Odometer and fuel flags by vehicle and driver
Every trip checklist is checked against the vehicle's GPS kilometres, its previous trip and its fuel log. Doubtful readings are kept, flagged and sent to the office, with a report by vehicle and driver.
PLANSScale only
Built and tested on our systems. The readings come from the Crew app, which has not yet run on a real phone and is not in the app stores yet.
Why it matters
The odometer says 60 km for a trip the GPS shows as 40, or fuel goes down while the bus stands in the yard. Every trip checklist is checked against the GPS kilometres, the previous trip and the fuel log. Doubtful readings are kept and flagged to the office, with a table by vehicle and driver to compare.
The problem it solves
- The odometer says 60 km for a trip the GPS shows as 40 km.
- The van moves overnight and nobody records a trip.
- Fuel goes down while the bus stands in the yard.
- You suspect one driver, but there is no table to compare drivers on the same vehicle.
How it works
- The driver fills the start and end trip checklist in the Crew app with the odometer and the fuel level.
- Readings that cannot be right are refused at once: an odometer below the vehicle's last meter reading, or an end reading below the start.
- Doubtful readings are saved and flagged: the trip's odometer kilometres against its GPS kilometres, or kilometres driven since the last trip ended. Also fuel fallen while the vehicle stood, or an odometer that did not move.
- Each flagged checklist raises an alert of the kind Trip Checklist to the transport office, at once.
- The office opens Transport > Operations > Checklist Flags: a table of flagged checklists by vehicle and driver, and the list behind it.
- The office acknowledges the alert with a note, or opens a job card from the checklist's remarks.
Everything it does
Refused at once
- An odometer below the vehicle's last reading from the meter (readings worked out from GPS are left out)
- An end odometer below this trip's start
Kept and flagged
- Odometer against GPS: the trip's odometer kilometres differ from its GPS kilometres by more than the tolerance. The tolerance is 10 % to start with, and at least 1 km. It needs a tracking device on the vehicle
- Gap since the last trip: the start odometer is more than 2 km (a setting) above the previous trip's end
- Fuel fallen while standing: the fuel level dropped by more than 3 litres, or 5 % of the tank, since the last trip ended. No fill-up was in the fuel log in between
- The odometer did not move during the trip
GPS kilometres
- Read from the tracking server for the time between the start and end checklists
- Jumps faster than a plausible speed are left out
- Shown as GPS km next to km Since Start on the end checklist
Report
- Checklist Flags: a pivot of flagged checklists, vehicles down and drivers across, with the list and forms behind it
- Trip Checklists: filters Flagged, Start, End, Date; group by Vehicle, Driver or Day
- Flagged rows are red; the flags are written in words on the checklist
- Export any list to a spreadsheet
Alerts
- Kind Trip Checklist, with the vehicle, driver, run, position and what was found
- Open or acknowledged, with who acknowledged, when and a note
- The checklist's photos are kept while its alert is open
Who uses it
Transport officeGets the alerts, reads the flags report and acknowledges or follows up each flag.
Fleet managerCompares vehicles and drivers over weeks to find a pattern.
DriverFills the checklist and sees in the app why a reading was refused or flagged.
Transport administratorSets the tolerance against GPS and the allowed gap between trips.
Where you use it
- Web: Transport > Operations > Checklist Flags, Trip Checklists and Alerts
- The SmartMy Transit Crew app: the readings, and the reason when one is refused or flagged. It is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not without checklists: the flags come only from trip checklists, which are filled in the Crew app
- Not without a tracking device: the GPS check is skipped for vehicles with no device; the other checks still run
What you control
Settings
- Odometer vs GPS Tolerance (%): 10
- Gap Since Last Trip Allowed (km): 2
- Fuel Level and Photo Required: on; off skips the fuel check
- Per vehicle: fuel read in litres or as a fraction of the tank
Notifications
- Transport Alert: to the transport office at once, in the app and by email. Also by WhatsApp, SMS or phone notification where you have them on; it cannot be switched off as an event
Questions
Does a flag stop the driver?
No. A flagged reading is saved and the run goes on; the office is told. Only readings that cannot be true, such as an odometer going backwards, are refused.We refuel between trips. Will that be flagged?
Not if the fill-up is in the fuel log. A fill-up between two trips means the fuel level is not compared.What if the vehicle has no GPS unit?
The kilometres-against-GPS check is skipped. The gap between trips, fuel fallen while standing and an odometer that did not move are still checked.Can we see which driver has the most flags?
Yes. Checklist Flags is a table of vehicles against drivers. Switch to the list, or group Trip Checklists by Driver, to compare.Related features
TRIP CHECKLISTTrip checklist with stamped photosAt the start and end of a run or booked trip, the driver records the odometer, fuel level and remarks. They add camera photos stamped with the time and place. You decide when it is needed; without it the run does not start.MAINTENANCEFuel log with mileage warningsEvery fill-up is recorded with litres, cost, odometer and the bill photo, by the office or by the driver in the Crew app. Kilometres per litre are worked out between full tanks, and a fill-up well below the vehicle's expected mileage is flagged and sent to the office.TRIPS, KILOMETRES, ALERTSAlerts: SOS, overspeed, tamper, idle and fuel dropThe transport office is alerted to SOS, overspeed, a tracker's power cut or tampering, and a device offline. Also to long idling, use outside your hours and sudden fuel drops. Each alert is acknowledged with a note of what was done.TRIPS, KILOMETRES, ALERTSTrips and kilometres per vehicleEvery night each tracked vehicle's trips of the day before are worked out from its GPS positions. Each has start and end, kilometres, duration, top speed, idle time and who drove. The day's kilometres are added to the vehicle's odometer, marked From GPS.TRACKING SET-UPGPS tracking devices on your vehiclesEach vehicle reports its position through a GPS unit or the driver's phone to our own Traccar tracking server. SmartMy Transit reads the positions from there for the live map, arrival times, trips and alerts. Your Entity's speed limit goes to every device.
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