Driving Fleet cars, is there an IT solution to identifying who was driving when?
We have a large pool of a cars at work, which are accessed by a lot of staff. Although they all have a "Log book" which drivers are supposed to fill in with times/dates/mileage most of them don't, and when we get the odd NIP for a GATSO, its really difficult to track down the driver, putting various people at risk of being prosecuted for not providing information on the driver.
Does anybody know of an IT solution, commercially available, which would enable us to identify the driver at any time of the day, maybe by a unique key or swipe card?
I doubt we can be the only organisation with this problem...........
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How is the issue of handing keys from one driver to the next handled ?
Does your company use ID or access card readers normally ?
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Steve,
A year ago I might have posted a jokey response that you should have your employees "chipped" so you can track them.
But damn me it's virtually here already. Through a contact I was looking at a Fleet Managment package and was amazed by the options available. All web/PC based tracking for anything down to a person/cycle. Facilities like the management being able to remote unlock your vehicle from the PC if you'd left the keys in it.
Very very scary.
Here are some points in one of the blurbs....
........managing staff can be difficult business but managing staff when that are remote, or on the road, can be even trickier. You have little control as to what that employee is doing. You don't know if they are taking too long with customer, making social calls or taking the "long" way back to the office.
.......track and monitor the exact location of each of your remote employees through a web based interface.
....retrieve a travel history of each staff member for that day or week and identify how long they have spent with each customer.
......should an employee stay stationary for too long, or stray out of their sales territory, management is automatically alerted via e-mail.
.....recording and logging of work hours to improve wage accuracy and settle overtime disputes
.......help remote staff find their job location should they become lost.
.......there are many opportunities to increase the efficiency productivity and accountability of your organization through the implementation of a tracking solution.
Search on the net under fleet, vehicle & employee tracking and spend a happy hour in "Big Brother" land!
M.M
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Thanks for the reply..... by necessity we can't lock keys away and have a rigid regime of control. each car is currently equipped with a log book, which staff are supposed to fill in before and at the end of each journey. Natuarally some don't and there are gaps.
We want a system where a car won't start unless a unique key or card is present, the information being recorded and available for analysis. We don't really need to track the vehicle, its who is the driver which is important, and I am hoping such a system is available commercially?
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And of course you need a system which identifies which of two or more drivers may be at the wheel in case of the dreaded NIP arriving. Seriously though.....
Tracking who does what when in IT basically relies on identifiaction by
1) what you know eg password
2) what you possess eg key, swipe card
3) what you are, eg biometrics like iris recognition
1 & 2 are dead easy to fiddle if you know how, and therefore relatively insecure, unless you can get the mindset of EVERYONE in the organisation to follow procedures.
3 is more difficult and don't know of any vehicle related systems, but wouldn't be in the slightest surprised if there were. Bet they'd be mamba expensive though.
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Ahh we do need an implant then, like the RSPCA does with dogs. Add it to a similar keyless entry like the Laguna etc and the car would be unlocked for you with the elec seats set in the right position, climate to your preference and Kylie ready on the CD.
There is another way though....establish a management structure that ensures the employee does fill in the log and respects the reason it is required.
M.M
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Who keeps the key to the car, or do you leave it unlocked with the keys in whilst on your company's premises?
Whoever issues the keys to the potential driver should log down his/her name, and time keys were taken (and returned).
Problem is from experience, sometimes the time given on the NIP is not accurate.....
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Too simple MM. The fact that they've got the problem in the first place, and that input from this forum is needed to resolve it, suggests that it won't ever be resolved.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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You need to control the keys, not the vehicle.
Firstly I would ensure a process whereby the person who signed it out was responsible until it was signed in again.
Secondly a disciplinary process if the vehicle was taken without signing it out
Thirdly, keep the keys in box released with a card key, which I expect you all use anyway. This will generate a log.
However, I tend to agree with Hawkeye in that you are triyng to solve a behavioural problem with IT systems. I have never known this to be successful.
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You need to control the keys, not the vehicle. Firstly I would ensure a process whereby the person who signed it out was responsible until it was signed in again.
Agree wholeheartedly with this comment. If your staff handbook for drivers clearly states that responsibility ceases only when the vehicle is signed for by another driver, you have your own police force in the form of every driver refusing to hand over keys until they see a sig. below theirs.
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M.M said,
There is another way though....establish a management structure that ensures the employee does fill in the log and respects the reason it is required."
Exactly!
that is what I meant by establishing the mindset of the whole organisation and others have repeated that sentiment in different ways below.
Until you do get the structure in place and people understanding what is required of them and, more importantly, why then such schemes are doomed to failure. It's important for them to understand the risks to the business and themselves as individuals.
FiF
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