Masternaut, creator of mobile resource management software, has assisted Help the Aged to equip 160 of its collection vehicles with a new in-cab wireless data and satellite tracking system.
The service is operated over the web and provides electronic communication with live tracking and provides a real-time log of the movements of each vehicle.
Help The Aged staff deliver plastic collection bags to homes and return to collect bags of donated items that are sold in the shops. An initial pilot of Masternaut proved highly successful, highlighting opportunities for productivity improvements in the fleet operations and Help the Aged has now equipped most of its fleet of vans.
Jon Evans, retail administration manager of Help the Aged comments: “This is a huge step forward for Help the Aged and will have a far reaching impact on the Charity. Masternaut gives us real control over the fleet with vital management information that we simply did not have before. It is already clear that we can make big improvements in the way we use the fleet”.
Help the Aged is the first charity to take advantage of satellite tracking, and is also the first organisation to install a new Masternaut Vehicle Data Terminal (VDT). This dash-mounted device with LCD screen provides live two-way communication. It will be used for assistance requests, safety reporting and the recording of operational information such as mileage and the number of bags dropped and collected.
With Masternaut now continually recording fleet activity, time-logging and routing activity information is now available in a live and real time environment. Help the Aged is now implementing Masternaut’s route and schedule planning software that will allow routes to be optimised. Evans goes on to say: “This is where we can make real productivity improvements and reduce our ever increasing fuel bills.”
He goes on to say that although it is too early to put a figure on the financial benefits to Help the Aged, it is already clear they will be more than enough to recoup the cost of Masternaut system”.
Help the Aged is one of Britain’s largest charities with a £70 million annual income. For every £1 donated, at least 66p is spent directly on improving the lives of older people in the UK. The Charity has 380 shops and the fleet of vans make collections of clothes from homes across the UK.
