One summer’s day last week, a group of fleet managers and field service stakeholders descended on the Milbrook Proving Ground as we launched Clear, our brand new product, designed specifically for the field service and fleet sectors.
Motoring aficionado Quentin Willson hosted the event which, alongside a healthy dose of competition, also featured speakers from some of the industry’s most important stakeholders. These included FTA Van Excellence, the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Interserve, Sky and former ‘Stig’ and current James Bond stunt driver Ben Collins.
Setting the Pace
On the day, each attendee was given the chance to drive the Millbrook Alpine Circuit in one of ten large vans provided by Hertz, with the aim being to set the very best drive in terms of efficiency and safety. The scores were calculated by combining each driver’s Clear driver performance metric and the time taken to complete the circuit.
Ben Collins debriefed each driver using the Clear iOS and Android app, featuring recommendations for improved safety and efficiency. Ironically, the best performing drivers would later be thrilled to within an inch of their life in a Lotus Exige, with the Stig pushing the car to its very limits. “That’s the best thing I have ever done in my life,” said one attendee as he returned from the circuit.
The Importance of Vans
But fun and games aside, the keynote speakers gave their perspectives on the important challenges currently facing the industry, converging on one central theme. Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) are essential to the UK economy and their professional use and maintenance is a very important issue.
Mark Cartwright, Head of Vans and LCV’s at FTA Van Excellence, estimates that there are over one million unroadworthy vans out there right now. His call to action is for leaders in the industry to spread the word in their businesses, amongst peers, to influence suppliers and encourage contractors. He identified embracing technology, such as Clear, as a key factor in making progress and said that if the industry wants to avoid intrusive regulations and constraints, the best thing is to act now and self-regulate.
The challenge of managing a multi-disciplined business from a centralised fleet management team was central to Interserve Group Fleet Director, David King’s presentation. This is a key consideration, particularly in an organisation the size of Interserve, which has a turnover of nearly £3bn. He highlighted significant savings in efficiency and sustainability since Inteserve began working with Microlise in 2012, also citing improvements in terms of reduced speeding and associated incidents, as well as availability and safety.
For Gordon Macdonald, Enforcement Product Manager at the DVSA, nothing short of 100 per cent compliance would meet his ambitions. But with less regulation in the van sector compared with for Heavy Goods Vehicles, and limited government appetite for more regulation, he sees engaging directly with van drivers and tradesmen as essential.
Sky, which is already using Microlise telematics on its fleet of vans across the UK, said that sustainability and leadership, as well as maximising miles per gallon, limiting speed related incidents and capitalising on available technologies, are behind its use of telematics technologies.
Ben Collins also addressed delegates on good driving practices and talked through a number of his career experiences – including working with Jeremy Clarkson and driving Nicholas Cage at top speed through the streets of London.
Special thanks to event supporters Hertz, who supplied our vans for the day, FTA Van Excellence and to our keynote speakers.
The Benefit is Clear
We believe Clear addresses many of the challenges highlighted on launch day, empowering drivers to manage fleet compliance and improve performance, delivering safety, cost reduction and environmental impact benefits, whilst also providing comprehensive management capabilities.
To see the pictures from the day, visit the Microlise Facebook page.
For information on Clear, visit the product information page.
