Safeguarding compliance and cutting vehicle off-road (VOR) times are behind a decision by M&Y Construction to adopt FleetCheck fleet management software.

The St Helens-based, family-owned building and maintenance business operates 228 cars and vans, and has progressed from using spreadsheets to FleetCheck’s Professional level system.

Justin Toole, fleet manager, explained: “As our company has grown, it’s been increasingly difficult to manage the fleet using spreadsheets, and we became concerned there was an growing risk of human error and potential oversights.

“We began to look at specialist fleet management solutions and, in terms of our needs, FleetCheck seemed ahead of the curve. Dealing with them has been very straightforward and the move to the new system was fast and seamless.”

Significant improvements were already being seen when it comes to ensuring compliance and reducing VOR, he said.

“These are two key areas for us. Being ISO accredited, we must always be audit-ready, and the software is playing a fundamental role in demonstrating risk mitigation. When the auditors next visit, I’ll be confident because the system makes it easy to review everything and show we’re fully compliant.

“We’ve also taken big steps forward in minimising VOR. Whenever a breakdown occurs, it’s a major issue for us because our engineers have appointments scheduled all day and we don’t want to let customers down. Our accent is now very much on preventative maintenance. If a particular vehicle needs a service every two years or every 15,000 miles, FleetCheck reminds you when it’s due. By doing all the basics right, the number of problems is falling.”

Justin added that the software’s comprehensive reporting suite was proving useful for M&Y’s budgeting and auditing processes, as well as for monthly operations meetings where key information about the fleet could be presented to directors and heads of service.

“We can now generate many kinds of reports, including taxes, MOT tests and driving licences. As a fleet manager, it makes sure that all the information I need is where I need it.”

Peter Golding, CEO at FleetCheck, said: “Compliance and VOR are two areas where we have worked very hard to ensure our software meets and exceeds the needs of a wide variety of fleets, and we’re very pleased to see that it is proving so effective for M&Y.”