Emplas has installed front and rear facing cameras and real-time tracking throughout its fleet as part of a new drive on road safety and customer service.
The rear camera tracks loading and unloading of product. This footage is then transmitted back to Emplas operational hub for review to make sure that windows and doors are being dispatched and handled correctly.
The front camera provides a record of how the truck is being driven, while data on breaking, acceleration and performance are also collated and transmitted back for download.
With seven 44 tonne trucks now on the road, the initiative sits as part of a dual commitment by the G15 Fabricator of the Year to road safety and the welfare of its people and service and product quality, as its Operations Director, Kush Patel, explained.
“The cameras are as much about customer service as they are about road safety. The data we collect means that we can work with our drivers to promote road safety and to optimise the performance of our fleet, minimising the impact of our logistics operation on the environment.
“It also allows us to monitor the loading and unloading of product to make sure that it’s being handled correctly, from a safety and welfare perspective but also one of product quality and potential damage in transit.
“It gives us real-real time data on how the trucks are being driven. Heavy breaking for example, triggers an automatic email alert. It’s an opportunity to drive continuous improvement throughout the delivery process.”
The road safety drive comes as part of a wider investment by Emplas in its manufacturing and logistics operation. This has included the extension of its factory production bar-coding system to its dispatch and delivery operation.
As part of a rigorously controlled process, individual elements of each order are automatically checked as they are prepared in the loading bays. They are then re-scanned onto the lorry, eliminating the shipping of incomplete orders.
At the other end of the process each product is scanned off the lorry, which doesn’t leave for the next delivery until all products and ancillaries are accounted for.
The paperless system then automatically issues a notification of receipt to the customer and the invoice, providing a clear audit trail, which supports their customers evidence their ‘factory management systems’ required under CE Marking.
As part of the real-time tracking process, Emplas customers also receive a notification ahead of time of the imminent arrival of their delivery.
Kush added: “We’re first and foremost working with our drivers to make sure that they get to where they need to go safely. There is, however, a dual benefit in that in doing so we’re improving our service and ultimately driving forward the end product quality that we deliver to our customers.”
For more information on Emplas visit www.emplas.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 01933 674880.
