Vehicle telematics


In addition to vehicle cameras, technology to maximise effective management of vehicle fleets also incorporates vehicle “telematics” which utilise GPS to track the whereabouts of vehicles. Such systems also assist driver navigation, and can be used to provide traffic information, vehicle diagnostics and health reports, and to call for emergency services and roadside assistance. Vehicle information can be viewed on electronic maps via the internet or specialised software. These vehicle tracking systems also function as theft prevention and retrieval devices. 


Another aspect being integrated into these tracking systems is automatic vehicle license plate recognition. This was mentioned by a number of reps in the LRD survey. 


The technology is generally marketed as a fleet management or fleet control tool. A delivery or transport company can put a tracker in its vehicles, allowing managers or relevant staff to know if a vehicle is on time or late, or is doing its assigned route.

But the technology can also be used to monitor the movements and behaviour of the employees driving the vehicles. The software can log a wide range of data including mileage, speeds, deviations from planned route and unauthorised stops and starts. This can lead to some quite invasive monitoring. Among the vehicle tracking systems cited by reps were Lytx (see above), GreenRoad and Masternaut.

GreenRoad is utilised by bus companies Stagecoach and FirstGroup. It is marketed as maximising fleet performance, saving fuel, ensuring vehicle health, identifying risky driving manoeuvres, tracking routes (with replays available in order to determine when “productivity was gained or lost”) and providing in-vehicle feedback to “eliminate bad habits and driving decisions.”


The GreenRoad website also states that the system has benefits for trade unions and suggests that trade unions are involved in implementing the system at the workplace. 


It seeks to assure trade unions that “GreenRoad is about supporting your members — to drive better, use their time more efficiently, and operate in a safer environment.” Benefits identified include “empowering” drivers “to recognise and change their unsafe driving practises”, helping to ensure that “drivers operate vehicles that are safe and properly maintained with vehicle health monitoring”, protecting them “from fraudulent claims” and “spurious customer complaints and false accusations of collision fault”.


The website also acknowledges that “adding a telematics solution can raise concerns”, and says that unions “are encouraged to be part of the implementation process”, making sure “that trigger thresholds are set suitably and fairly” and checking “what data is tracked and what it is used for” (http://greenroad.com/uk).


A number of unions have expressed concerns about the implementation of the Masternaut vehicle tracking system. Its implementation triggered a recent dispute involving Unite members at the lift and escalator servicing company Kone (see box on page 33).


According to the company website, Masternaut is Europe’s largest provider of telematics solutions. Vehicle Tracking features marketed by Masternaut include the ability to view “current position and status of driver and vehicles via GPS satellites”, establish accurate “journey histories” and create automated timesheets for each employee, monitor excessive speeding and record “out of hours/unauthorised vehicle use”. It also provides for individual driver identification where there is more than one employee using a vehicle, with each driver provided with an individual key fob to use when driving. 


The company also markets a “Working Time Directive” solution to prevent organisations falling foul of the directive by monitoring and logging hours worked by each individual driver, and rest stops (www.masternaut.co.uk). 


According to a senior GMB official, Masternaut packages being adopted by employers now also include the provision of images from satellites and roadside cameras. The utilisation of images from third parties raises questions as to ownership and access to the data. As a result of these new technological developments in monitoring, existing union agreements with employers relating to the appropriate use of such monitoring systems were increasingly in need of updating, as is guidance from the ICO, according to the official.