Since its inception in 1991, Canadian Utility Construction (CUC) has provided a complete range of underground construction services, specializing in construction and maintenance services for utility companies throughout Western Canada, including natural gas, electricity, and communications. The company—whose unwavering commitment to safety, quality, and customer service has led to its widespread growth—has built its reputation as a premier utility contractor.
A GROWING FLEET
As CUC’s business boomed, its fleet followed suit. The company now manages a diverse fleet of around 900 assets, ranging from pickups to semi-chassis and various pieces of heavy-duty construction equipment and smaller tools.
“Our fleet is our second most valuable asset, with the first being our people,” says Kristal Herr, capital asset operations manager. “The fleet is comprised of the assets and equipment that allows our company to generate revenue. If our vehicles are down, we can’t properly serve our customers.”
Since downtime for a single vehicle can cost fleets more than $760 per day, CUC knew this growth likely meant a change was on the horizon.
As CUC’s fleet continued to grow, maintaining hundreds of assets across three provinces became nearly impossible and data accuracy was in question. “We were attempting to piece together multiple software programs and spreadsheets to track all assets and maintenance, multiple vehicle transfers, important documents, and safety regulations,” notes Herr. “Our team was spending too much time managing the fleet and items were slipping through the cracks.”
A CUSTOMIZABLE SOLUTION
In an attempt to improve efficiency and keep its growing fleet functioning at peak capacity, CUC launched its search for fleet management software. Among many features offered, CUC was primarily looking for a comprehensive system that would be a “one-stop-shop” for asset management. Reporting capabilities, service reminders, and integration with other systems like GPS and fuel cards were also key factors in the decision making process.
“Fleetio had all the aspects we were looking for,” says Herr. “The flexibility of Fleetio exceeded our expectations. Where other programs offered on-road vehicle management solutions, Fleetio gave us a customizable platform for our entire fleet operation. Even better, they wanted our input on how to make their software more helpful to our business.”
A BIG IMPACT
After onboarding Fleetio, CUC quickly saw its fleet management processes strengthen to meet the maturation of its thriving business.
Stretched across three Canadian provinces, the company now uses Fleetio to manage the transfer of vehicles and the corresponding documents and information. “Since Fleetio is web-based, anyone on our team can access vehicle records at any time, all in one place,” says Herr. When managing numerous vehicle transfers across the country, Fleetio allows CUC to get the right information into the right hands at the right time.
As CUC put more vehicles on the road, that naturally meant an increase in maintenance costs. With the average monthly maintenance cost per vehicle now more than $52, Fleetio allows CUC to eliminate any unpredicted costs. “One of the biggest perks of Fleetio is the reminders,” notes Herr. “Whether they are for safety inspections or preventive maintenance, Fleetio’s reminders allow us to keep our vehicles safe and on the road.”
Since CUC outsources vehicle maintenance, Fleetio also supports management of its vendors. As CUC clerks receive vendor invoices, they input the information into Fleetio and associate it with the correct asset. From there, CUC can hold vendors accountable for any missing information or mischarges. “Within Fleetio, we can compare pricing for services based on past jobs and even negotiate better rates with our vendors,” says Herr.
In addition to building its fleet assets, CUC’s growth also meant a larger number of people were touching fleet operations. Multiple fleet managers, foremen, and support administrators are now using Fleetio’s flexible permissions to add and update fleet information, ensuring CUC’s corporate office can pull the appropriate reports to analyze vehicle utilization and operations costs.
With more than 300 employees on the road and many of those touching fleet management, Fleetio is being used on desktop and mobile on a daily basis. “We really love how easy it is to use,” notes Herr. “From province to province, from crew to crew, everything we need is there. Our team is dependent on Fleetio to help us manage our fleet in the most efficient way possible.”
Fleetio has saved CUC time by making information like vehicle service histories and maintenance schedules instantly accessible by the appropriate team members. CUC notes its largest timesaving opportunity in adopting Fleetio, however, is its reporting capabilities. Previously pulling reports by hand, often from inconsistent datasets, CUC’s administrative support team now instantly generates reports and is assured of data integrity.
Derived from the many reports available in Fleetio, CUC uses the system’s comparative data to make important decisions. “We use reports when purchasing to compare different pieces of equipment,” says Herr. “Fleetio also allows us to easily view comparisons of the different types of services we complete, which helps us nail down areas of improvement.”
LOOKING AHEAD
As CUC continues to build on its success, Fleetio continues to add new features and productivity applications based on user feedback shared with its support team. “The interaction with Fleetio Support is always very personable,” notes Herr. “It shows they really care about our business.”
With commitment to safety and quality at the foundation of CUC’s business, it is no surprise that the company has achieved longevity in an ever-changing industry. Coupled with increased efficiency and assured uptime provided by Fleetio, CUC will continue to extend its customer satisfaction promise to a swelling customer base within the utility industry.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lori Higdon is marketing director at Fleetio. Find out more about Fleetio’s products and services, visit www.fleetio.com.
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MODERN WORKTRUCK SOLUTIONS: FEBRUARY 2016 ISSUE
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