VSC Solutions has received one of the coveted Spar Supplier of the Year awards for a solution that improved driver safety and fleet efficiency.
“Our service to our customers is very dependent on the quality of the service delivered by our fleet,” says Trevor Currie, Group Logistics Executive of SPAR. “Not only do we need to keep delivery costs to a minimum, but we need to ensure that our drivers are as safe and efficient as possible.”
“In designing a programme for SPAR that balanced both fleet efficiency and driver safety we kept in mind that any technologies implemented have to support and provide transparent oversight from planning right through to reporting,” says CEO of VSC Solutions, a business optimisation solution provider within the transport software and system integration space.
One of the tools implemented for the SPAR fleet is a weighted scoring method applied per driving exception – like speeding and harsh braking – that pose risks for both driver and vehicle. The Driver Route Compliance module ensured that stores received their stock in the most optimal order, and that orders placed by stores were delivered as expected.
“Driver safety has a lot to do with making sure the actual execution of the driver and fleet schedules are as close as possible to the plan”.
Making sure that drivers don’t exceed allowable hours and planning for predetermined safe places to stop at intervals that manage driver fatigue is just one element of a driver safety programme. Other often overlooked elements include ensuring that vehicles sent to stores fit available offloading space, accommodate special product requirements like cooling facilities, and are not overloaded.
Further risk reduction is made possible by planning vehicle movements so they can be tracked, and to prevent time wastage by avoiding bad or blocked roads as well as long delays at back doors. Customer service is improved by retailers being informed real time of when they will receive their delivery.
