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With Tacho Online, Telemark Bilruter has a complete overview of driving and resting times for all cars and drivers regardless of car brand. This saves time, provides insight and minimizes the risk of fines.
In the parking lot in front of Telemark Transport Service in Skien are both Mercedes and Volvola trucks. With more than 150 vehicles, getting the brands’ own systems to talk to each other is a challenge. This is why the company has chosen to implement Tacho Online, which can gather all tachograph information in a unified solution, regardless of vehicle brand.
-Tacho Online is good because it is a very simple system to manage. Tachograph data and driving and rest time data are quite complicated, but the system is simple and can extract the data in an easy way, says Einar Næss, Fleet Manager at Telemark Bilruter. Previously, they read both tachograph data and driver licenses manually. Now they don’t have to. Today, a box in the vehicles performs a full data download, which is stored, analyzed and can be monitored in real time.
– This has a big impact because you get a completely different overview. You get all the information on one screen. At the same time, I can have an overview of all companies at the same time, says Næss.
The driver and owner will be notified
Data from both cars and drivers is sent via a box in the car to GSGroup’s server and from there to a data center, where it is stored. Analysis of the collected data is also the basis for infringement reports that are sent to the carrier and driver as soon as the incident has occurred.
– The driver is notified of an infringement in an app. It is much easier for them. If they have a violation, they just write: I had to drive an extra 10 minutes to get to a rest area, and then it is stored electronically, explains Einar Næss, who believes the system also makes it easier to document to the authorities.
A tool for business inspections
-For control authorities in particular, it is an advantage to be able to easily hand over relevant files and reports during an inspection. And the same goes for working hours to the labor inspectorate. We used to have to produce written documentation, but we don’t have to do that now. It is in the system, which is good for us and for the authorities, Einar Næss continues.
Fleet management based on data from the vehicle
Now that the box is installed in the car, the solution also enables fleet management, which means, among other things, that the company can retrieve other data from the car in real time, such as GPS tracking.
-So far we have had fleet management on the buses. Now it is being integrated into the transport section, so we know where the vehicles are at all times. When we receive an order for a transport assignment, we can go to the map and see who is closest. We can also see how much driving rest each driver has left for the rest of the week and 14 days ahead. So it’s definitely good information. As for the buses, they follow a timetable, and it’s really good to see that you can detect a delay much faster. For example, we operate the Haukelie Express, which goes over the mountains all year round. The weather can be particularly challenging in winter. It is very useful to know where the bus is at all times, says Einar Næss.
Why would you recommend Tacho Online to others?
– Because it is easy to use, simple, clear and works well. And the support is good and fast. This is crucial for me.
