A major UK supermarket has gone live with telematics and camera systems on its 3,000-strong home delivery fleet, bringing extensive operational data, including on driver behaviour.
The project was completed by Fraikin within a two-month deadline and with minimal downtime, showcasing the firm’s total fleet management solution.
The work – which involved Masternaut advanced telematics systems and forward-facing cameras from SureCam – was designed to improve safety and reduce the environmental impact of the 3.5-tonne commercial vehicle fleet, capturing extensive operational data on vehicle performance, as well as monitoring driving habits to help develop driver training.
Fraikin worked closely with field-based engineering resource company Diareyes, creating an out-of-hours schedule that minimised vehicle downtime.
Once installed, the team at Fraikin played an integral role in educating the supermarket’s regional managers on the use of the telematics and camera systems, who then trained close to 8,000 individual drivers. For any subsequent issues or queries, Fraikin offers 24/7 support to the customer’s own team.
A major part of the project was also the development of a robust reporting structure to provide vital analysis of the operational data – which primarily comes from Masternaut’s ‘in-cab coach’, a small, dashboard-mounted device that provides live feedback on driver behaviour, with alerts triggered through excessive idling, harsh acceleration, braking and speeding. The telematics data can also help with vehicle utilisation, ensuring that the correct numbers of vehicles are where they need to be.
Fraikin’s team subsequently uses this information, along with any required SureCam footage, to supply a comprehensive weekly report highlighting how each vehicle is performing, helping to promote a culture of safe driving within the fleet, while also showcasing ways its customer can lower operating costs and improve sustainability.
“We were quickly able to show how important the information this technology provides can be – our initial report highlighted that idling times were excessive across the fleet. By monetising that data, we could show exactly how much that idling time was costing, meaning the customer could implement immediate changes to reduce costs and environmental impact too,” said Lorraine Sculley, fleet management account director at Fraikin.
The project has already evolved to now explore additional functionality, including a deep dive into the CAN bus of each vehicle to monitor for faults and facilitate pre-emptive maintenance or to adjust schedules based on how intensively each vehicle is operating.
