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Lightfoot launches First Notice of Loss service to fleet managers

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Lightfoot, the award winning in-vehicle technology and driver rewards platform, has launched its First Notice of Loss (FNOL) service to the fleet sector, alerting fleet managers to incidents and accidents, helping to enhance Duty of Care to drivers of fleet vehicles.

The new service, which is available as an add-on to Lightfoot’s range of services, sends notifications within ten minutes of an incident, detailing the severity of the incident, the vehicle involved, its location, direction of travel, g-force caused by the incident, the vehicle’s speed at the time of the incident, and the current status of the vehicle.

For more information, click here.

CASE STUDY: Trakm8 delivers for Pendragon

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As part of the UK’s leading automotive retail group, Pendragon Vehicle Management (a subsidiary of Pendragon Plc), is keenly aware of the importance of effective fleet management.

An established industry leader for more than 30 years, Pendragon Vehicle Management provides a suite of fleet-focused services to its varied client base, including dedicated account management, an online driver centre and a variety of Fleet Funding options, including contract hire, sale/leaseback and contract purchase.

No stranger to the telematics market, Pendragon Vehicle Management recognised a growing need among its customers for insights that went beyond just vehicle tracking. Identifying that requirement was what first led Pendragon to Trakm8, the UK’s leading telematics solutions provider. 

Tony Nicholson, New Business National Account Manager at Pendragon Vehicle Management, takes up the story: “For our customers, vehicle assets are the lifeblood that powers their business, and as such, they want to make sure that their fleets are working as efficiently as possible, and delivering maximum return on investment. 

“While the basic telematics provision of vehicle tracking is obviously a critically important consideration for fleet managers, tracking alone doesn’t provide enough insights to truly amplify efficiency, productivity and cost-effectiveness across fleets. 

“Our customers increasingly need solutions that give them a deep-dive, holistic insight into vehicle health, provide ergonomic route planning and monitor driver behaviour, identifying possible training opportunities. Knowing Trakm8 could deliver all of these, and more, in one, data-rich package made them our ideal telematics partner.

“Since coming on board, Trakm8 has helped us revolutionise our telematics offering for customers, enabling Pendragon to become even more reactive and intuitive to its needs. One such example can be found in our work with one of Britain’s largest household goods retailers, which maintain a fleet of more than 400 vehicles. 

“The business was seeking to streamline the fuel expenditure across its fleet. Working with Trakm8, we were able to develop an app-based platform for the organisation, which tracked fuel consumption against driver behaviour, enabling the business to then provide bespoke, fuel efficient-centred training to the drivers.

“Without the access to that data, provided by Trakm8 technology, we simply wouldn’t have been able to deliver such a service. Across the board, Trakm8’s data-led approach has allowed us to be more consultative with clients; an important consideration at a time when fleet managers are becoming ever more risk averse. Technology that can alert to potential problem point, be it vehicular health or driver behaviour, to vehicle cameras that provide invaluable evidence in the result of an accident, are proving to deliver fleet managers valuable peace of mind, and it’s fantastic that we can offer that to our customers, via our relationship with Trakm8.”

Chris Horbowyj, Channel Sales Director at Trakm8 (pictured), added: “It’s fantastic to be able to provide our technology to an organisation with such a widely recognised brand as Pendragon. Working with such a wide variety of well-known clients, Pendragon needed a solution that was the right fit for the diverse needs of their customer base; we’re delighted our data led insights are helping Pendragon deliver for their clients, and look forward to continuing our relationship with them.”    

For more information on the full range of products and services offered by Trakm8, please visit: https://www.trakm8.com

What coming out of lockdown means for electrification in fleets

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By Shaun Sadlier, Head of Consultancy, Arval UK

The moment before lockdown perhaps now seems like a long time ago but, if you cast your mind back to early March, there was much excited talk about the prospects for electric vehicles on UK fleets.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak had just announced a three-pronged commitment from the government to support the EV market – advantageous tax measures for businesses, similar benefits for drivers, and expenditure to support the growth of the charging infrastructure. A whole raft of new EVs were announced that looked set to assist in broadening the fleet appeal of electric cars for fleets and drivers. It seemed as though the moment had come for EVs to become mainstream company cars.

Then coronavirus happened. The question now is, will the lockdown and the “new normal” that follows affect the prospects for electrification?

To answer, we need to ask what has changed for fleets over the last few months? Initial feedback from businesses suggests that there is a refocussing of priorities. While few are signalling any reduction in numbers of vehicles, many will be putting a focus on costs. With this in mind, we at Arval UK see no reason why fleets should waver in their drive towards EV adoption. Indeed, there are factors that may make corporate commitment to zero emissions vehicles even stronger. 

Firstly, the tax incentives and other measures that the Government announced pre-crisis remain in place and are still highly attractive from a financial point of view.

Secondly, while the purchase price of EVs are generally high compared to petrol and diesel cars, our experience at Arval UK is that the total real world running costs are highly competitive and, in some cases, better than internal combustion engine alternatives. This is something that may not yet be widely understood but we are planning wider education to make this point explicit.

Lastly, the desire for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and work towards reduced emissions is unlikely to be changed by coronavirus and there may even be a shift towards placing greater emphasis on these areas as a result of the crisis, to come back better than before – an intention we’ve heard from many of our customers.

So, overall, while there may be a slight delay in the drive towards electrification, the direction of travel hasn’t changed at all, something that we very much welcome. Our view is that electrification is good for businesses, their drivers and the planet. The current crisis hasn’t changed these facts.

University of Bath champions Lightfoot as a game-changer

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The University of Bath’s Chris Brace, Professor of Automotive Propulsion and Director of the Institute of Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS), has heralded Lightfoot as a game-changer for modern fleet vehicles, addressing emissions in the real world.

Commenting in an interview, Professor Brace endorsed Lightfoot, saying: “For millions of vehicles on the road, Lightfoot is one of the only ways to reduce the amount of NOx in the real world due to its ability to change driver behaviour in real time.”

Click here to read more.

Bates Office Services increases MPG by 13%, and reduces idling by 3%

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Bates Office Services, one of the country’s leading office supplies and services providers, has cut emissions by 13%, lowered instances of dangerous driving, cut idling by 3% and increased overall MPG by in excess of 13%, thanks to Lightfoot’s industry-leading driver rewards platform and in-cab driver guidance technology.

Having installed Lightfoot across its fleet of 60 vans – which together travel up to 2 million miles each year – Bates Office Services is now seeing fuel savings of between £6,000-£7,000 each month.

Click here to watch a full video about the project.

Keeping Britain moving through COVID-19

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David Brennan, CEO of Nexus Vehicle Rental, discusses the need for flexible vehicle rental options to support the retail and logistics industries, as well as key workers, throughout this period of unprecedented demand and uncertainty…

Many UK businesses are facing continued economic uncertainty and the spread of COVID-19 is presenting unique challenges for communities up and down the country. Retailers – particularly supermarkets – are experiencing unprecedented demand for home deliveries and require room to flex their fleets to ensure the mobility of their supply chains throughout this rapidly evolving situation. 

Key workers across a myriad of industries, including retail and logistics, now urgently require access to flexible mobility supply networks to serve distributed communities across the country. The UK’s vehicle hire industry is already a vital part of the supply chain for these businesses and an ideal solution for those that need to rapidly scale-up their fleets whilst mitigating costs.

The Government and the British Retail Consortium continue to communicate that the UK does not have a shortage of essentials like food, toiletries and medicines, but the challenge is actually sourcing the ‘people and lorries’ to get these items on supermarket or pharmacy shelves, as well as delivered to consumers’ homes. In these difficult and demanding times, vehicle rental companies can help retailers and those in the logistics industry find the right solution for their mobility needs.

Flexible, on-demand support 

Nexus has built up the UK’s largest supply chain and its pioneering technology, IRIS, connects businesses to more than 550,000 vehicles across 2,000 locations, including EVs, specialist and commercial vehicles and HGVs.

As additional safeguarding measures and restrictions are put in place across the UK, Nexus can continue to provide cars, vans, trucks and HGVs to ensure the UK’s key workers are mobile and essential services such as food deliveries are able to continue.

Flexible rental gives businesses the freedom to adapt their fleet size depending on demand and other requirements. Nexus customers can benefit from not being tied into long-term contracts and, thanks to fixed rates, customers will never pay more than they are originally quoted, even if supplier costs fluctuate substantially. Put simply, Nexus mitigates any uncertainties in the market when there is increased demand, and ultimately provides businesses with the reassurance that rental is a continuously financially viable option to keep operations moving.

Since launching 20 years ago, Nexus’s proposition enables it to meet ever-changing industry trends and customer demands; and this remains true for supporting its customers through the COVID-19 pandemic. As supply chains change daily, Nexus continues to have great visibility of the availability of vehicles nationally, so can identify most viable options for its customers at any given time.

In these challenging times Nexus, like all businesses, has the wellbeing of its workforce, customers and suppliers at the centre of its operations and is prioritising delivering excellent service and keeping people and essential goods mobile, wherever and whenever it is safe to do so. 

Now more than ever, Nexus understands the need for flexibility to support key workers and industries throughout this period of unprecedented demand in order to keep suppliers and essential services moving throughout the whole of the UK. Whether its supermarkets and online retailers looking to scale-up their fleet for the next quarter, or businesses looking to support their employees by providing vehicles for their commutes, Nexus offers full flexibility for its customers throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

To find out more about Nexus’ flexible vehicle rental options, visit: https://www.nexusrental.co.uk/

Redstone Rail enhances driver safety

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Real-time audible feedback proves incredibly effective in changing driver behaviour in less than two weeks. Redstone Rail Ltd, a market leader in the supply of specialist engineering resource to the Rail industry, has announced that it has installed Lightfoot’s award-winning in-cab technology across its fleet of 30 commercial vehicles.

Introduced to ensure enhanced safety, Lightfoot’s driver behaviour technology has seen an immediate improvement in driver awareness and performance, while increasing MPG by 5.3%. 

Redstone Rail enhances driver safety.

DriveTech proud of East of England Co-op partnership in driver training and risk management

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East of England Co-op is committed to its values and community spirit, they also place a lot of importance on the welfare of their employees, and this extends significantly to their driving for work and road safety policies and practices.

Neil Renaut, Head of Health and Safety at the East of England Co-op, commented: “We have over 580 drivers in the business – from HGV drivers, to funeral/hearse fleets, home delivery vans, and company car drivers – both “owned” and grey fleet. We needed to ensure that we provide this diverse range of drivers with a clear demonstration of our duty of care, and to provide them with road skills and driver training to keep them driving both safely and efficiently, as well as ensuring a safe and responsible approach to other road users and pedestrians. We are in a relatively rural area of the country too – so we also have our fair share of ‘rural’ challenges – remote roads, and often animals and farm vehicles to be aware of too. We have a clear Driver Policy, and this is presented to all new drivers coming on board to set the standard and expectations.”

The business has been using the driver training services of DriveTech, part of the AA, for a number of years now, and has seen some admirable and notable improvements in its driver safety profile as a result. DriveTech provides services that range from licence checking to online driver assessments and e-learning modules through to more specific on road driver training interventions where deemed valid and important as regards driver risk and circumstances. The collaboration and practical working relationship between Neil and his team and DriveTech has really worked well.

As regards headline performance improvement measures, Neil Renaut provides some impressive figures: “In 2013, we conducted licence checks only in the main. However, since we introduced a more comprehensive programme with DriveTech, we have seen a reduction in accidents and claims, most notably between 2013 and 2017 which saw a 32% reduction. Driving for work here at East of England Co-op is recognised as a key business task and one that we take very seriously.  We’re grateful for the professional support provided by DriveTech with the team there always working hard to provide good, effective service.”

The icing on the cake to the relationship recently was Neil Renaut winning  “Fleet Management Superstar” at the 2020 Great British Fleet Awards with DriveTech mentioned as an integral contributor to Neil and teams success

Find out more about how DriveTech can help at www.drivetech.co.uk , telephone 01256 610907 or email tellmemore@drivetech.co.uk.

Roger Bullivant Ltd gains massive benefit from Lightfoot

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Using Lightfoot’s industry-leading driver rewards platform, Roger Bullivant Ltd  has vastly reduced instances of poor or dangerous driving, significantly reduced vehicle idling by 7% and increased MPG by 8%, directly resulting in fuel savings worth thousands of pounds per month. 

Impressed by the impact that the in-cab device, app and rewards platform has had on its drivers, Roger Bullivant Ltd recommended that the technology was installed to commercial vehicles used by other Soletanche Freyssinet Group companies including Bachy Soletanche, Sixense Limited and Vibro Menard.

To read more about the partnership and how Lightfoot can help your fleet, click here.

Edgars Water slashes fuel bills and idling time while cutting instances of dangerous driving to zero with Lightfoot

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Edgars Water, one of the largest suppliers of hydration solutions in the UK, has announced the successful installation of Lightfoot’s award-winning in-cab technology across its fleet of 60 vans.

Using Lightfoot’s unique driver rewards platform, Edgars Water has seen a significant drop in its fuel bills with an MPG uplift of 6.3%, a fall in vehicle idling by 4% and an end to instances of poor or dangerous driving.

To read more about the partnership and how Lightfoot can help your fleet, click here.