Issue - meetings

That the current coverage and developments of the Fleet Tracking System be noted.

The Head of Streetscene introduced a report to update the Committee on the Council’s current vehicle fleet tracking arrangements, in response to a request made at the meeting on 25 September 2013.  He explained that the installation of tracking units was a key part of the ongoing fleet review which aimed to utilise vehicles in a more efficient manner.

In addition to tracking the movement of vehicles, the system also provided a range of information for monitoring, emergency assistance and insurance claim purposes and was being further developed to send information to vehicles from the Streetscene Contact Centre.  Although the units were currently installed on 260 of the Council’s vehicles, the intention was for all Council vehicles to have this provision following the implementation of the Fleet Review in the New Year.  Information and costs on the installation and maintenance of the tracking system were included in the report.

In welcoming the report, the Chair congratulated the Head of Streetscene and his team for the progress made.

Following queries from Councillor Haydn Bateman, the Head of Streetscene explained that each unit was subject to an ongoing monthly maintenance cost and that the Contact Centre would receive notification if a vehicle was driven outside the defined areas such as on roads which were deemed unsuitable.  A problem affecting vehicle batteries due to the tracker continuing to record after the vehicle was parked had been resolved at an early stage.

Councillor Ron Hampson said that despite some initial apprehension from the workforce, the benefits of the system had now been acknowledged.

In response to queries raised by Councillor Glyn Banks, the Head of Streetscene estimated that savings from the Fleet Review were in the region of £1.3m which included those from the tracker system.  Data from the tracker units enabled the central Fleet team to produce reports by exception.

The Chief Executive was pleased that the report had been received positively and that the balance of concern on the use of trackers had changed which would benefit drivers in terms of economical fuel use, personal safety and behaviour.  The scale of savings to be made from the Fleet Review, led by the Head of Streetscene, was recognised as a significant area of ‘value for money’ corporate workstream.  Flintshire was a lead authority in Wales and the UK for fleet transformation.

Mr. Paul Williams asked if drivers who had undertaken training were required to sign a declaration to adhere to the protocol.  The Head of Streetscene explained that the protocol was currently in the development stage and would be rolled out following the implementation of the Fleet Review.  He gave assurances that individuals currently using the equipment had received specific training and were required to sign a disclaimer to take responsibility of their driver ID key fobs.

RESOLVED:

That the current coverage and developments of the Fleet Tracking System be noted.