Once again, Quentin Willson chaired the conference displaying his genuine interest in the industry and the progress it’s made over the last 12 months. Quentin also had a chance to meet fellow ‘Top Gear’ man Ben Collins (former ‘Stig’) who rounded up the day’s proceedings with an entertaining and enlightening glance into the world of movie stunt coordination and high speed driving.
With over 400 delegates, the conference was a huge success and the feedback so far has been extremely positive.

Microlise have released a new video case study outlining their partnership with Carlsberg. Microlise work closely with their customers to help them to achieve the best results from the system long after installation.
Carlsberg are a global company producing over 35 billion bottles of beer each year with sales in over 140 countries. In the UK they employ 1800 people and their fleet travels approximately 15 million kilometres every year.

Microlise began working with Carlsberg nearly 3 years ago and have helped improve fleet fuel consumption by 4.8% in year 1 and by a further 1% in year 2.

Watch the Microlise and Carlsberg in Partnership video now.

Kenilworth Wardens were established more than 50 years ago in wartime Kenilworth. The club was started by Air Raid Wardens and have grown to be a flagship club in Warwickshire for football, cricket and running at all ages. They are now an FA Development Chartered Standard club and also a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) and have a Clubmark in cricket.

The under 16’s football team compete in the Under 16’s Coventry Minor League and are managed by Phil Langley, Microlise’s Senior Business Benefits Manager.
“We’ve got great teams ranging from under 7’s to seniors,” explains Phil, “and support from business is not only helpful but totally essential to local youth development in this country and Microlise takes its social responsibility very seriously.”

Paul Calver, Juniors Football Chairman commented, “Kenilworth Wardens Football Club strives to provide football to the local community, to develop players and harness talent, in a safe and secure environment. This is only possible by generous sponsorship, such as that of Microlise and the sponsorship of our talented under 16’s team. As a club we are very grateful for their support and look forward to the team showing off their new kit”

Matthew Hague, Product Strategy Director at Microlise added, “When I was approached by Phil I jumped at the chance to have Microlise sponsor the under 16’s team shirts. Our staff are what makes our company a great place of work and we do what we can to encourage them to put something back into their communities like Phil has done for some years now.”

It was discovered hours later the same day thanks to real-time location information. The farm owner was alerted to the theft via text message. Tracking then revealed it had been driven and hidden in Market Rasen.

The police, LiveLink and JCB dealer Peacock and Binnington teamed up to recover the machine and its attachments. Peacock and Binnington company director Andrew Whiteley said: “The recovery of this stolen machine in a matter of hours of the theft proves beyond a doubt the benefit of the JCB LiveLink system.”

About LiveLink

JCB LiveLink is an advanced telematics system that enables their large and medium machine operators to better protect their machines and accurately monitor and improve performance. In conjunction with this, JCB and Microlise have designed a new product called LiveLink Lite. Intended specifically to meet the needs of JCB Dealers and customers who operate smaller JCB machines for which the other LiveLink products are not suited.

The LiveLink Lite product provides the user features such as: Machine location, Operating Hours monitoring and reporting, Tow-away alerts, Real-time geo-fence and curfew alerts, Emailed service reports, and Email & text security alerts. All to provide JCB customers with: enhanced machine security and theft recovery, improved control of machine usage & maintenance planning and reduced VOR through improved product support.

LiveLink Lite is currently available as an after market fitted solution consisting of two parts, the system hardware (ECU) and a messaging service agreement (MSA) and can be purchased from any JCB Dealership (see below for contact details)

For more details on the LiveLink Solutions and to contact JCB click here.

It’s no surprise that the larger the fleet, the greater the positivity: 55% of operators with 50 vehicles or more expect an increase in volumes in 2013, compared with 31% of fleets with one to 10 vehicles; and 45% of operators with 50 vehicles or more expect an increase in profit in 2013, compared with 33% of fleets with one to 10 vehicles.

But, crucially, the analysis by type of operation reveals that logistics and contract distribution firms are overwhelmingly accentuating the positive: more than three-quarters of them (76%) expect an increase in volumes in 2013, while only 8% expect a decrease. More than half (56%) expect an increase in profit, while only 16% expect a decrease.

In contrast, only 29% of hire or reward hauliers expect an increase in volume, while 15% expect a decrease. And only 9% of own-account operators expect a boost in volumes.

A more positive outlook

Analysis by primary sector served shows almost universal positivity, with the notable exception of operators in the agriculture sector: by volumes, only 9% expect an increase and 18% expect a decrease; and by profit, none expect and increase, but 45% expect a decrease.

Having garnered respondents’ views about volumes and profit, we then asked them about their fears for 2013: it’s no wonder that more than half of the respondents (52%) flagged the price of fuel as their biggest concern. But it’s not the only worry: many highlighted the impact of late-paying customers and large debts, while others mentioned the rising cost of maintenance.

Some respondents took a strategic view: “Any further decline in business has a big impact because we work for all different business all around the country,” said one.

Another said: “Lack of volumes due to companies tightening their belts and pretty much ’seeing what the new year will bring’ in relation to the economy.” While another respondent said: “The continued uncertainty of recovery out of the recession. Although the government has stated that even though we have not gone into a third dip, the recovery out of the double-dip recession could take up to 2015/16.”

Many respondents mentioned rates – whether the inability to increase rates or cowboy operators undercutting. One said: “There is pressure on rates to stay the same when I need to add in the replacement cost of vehicles and trailers, which I have put on hold for three years.”

Another revealed: “Too many hauliers will drop their prices in the first quarter to build work. Then in the second quarter a number of hauliers will go under, leaving low rates for the surviving hauliers. I believe that we will see a contraction in the number of vehicles and operators, as a number of hauliers that have been hanging on will finally run out of reserves.”

Euro-6 still an issue

Three respondents highlighted the introduction of Euro-6 as a concern, while another mentioned “poor-quality drivers with no education, especially those who think it’s macho to drive a lorry” as a key concern. Another is worried about the Driver CPC deadline moving ever closer.

But it’s not all worries and fears: there are hopes as well. One respondent offered this as the best thing that could happen to their business this year: “The market, VOSA and the traffic commissioners take out all the under-performing hauliers, which will leave a better market for law-abiding hauliers.” Another’s hope is “that we preform to levels we have in 2012.”

There were some sector-specific wishes, such as increased government spending on housing. “The Scottish government is putting up a huge sum of money for affordable housing over a number of years starting next year, so hopefully this will keep us busy in Scotland,” said one.

There were some pie-in-the-sky suggestions, including a number of people hoping for lottery wins, while someone offered this: “Somebody gives us a big cheque for the keys to the front door and we get a one-way plane ticket to a warmer climate.”

Sticking with the unlikely, a third of all respondents want to see a drop in fuel price.

For the full article please visit www.commercialmotor.com.

Towergate Insurance has over 30 year’s experience in the commercial vehicle sector. Their Fleetcare+ product is designed to help clients reduce and manage the risks they face in the world of transport.

Towergate’s dedicated Claims Liaisons Managers working with clients by analysing their telematics data and implementing an appropriate risk management programme designed specifically for their business to help reduce risk across their fleet.  Their advice can help reduce the risk of an accident and help improve driving behaviours.  This offers the client an opportunity to not only benefit from potential premium savings and a long term profit share arrangement but also every day costs such as those related to fuel consumption.

For more information on Towergate Fleetcare+ please call 0844 892 3467 or visit www.towergateinsurance.co.uk .

Several hundred users and potential users of telematics and fleet management systems gathered this year at the Microlise Transport Conference, which has become a significant event in the telematics calendar.

Although the fleet operators who spoke were all using Microlise systems, what they said often had generic interest that could apply equally to many of the leading systems.

Driver performance monitoring ranked high on the agenda, and was mentioned by almost all operators, but other operational benefits also came out in many of the presentations.

Fuel consumption had fallen by 4.8 percent – ‘better than the target’

The business case for adopting a telematics system had been simple enough, said Mark Faulkner, supply chain modelling manager for brewer Carlsberg. THe aim was to reduce fuel consumption by 4.6 percent and labour costs by 10.5 percent. In fact, he said, there was evidence that fuel savings of up to 13 percent were possible, but he was keen to set a real-world figure that could be achieved in practice.

Carlsberg’s UK fleet of 320 vehicles ranged in age from new to ten years old, and clocked up 15 million kilometres a year.

Interestingly, the company already used the Microlise warehouse management system, so it knew the supplier from long experience. It adopted the MTU3 on-board unit and CANbus integration, but not the driver module offered by Microlise. “In retrospect we would have liked it,” Faulkner added.

Although driver performance was not the only area of interest, a lot of attention was given to this. Geofencing have proved very effective in monitoring route adherence and checking that the company’s scheduling system was generating appropriate routes. Monitoring engine idling time had resulted in a big reduction.

In terms of driver acceptance, Faulkner admitted that tracking was seen initially as a “big brother” issue. “Perhaps we could have handled this aspect better,” he said. But he added that drivers now saw the system as a normal feature of the operation – a situation helped by a scheme to reward the best-performing driver each month with a £100 prize.

In practice it had been difficult to quantify reductions in labour cost, Faulkner said, but fuel consumption had fallen by 4.8 percent – better than target – and the value had been rising along with fuel prices. In the year 2010 to 2011, the company had saved 200,000 litres of fuel. “Payback was just two years,” he said.

‘It is important not to focus on mpg, but on driving style’

The impact of Microlise telematics on Scottish-based John Mitchell Haulage & Warehousing had been “phenomenal”, said managing director Iain Mitchell. He recounted how the company had first explored telematics eight years ago. The company had a poor experience with an earlier system from another supplier, he said. Then truck maker MAN recommended Microlise.

“It was more efficient, and provided better driver control,” he said. He admitted it was potentially a hard sell to drivers, “but they did buy into it.”

It immediately started revealing potential for savings in the 115-vehicle fleet, he said. He described a situation where there were two possible routes drivers could take to join the southbound M74. There ws a difference of three miles between them, and suddenly it was possible to tell which route drivers were taking. “That change alone saved us a fortune.”

A key improvement had been in communications and the traceability of messaging, and the greatest beneficiary had been customer service. “In the past, drivers often told the traffic office what they wanted to hear. Now we can provide accurate information. It’s been a huge sales tool.”

Driver performance was also a key issue, Mitchell said. Drivers could now be rated on an A to G scale, and those with D to G ratings were assessed and given extra training. The poorest performers could eventually be asked to leave, but the best were rewarded every month with £150 (A grade) and £50 (B grade).

He recounted how one driver insisted he could not improve his performance, but Mitchell revealed how avoiding the use of cruise control had improved his fuel consumption from 6.1 to 7.6mpg. “He’s now consistently an A or B grade on most days.”

“It is important not to focus on mpg, but on driving style,” he said. “Then savings in mpg come naturally.”

‘Management by exception is the key’

Even on an operation that has involved the same drivers for many years, it is possible to improve driving style by installing a suitable telematics system, with resultant savings.

That was the message from Kevin Allen, contract manager at Ryder. He described how Microlise telematics had been implemented on a long-standing home delivery contract with Sharps Bedrooms, where it was important to be able to tell householders exactly when to expect their delivery.

The company had integrated the Microlise system with the Ortec routing and scheduling suite, and had included MDT driver terminals in the package, along with electronic proof of delivery.

A useful feature of the implementation had been the use of an electronic whiteboard giving traffic planners an instant live map view of vehicle locations, with constantly updated ETAs. “Now we can send SMS texts showing the expected arrival times,” Allen said.

The MDT terminals featured pre-scripted driver routines, directed sat-nav, delivery information and provision to photograph damaged goods.

A large amount of data was gathered from vehicles, Allen said, including instances of harsh braking. “Management by exception is key,” he advised.

‘Now we can avoid tarring every driver with the same brush’

Mark Binns, managing director of chemical logistics company Hoyer, said 75 percent of the goods carried by his company were hazardous, so its priorities were safety, then cost, then customer service.

He said the company used the Smiths defensive driver training system (a three-week course) to ensure that drivers were able to perform perfectly – “but they won’t necessarily be perfect all the time.” However, he said technology could help monitor and improve performance.

Hoyer used a “red, amber, green” system to rate drivers, and this provided the structure and evidence, Binns said. “Previously we applied blanket training, which could be expensive and wasteful. Now we can avoid tarring every driver with the same brush, and provide targeted training instead.” Points were allocated to events such as harsh braking, and near misses, and a detailed summary was created.

As an indicator of the overall improvements achieved, he said lost deliveries had been reduced from 0.7 percent in 2009 to 0.4 percent in 2011.

Achieving the objective of exonerating drivers in disputed incidents

Chartered safety practitioner Simon Wilson described how DHL Supply Chain had embarked on what he termed “a safety maturity journey”, which aimed to reduce the accident rate over its 350 UK locations from two or three accidents per million kilometres to one. It had been using the Smiths training programme, but this had proved “hugely expensive”.

A key requirement had been to find a telematics system that captured contextual speeding information. “Most systems don’t do this,” he said, adding that the Microlise system was one that did.

The company had also explored the use of forward-facing cameras (another feature now supported by Microlise). It had been “a huge decision” to fit them, but they did achieve the objective of exonerating drivers in disputed incidents.

Harsh cornering was another feature that DHL regarded as important. He was particularly attracted to the system’s ability to convert GPS reading at quarter-second increments into lateral g-force without the need for an accelerometer.

Improvement in morale

When telematics was introduced in Tesco’s 3000-strong fleet of home delivery vans, there was an improvement in morale among the 9000-plus customer delivery assistants (the drivers), plus an instant reduction in vehicle damage. These were among gains cited by fleet training manager Cliff Cheeseman.

The company did its training in-house, he said, and had taken this as its starting point. With telematics, he said, Tesco knew vehicle locations and distances travelled, which helped reduce fuel consumption, and monitoring harsh braking and over-revving had brought safer driving and a reduction in costs.

There had also been a reduction in insurance claims. “No vehicles are stolen now, because drivers never leave their keys in the ignition.”

There had been operational as well as fleet management benefits, Cheeseman said. Telematics had underpinned the company’s text messaging process, and its ability to offer consumers narrow delivery time windows.

Featured in Issue 57 Septemer / October 2012 – mlogistics magazine

Among them is contextual speed tracking. Every time a tracked vehicle reports into the Microlise Fleet Performance system, the system looks up the posted road speed for that stretch of road, and compares it to the speed reported from the vehicle. Infringements are flagged.

The company says users of this feature have reduced speeding infringements by up to 90%.

Microlise has also added the ability to track harsh cornering to its existing ability to monitor harsh braking. It does this without the need for an accelerometer by sampling vehicle location at a very high rate (many times a second) and deriving lateral g-force readings based on the rate of change of heading.

The company’s MTU3 on-board computer delivers an alert if the lateral g-force exceeds the figure pre-set in the vehicle’s profile.

A feature currently limited to trailers with the Knorr-Bremse EBS electronic braking is the ability to pass a roll-over warning to the Microlise system.

Also included in the latest range of enhancements is forward-facing camera integration based on the SmartWitness system.

Featured in Issue 57 September / October 2012 – mlogistics