Member Article

Fastflow is driving change

In a drive to improve safety and reduce its environmental impact, North East based water utility infrastructure company Fastflow Pipeline Services (FPS) has introduced new technology into the cabs of its vehicle fleet.

The programme monitors and guides the safe and efficient driving of vehicles - offering savings of more than 10 per cent on fuel and significantly reducing the carbon footprint and wear and tear.

The Lightfoot technology provides in-cab advice and audible warnings to improve driver safety. It also produces reports so that any areas for improvement can be addressed and resolved quickly.

Drivers’ skills will be ranked in a league table to reveal the safest and most efficient. This will take into account warning issues which have been ignored as well as details of how well a vehicle has been driven.

Keith Gold, Business Standards Director at FPS, said: “This is all part of our drive to recognise and reward those within the company who are performing their roles to a high standard, so that this excellence can be replicated throughout the organisation.

“In addition, as an employer committed to improving our green credentials, this initiative will reduce our carbon footprint. The volatility of fuel prices also prompted the introduction of the system which can offer significant reductions to our transport costs.”

Inside the vehicle cab a unit displays a visual guide to efficient driving, with sound effects such as a gearshift and verbal alerts to improve performance. Inefficient driving results in audible warnings, three of which bring a penalty. The driver is not penalised for isolated incidents such as accelerating quickly when pulling out into traffic or to overtake. Penalties are logged and shown on a report to the fleet manager.

FPS maintains around 450 square miles of Northumbrian Water’s network, as well as installing meters and responding to bursts and faults. It also provides services to Scottish Water and the Anglian subsidiary, Hartlepool Water.

It operates a fleet of over 170 vehicles covering around four million miles each year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .