ATN #418

ecause safety comes before fuel savings,
MirrorCam was shelved for the time being.
SAFETY STUDY
In 2020, RFT was invited to partner in a
ground-breaking study called the Advanced
Safe Truck Concept, looking at the causes
and management of driver fatigue.
During the study, drivers were monitored
by the Seeing Machines, made by Canberra
company Guardian, with data collected and
collated by Monash University’s Accident
Research Centre. One of the aims was to
see how the technology can be proactive
rather than reactive, so that we can learn
to recognise the signs of fatigue and alert
drivers before it’s too late.
Parry said the study gave some
surprising results.
“A major learning is that you cannot
predict when you’re going to have a fatigue
event. There are some higher risk periods,
but you can have one in the first hour of
your shift, after coming off a three-day
break,” he said.
“So, we need to use those learnings to
teach the driver when to stop, rather than
relying solely on a logbook.
“Certain drivers are best having multiple
short breaks, rather than mandated
15-minute breaks. Others would be best
splitting their long break.
“We believe the technology should
eventually replace logbooks if it’s used
correctly, in line with an electronic work
diary.”
TELEMATICS TIE
RFT chose Irish company Blue Tree (later
bought out by US company Orbcomm) to
supply its telematics. Blue Tree pinpoints
each truck’s location and records
information such as speed, cornering and
breaking metrics. Each week, drivers receive
a report and scorecard through Yarno’s
remote learning platform, an example of
using “gamification” to incentivise and
improve driver performance.
The fleet management sits within Trimble
Transportation’s system, which gives fleet
controllers real time information, enabling
live scheduling, live ETA’s inventory
management and optimum planning.
Seeing Machines act as both a sword
and a shield for the drivers, more often
than not exonerating the driver from blame
in any incidents.
Parry sees challenges in integrating the
telematics, with getting all the systems to
talk to each other.
The aim is to remove waste and
duplication, which ultimately frees up people
to concentrate on value-added tasks.
“We have a deliberate strategy to utilise
technology as a differentiator, and we
continue to invest significantly in that
space,” he said.
“We take a long-term view on investments
such as information technology to get a
long-term, sustainable outcome, as opposed
to looking for a return today.”
COPING WITH COVID
The pandemic created a unique set of
challenges. Panic buying spiked demand
in some areas, while Melbourne’s extended
lockdown saw fuel demand take a hit. Being
on the border was difficult, and the company
had to manage constantly changing
conditions just to get people to work. Some
distribution centres closed in major cities,
leading to supply chain issues.
“Stock availability became the key, so we
worked closely with our customers to be
flexible,” Parry said.
“Everyone responded really well to the
disruption.”
On-site Covid-19 testing is offered
once a week to all employees, and is often
mandatory for many drivers crossing state
borders.
When ATN visited RFT’s Wodonga depot,
Parry was having his.
“We strongly urge all our employees to get
tested,” he said.
“It safeguards the business and also gives
employees and their families reassurance.”
THE ROAD AHEAD
At 77 years of age, Finemore said he’ll keep
going as long as health allows.
He’s proud of what he’s built over the
last 60 years and even more proud of the
opportunities the business has provided for
the young people of regional Australia.
“We don’t want to be the biggest, but we
want to be the best at what we do,” he said.
“Continuing to see young people who
start with us become successful is the most
rewarding part.”
FULLYLOADED.COM.AU July 2021 ATN 41