Our place uses Microlise for the vehicle trackers other systems are available lol
I did wonder how my scoring would fair as they didn’t use it when I was driving rigids…
The general idea is to cut fuel costs and so drivers are taught and expected to use cruise as much as possible, combined coasting, cut engine idling time and using acceleration less than 95% to save fuel and drive more relaxed and sedately.
Anyway I know being on nights it is easier to get a better score than days but still expected my score to need a fair bit of improvement.
Anyway the upshot is I got a in all of them apart from a b in combined coasting. So I was particularly pleased with that as I’m trying to drive steady but get the job done and not fly round like my arse is on fire as it just makes you get so wound up when your rushing all the time.
So far my road rage rants have pretty much stopped, I don’t feel like I don’t have time to think or stop for anything. Example last night left yard and 1830 after a 1800 start, Down to Thurrock, tipped back to Daventry, trailer swap and back to our yard including fuelling up and dropping trailer on a bay and sorting all my stuff out paperwork and what not done by 3am. No rushing a nice steady drive and relaxed drive and still done in less than my 10 hour shift.
My point being I always rushed around like I said, now I take it easy and still get the job done in a decent amount of time and feel so much better for not rushing around and I get less stressed over other drivers, it’s the way to go rather than how I used to be.
The only reason I care about the scoring system is that if you get too far down the bottom of the grades a g being the lowest in all of them then you get sent to see the headmaster lol and that would then no doubt entail further driver development and in the worst case scenario possibly a loss of your job if you just don’t improve.
I know some will say the usual I won’t work for companies like that, but most companies now use tracking systems to monitor drivers, and a lot with ff cameras and even internal cameras and it will all happen everywhere eventually that is guaranteed when money is involved.
Bear in mind me are also limited to the lovely 52 so overtaking can be a rare occurrence lol
But it’s funny when faster trucks come stonking past me then hit a hill and I pass them even though i’m pulling some weight too and I glide past them at 52.
Don’t get me wrong I’d love a truck that did 56 as much as others but we will see more and more being limited to 50/52mph.
Even with vans long gone are the days of being able to keep up with faster cars with a lot being limited to 70, 68, 60 and those over 3.5 but less than 7.5 being limited to 56 as well, let alone 7.5 's being limited to 56 a number of years ago.
Ah they were the days being able to fly past all the big boy truckers in my little puddle jumper lol
I’m just waffling now but an early finish and I’ve got some time to waste lol
We are limited to 53 but I often drive at 51 or 52 and to be honest I feel more relaxed. I never get into an elephant race, rarely overtake anything so it’s a win win. I’m more relaxed and my firm are happy that journeys take a couple of minutes extra.
That’s exactly how I feel now, so much more relaxed at the wheel since I became a real trucker lol
It really does make a difference if you can change your mind set, then again I’m lucky that our night runs are planned reasonably and are regular trunk runs and predictable, and that the money is pretty decent.
Same here.
We had a few new trucks banging on at 90ks but they’ve soon been wounde back.
Last week a driver was havin a good old moan till I pointed out that the quicker he went the more he’ll end up doing .
His answer oh yeah never thought of it like that.
A new sheet has gone up and I’ve gone to all A’s so I guess it depends a bit on what runs your doing and volume of traffic etc as there are so many things that can affect your score for example being stuck in traffic in roadworks etc.
And are you getting a fuel bonus out of this at the end of each month?..As there is jo incentive to save them money if your only reward is your name at the top of the board…
simcor:
A new sheet has gone up and I’ve gone to all A’s so I guess it depends a bit on what runs your doing and volume of traffic etc as there are so many things that can affect your score for example being stuck in traffic in roadworks etc.
What do you want, a Blue Peter Badge?
I guess these systems have their place when used properly, and while I’ve never been under the microscope, I do fear they could be over used and become a tool/stick to beat a driver with. As you say, there are many things that can effect it, so are they tied in with the weight your carrying, the terrain you’re driving, and the traffic flow issues you might encounter?
I thought not!
So a driver could be called in for a dry bumming, when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong…
daftvader:
And are you getting a fuel bonus out of this at the end of each month?..As there is jo incentive to save them money if your only reward is your name at the top of the board…
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
No bonus no, but I get paid a decent wage and have plenty of good points about the job. So sometimes it’s swings and roundabouts.
I have worked very hard over the years sometimes for rubbish pay sometimes good but most jobs have their good points and bad points.
On here most people want to have their cake and eat it. We would all like everything our way but a business is there to make money not for the employees but the company or shareholders. That is a fact of life and companies that don’t change end up going by the wayside.
Then again we can all blame that on the big greedy companies with the usual names can’t we?
simcor:
A new sheet has gone up and I’ve gone to all A’s so I guess it depends a bit on what runs your doing and volume of traffic etc as there are so many things that can affect your score for example being stuck in traffic in roadworks etc.
What do you want, a Blue Peter Badge?
[emoji38] [emoji38] [emoji38]
I guess these systems have their place when used properly, and while I’ve never been under the microscope, I do fear they could be over used and become a tool/stick to beat a driver with. As you say, there are many things that can effect it, so are they tied in with the weight your carrying, the terrain you’re driving, and the traffic flow issues you might encounter?
I thought not!
So a driver could be called in for a dry bumming, when they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong…
No thanks no badge required, I just thought it was interesting to see how I scored against for example drivers who have been driving real trucks for a long time that’s all. Also the fact that I feel different when I’m out on the road and less stressed and much more relaxed and safer in the way I drive a much heavier vehicle.
I’m happy for others to sit on their limiter at 56 and elephant race everyone and get frustrated with other drivers all the time and doing 12-15 hour days etc as standard.
I’ll be quite happy with doing 10 hours a night most of the time or less but still getting paid 10 hours and doing some overtime when busier periods are upon us or on those times when things take longer than they should.
I even was the unit when I have time to do so before I leave and I don’t get a bonus for that either lol
I even fuel the bloody thing up even when some sick Turpin hasn’t bothered to do so before I get the truck as well, shock horror.
Anyway this is turning into one of those threads again, oops.
daftvader:
And are you getting a fuel bonus out of this at the end of each month?..As there is jo incentive to save them money if your only reward is your name at the top of the board…
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
It’s all part of driver development actually to be fair, it gives you a target to make your driving better and safer as does regular driving assessments etc.
Anything that helps you come home to your loved ones, pets or your favourite hand (left or right the choice is yours lol) is surely a good thing?
Sitting on the max limit, run ragged and stressed is not good for your mental health and general well being I’ve been there done it and did I get any more thanks for rushing around like me are was on fire, taking risks you don’t need too etc etc.
If your trunking or mainly sitting on motorways on cruise all day getting a A is an absolute doddle,all of our night truckers were on A’s,try doing 15 drops in a class one a day though 2 rush hours and stay on A’s you’ll be lucky I make a C or D.
The whole microlise system is flawed as it’s not set up to each specific vehicle it’s just a set programme that doesn’t take into account the type of driving work your doing.
Well done simcor, on realising that there is no need to teararse around, sweating cobs, constantly clockwatching and thinking about the next drop. Took me about 9 months to get past that, and realise that you can only do what you can do, that there is nothing better than being relaxed, enjoy the drive, take in the scenery, you’ll get there when you get there and the job will take as long as it takes. Ironically, the time goes faster when you are relaxed, and you make less errors because you are not stressed out and thus things generally get done as quick as they are likely to be done. Congratulations on reaching driving utopia.
daftvader:
And are you getting a fuel bonus out of this at the end of each month?..As there is jo incentive to save them money if your only reward is your name at the top of the board…
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
It’s all part of driver development actually to be fair, it gives you a target to make your driving better and safer as does regular driving assessments etc.
Anything that helps you come home to your loved ones, pets or your favourite hand (left or right the choice is yours lol) is surely a good thing?
Sitting on the max limit, run ragged and stressed is not good for your mental health and general well being I’ve been there done it and did I get any more thanks for rushing around like me are was on fire, taking risks you don’t need too etc etc.
Yeah i understand all that as we have been on microlise for the past 2yrs…But we do receive a bonus every month…Ranging from £25 to £100 a month…Our trucks are’nt restricted to 52/53 though…But i don’t and never have tear arsed about…I sit around 53…Nice to have that little in reserve for an overtake…
xichrisxi:
If your trunking or mainly sitting on motorways on cruise all day getting a A is an absolute doddle,all of our night truckers were on A’s,try doing 15 drops in a class one a day though 2 rush hours and stay on A’s you’ll be lucky I make a C or D.
The whole microlise system is flawed as it’s not set up to each specific vehicle it’s just a set programme that doesn’t take into account the type of driving work your doing.
I do totally agree, having said that we have day drivers that achieve almost as good scores as night drivers so it can be done. They do accept there are differences and someone won’t get hauled in because their score is lower once they look at who it is and what they work night days, trunks or even retail it can be done with some forward planning and not rushing, the main point is take your time and if you have to bring stuff back then so be it. They can’t have their cake and eat it when all said and done.
I cab hop at the moment, Microlise doesn’t seem to be suited for this. I’m sitting near the bottom of the table, not that I’m too fussed. We’ve told management that if they put a small bonus in conjunction with getting good scores everyone on the fleet would be aiming for A’s. Drivers will chase the chance to make more money.
Radar19:
I cab hop at the moment, Microlise doesn’t seem to be suited for this. I’m sitting near the bottom of the table, not that I’m too fussed. We’ve told management that if they put a small bonus in conjunction with getting good scores everyone on the fleet would be aiming for A’s. Drivers will chase the chance to make more money.
We cab hop too very rarely getting the same vehicle, in fact I can have a different vehicle every night.
Mileage covered and types of roads are important and type of work tour doing is also important. It would be interesting on how I would have scored on nights in the rigids doing retail. I imagine my score would have been a fair bit lower but then I drove differently then so some of it would be down to the way I drove back then.
xichrisxi:
If your trunking or mainly sitting on motorways on cruise all day getting a A is an absolute doddle,all of our night truckers were on A’s,try doing 15 drops in a class one a day though 2 rush hours and stay on A’s you’ll be lucky I make a C or D.
The whole microlise system is flawed as it’s not set up to each specific vehicle it’s just a set programme that doesn’t take into account the type of driving work your doing.
I do totally agree, having said that we have day drivers that achieve almost as good scores as night drivers so it can be done. They do accept there are differences and someone won’t get hauled in because their score is lower once they look at who it is and what they work night days, trunks or even retail it can be done with some forward planning and not rushing, the main point is take your time and if you have to bring stuff back then so be it. They can’t have their cake and eat it when all said and done.
Think you’ve nailed the thing that makes any management information system valuable - it’s the manner in which it’s interpreted.
Data is just data until you analyse it, and you can do that well or you can make a right hash of it.
