The Cumbria-based operator runs a fleet of Mercedes-Benz Actros 2543 StreamSpace tractors pulling Chereau single-compartment insulated trailers with Thermo King refrigeration units. The tractors and trailers are contract-hired from Dawsonrentals and maintained by dealer Roanza Truck & Van.
Like all new Actros, the trucks were supplied as standard with Fleetboard telematics. “The Actros is an excellent vehicle, but Fleetboard is the icing on the cake,” says David Lowe, WCF Distribution general manager.
“Our trucks undertake a wide variety of work – on a typical morning one driver might head straight out on to the M6 for a nice steady-speed run to Scotland, while another will spend the entire day making stop-start collections around local farms. This makes it almost impossible to produce a meaningful, like-for-like comparison of fuel consumption figures.”
Fleetboard, however, solves this by “levelling out the playing field”, he says.
“The system produces a comprehensive report for each truck every Monday, which takes into account the ‘degree of difficulty’ of the routes it has been on, and covers a range of criteria including fuel use, ‘green-band’ driving, braking power and throttle movements, to produce an overall efficiency score.”
WCF uses this analysis to identify driver training requirements; Fleetboard’s mapping and time management functions are also monitored to enable swift decisions and re-routing, when necessary.
“The whole system is extremely user friendly,” says Lowe. “The reports are clear and easy to interpret, and our traffic office staff find the software highly intuitive.”
Indeed, he adds, this is providing a “winning combination” of improved driver performance and fleet efficiency.
“Fleetboard has proved itself to be a great piece of equipment that helps us to operate more efficiently, and we’re now investigating ways in which we can make even more use of its impressive capabilities.”