KSC Carpets

The Challenges

In 2014, Steve Brace, Managing Director at KSC Carpets, attended a Business Club at which Antony Worsley, Managing Director at Any Communications, gave a presentation. Any Communications is a certified partner of Crystal Ball and Antony talked about Crystal Ball’s FleetTracker solution.

Following the presentation, Steve discussed his current workforce challenges with Antony.

Firstly, KSC Carpets needed to manage fittings, quotations and customer service enquires more effectively. At the time, the business was ringing the fitters regularly throughout the day to keep track of their progress. However, this was not sufficiently efficient or effective and could not be relied upon to enable everyday queries to be answered.

Secondly, Steve was facing countless staff speeding instances. This needed controlling as a matter of urgency in order to improve driving behaviour to reduce speeding penalties and diminish the risk of driver disqualification. Furthermore, Steve was also keen to address this area to reduce vehicle wear and tear and encourage more efficient driving.

After listening to Steve’s challenges, Antony suggested Crystal Ball’s FleetTracker solution could be a viable workforce management tool that would tackle both of Steve’s main concerns.

The Solution

Following an online demonstration of FleetTracker and its benefits, KSC Carpets implemented the solution across its entire fleet in December 2014.

With real-time locations displayed on Crystal Ball’s mapping system, KSC Carpets can now effectively monitor its fitters’ locations and keep track of their jobs throughout the day.

Using Geofences, virtual geographic boundaries created around specific locations, the management team now has the ability to monitor and oversee the workforce. Steve comments:

“Geofences have been created around local suppliers which the fitters should not use, so they now know not to go anywhere near them. We are alerted if they do. Geofences have definitely helped us control this problem.”

Management now have scheduled emails delivering weekly timesheet reports; a key reporting tool providing accurate data that can be used for overtime claims and wage allocations.

KSC Carpets also utilises the snail-trail route data which replays specific vehicle journeys, displaying colour-coded icons for speeding and idling events. FleetTracker also provides an accurate representation of speeding events through the integration of road speed limit data within the system, a fundamental element for the management team when monitoring the routes drivers took to a job and the speeds at which they were travelling.

The Outcome

Implementing Crystal Ball’s FleetTracker has directly addressed the challenges KSC Carpets was facing. The management team now has an effective solution for monitoring fittings, quotations and customer service enquiries. Steve says:

“We now have a solution which allows us to immediately understand what jobs the fitters are on. As a result of this we are experiencing better customer feedback; we no longer suffer the tiresome process of ringing the drivers to understand where they are and regularly failing to get hold of them, leaving us unable to provide a resolution for the customer phoning with the query. We are now in a much stronger position when dealing with customer enquiries: we have the ability to look on the system and immediately inform the customer of the driver’s location and provide an ETA.”

FleetTracker has also drastically reduced staff speeding instances, another core requirement for KSC when considering a vehicle tracking solution:

“Speeding has been drastically reduced by at least 90%. We are now checking speeds on a daily basis which has resulted in very minimal speeding. Before we installed Crystal Ball the drivers were speeding every day, now we are rarely having this issue. As a result of this, the wear and tear on the vehicles has also reduced which is important for us as we have invested in expensive vehicles. In the past, the safety aspect was also a big concern but this concern has virtually been eliminated now. We have definitely noticed a positive change in the drivers’ attitudes. It was very important to us that we took control of the speeding instances. The fitters we employ are very skilled at their jobs and we did not want to have to get rid of them due to reckless driving. Crystal Ball has certainly helped us tackle this issue!”

FleetTracker has also enabled KSC Carpets to monitor private useage of its company vehicles:

“The drivers are prohibited from using the vehicles for private use. With FleetTracker we can now monitor this. As a result, private usage has decreased by 70-80%. In fact, three out of four fitters have purchased a private vehicle since we installed Crystal Ball!  We use Geofences so we can be alerted if they pass through certain areas at certain times. This has changed the drivers’ behaviours; it has encouraged a more transparent attitude across our workforce as the guys will now call if they need to use the vehicles on a weekend. As a result, wear and tear on the vehicles has been considerably reduced as well as the risk of accidents, previously we had a number of accidents over weekends when the staff had not been authorised to drive the vehicles, thankfully this is no longer the case. Furthermore, if the vehicles are used at weekends we can now accurately calculate private fuel usage. By doing this, we will be definitely be making a saving.”

Additional Comments

KSC Carpets has also noticed a cost saving when assessing overtime claims. Steve comments:

“We pay our guys overtime and we can use Crystal Ball to validate the overtime claims which makes the process much more accurate. The installation of FleetTracker has resulted in a 30% reduction in overtime costs and has further improved the efficiency of the business.”