Ubico cuts costs and carbon with CMS Supatrak
Environmental services provider Ubico has been benefiting from reduced carbon emissions and fuel spend since deploying a fleet transformation programme in partnership with Swindon-based intelligent fleet management specialist CMS SupaTrak.
Ian Bourton, head of fleet operations for Ubico, explains that the company was looking for a holistic solution to reduce emissions, save costs, and remain compliant while keeping crew and other road users safe, and delivering service excellence to local residents, businesses and visitors.
After entering a strategic consultancy programme with CMS Supatrak, Ubico embarked on a connected, intelligent fleet approach, beginning with the enhanced track-and-trace vehicle solution, EcoTrak.
“EcoTrak is our advanced telematics solution, where operators can log into our application and view all vehicle activity on one platform, along with extensive amounts of CAN bus data that allows for advanced driver performance monitoring,” said David Moorfield, key account manager at CMS SupaTrak.
“EcoTrak is a significant part of the Ubico operations, especially regarding driver performance management. The solution looks at Canbus data from Ubico vehicles, including odometer, fuel performance, and CO2e emissions.”
EcoTrak is an integral part of the Ubico operation because it measures driver performance, and this provides guidance on how to manage drivers, which impacts everything ranging from environmental effects to driver wellbeing, risk management, reduction of accidents and insurance premiums.
David added: “We have also installed the Safer Driving Assistant (SDA), alongside the EcoTrak solution, which provides in-cab targeted feedback through visual and voice alerts.”
Ian Bourton adds that the voice element is essential for Ubico.
“It means you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. Rather than the common beep and a visual prompt, the Safer Driver Assistant tells the driver the actual alert that is affecting their environmental driving performance.”
Ubico also has CMS SupaTrak’s Connected Camera solution installed on its fleet. This multi-camera facility enables live streaming from cameras covering every angle of the vehicle, which could be anything from a 3.5-tonne cage tipper to an RCV.
This camera solution allows Ubico supervisors to undertake crew inspections remotely, saving time and harmful emissions. Supervisors can also undertake activities such as remotely downloading footage from reported near misses and road traffic incidents. The truck does not need to return to the depot to view any footage.
The Connected Camera solution has also been useful in aiding police prosecution. When drivers have been put at risk or injured, Ubico will hand over images captured by the cameras to the police. It also uses video footage of near misses and dangerous occurrences.
This facility is essential, as Alex Walsh, fleet workshop and maintenance manager from Ubico, explains because it is crucial to find out who was at fault when incidents occur.
“Ubico can get complaints of damage to stationary objects like walls and parked vehicles. With the Connected Camera solution, we always have evidence of fault, which our insurance company find invaluable in any disputes. It is a fantastic system for providing evidence. However, the drivers and crew feel it also protects them, which is essential to a successful operation.”
Alex emphasises that drivers and crew are at the heart of Ubico’s operation to achieve climate, compliance and safety goals, explaining that drivers can self-manage their abilities using information from the SDA. He adds that at the start of the project in 2020, it was challenging for some drivers to accept the system.
“However, now, they don’t even mention it. We are getting some impressive figures coming through from a fuel saving and CO2 reduction perspective, and they also know that they have got back up from the camera in day-to-day incidents and for investigations.”
As well as providing carbon savings in various fleet and vehicle initiatives, Ubico’s carbon reduction has produced significant economic savings, CMS Supatrak reports; since introducing the driver performance software, Ubico has saved over £70,000 on fuel.
