Dave Lightfoot, Miniclipper fleet director, says Dawsonrentals made a lot of sense, partly because the two firms have a good working relationship and partly the price was right.
He also liked the fact that Dawsonrentals was able to maintain Miniclipper's MAN bias – itself due to the aftersales service Miniclipper gets form local MAN dealer, John Arnold Commercials.
Dawsonrentals also worked with Miniclipper in selecting and scoping the Microlise system.
"We did put telematics on our fleet a number of years ago, but expect this to be a major improvement," states Lightfoot – adding that he has set clear targets to ensure return on investment.
"Microlise's Benefit Realisation Consultancy will also monitor these targets and, if they're not reached, a prompt is triggered and we will jointly develop an improvement plan," he explains.
Among targets set by Miniclipper are: better mpg via daily analysis of vehicle and driver performance; improved fleet performance data to optimise utilisation; and reduced downtime by vehicle health monitoring.
And Lightfoot also includes: better route compliance, with integrated alerts; accurate driver management and training; and enhanced route planning.
"We expect the forward facing cameras should reduce our driving incident rates, improve safe driving and reduce insurance claims," he adds.
Lightfoot says he has now embarked on a period of assessing the new vehicles and the impact of the Microlise system, stating that it is too early to tell but he's looking for With the vehicles only joining the an initial 5% fuel reduction.
"With the help of the Microlise benefits management team we will set further targets and methodically tighten these to levels that will be realistic and achievable," he says.
The new trucks are all Euro 6, replacing Euro 5 engine trucks.