Buying Guide: Descartes
Smarter thinking Tacho analysis, licence checks and safety checks can all be handled by the SmartCompliance suite TACHOGRAPH ANALYSIS AND COMPLIANCE Descartes offers a one-stop shop for compliance across a trio of connected products covering tachograph analysis, driving licence verification and walk-around vehicle safety checks, all designed to give road transport operators smart, fast and safe solutions to keep their businesses compliant and moving. The SmartCompliance suite comprises SmartAnalysis, SmartLicence and SmartCheck, with each service complementing the others in addressing potential issues for vehicle operators. SmartAnalysis tachograph analysis software is employed by many of the UK’s leading road transport operators, and ensures compliance with drivers’ hours, working time legislation and tachograph rules. The system analyses more than a million tachograph records every month, with automated email alerts flagging up potential issues that require immediate attention. It also
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provides easy-to-read reports that are available online. Operators can subscribe to the reports that are most important to them, filtering the data they receive to provide useful information on compliance. All fleet tachograph data is securely stored and available via Descartes’ web portal, so it can be accessed from any location by authorised staff.
LICENCE TO DRIVE SmartAnalysis also provides a number of modules such as driver debriefing to prove a business is taking all possible steps to ensure compliance and the safety of vehicles and drivers. But compliance on the road needs to complement proof that drivers are allowed to be there in the first place, which is where SmartLicence comes in. Some companies are still relying on annual licence checks, which isn’t acceptable from a duty of care perspective. In an analysis of 12,000 licences, SmartLicence found 3,000 issues, including 2.5% of drivers either with an expired licence or
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being close to losing their licence due to having nine or more penalty points. Such workers cannot be relied upon to notify an employer if they pick up a driving ban, so the SmartLicence system allows organisations to assess risk and conduct regular automated DVLA checks in accordance with that risk. The more points on a licence, the more frequently it will get checked. It also provides a historic log of checks and licence changes, providing a clear audit trail if required. The final product of the trio is SmartCheck, a smartphone or computerbased vehicle check app that replaces traditional, cumbersome and easily ignored paper-based checks. It won’t allow drivers to tick boxes in quick succession, ensuring walkaround checks are actually taking place, and the data is immediately captured and available to view without having to wait for paper evidence to find its way back to an office. SmartCheck offers an auditable form that records checks, defects and corrective action, helping with vehicle management as well as checking compliance, with fleet mechanics able to log repairs and track safety check history. The three SmartCompliance systems come together to form a genuinely smart compliance management solution for transport operators, ensuring safety for drivers and companies as well as easy, time-saving record-keeping.
O For more information email info@ descartes.com or visit smartcompliance. descartes.com
