Licence Check has updated its Driver and Vehicle Information Solution, DAVIS, to enable quicker and more efficient driver checks.
The firm has introduced new ways of ‘onboarding’ drivers into DAVIS, allowing firms to carry out checks of drivers more quickly so that any issues with their licences can be instantly identified.
The changes tackle the traditional issue with securing permissions from drivers for licence checks, both when initially introducing a driving licence compliance system and when replacing the current supplier, which also requires new approvals.
Although DAVIS doesn’t remove the need to secure new driver mandates, it does provide organisations with different options that help to mitigate the unwelcome additional workload, removing obstacles form firms wishing to change licence checking suppliers.
The newest method, which Licence Check has introduced in recent weeks, is its On-Site workflow which enables clients to add drivers to DAVIS face-to-face in a single location, such as a depot or transport hub. This includes adding and checking photocard details, ensuring driver permissions are granted – which is carried out via the driver’s smartphone using a validation code – and providing a formal processing statement and summary information that the driver must check to complete the process and permit a check to be instantly carried out against the DVLA database, with the results reported back to DAVIS.
There are also several other options available to DAVIS users, including the e-approval process, which requires little intervention from the user other than adding the driver’s name and email address into the DAVIS system and also emails drivers directly until permission for a check to be carried out is gained by a digital driver declaration, cutting down admin for fleet managers; some 54% of licence checks are currently carried out by Licence Check using this method.
The next most popular method is still the paper mandate, which accounts for 46% of all licence checks that Licence Check carries out. This works well for drivers who do not have an email address and also has minimal company involvement.
Licence Check also employs a card data reader (CDR) which scans physical driving licences, capturing the data and managing permission in a single process. The system also includes an extra security authentication by checking for counterfeit cards.
At the same time, for organisations who wish to switch providers, Licence Check offers an additional service free of charge for those businesses with 25 or more drivers, under which it uploads all drivers in bulk using data exported from the existing provider, with DAVIS then initiating process for collecting driver permission, either by e-approval or paper mandate, which will last for three years unless terminated earlier.
The addition of the new methods to ‘onboard’ drivers come at a time when speed and efficiency of checking is becoming increasingly important, due to the widespread use of agency drivers across the UK, particularly by delivery firms, many of whom may never have had their licences checked in the past.
At the same time, a 50% rise in the last four years in the number of drivers in the UK who have had their licences revoked has emphasised the need for companies to be increasingly diligent and ensure driving licences are checked regularly.
Terry Hiles, general manager at Licence Check, said: “Growing numbers of agency drivers and rising numbers of revoked licences have combined to make rapid and regular licence checking an essential part of any compliance regime.
“That’s without taking into account the numbers of ‘regular’ company licence checks that need to be carried out to ensure compliance. At the same time, companies that hitherto have refrained or have been put off from switching suppliers, can now do so with complete confidence, minimal effort and very little extra administrative input,” he added.
