Following a successful trial, Aldi Australia has announced it will roll-out a new fleet management tool with plans to deploy Electronic Work Diaries (EWD) once approved by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).
According to Kelly Wells, Director of Logistics at Aldi Australia, this new tool will help drive team care and meaningful safety improvements in the transport industry.
“Our move to electronic work diaries will assist our operators by reducing the complexity and administrative burden that the current paper-based system presents,” Ms Wells said.
“In-vehicle driver information will also allow our team to plan their work and rest breaks, and act when alerted to imminent working hour limits.”
EWD system
Once approved, the EWD system will replace paper-based logbooks, which currently monitor and record the work and rest time of drivers.
Additionally, data in the EWD system will reportedly have the capabilities to provide operators with information to improve efficiency and safety by more clearly understanding the movement of their vehicles.
Exposing potential compliance issues
Aldi reports it is confident the EWD system will not expose compliance issues as the company already mandates that all drivers maintain logbooks (on which regular audits are conducted), regardless of distance travelled.
Moving to digital files is said to be simply a move to improve the process and provide transparency for regulators and authorities as required.
“Our rostering arrangements support safe driving hours and fatigue management practices, and our policies and processes are strictly enforced to ensure driver and public safety.
“Moving to electronic work diaries is a logical next step to help us maintain a safety-first culture for our operators,” concluded Ms Wells.
