Coach operator Centurion Travel says it has dramatically reduced administration time by using TruTac’s digital tachograph and compliance systems.

Based in Radstock, south of Bath and Bristol, the company operates a fleet of around 20 private hire passenger vehicles, spanning 16-seat minibuses to a 63-seat Irizar i6 coach.

Centurion began moving its tachograph operations from analogue to digital in 2019 – courtesy of TruTac’s TruAnalysis PSV tachograph analysis reporting system – which is designed specifically for passenger vehicle operators. It completed the process in September last year and, according to operations director Steve Spiller, it has since spent far less time on administrative tasks.

“Even on a small fleet like ours, it’s saved a colossal amount of admin time,” explains Steve, “probably 90% of the infringements were caused by human error under the analogue system. Drivers would put down the wrong date or the wrong registration number. They would get the kilometres wrong, and we would spend hours looking for the missing ones, because the driver had just written a seven in place of a five.

“I understand why that happens. When people are having to fill out tachographs, they make simple, honest mistakes, but those mistakes can have serious ramifications for reporting.”

Steve says the move has allowed the company to dedicate more time to larger, strategic issues, such as its plan to become a DVSA Earned Recognition operator – the government-approved scheme to prove operators meet exemplary driver and vehicle standards.

A validated IT system provider for Earned Recognition, TruTac’s software is also helping Centurion – which has a near-100-year history – to prepare for the accreditation. The operator is currently running a trial within TruAnalysis PSV to monitor and tweak its performance before it submits the application to the DVSA.

In addition to the aforementioned, time-saving benefits and ease of compliance, the company has also begun running its driver payroll through TruTime. Steve also believes that switching to a digital tachograph system has a positive knock-on effect for drivers, both behind the wheel and in the office.

“When drivers are working with a digital system, they pay more attention to what they’re doing, because they’ll make an irreversible issue if they don’t,” he says, “they take it more seriously, and they hold it in higher regard then they did the paper discs.

“It’s also meant we’ve not had to penalise drivers for minor errors. You don’t want your boss wrapping your knuckles on a Monday morning because you wrote the wrong figure in a box, but you can’t get it wrong with this system. It’s taken out all of those problematic elements by being simple to use.”

To learn more about TruTac products and how they can improve compliance and save time, contact TruTac on 024 7669 0000 or email sales@trutac.co.uk.