FTA Annual Report 2012 - Freight Transport Association

Member Services
FTA won significant new business and continued investing in class-leading services
to support members in their search for continued efficiencies and high standards of
compliance.
FTA offers a range of high quality services for the freight industry
that support members in their goals of continuous compliance,
improved efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Developed in close association with the market, FTA’s service
portfolio is backed by the expertise and experience of a leading
trade association that puts its members’ interests first.
The Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) was awarded a major
contract to help ensure the safety of passenger vehicles to
be used in the huge logistics operation servicing the Olympic
and Paralympic Games. VIS also commenced offering workshop
accreditations to the IRTE (Institute of Road Transport
Engineers) standard and delivered audits of fleet operators
seeking the Van Excellence accreditation. The service successfully
renewed its UK Accreditation Service certification enabling
it to carry out work to the standard required and recognised
by many major fleets in the public and private sectors.
A major enhancement to the way the results of inspections
and other management information is presented to users of
the Vehicle Inspection Service was commissioned during 2012.
The VIS Gateway will be released during early 2013 and will
provide a flexible and customisable interface for users to interrogate
data and correlate findings across their fleet.
FTA’s tachograph analysis and drivers’ hours management service,
Tachofta, also won significant business from contractors
to the Olympics and Paralympic Games during the year and
provided support and advice to members needing to meet
demanding service standards. One of the many ways in which
FTA supports members’ analysis needs is by implanting staff in
their businesses and a new model for this approach was agreed
with one of our largest contracts in 2012. This offers the advantage
of an in-house analysis service backed by the knowledge
and support of FTA.
The analysis of drivers’ hours records is undergoing dramatic
change as the switch from analogue to digital tachographs continues
and FTA observed a marked acceleration of this trend
during 2012. Data from digital units now accounts for 90 per
cent of throughput. New systems integrating other vehicle telematics
functions are also beginning to emerge and FTA is investing
heavily in its analysis engine and reporting infrastructure to
maximise the value to members that these new developments
can offer. A major upgrade to the Tachofta system, released in
October, allowed most transactions to be carried out online
and a major rollout to members was undertaken during the
final quarter of the year. The pace of change continues into
Tachofta
Technological developments are transforming the way that tachograph records are
analysed and reported. The declining use of older vehicles fitted with analogue
tachographs and the fitting of integrated telematics systems in newer models
has required analysis and reporting systems to be upgraded and expanded to
keep pace. Throughout 2012 FTA continued to invest in the capabilities and
functionality of its Tachofta service to offer members the efficiencies and
benefits of these developments. New developments in 2012 included:
• instant analysis of drivers’ tachograph card records and reporting of
any infringements
• new functionality that analyses data from vehicle units and provides
vehicle management information in a calendar format
• the ability for members to produce their own management reports,
using the self-service features on the new web Gateway portal
• remote downloading of driver and vehicle data via telematics
systems for analysis and integration into other management reports
• performance improvements and usability upgrades to keep the system
user-friendly
Other enhancements are under active development and will be released
throughout 2013.
10
FTA Annual Report 2012