Fleet safety, tracking and telematics under one roof for NW Leicestershire

Andrew Mintram, Fleet Manager, NWLDC: “I wanted to consolidate our safety, software and telematics needs to allow us to monitor and analyse the performance of the council’s entire fleet, using one system.”

By standardising its fleet equipment procurement, the council could reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and adopt a uniform method of gathering and reporting operational data about vehicles and drivers.

Fleetclear - the complete fleet solution

Fleetclear has built a reputation for developing the most robust and reliable vehicle safety and monitoring equipment. Alongside its market leading products, which include Cyclear, anti-roll away devices, reverse radar and LIVE camera recording systems, as well as tracking and telematics, the company recently launched its own end to end software solution - Fleetclear Connect.

A powerful fleet management tool encompassing all aspects of vehicle and driver safety, operational efficiency, and compliance Fleetclear Connect brings together vehicle safety hardware, and combines it with GPS tracking, telematics, advanced data analysis and processing techniques.

All data is displayed on a user friendly, customisable dashboard and stored on Fleetclear’s cyber secure servers, where it can be accessed via the internet.

Andrew Mintram explained: “We invited suppliers to demonstrate their products and Fleetclear stood out from the start. We’ve been using their camera systems for years with great success and I like the fact that they have closed the loop by introducing their own software management platform. We can now get everything we need from one supplier.”

A great feature of Fleetclear Connect is the ability to customise the dashboard with the specific information that is critical for each service or operational area. In the case of NWLDC each department can now view a customised dashboard and data particular to its own needs.

Andrew added: “The driver management tools are invaluable. We were unable to identify who was driving which vehicle, and that meant we couldn’t properly performance manage our driver force. Now we can incentivise and reward best driving practice as well as identify any specific training needs quickly. This helps us to mitigate vehicle damage costs and improve fuel efficiency as we can set up alerts for harsh braking, poor driving technique or speeding.

Phased integration

Each council department is still very much involved with the specification of safety equipment as well as vehicles. However, as Fleetclear is the sole provider it means that data from all departments is captured and monitored via one platform.

Andrew added: “We started slowly and introduced the Fleetclear Connect system to our waste collection fleet first. Within weeks if not days the system had made an impact and it’s continued to make life so much easier.

“We have access to much more information, and we don’t need 3 or 4 logins to access it! We can track and monitor the fleet more effectively. For example, in the case of waste collections we have set up alert zones where there are weight limits, so we don’t overload any of the vehicles. We can even add hire vehicles onto the same system thanks to an OBD (On Board Diagnostic) tracking unit.”

Whereas the council used to have to pay to bring in external suppliers to assist with route, it can now manage this in-house with Fleetclear Connect.

Andrew explains: “There are lots of new housing developments and as these are incorporated into existing collection schedules, Fleetclear Connect helps us to accurately assess how the route can be optimised most efficiently.”

The council is currently migrating the remainder of its fleet, from housing, grounds maintenance and cleansing onto the Fleetclear Connect system.

Collaboration

Fleetclear has a collaborative style of working with its customers, employees, and industry partners, throughout the product creation process and beyond. The electrification of fleets and the adoption of alternative fuel sources is an emerging area for fleet management that is posing challenges for fleet managers, and is a particular area of focus for Fleetclear

Andrew explains: “Fleetclear is working with us to ensure that we can monitor our growing electric fleet.  For example, we can now connect these vehicles to our system and identify what vehicle is being charged and by how much. This is especially pertinent for members of staff who need to charge vehicles at home.”

Innovation

Fleetclear has developed an innovative Heat mapping feature that highlights any potential safety concerns for fleet managers enabling a more proactive approach to safety.

Chris Waller, Chief Technial Officer, Fleetclear explains: “The way our heat mapping works is unique. Users can view a heat map for any safety equipment, on any vehicle or multiple vehicles, and at specific times of day or drivers. The result is a comprehensive picture of vehicle operational safety, highlighting specific safety hot spots ie cyclist detections, roll aways, or speeding events. It is particulary useful for monitoring risk-associated events like reverse manoevres.

Fleet managers can drill down to specific events, find an exact point, and share a video of it. It’s a powerful user journey and a proactive approach to safety through constant monitoring. Ultimately routes can be adjusted to reduce the risk of incidents occurring.”

Andrew concludes: “With Fleetclear we have gained a much better understanding about how our fleet is performing council wide, by department, vehicle type and individual drivers. We can be even more proactive about safety, by keeping a close track of any alerts or potential incidents and take immediate and appropriate action.”