{"id":67424,"date":"2021-10-15T10:01:12","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T09:01:12","guid":{"rendered":" https:\/\/www.quartix.com\/?post_type=case_study&p=67424"},"modified":"2022-03-18T10:04:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T09:04:05","slug":"south-staffordshire-plc","status":"publish","type":"case_study","link":"https:\/\/www.quartix.com\/en-gb\/case-studies\/south-staffordshire-plc\/","title":{"rendered":"South Staffordshire Plc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Comprised of several divisions including South Staffs Water (operating since 1853) and Cambridge Water, South Staffordshire Plc<\/a> has been serving the needs of the nation, supporting water, gas and other utility services. Certain branches of the business provide electrical lightening, ground earthing and light testing for many high-profile establishments. Its group services also provide and maintain vehicles for customers including major leasing providers, small businesses, and housing associations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Choosing the right vehicle tracking system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

South Staffordshire Plc has almost 2,000 vehicles nationwide, ranging from cars to 5 tonne vans, and operates a number of specialists HGVs, all fitted with Quartix vehicle tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started out with another system, but over time, we started acquiring other companies, each with their own telematics system,\u201d says Bob Stokes, Head of Fleet and Managing Director of Fleet Services. \u201cWe wanted one service for everyone and the product we had at that time was very expensive and inflexible. One of the new companies used Quartix and were very happy with it. We began talking to Quartix and found out that the vehicle tracking system did everything we wanted and that their values as a company aligned with ours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Bob had decided to switch all of the South Staffordshire Plc fleet to Quartix vehicle tracking, the installation process began. \u201cWe challenged Quartix to install a large amount of devices in a short time,\u201d Bob remembers. \u201cThe Quartix team easily fitted us in and accommodated our requests to rearrange some appointments. We were very impressed. That was seven years ago and we\u2019re still happy with the customer service and support today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracking and maintaining vehicles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On a day-to-day basis, the individual offices within South Staffordshire Plc use the Quartix system to monitor driving styles<\/a> and generally keep track of their vehicles. \u201cWe use the system to plan work and see how the drivers are operating our vehicles,\u201d Bob says. Speed reports are a feature that all branches use in order to mitigate the risk of accidents and reduce vehicle wear and tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing able to monitor every vehicle means that we can drive down our insurance costs by decreasing our risk of accidents. Our insurance is set up so that we get rewarded, through lower premiums, when our claims don\u2019t cost the insurance company as much as they allow for each vehicle per year. The Quartix system has helped us get our insurance claims down to a point where our premiums won\u2019t increase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecently, we\u2019ve been using the battery status reports<\/a>,\u201d Bob goes on to say. The battery status report shows South Staffordshire Plc the latest readings for all its vehicles and highlights any with low or critical voltage readings. This helps the business avoid dead batteries and prevent any scheduling issues that could result from having vehicles out of service. \u201cIt\u2019s helped us a great deal throughout the Covid-19 pandemic when vehicles weren\u2019t being used as much as usual and battery health was at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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“Being able to monitor every vehicle means that we can drive down our insurance costs by decreasing our risk of accidents.”<\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n

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Preparing for the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Bob predicts that within the next few years, South Staffordshire Plc will start the switch to electric vehicles throughout their fleet. \u201cIn order to prepare for an electric vehicle fleet, we need to understand our fleet better. Quartix can give us a complete picture. Whenever there is an incident of speeding or accident, we can look at the whole event through the live tracking map and the Street View. We know what the circumstances around the event were, so we know how to train our staff to keep it from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming back to Quartix\u2019s driver behaviour reports, Bob believes these are the best way to really know what is going on with a vehicle. \u201cOur drivers know that the managers receive their driving reports every week. We focus on drivers who have been flagged as \u2018red\u2019 in the driver behaviour reports and we match this with vehicle maintenance analysis, looking at excessive tyre and brake wear,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really effective way of encouraging them to drive better and safer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switching to electric vehicles is expensive<\/a>, but Bob looks at the Quartix system as a method of cost avoidance, which will help balance the outlays associated with electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Quartix system has more than paid for itself,\u201d Bob says. \u201cWhen the time comes to go electric, we will be in a good position.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Quartix difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like having an extra team member!\u201d Bob says of the Quartix system. \u201cThe Quartix product is very reliable, the insights it provides are fantastic and the support we\u2019ve received is second to none. The system tells us exactly what our fleet is doing, rather than what we think it is doing, which is invaluable knowledge for any business.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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