New Logmate app approved by NZ authorities as an electronic log book.
A New Zealand software company has come up with a smartphone app that allows Kiwi truck drivers to do away with paper log books.
‘Logmate’ is an application for iPhone and Android users.
Logmate founder and managing director Greg McDowell says paper logbooks are an “unproductive” use of time and that technology needs to catch up with compliance requirements.
“The application simplifies work time entries by saving driver details, leveraging smartphone GPS and date-time capabilities to enable drivers to log a day’s activity at the press of a button,” McDowell says.
“Nobody likes paperwork but for commercial and passenger endorsed drivers the need to comply with the law means they need to track their every movement.
“Through the use of our proprietary integrated software, we can now do it for them, enabling New Zealand drivers to focus on the important aspects of their job and know that their records are complete and accurate, encrypted and saved securely in the cloud.”
McDowell says Logmate is one of the first mobile applications approved by the New Zealand Transport Agency to replace paper log books.
This process required the application to undergo a six week trial period in conjunction with the Transport Agency and the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit of the New Zealand Police.
Logmate says the app has “baked-in intelligence” in that it knows what the regulations are and flags when drivers need to take a break and for how long.
McDowell told ATN he has been keeping tabs on the developments in Australia around electronic work diaries.
“We recognise the opportunity that this presents, particularly with the recent completion of the pilot led by New South Wales Roads and Maritimes Services,” he says.
“We have begun the planning process and will look to secure the necessary capital to commence development (for Australia) in the coming months.”
National Transport Commission (NTC) CEO Paul Retter told the 2014 Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) conference in recent days that the industry could expect to see electronic diary devices introduced gradually from 2015 or 2016.
Australian Transport ministers have agreed to introduce electronic diaries as a voluntary alternative to paper-based reporting.