The problem
Downloading tachographs is only half the job: someone has to read the data, find the infringements and debrief the driver. A transport manager with 8 drivers who scrolls through files in free viewer software can spend 6 hours a month on it and still miss a short daily rest or a missing manual entry, which is exactly what a DVSA visit looks for.
What the AI does
Tachomaster is a UK tachograph analysis service. Its site says it analyzes driver and vehicle data against both drivers' hours and Working Time Directive rules, that drivers can be monitored and debriefed on their behavior, and that the Tachomaster Worker app lets drivers see their own data to plan their day. You keep downloading on your own schedule, send the files in, and work through the infringement list with each driver. The site doesn't describe reminders for when downloads are due, so the download dates stay in your own planner.
A worked example
An 8-truck general haulage firm in Doncaster with 8 drivers, all on digital tachographs. The owner is also the transport manager and already has download equipment for driver cards and vehicle units.
Before
About 6 hours a month reading files by hand, with infringements spotted weeks late or not at all
After
About 2 hours a month working through the analysis and signing off driver debriefs
What it's worth
About $133£100€119A$192C$188 a month saved, against about $69£52€62A$100C$98 for Tachomaster. The 4 hours saved are valued at an assumed $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour. The cost is 8 drivers at $1£1€1A$2C$2 a week plus 8 digital vehicles at 50p a week, $16£12€14A$23C$23 a week or about $69£52€62A$100C$98 a month (x 4.3), excluding VAT. Fewer infringements and a cleaner record at a DVSA visit aren't counted.
How to set it up
- Write every driver card and vehicle unit download due date in your transport planner first, and check it every Monday; that stays your main record.
- Start the free 28-day Tachomaster trial and send in your current downloads.
- Add drivers' previous four weeks of data from former employers where you need it; it is charged at the standard rate.
- Work through the infringement results each week and debrief each driver, keeping a signed record.
- Give drivers the Worker app so they can check their own hours before they plan a day.
What goes wrong
- Analysis only covers what you download. A missed download is invisible to the software, so your own planner and weekly check are what keep you legal.
- Any reminder or alert you set up can fail silently. Check the planner against the last download date for every card and vehicle at least monthly.
- Driver data is charged whether it comes from a card or a chart, so count every worker, including agency and part-time drivers.
- The software flags infringements; the transport manager still decides what happened and what to do about it.