Engineers at the Keighley-based operator now use rugged Samsung tablets, which are connected to the central system managing 200-plus units within the fleet.
The tablets have replaced paper job sheets and inspection reports, saving time on both administration and workshop tasks.
“The introduction of mobile devices in the workshop is a significant step up as we now have real-time information on the status of every vehicle in the fleet,” says Johnathan Brewerton, McDowell’s garage manager.
The system has also enabled one full-time administrator to be reassigned to other work, says Brewerton, freeing up his time to manage and improve the workshop operation.
As well as eliminating time-consuming job sheet entry, the system shows the status of each vehicle and highlights any compliance issues. Reports enable historic information to be reviewed to assess the performance of vehicles and individual components, including prices paid for each part.
“The beauty of Freeway is that it gives us all the information we need at the touch of a button,” says Brewerton, adding: “The other important thing is that it links to other systems such as Mandata and Sage, so it becomes an integral part of our business.”