BJS truck

Wednesbury-based haulage firm BJS Haulage has invested in an integrated telematics and asset tracking solution in a bid to improve efficiency and security across its 100-strong fleet.

The Webfleet fleet management system has been installed across the company’s entire fleet, with asset trackers added to all curtain-side and box trailers.

Webfleet provides a real-time digital snapshot of the position of both vehicles and assets using a single interface, including full visibility of every trailer location and all their movements.

Alerts can also be set to highlight when they enter or leave specified geofenced areas or when any trailer motion is detected.

The technology is also helping the company to plan work flow more efficiently. BJS Haulage operations director, Amarat Gill, said: “Integrating our in-house trailer management system with WEBFLEET has allowed us to see at-a-glance where all our trailers are across our various depots and customer sites and is helping us to allocate resources much more efficiently.

BJS also has access to Webfleet TachoShare Plus, which remotely downloads drivers’ cards every day, rather than manually in the depot after every shift, which cuts downtime.

The company said this automated service is especially valuable for vehicles which stay out all week.

BJS drivers are also provided with the ruggedised Webfleet Pro 8 tablet, to perform walk round vehicle safety checks before every journey, rather than using their own mobile.

The software is integrated with the company’s transport management system Mandata, allowing drivers to accept and complete jobs, using the PRO 8’s sign on glass function.

Beverley Wise, UK sales director at Webfleet Solutions, said: “Missing assets, such as trailers and machinery, can be a significant and costly issue for the haulage industry but Webfleet Asset Tracking offers full visibility over their position and usage, helping ensure they remain on the radar.”

BJS is also working on the development of a bespoke trailer app and barcode scanning which will allow the company to screen all trailers and assign colour-coded status indicators, with green for empty and red for loaded, to help the team allocate empty trailers quickly and efficiently to drivers.

Debbie Aldridge, director at system installers FMC Fleettrak added: “This is a great example of Webfleet’s connected vehicle tech in action, providing pragmatic, integrated solutions to some of the haulage industry’s key challenges.”

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