Falcon Buses of Byfleet has introduced software from Freeway Fleet Systems to digitise its maintenance. The platform is being rolled out in two workshops and it will have the benefits of eliminating paper and providing live information on the 65-strong coach and bus fleet.
Engineering staff will be equipped with tablets to replace paper-based reports. Live data from those tablets is sent to a central Freeway system to provide fleet visibility, and the system also manages other assets, such as workshop equipment and stores. A dashboard on a wall-mounted monitor provides an overarching view of the status of all work.
Falcon Buses started looking for a digital solution in 2019, although implementation of the Freeway system was delayed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has employed consultancy FleetPerks to assist with the shift.
The operator says that the digitisation journey started after it found itself overwhelmed with paper as its fleet grew. That had an impact productivity. A quest for a new approach thus began, with one of the stipulations being integration with the Ticketer platform.
“That was vital for us, as we wanted to move to digital driver checks but we did not want to issue drivers with mobile devices,” says Managing Director Richard Telling.
Such integration allows walk-round check results to be recorded via the Ticketer machine, which provides workshop staff with instant information on any defects found.
That represents a change from before, adds Mr Telling. It allows rectification work to be scheduled immediately, which minimises vehicle downtime and assists in workshop resource allocation.
Stores management will see the Freeway system control stock, track parts usage, and ultimately “measure the performance of individual parts and the real costs of keeping individual vehicles on the road,” explains the supplier.
Mr Telling adds that a further useful aspect of the Freeway platform is its wheel nut retorque app. It provides an automatic alert when such a process is due.
“Retorquing has traditional been difficult to manage as the vehicles tend to be back in service and out of ‘the system’ engineering-wise,” he observes. “This neat retorquing feature in Freeway is really useful.”
