MADBAZ:
speeding almost disappeared within a month, mpgs went up…means more profit for the company and that in turn should mean a little more in my back pocket.
[/quote]
Not at our place; They KNOW speeding goes on and ignore it…mpg well we’ve done the pointless exercise that was SAFED yet the heavy footers don’t get penalised and the wasted route miles caused by “planners” is never questioned…yes we’re making bigger profits (the workload and investment proves this) but wages went up a silly amount and there’s still a bloody bonus scheme.
MADBAZ:
:lol: 
So why was your truck idling for 3 minutes? Like I said they work 
2.5% pay rise for each of the last 5 years and twice last year, speaks volumes, especially when over that period many were taking what were effectively pay cuts.
Just dropping some scrap off for a mate
This is what I think, it benefits management & not the driver in any way whatsoever. Some could have got a 5% rise instead of 2.5etc.
I worked on a wincanton contract once & stopped in the services a few miles from the depot for a break, as soon as I got back in I was straight in the office being quizzed on why I stopped there & if I could make it into the services then I could have made it to the depot(tracker). I quietly walked out back to the motor, got all my gear together, back to the office & chucked the keys on the ■■■■■■’s desk & walked out…
If it wasn’t for all this crap that now comes with the job surely we’d all be a few quid up in our pay packets!?
What I should have said is; as a management tool they’re fantastic, but if the manager is a tool…
So far I’ve been lucky insofar as the managers & supervisors that I’ve worked with have been sensible in their approach to using the tracker/telematics. Sure they’ve had a word in my ear about a couple of things (idling & speeding) but nothing that wasn’t easily remedied. IMO these can benefit the driver as well as the company if both are working together.
At the end of the day we are driving their trucks for their business that pays our wages, if they see fit to install them then the best way is to work with the company not against it, in my limited experience the drivers that moaned the loudest were the ones that had the most to hide and they were also the ones that the tracker/telematics system was aimed at.
I agree with you Madbaz about when they’re used properly; Trackers were great on a job we did near Stokenchurch where the road was single track with only 2 places to pass. Used to call yard and ask who was infront just incase it was someone without a cb.
I think as said above alot of places don’t understand why you can have a break so near to a depot, and yet not go back to the depot to help out and do some work in there. My argument would simply be I don’t get paid for my lunch or I’m entitled to my lunch depends on contracts I suppose and the time of day
Really! Who do you work for the CIA? Jason Bourne maybe.
I tried to get in the CIA but I wasn’t quite good enough so instead I became a lorry driver who is tracked and watched 9 hours everyday even when I take a P they watch from a laptop somewhere out there. I wonder what life in the CIA would of been like, it’s a shame such wasted talent…
Given the amount of time drivers are being watched these days, can anyone forsee a day when the job is just left to the person doing the driving? Does anyone out there actually take any notice of whatever guff the office come up with? As in " I’d better get a move on as I being watched". Do the office staff really think that ringing the driver to tell him/her to get a move on will increase productivity?
As I don’t have mobile or in cab phone I don’t get any info, good or bad, from office staff. After doing this current job for 8 months I’ve never been spoken to about being late/early or anything else for that matter. They seem to be happy as long as I deliver and collect what I’m supposed to. Happy nights.
MADBAZ:
At the end of the day we are driving their trucks for their business that pays our wages, if they see fit to install them then the best way is to work with the company not against it, in my limited experience the drivers that moaned the loudest were the ones that had the most to hide and they were also the ones that the tracker/telematics system was aimed at.
Exactly! 
We have them at our place & they do come in handy. If we need someone to do a last minute collection on the way back we can easily see who is the nearest without ringing everyone (which people moaned about).
It also helps when accidents happen, it can help with the investigation (speeding, correct location etc). It helped with a fraudulent claim against us, the truck in question had at the nearest point been 10 miles from where the claimant said the accident happened!
Our lot get on with the job so we dont need to check it every 5 mins as we trust them. Its only when people take the mick that we will look. I usually find that people that dont like trackers have something to hide!
Work don’t phone and check up with me as I don’t take the P I never been one to do that. Although I do like to have a extra 15 mins on my break if I really don’t feel well. But I’m apparently the golden boy at work so the others think. Just worry that if I ever have a day I come in to work and feel really Ill and decide to have a extra 15 or 20 they will moan but that’s very rare I am a person to come in no matter what and get the job done as quick as I can then have a break
I don’t think I have anything to hide, all I want is ‘me time’ (60-90min a shift) in peace. Don’t ring & ask silly questions disturbing me & make out like you can do the job better when you can barely ride a tricycle & your testicles haven’t even dropped, it’s disrespectful to most in any job…
Agreed as long as we all do the deliveries given to us in a good time then what is the problem
keebs26uk:
Agreed as long as we all do the deliveries given to us in a good time then what is the problem
I was talking to a Stobart driver yesterday, he has been working for them for 22 years and he was recently on a disciplinary charge because he stopped, en route, at an MSA for seven minutes on a Saturday morning to use the toilet and fill his flask. He had to attend a disciplinary meeting, along with his union rep, where he was interrogated as to whether the primary cause of his seven minute stop was to use the toilet or fill his flask, and it was quite clear that Stobart wanted to sack him, to save paying him any type of redundancy money.
They knew this because of the tracker.
That is the problem.
Harry Monk:
keebs26uk:
Agreed as long as we all do the deliveries given to us in a good time then what is the problem
I was talking to a Stobart driver yesterday, he has been working for them for 22 years and he was recently on a disciplinary charge because he stopped, en route, at an MSA for seven minutes on a Saturday morning to use the toilet and fill his flask. He had to attend a disciplinary meeting, along with his union rep, where he was interrogated as to whether the primary cause of his seven minute stop was to use the toilet or fill his flask, and it was quite clear that Stobart wanted to sack him, to save paying him any type of redundancy money.
They knew this because of the tracker.
That is the problem.
They not trying to sack him for 7 mins at an msa, he’s obviously a pain in the arse driver they could do without.
Harry Monk:
Saaamon:
They not trying to sack him for 7 mins at an msa, he’s a pain in the arse driver they could do without.
In what way?
Goes back to my earlier post.
You’d never sack a driver that knows what hes doing, gets the job done in good time without smashing the rig up and does all this without moaning, for stopping at services for ■■■■. What i reckon is that he’s been there 22 years and thinks he runs the show, the company has changed massively in 22 years and hes not willing to adjust to the way they want the job done now.
Or perharps this is just the way big companies work, i wouldnt know as i dont and never would work for a large firm.
Aploogies, I thought you meant that you knew him personally, or knew something about the circumstances of the incident.
These trackers can work in your favour. When asked where you are you can just say…“i don’t know, i’ll pull over soon and find out and let you know”, hopefully they’ll just check the screen and not want you to ring back. If you’re asked…“can you make such and such a delivery/collection by such and such time?”, you can say…" i don’t know, you’re monitoring and controlling the situation , i just drive, you tell me can i ?" If they’re really on your case and push you, check you, ring you all the time then reverse the situation round…and ask them “i’m trying to do my best here and get through this work today, when is it best for me to take my break and have something to eat so i can keep the job going”? Thats guaranteed to get an awkward silence 
If you get infringements for working hours, ask them if they are monitoring you why they aint letting you know before you commit the infringement? Although i suspect that answer may clarify if you are being “monitored” or "checked on "!!! As others have said, if you’re doing nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about, that swings both ways !!! Just my thoughts on it
Saaamon:
Or perharps this is just the way big companies work, i wouldnt know as i dont and never would work for a large firm.
That’s precisely how they work, you are easily replaceable to them so you’re of no value…