifically on tacho analysis, what were your motivations for going digital? their Earned Recognition status. Before ClockWatcher Elite we used a paper-based system, which as you can imagine was very timeconsuming - it would take two people two days a week to manage all the administration involved. And then as the business grew and we took on more and more drivers, the burden further increased and we started to struggle to keep up with the admin.
We wanted everything to be quicker, with less admin, and to be more environmentally friendly, which could only be achieved by investing in digital tacho analysis software.
Plus, during the pandemic with social distancing rules, going digital was the sensible choice, which is why alongside ClockWatcher we also invested in e-SIGN, the software’s integral Driver De-brief system. In addition, you also helped us plug our third-party Remote Downloading system into ClockWatcher Elite directly so that the data is transmitted automatically.
Have you achieved this with ClockWatcher Elite?
Yes, 100%, and we are proud to say we maintain the highest operational standards. At our latest DVSA Audit we achieved top scores across the board for compliance with an overall rating of 1 ‘Mostly Satisfactory’. We have a double-green OCRS (with no prosecutions or public inquiries). We have also been FORS silver accredited for 5 years – this forms part of our commitment to continue improvements in compliance and operate to the highest standards, which ClockWatcher Elite helps us do.
Since onboarding with ClockWatcher Elite we have also significantly reduced our paper carbon footprint with a 90% reduction in stationary costs. And the member of staff who was dedicating two days a week to managing the tachos is now down to one day and has been successfully deployed to work in other areas of the business.
Moving on to January 2021, you then took on Asset Maintenance, Driver Defect Reporting, Document Manager, and Time & Attendance – the full works. Can you explain?
It’s very simple really, ClockWatcher Elite was running like clockwork (no pun intended) and the support and service that we were receiving from Aquarius IT was excellent. The natural next step, was to have one all-encompassing digital system that would power all the different facets of our transport operation. We wanted everything to integrate, and be seamless and we wanted one account manager and one company to call.
What was the reaction from your drivers?
It was important for us that they bought into the system and wasn’t overwhelmed with all the technology changes. So, with Document Manager, the Defect App, T&A, Infringements all built into the same App for ease of use, we were able to make the changes progressively which meant as we turned on new features, the drivers were already familiar with the functionality and how it all worked. This also meant, we didn’t have drivers calling us all the time to ask for support – they’d grown accustomed to the App and were able to use and navigate around it easily.
With so many products to discuss, can you give us just one top-line benefit you’ve derived from each of these portals?
It is difficult to give just one but for:
Time & Attendance – all our timesheets are now automated digitally. At the touch of a button, we can quickly and clearly track start and finish times, and being all in one system we can easily compare with the tacho data for greater transparency. The overlay of the drivers working hours to the tacho hours really is the most useful feature and saves countless hours per week.
Payroll Integration – this is connected to Time & Attendance, but it’s very much worth mentioning how you custom-built us a system that separates hours and pay grades and processes driver’s expenses online. We’ve gone from two days of work to one morning, and our drivers are happy with the fact that we can react more quickly. As a family-run company staff welfare is very important to us.
Document Manager – Two words efficiency and eco-friendly. We have broadcast and had more than 10,000 documents acknowledged via this system, which would have originally been paper-based and time-consuming to follow up with individual drivers. Its transformed how we communicate.
Driver Defect Reporting - again this was originally done manually, and was a time-consuming process and could take up to a week for minor faults to be reported. We now have instant reporting, so for example, if a driver reports a chip in the windscreen, we get notified instantly and we can get it fixed before it turns into a crack and an expensive windscreen replacement job with a VOR – saving us time and money.
Asset Maintenance – we did already use software to manage our maintenance requirements, but we wanted everything to integrate which is why we moved wholesale over to Aquarius IT. For this one though we need to go into a bit more detail.
