The HATS Group selects DAVIS solution for driver compliance

The HATS Group has selected Licence Check’s DAVIS solution to help meet its driver compliance requirements.

The group is a specialist transport provider for patient healthcare, mental health, and home to school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The group operates an 800-strong multi-class vehicle fleet of cars, ambulances, minibuses, and coaches with more than 1,000 drivers, and provides support to the NHS, clinical commissioning groups, mental health trusts, local authorities and other public sector bodies and private medical institutions.

Licence Check said the group has seen growth within the last two years due to contract wins, service expansion, new locations across the UK and an increased reliance by the NHS and local authorities on its services during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the growth, its fleet and drivers have grown, increasing the need to manage the associated driving risk more efficiently.

The group’s previous manual system, administered by staff in the HR department, was deemed no longer fit for purpose due to the increased scale of the operation, and the decision to opt for an automated system was taken.

DAVIS was selected three months ago, and the group has onboarded almost all its drivers across some nine different locations around the UK, including Manchester, Birmingham, Aberystwyth, Haverford West and some 17 hospitals across London.

Drivers now must complete, and successfully pass, assessment days, including driving assessments carried out by a dedicated driving assessor, before being added to the DAVIS system.

They are then sent an SMS message or email to provide consent for their licences to be checked – which is then carried out monthly on an ongoing basis.

Bonnet expands network through GeniePoint partnership

Electric vehicle (EV) charge point aggregator, Bonnet, is launching a new partnership with EQUANS, the company that owns and operates the GeniePoint.

The GeniePoint network includes more than 900 chargers, which will be added to the Bonnet app, delivering access for drivers to use the rapid charging network across the UK.

Bonnet’s partnership with GeniePoint marks the fifteenth charge point operator (CPO) to be added to its roster, bringing the total number of charge point locations to more than 32,000.

Depending on the make and model of vehicle, GeniePoint’s 50kW rapid charge points provide an 80% charge within 45 minutes.

Chargers can be found at strategic locations across the country including Morrisons supermarkets and Whitbread’s Premier Inn Estates.

Patrick Reich, co-founder and chief executive officer of Bonnet, said: “Bonnet is dedicated to making public charging as easy as possible for EV drivers across the country and we are delighted to be adding GeniePoint to Bonnet’s growing network of charge point operators.

“GeniePoint’s state of the art rapid charge points will be available for all Bonnet users, allowing them to quickly charge their vehicles at locations across the country. This partnership is a further step towards alleviating charging anxiety concerns that many drivers still have.”

Tusker retains CPC framework enabling public sector procurement

Tusker has retained its NHS North of England CPC framework for a fourth consecutive cycle, to help allow ease of procurement for public sector employers looking to roll out car schemes for their staff.

The sole supplier framework, known as CPC Drive, allows for the provision of vehicle leasing and vehicle salary sacrifice schemes for up to a quarter of the NHS trusts and a third of ambulance services in the UK as well as police forces, fire services education, councils, housing associations and armed forces.

As a key component to the procurement process for public sector employers, the retention of the CPC tender framework means that there is no need for organisations to conduct their own individual internal tender processes.

Catherine Pugh, commercial manager for CPC Drive, said: “Through the free to access framework, NHS trusts and public sector organisations can achieve considerable benefits by offering their employees’ salary sacrifice and lease cars through a single source.

“All contracts are delivered through an intuitive and fully mobile responsive web-based platform specifically designed for CPC Drive.

“With a bespoke and tailored offering and flexibility in the structure of the scheme to suit your specific needs and uncapped savings, CPC Drive is an innovative and green benefit.”

ISS rebrands to Fleetclear

Innovative Safety Systems (ISS) is bringing together its technology and software services under one new company brand – Fleetclear.

The company said it has evolved into a complete fleet solution provider encompassing all aspects of vehicle and driver safety and compliance, including bespoke technology solutions.

Its new name, Fleetclear, communicates the company’s full scale of expertise in keeping fleets safe, effective, and legal, it said.

Gavin Thoday, Fleetclear CEO, said: “Safety is still at the core of our purpose and our principles remain the same – innovation, integration, and collaboration.

“We will continue to develop innovative technology-based solutions, to address the challenges faced by fleet operators, in close collaboration with our trusted industry partners and customers.

“However, we are a data driven technology company focused on integrating systems to enhance and future proof fleets. We provide a complete end to end solution for vehicle and driver safety, efficiency, and compliance. The Fleetclear brand better reflects the full extent of our services.”

The Fleetclear web-based software application integrates the company’s vehicle technology, fleet management and tracking equipment together to manage assets and drivers.

Thoday added: “Ultimately, we provide everything you need for operational fleet management and safety in one place. By delivering accurate and usable data, we equip our customers with the information they need to maximise the output of their division, drive up safety standards and stay compliant.”

“Fleetclear marks an exciting new era for us, and we are delighted that so many of our customers are already benefiting from this fully-integrated fleet solution.”

FMG’s Integrated Risk Solution helps improve driver safety

FMG’s integrated risk solution has helped improve driver safety for Safestyle.

The enhancement to its risk proposition, to feature FMG Indicate, a new risk portal designed to aggregate multiple data sources to generate insight that drives intervention actions to mitigate vehicle and driver risk, providing greater transparency on the return on investment, has been welcome news to their client base, it said.

Safestyle, who has been a customer of the business since 2011, is utilising services from the FMG portfolio, including telematics, driver behaviour solutions and accident management.

The company has recently migrated over to the new risk solution where they are looking to aggregate additional fleet data sources to enrich their existing insight.

Steve Lambert, head of transport at Safestyle, said: “Our drivers use the FMG portal to review and assess their own driving behaviour and make positive changes to their driving habits based on the general awareness and understanding of the implications of the associated risks.

“The system provides the foundation for my team and I to manage our driver community more efficiently, as well as encouraging and embedding driver best practice.

“We’ve seen some great results with lower incident frequency and severity through empowering our driver community with the right tools and knowledge, with recent in-house data showing a 5% reduction in incident rates.

“A reduction in insurance premiums, by some 13%, along with lower excess value has been realised as a direct result, after our risk management was rated ‘impressive’ by both our broker and the insurer.”