The journey to NHVR accreditation of the Logmaster Australia EWD.
They say it is not a simple task to get through the accreditation process for NHVR electronic work diary approval and they would be 100 per cent correct. The standard set by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is a 42 page document and the checklist to pass the testing has over 140 requirements to be met. When you also build for a device agnostic approval, it becomes a massive undertaking to complete.
Replacing paper in truck cabins across Australia is an even bigger mission if you consider the other forms and rules that drivers are required to complete and their offices have to record. So for us at Logmaster, the EWD accreditation was just the first challenge and we are lucky we had the support of prospective clients, our telematics partners and resellers, safety consultants, compliance managers and all the other great people we met in the industry along the way.
From the beginning to now, a wholehearted effort to make life easier for more drivers and transport managers has given Logmaster a clear sense of direction. This meant making an electronic work diary that can do a whole lot more than just meet the standard to replace the paper work diary. Logmaster set out to make it an easy, cost effective and worthwhile switch for the entire business. This means releasing something that users can simply download in the app stores and get started without expensive equipment requirements or changing to specific approved devices. The Logmaster system is also made with different company structures and relationships in mind. Solo drivers, contractors and employees can all ensure their fatigue records and other forms are being shared the right way to the right offices.
Extra thought went into making sure users can make the switch today. The next part was working with the NHVR to ensure Logmaster met or exceeded the standard. From submission and right through the testing and evaluation process, the people there were very helpful, pointing out potential improvements based on their experience and history having tested a variety of solutions previously.
The team at Logmaster are pleased with the fact that the company achieved 100 per cent to standard and a device agnostic certified approval. This means the system ticks all the boxes and any driver with an Android or Apple phone or tablet will be able to install the app and begin moving away from the old written work diary. We packed the record keeper / compliance manager web portal system with features to make audit prep easier and even included a dashboard that highlights where the compliance manager should be attending to alerts. We considered that some fleet managers would appreciate a gradual roll-out of the EWD so functions were added so that drivers still on paper can have their information fed into the system. This ensures their compliance reporting can cover the whole company including paper users. Users driving between NHVR and WA/NT regions can also use the system due to our system covering both regulations and calculating data across both rule-sets simultaneously.
A lot of experience and consultation went into making sure Logmaster releases the EWD the industry has been asking for. In December, Ian Johnson joined the company in the Operations Manager role. Ian brought with him a wealth of relevant industry knowledge and a burning desire to build the gold standard of EWD and safety management systems. Logmaster has Ian to thank for some innovative and intuitive functions not seen on other platforms. While designing the platform the idea was that if someone was pulling together information on all of the EWD options in the market – Logmaster would come up as the best option every time. Price, features, compatibility, additional compliance components, customisation and integrations with existing systems – all of this came into designing the best EWD on the market. All in all, everyone we have worked with along the way has been extremely helpful and if you know our name, we already have much to thank you for.
