Bron Afon Surpass Expectations With Fleet Tracking

Bron Afon is a social enterprise and a valued client of Teletrac Navman. The association is facilitated by staff and members with one key aim - to make a difference to people's lives.

From construction and community regeneration to on hand support, Bron Afon strives to provide high quality, affordable housing and build healthy communities in the Torfaen area.

We spoke to Business Administration Manager, Michelle Smith about the benefits they've seen since installing tracking from Teletrac Navman. Here's what she said:

Why did your company feel the need to implement fleet tracking?

"For several reasons! However, it was mainly for health and safety and to support our lone workers because having the ability to locate them when needed, especially in cases of an emergency, is vital.

"A vehicle was stolen and never recovered; if we had fleet tracking in place at that time, it is very likely that we would have located the missing vehicle.

I think we also hoped to see a reduction in fuel costs. We had experienced issues with the general management and tracking of our fleet, so it was quite a task to keep accurate records of who was driving what vehicle, and this was being managed on a spreadsheet which was often not up-to-date."

Why did you choose Teletrac Navman?

"We issued a tender and shortlisted several suppliers. Tenders were evaluated and suppliers were invited to our HQ to provide system demonstrations. Using a scoring based system Teletrac Navman scored the highest marks and were awarded the contract. 

"We particularly liked the fact that Teletrac Navman were offering a web based option, and I believe we are the first customer in the UK to use the new web based system. We also like the look and feel of the system, google maps, and the ease of use and reporting functionality it has to offer. 

"During the system demonstration we were impressed by how professional Teletrac Navman are. Their knowledge of the system and options available to us, the approach to working together for implementation, and the turnkey option really added benefit for putting the system into action." 

What features does your company use the most?

"We use live tracking and replay a day the most.  We also have reports scheduled weekly to be emailed automatically to the fleet manager which include: idle time reports, fuel usage, peak speed, unauthorised events, weekly mileage and driver scorecards.

"Our process is entirely up-to-date  and accurate drivers are being assigned to the correct vehicles; this has happened naturally as supervisors use the system and can only see the vehicles in their section, so they now ensure the system is up-to-date.

"This is a real bonus to the admin team who support fleet management."

What benefits have you seen since introducing fleet tracking?

"The most significant benefit has been the reduction in fuel costs, from July (when we first went live) to September, our monthly fuel bill had reduced by £3000, and we anticipate it will drop even further. 

"We've also had a number of occasions where the system has been used to locate missing vehicles. One example being a vehicle which was parked at our HQ because the driver was off work; it was there Monday through Thursday, and Friday morning the vehicle disappeared. Within minutes we knew the location of the vehicle; it was parked outside the driver's house. He had collected it ready to return to work the following week but hadn't told anyone.

"Another instance involved a supervisor who approached me concerned about the whereabouts of a member of his team. He knew the person was driving out of our borough to collect something, but hadn't arrived back when expected. They tried to contact him on his mobile but he wasn't picking up. After checking the tracking system we could see the vehicle was where we expected, and travelling very slowly. We then viewed 'live traffic' on the maps and could see the vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam. Each time we thought there was an issue the system has proved otherwise, it prevents dramas!

"The system has also been used numerous times to defend our drivers. We've had complaints about driving and parking and used the system to show that our drivers were not at fault."

What would you say to anybody thinking about implementing a fleet tracking system?

"It's brilliant and we would highly recommend it! It was very easy to implement and went live with no issues.  It gives piece of mind knowing that you can locate your vehicles at all times and ensures your drivers are safe and well.  All our drivers have seen the system and understand the kind of data it stores, and they can really see the benefit of having it in place. 

"As a company we have not pushed the reduction in fuel, it has happened naturally. We're eager to build on what we already have from Teletrac Navman, and next year will be looking at driver identification systems. We have also recently purchased a mobile tracking device that will be installed on ground maintenance equipment." 

To get a FREE demo of our fleet tracking system and to see how it can improve productivity, customer service and cost savings across your business, click here.