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the team felt confident using the functionality required for
their role.”
Reaping the rewards
The newly cleansed version of RoadBASE was installed in
2010 and has been an invaluable tool for NAC ever since.
Since installation, and under Gordon’s management, the
desktop-based fleet management system has received a
100 per cent uptake rate within the transport department.
As a direct result of this, manual administration has been
significantly reduced – freeing up time for personnel to
focus on other tasks and removing the need to invest in
recruiting additional administration resource.
In addition, internal processes have been streamlined
with purchase orders, hires, departmental recharges
and reports all created quickly and simply through the
system, with details stored as a central record against
the relevant driver, vehicle or asset. Visibility over
maintenance and repair schedules has also improved
and the likelihood of assets or vehicles surpassing
servicing or inspection dates decreased, thanks to
RoadBASE’s traffic light system, which notifies users of
pending, due and overdue jobs.
By reviving the department’s use of RoadBASE, along
with implementing a range of other efficiency drives
throughout the department, NAC has saved in excess
of £400 000 over the last two years. As a result of
these savings, and further anticipated savings, NAC’s
transport department has been able to slash a sixth off
its budget – demonstrating that, even with the drastic
rise in fuel costs, public sector organisations are able to
meet the challenge of operating successful fleets with
reduced financial resource.
Gordon comments: “Coming from a private sector
background, when I took on the role at the council I was
determined to be enterprising and inject meaningful
changes into the existing strategy. A fundamental element
of any transport or fleet department, is the management
of the masses of data accumulated. Without accurate
data available to monitor, it’s impossible to attempt to
manage anything effectively.
“Since the revival of RoadBASE, the system has become
our bible: our go-to resource and the backbone of the
department. The savings speak for themselves and I’m
confident that continuing our relationship with Chevin
Fleet Solutions will deliver further enhancements to
our operational efficiency and continue to drive down
expenditure.”
Planning for the future
Reinvesting a proportion of the savings made into
delivering continuous improvements within the
transport department is high on the agenda for NAC,
with the council recently announcing plans to invest in
migrating to Chevin’s majorly upgraded, web-based
fleet management application FleetWave.
With implementation scheduled for the third quarter of
2012, NAC will soon be able to take advantage of a
range of additional benefits. The most valuable, according
to Gordon, will be the ability for cross departmental
communication facilitated by the web-based nature of the
software. This will enable personnel in other areas of the
organisation to access and input data relevant to their role –
freeing up time and resource for the transport department.
In addition, through using the FleetWave fleet management
system, NAC will be able to define a series of key
performance indicators (KPIs) with the software’s user-
friendly and intuitive KPI Wizard, ranging from fuel usage
and CO2 emissions to vehicle inspections and maintenance
schedules. Once these KPIs have been defined and inputted
to FleetWave, NAC will be able to track progress and
assess trends for each in real time, through the system’s
dashboard, which provides users with graphical-based
charts to depict the status of each KPI’s development. The
reporting process will also become fully automated, with
graphical-based reports emailed directly from the system
to pre-defined recipients at pre-set intervals.
Gordon comments: “After seeing the results RoadBASE
has delivered we were keen to maintain the momentum
and continue looking for ways to improve processes and
drive down cost. As our fleet has grown, it makes sense
for us to opt for an application better suited for larger fleet
operations. Freeing up the transport department’s time by
empowering other departments to access information and
communicate data was also a key factor in the decision
making process.
“After assessing the other software applications on the
market, coupled with the great support service we’ve
received from Chevin through using RoadBASE, there
reallywas noquestionwhen it came to selecting FleetWave.
In my opinion, it really is the most comprehensive
application available.”
Running on a .Net platform, FleetWave has been built
using the most up-to-date technology available, future
proofing it for decades to come and promoting enhanced
speed and performance. Accessible from anywhere with a
web connection, including via smart phones and laptops,
NAC will have the option of empowering remote workers
to update the central system following each job, instead
of inputting several lots of job details at the end of a shift.
Ashley Sowerby, managing director, Chevin Fleet
Solutions concludes: “Operating a public sector
fleet against current economic conditions is a major
challenge. This is why complacency when it comes
to processes and operations, is no longer an option
– local authorities simply can’t afford to sit back and
allow fleet costs to spiral out of control due to outdated
or inappropriate methods of fleet management.
As part of the data cleanse, NAC undertook a
complete fleet review to ensure all new data
entered into the RoadBASE system would be
accurate and up-to-date.