The Challenge
DFS is a sofa retailer and manufacturer which has 51 operating centres across the UK. To deliver 12,000 orders every week across the UK, it has around 250 7.5 ton vehicles and 45 articulated vehicles with 80 trailers.
The main challenge is keeping control of driver behaviour and giving drivers the relevant feedback to ensure the safest, most cost effective and best fleet performance on the roads.
The biggest difference for the majority of the DFS fleet is that the drivers install furniture most of the day – so while they drive as a necessity of their work, there’s a very customer-centric approach with the delivery of a high quality service top priority.
The Approach
DFS has implemented the Fleet Performance product from Microlise, including the safety module, which monitors harsh acceleration, braking and cornering.
The Microlise system will identify and record events and provide a whole raft of information outlining what the conditions were at that time, enabling the transport team to really drill down, interrogate the information and debrief the drivers.
“Driving awareness of these kinds of things makes a difference. People don’t want to do a bad job, they want to do the best they can and naturally, they try to better themselves and do the best for the company,” said Chris Bamford, DFS Group Fleet and Transport Compliance Manager.
DFS has also installed the Microlise ClearVision camera system, which integrates closely with the telematics and safety module. This is allowing DFS to go even further, enabling the team to review footage around incidents and really understand what was taking place before, during and after any incident.