Use case · Logistics and freight forwarding
Driving and rest times with VDO Counter
Managing drivers' working hours is essential for logistics companies: it ensures compliance with regulations, increases safety, improves efficiency, reduces costs, boosts customer satisfaction and contributes to the general well-being of drivers. Good management in this area is an essential component of the success and sustainability of a logistics operation.
Image: Teltonika Telematics
The challenge
Driver monitoring is a central aspect of logistics operations, as it contributes to safety, regulatory compliance and efficiency. However, most logistics companies only monitor aspects of driving behaviour and neglect operational times such as breaks and rest periods, work before and after rest periods, or weekly and daily working hours. This creates several challenges for companies.
For example, drivers may unintentionally forget to take a break or deliberately disregard rest periods. Such violations lead to productivity problems as well as disrupted schedules and working hours. In addition, logistics companies may be unable to make deliveries on time and fail to fulfil contracts with partner companies that expect delivery on the agreed terms. On long-haul routes, an imbalance between working and rest times can lead to breaches of regulations and thus to heavy fines.
To tackle these challenges effectively, logistics companies need a clearly defined driver monitoring strategy that takes legal, technical and human factors into account. The new function of some GPS trackers in the Teltonika Professional series that are compatible with digital tachographs enables key information on drivers' working hours to be recorded, thus supporting a more balanced and effective approach to driver monitoring and management.
The solution
In order to provide comprehensive driver information and make the management process even more convenient for fleet managers and more efficient for companies, Teltonika Telematics has introduced a new function for digital tachographs in its FMx6 series trackers – the VDO Counter. The FMC650 model with 4G LTE Cat 1 connectivity serves as an example here.
How it works: After the FMC650 trackers have been installed in the truck fleet, the relevant settings are configured according to operational requirements. The VDO Counter function makes it easier, for example, to record driving time information such as “Remaining Current Driving Time”. This value shows how many minutes the driver still has left in their current driving period and helps them plan their route and breaks sensibly.
“Remaining Driving Time On Current Shift” indicates the driving minutes still permitted in the driver's current shift and helps companies track driver performance and adherence to schedules. “Remaining Driving Time Of Current Week” provides the driving hours still available in the current week, supporting long-term planning and compliance with weekly driving time limits. These three functions are crucial for managing driver times and ensuring compliance with driving time regulations in the logistics industry.
The VDO Counter also provides information on the driver card ID, tachograph diagnostic records, overlapping working time, remaining working time and more. Thanks to the VIN and driver card ID details, fleet managers can see live in the way4net Portal which driver is driving which vehicle.
Using the tachograph data and the VDO Counter function, fleet managers know the vehicle's speed and find out when it is exceeded. They can also monitor the driver's work status – whether they are driving or unloading – and receive a notification when the driver's working time limit is about to be reached, so they can inform the driver to plan a stop soon. In this way, logistics companies improve the safety of their drivers and comply with strict driving time regulations.
Extended functions and vehicle selection: With the growing adoption of electric vehicles, Teltonika Telematics has added another function – EV FMS. New parameters capture data from heavy electric commercial vehicles, opening up new opportunities and challenges for telematics companies. For example, the protocol has been extended to include battery information for electric vehicles, providing insight into battery life, state of charge, temperature and other relevant data.
This helps those responsible for e-fleets to keep a constant eye on the operating status of the electric vehicles and assign drivers accordingly, detect battery problems at an early stage and initiate predictive maintenance. What's more, the new parameters help logistics companies implement a modern, balanced and effective approach to driver monitoring for their electric fleets as well.
In summary, the GPS devices of the Teltonika Telematics PROFESSIONAL series can record important tachograph data such as driver activities, driver card ID and daily and weekly working hours, enabling logistics companies to run large fleets smoothly. Some newly added functions also allow further parameters to be read, making it easier to manage drivers' working hours and operations as a whole.
System overview
Graphic: Teltonika Telematics
Your benefits
Effortless regulatory compliance
Ensure compliance with international driving time regulations by automating the reading of important data from the tachograph, thereby reducing compliance risks.
Optimal fleet utilisation
Meaningful tachograph data enables optimal management of vehicles and drivers, so that no resource is under- or overloaded.
Greater safety for drivers
By monitoring driver behaviour and compliance with rest and driving times, you protect not only the consignment but, above all, the driver.
Real-time monitoring
Attentive real-time monitoring of every journey ensures that deviations or emergencies are detected and dealt with immediately – increasing the reliability of your services.
In-depth data analysis
Use detailed data – from routes driven to driving patterns – to make informed decisions that increase operational efficiency.
Sustainable operations
By helping to optimise routes and monitor fuel consumption, the trackers not only make operations more efficient but also underline your commitment to sustainability.
Better driver training and feedback
The VDO Counter provides detailed and meaningful feedback that can be used to train drivers based on the insights gained from monitoring.
Devices used
Devices from Teltonika – available from way4net to buy or rent, bundled with the way4net Portal.
Note
Content and graphics based on the use case by Teltonika Telematics (original on teltonika-gps.com), translated and adapted for way4net. Device data according to manufacturer specifications. Together, we will work out which devices and functions suit your application – and you can test the solution with a 14-day trial.
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