Drivers heart of fleet operation for Countrywide Farmers

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Attention to detail is critical if managers are  to run an efficient and effective fleet that meets the requirements of their business, according to Darren Moor, in charge of vehicles at Countrywide Farmers.

The Worcestershire-based company is the leading supplier of products and services to the rural community and recently became the 100th fleet operator to be accredited to the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) Van Excellence scheme.

Not surprisingly, given Moor’s role as operations and compliance manager, ensuring that the commercial fleet of 45 HGVs and 20 trailers, including LPG tankers – the company is the country’s largest independent LPG supplier – and 25 light commercial vehicles (LCVs), operates above and beyond legislative requirements is vital.

For example, all LCVs undergo service and maintenance inspections every 10-12 weeks, bringing them virtually in line with the Department for Transport inspection frequency required for larger commercial vehicles.

Arguing that such an inspection schedule ultimately saves operating expenditure, Moor explains: “Vehicles should not be treated in a different way simply because of their size and weight. If vehicles are clocking up similar mileage they should be treated similarly otherwise there is a ‘gap’ in the fleet which could lead to an incident and exceptional costs.

“Manufacturer LCV scheduled service intervals may be less frequent, but having a van serviced four times a year means there is less likelihood of being caught out if something goes wrong.”

He argues that such regular servicing means that, for example, if excessive brake wear is revealed a driver education action plan can be implemented, which can ultimately deliver financial savings in terms of service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs and fuel savings.

Countrywide Farmers, which also operates a fleet of more than 50 company cars, uses a network of franchised dealers and external workshops for all SMR work. Ideally, scheduling work to take place on twilight/night shifts and at weekends means vehicle downtime is kept to a minimum.

Although downtime can be reduced by effectively and efficiently managing ‘planned work’, managing ‘unplanned work’ is critical to avoid unnecessary off-road time.

“We have local relationships with suppliers and we work closely with them. By managing the fleet internally, we can work with them and accommodate any issues they may have in possibly rescheduling ‘planned work’, which means when we have an urgent requirement they will help us. It is a two-way partnership that works for all involved,” says Moor.

Drivers central to operation

Moor considers Countrywide Farmers’ loyal drivers – many have more than 20 years’ service – as one of the company’s biggest assets

“Not only do they actually have contact with customers – perhaps the only physical contact customers have with the business – but they are key to vehicles being looked after and reducing fuel usage in the way they drive,” he says.

To that end daily defect checks and the subsequent action taken is a further illustration of Moor’s attention to detail, which he says is the ‘biggest lesson’ he’s learned since joining Countrywide Farmers in 2002 as a journey planner principally scheduling LPG tanker trips.

“If you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves,” says Moor, using the adage to refer to a scenario: if a small leak in a vehicle is not fixed immediately it could result in a blown turbo four weeks later, costing several thousand pounds to repair.

“If you don’t pay attention to the finer detail then you end up with a bigger and more expensive problem.”

Countrywide Farmers operates throughout the UK and has a turnover in excess of £200 million, 4,000 shareholders, 40,000 account customers, 60,000 reward card customers and operates through both retail sales – stores and online shopping – and direct sales spanning the farming, smallholder, equestrian and rural business sectors. The vast range of products sold include farming, equestrian, pet, country clothing and gardening products as well as livestock feeds and husbandry, arable, fuel, LPG, and amenity.

Given the diversity of goods supplied to rural communities across the UK, and Moor’s career history with the company, it is little wonder that he believes it is key that the company’s journey planners and delivery schedulers have a full understanding of the fleet and drivers’ issues and responsibilities. Vehicles have been equipped with telematics for more than five years and that data is used alongside tachograph analysis reporting to enable the detailed management of vehicles and drivers, who undergo online driver licence checks with driver training managed in-house.

“The whole team – drivers and planners – must work together to get the maximum out of the fleet regarding payload, routes and drivers,” says Moor.

During his 13 years at Countrywide Farmers, he managed the LPG fleet for five years before promotion to a compliance and engineering role and taking on his current role, including responsibility for the entire fleet, two years ago.

Highlighting that his job is not just about managing vehicles but also drivers, Moor points out that compliance with the European Working Time Directive is his single biggest issue alongside a plethora of other legislation that includes: ADR regulations – a specialist test for vehicles carrying dangerous or hazardous goods in bulk by road – digital tachographs, Driver Certificate of Professional Competence and vehicle type approval.

National shortage of CV drivers

“When the Working Time Directive was introduced, drivers lost a lot of hours, but goods still need to be delivered,” says Moor, who works with an 18-strong transport operations team and around 60 drivers based at 15 operating centres and regional hubs nationwide. Agency drivers are also employed, notably during the winter, to deliver LPG.

Further adding to the complexity of running an efficient and compliant fleet is the fact that a lot of older drivers are not prepared to fund the cost of taking the Driver CPC alongside the loss in January 2013 of ‘grandfather rights’ for those same drivers to take to the road in a 7.5 tonne vehicle without having passed an additional test.

The FTA has highlighted the national shortage of commercial vehicle drivers and Moor believes the issue might only be overcome by helping people to fund their training via a loan system, similar to the student loan.

Saying Countrywide Farmers was “very lucky” in having a loyal team of drivers, Moor explains that the company frequently recruited van drivers and, as part of their career progression, put them through a training programme to drive larger vehicles.

They were then able to provide holiday cover and were also encouraged to apply to drive an HGV full-time when a job was available.

Countrywide Farmers runs a mix of DAF, Iveco,  Mercedes, Scania, and Volvo HGVs and tankers with LCVs – Transit Custom or similar – from Ford, Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

The all-diesel leased fleet is operated over 48-72 months depending on size, type and mileage with vans being at the lower end of the spectrum and tankers at the upper end. LCVs typically clock up 30,000 miles a year and HGVs closer to 60,000 miles.

Recently, Countrywide Farmers agreed a new deal to add three new LPG tankers to its fleet later this year, all leased through Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions. The company’s lease arrangements typically exclude tyres as it finds it more cost effective to negotiate its own terms.

However, with Hitachi, Moor negotiated a deal where if a tyre ‘breaks’ – the LPG tankers frequently cross rough terrain – Countrywide Farmers will only pay for the tyre tread used.

“It is the first time that we have been able to negotiate such a deal,” he says. “If it works out financially well for us, it is an arrangement we will look to expand.”

Higher payloads, fewer miles

In a further bid to drive efficiencies, Countrywide Farmers is adding vehicles to its fleet with a larger payload without increasing the physical size of vehicles which must still deliver good mpg. For example, 3.5 tonne vans are being replaced with 7-tonne units where possible and 7.5-tonne HGVs with 12-tonne vehicles.

“The move has seen the payload increase and vehicle mileage reduce – 3.5 tonne vans could carry 14 LPG bottles but the vehicles we now use can carry 40 bottles – backed with our planners being more efficient with loads and routes it is helping to keep our costs in check,” says Moor.

“We cannot do much more. I believe we run an efficient fleet within the legislative arena in which we operate. At the end of the day, compliance is essential as legislation is non-negotiable.”

In stressing that it would continue to “get harder to balance the commercial requirements of a fleet operation within the legislative environment”, thus underlining the importance of attention to detail, Moor says it is vital that Countrywide Farmers continues to manage and ideally reduce costs through a range of measures including driver education and introducing new best practice methods.

Van Excellence is all about being a “good corporate citizen,” he adds, before concluding: “It underlines our values across the business.

“The accreditation demonstrates to our business, suppliers and customers that we are committed to delivering a  first class service across out transport operations and is  a reflection of our customer service standard throughout  our business.”