Fleet telematics improve time efficiency and driver safety
As Red Bull Racing celebrates retaining the Driver and Constructor F1 World Championship titles, its dedicated and passionate transport and logistics team, together with its fleet telematics partner, TRACKER, are being recognised for their role in keeping a winning team winning.
Already boasting eleven wins, sixteen pole positions this season and, after some titanic battles, two world championship titles, these impressive achievements are all the goals set out upon Red Bull Racing’s inception in 2005.
But time is of the essence both on and off the track. Red Bull Racing’s Formula One design and engineering team, Red Bull Technology, needs to ensure its fleet is running as efficiently as possible in order to make vehicle, parts, equipment and team deliveries across Europe, but this must be balanced with a constant focus on safety and duty of care responsibilities.
Based in Milton Keynes, with a large wind tunnel facility in Bedford for testing aerodynamics, Red Bull Technology operates a fleet of twenty three vehicles in the UK and across Europe.
This comprises seven articulated trucks for transporting race vehicles and equipment – which spend 70% of their time in Europe – and eight vans; two large mini buses and two smaller mini buses for transporting the team, as well as three small cars and a VIP vehicle for driving existing and potential sponsors, celebrities and the drivers to race events and a variety of locations, all of which are monitored by TRACKER.
TRACKER’s fleet telematics solution provides a detailed view of driver behaviour, allowing Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology, Ed Porter, to monitor speeds, journey routes and the general whereabouts of the fleet team.
Using a highly intuitive reporting system that allows fleet managers to easily view fuel usage per vehicle and driver behaviour, TRACKER delivers considerable business benefits. Reports such as maintenance scheduling, for example, provide automatic alerts when servicing is due on vehicles, ensuring Red Bull maintains a safe, efficient fleet and, most importantly, is meeting its duty of care obligations.
Ed Porter, Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology explains, “I need to be able to manage a fleet that is spread across Europe, keeping in control of what is happening throughout the day without compromising the efficiency of the fleet.
The nature of the Formula One industry is that we need everything yesterday, making time the most valuable commodity for me and my team. If I could buy time, I would, but TRACKER’s fleet tracking system goes a long way in helping me make the best of the time I have.
“Crucially, TRACKER’s reporting system allows me to evidence turn-around times for collections from suppliers, as we are under pressure to deliver components for the cars within tight timeframes and our suppliers need to step up to the mark. But it is also my responsibility to ensure that our drivers are operating safely. All our drivers are given refresher driver training every year and the TRACKER system supports our overall duty of care policies.
“Our Test Team and Race Team both have access to the TRACKER system, allowing them to monitor the whereabouts of the support and fleet teams for themselves. This offers them the reassurances they need and reduces the need to hassle drivers.
The support team could be anywhere in the UK or travelling to race events across Europe, so this is a vital benefit for us, helping to improve time efficiency and ensuring our drivers are safe, no matter where they are.
“As an added bonus, TRACKER also provides us with the best stolen vehicle recovery system on the market. Wherever our vehicles are, we know that should they be stolen we have an extremely good chance of them being recovered, allowing us to concentrate on delivering a winning team.”
Stephen Doran, Managing Director for TRACKER adds, “A business like Red Bull Technology is under constant time pressure whilst needing to be able to control a fleet that is spread across Europe. Added to this, it needs to ensure its fleet efficiencies are balanced with its ongoing duty of care responsibilities.
Why and how fleet telematics are employed will vary significantly from business to business and from industry to industry. This is where TRACKER’s telematics offering can provide a solution. Our system can be tailored to all needs, delivering the most appropriate level of information in the right format, at the time it’s most needed.”
