Quartix helps M&Y transform operations
M&Y Maintenance & Construction says it has transformed the way its fleet operates with the help of telematics technology from Quartix.
The company supports over 13,000 homes as a division of the Regenda Group Housing Association. While supplying electricians, decorators, plumbers, bricklayers and ground workers to service those homes, it also has a construction team working on new builds.
When fleet manager Justin Toole joined M&Y in 2018, he reviewed how its 190-vehicle fleet was managed, and found several ways to create efficiencies and economise. Evaluating M&Y’s use of telematics made it clear that the business wasn’t getting all it needed from its previous supplier, so Justin went out to market.
“I reviewed just about every telematics system out there. I had a good understanding of all the key players and what we were looking for, and I narrowed it down by price and usability,” he explained.
Quartix vehicle tracking soon became the obvious choice for M&Y.
“We were going to save money with Quartix and were able to confirm its system was exactly the right fit for us,” he continued.
“Quartix could show me everything in one place; it worked with the systems we already used. I was planning to bring in 128 new vans and the OBD plug-in tracker was perfect for us because as the new vans came in, we could easily remove the kit.”
The use of the Quartix system stretches across a wide range of roles at M&Y. Planners regularly log in to coordinate the volume of work and check drivers’ locations, while Justin uses the Quartix insights to supply updates to the M&Y heads of service and directors at their monthly board-level operations meetings.
“Quartix makes it easy to gather data,” he said.
“The beauty of the scheduled report function is that everything comes straight to me. I would rather spend time studying the data than producing it, so it’s an efficient way of working.
“Highlighting inefficient vehicle use and excessive mileage is important because it costs the business money. When staff are driving, they A. aren’t working, and B. are using fuel. We want them to spend as little time on the road as possible, but to do so safely.”
M&Y awards the driver at the top of the Quartix driver league table each month a cash prize in their wages.
“There is real competition amongst staff to get to the top. I love how the system also enables me to address those at the bottom of the table and find ways to help them.”
Quartix driver scores not only assess levels of speeding, harsh braking and accelerating in driver behaviour, but the system also utilises a unique database of driver speeds collected from roads across the UK.
While important to enforce, a no-speeding policy alone isn’t always enough to ensure safe driving, Quartix says: a high rate of fatal accidents take place on rural roads, despite drivers rarely exceeding these roads’ legal speed limit. Tight bends on 60mph roads should safely be taken at sub-30mph speeds, it adds, which makes ‘contextual speed’ a crucial aspect of defining safe speeds.
The company claims to offer a better measurement of safety and driving performance. Using this database, the system also presents a ‘relative speed score’ indicating how much a driver deviates from the average speed driven on the same sections of road, and signalling the level of risk that they take. This enables businesses to pinpoint risky driver behaviour, and coach the relevant staff to reduce the likelihood of accidents.
M&Y’s gardeners regularly visit thousands of homes in the region, and sometimes a customer will claim they haven’t been visited.
“Our telematics data can guarantee that we’ve been to a site, or if it shows that we haven’t, we ask the staff member why. The proof is there either way,” added Justin.
“If someone calls up claiming our drivers have been speeding or have cut another driver up on the motorway, I can consult the system and know whether there may have been an issue.”
Justin has already recommended Quartix to other businesses that are looking for a telematics supplier.
“One of our contacts in the social sector knew the process we’d been through and how I’d reviewed all the options, so he trusted my judgement. They are now happily using Quartix too.”
