Stobart Energy has deployed the latest technology to ensure its 200-strong fleet is maintained to the highest standards and meets stringent safety standards. Stobart Energy fleet engineers have been equipped with rugged tablet computers as part of a new system from Freeway Fleet Systems that gives managers total visibility of the fleet’s status to improve utilisation, cost control and compliance.
Stobart Energy source, process, supply and transport waste wood to power generation plants. Discarded wood is collected from sites such as waste recycling sites across the UK and processed into wood chip to power the latest generation of biomass power stations that generate electricity from recycled materials.
Freeway automates all maintenance-related tasks with a fully digital solution replacing all paperwork. The mobile apps replace traditional paper-based engineering inspection and job sheets and synchronise in real time with the central system that manages not just vehicles but also other assets.
The mobile apps are used across Stobart Energy’s nationwide transport network to gather data for the entire fleet. Local fleet managers use Freeway inspection apps on their smartphones, recording non-critical and critical defects.
“Stobart Energy has an exemplary reputation in terms of safety and compliance; it’s very much the heart of the business,’ says Paul Taylor, National Transport Manager, Stobart Energy. “Freeway is playing a key role in maintaining our high standards giving us live defect reports from across the fleet, whatever the location. That means we can immediately plan our maintenance and deal with critical defects straight away.”
Stobart Energy is beginning to gain important business benefits through the detailed and up-to-date financial and management information being collected using the software. The system provides in-depth componentry information allowing the performance of every asset, from an entire vehicle down to an individual washer, to be assessed.
Freeway, which integrates with Stobart Energy’s corporate accounts and operational management systems, is also used for managing stock, purchasing and improves financial control.
“Previously we really didn’t know how well our fleet was performing; let alone individual parts. With Freeway we are now getting all the information we need to manage the fleet more effectively by making better decisions based on gathered intelligence,” says Taylor. “Freeway basically gives us control over the business of fleet management that we simply didn’t have before.”
The workshop maintains 200 trailers and undertakes repairs and interim servicing of the Scania tractor units. Freeway accurately records time and cost by job, vehicle and engineer. “This is allowing us to better manage the work by assigning the right people to the right job to boost productivity and retain a happy workforce,” says Mike Beech, Workshop Foreman, Stobart Energy. “We now have a single system that can manage everything; from stock control to purchasing parts, work scheduling and inspections, managing defects and all compliance needs.”
