New Zealand’s largest privately owned transport company has begun installing the EROAD (NZX: ERD) system to enhance safety across its fleet.
TIL (Transport Investments Ltd) trucks deliver fuel all over New Zealand through its subsidiary Pacific Fuel Haul Ltd, which requires a level of compliance that’s significantly higher than average for the transport industry.
Matt Horan, General Manager of Pacific Fuel Haul (formerly Hooker Pacific), said the company had been growing at a rapid rate and the technology it uses to manage the business needs to be continually enhanced.
“Our trucks are sharing the roads with parents driving their kids, and they need to be reassured that we’re applying a very high standard,” Mr Horan said. “We have to have the best drivers and the best tools so we can continually review our performance.”
TIL Group also includes freight carrier Hooker Pacific, TNL Group, palletised freight carrier Roadstar, and Actus Transport, which transports bulk animal feed. A recent brand amalgamation has resulted in a total fleet of more than 1600 trucks, semis and trailers nationwide.
EROAD driver behaviour tools are now being implemented across TIL Group’s fleet, in a 12-month rollout.
“It’s providing live visibility that we didn’t have before and that’s essential as the business grows,” Mr Horan said. “The drivers welcome the reporting. They know our customers need clear evidence that we can monitor driver performance.”
Z Energy CEO Mike Bennetts said he was pleased to see TIL Group using innovative technology to improve safety.
“TIL Group is contracted to Z to manage all of the company’s road transport deliveries. The decision to implement EROAD technology reflects TIL Group’s commitment to continual improvement in the area of safety and will make a positive contribution to the company’s already excellent safety record and culture,” Mr Bennetts said.
Bob Cleland, CEO of Actus Transport, said the company’s drivers have embraced the system because they see it as independent verification of their individual compliance with safety requirements.
He said EROAD has been a game changer for Actus, by enabling it to track fleet movements, monitor trends and quickly pinpoint where it needs to make improvements.
“It’s a magnificent business tool,” he said.
As well as health and safety compliance, TIL Group is seeing significant improvements to its bottom line with EROAD’s automation of manual systems.
The company rarely bothered making offroad claims in the past, because it was too time consuming.
“We had a few, frustrating attempts at offroads. Now a reminder pops up every six weeks and I can make claims with a few clicks of the mouse,” Bob Cleland said. “It’s helping mitigate the cost of the system.”
The company is also making savings by buying road user charges in smaller increments, rather than outlaying millions of dollars on prepaid RUC as it was previously doing.
“We were using spreadsheets, and sending RUC labels by courier. It was painful,” Matt Horan said. “Now all the companies in the group can synch with each other, improve cash flow and lower total costs. It’s fantastic.”
EROAD CEO Steven Newman said the company was looking forward to working with TIL Group to simplify compliance.
“We are very proud to see EROAD technology being rolled out in one of the country’s largest fleets and we’re confident that TIL Group is going to realise tremendous value in implementing the system.”
ENDS