Danske Fragtmænd improves productivity & safety with I_Site fleet management from Toyota

Facts & figures

• Company: Danske Fragtmænd
• Location: Denmark
• Industry: Logistics
• Applications: horizontal transport, stacking, picking
• Trucks: 42 forklift trucks in total, electric powered stacker, electric counterbalanced trucks, I_Site fleet management system with Smart Access

About Danske Fragtmænd

The Danish logistics company's site in Taulov has around 200 lorries and 90 trailers entering or exiting every day. 42 forklifts operate within the 4000m² warehouse next to the 16.000m² terminal floor.

Always in control with fleet management

"We have been working with Toyota Material Handling for many years now, relying on them for the leasing and servicing of our material handling equipment, which ranges from small electric stackers to 6-tonnes forklifts," says Operating Coordinator Bjarne Kristensen. Bjarne's reason for choosing Toyota is based on the company's trust in Toyota's quality and good service technicians. Another motivation is the access to an easy overview of the company's fleet's daily use and cost thanks to the user-friendly dashboard from Toyota I_Site.

Every truck on site is connected to the fleet management tool I_Site, which collects all truck movement data. All trucks are also equipped with shock sensors that detect collisions from soft touches to heavy impacts. The data from the shock sensors is recorded in the I_Site fleet management tool.

"About half of our trucks are equipped with Smart Access, which means that employees must log on to the vehicle before they're able to start it. All employees have a bracelet with an RFID chip that they use to access them. This way, we are always in control of who uses which truck when," says Bjarne Kristensen.

Easy & transparent overview of operations

"I_Site is smart: it gives me detailed insights into different areas such as: which loads each truck is carrying, how each employee treats the equipment, possible safety issues and so on," says Operating Coordinator Bjarne Kristensen. Danske Fragtmænd works closely together with Toyota Material Handling's support staff and receives a detailed fleet report every Monday morning. Danske Fragtmænd defines what information the report should contain and how it should be presented. They can also log on to the I_Site tool from a computer or via the smartphone app and extract required data.

"The tool offers incredible transparency into my operations. I can see exactly when an accident has occurred and who has been driving the truck. I can see patterns in collisions or near misses that I can follow up on. Having this accurate and fact-based knowledge at hand effectively helps to reduce costs and increase safety," says Bjarne.

How I_Site creates a safer workplace

By using I_Site to monitor operations, a number of small and large problems that occur during a normal working day are solved, such as:

• Identifying when trucks have been parked in the wrong place, or with low power on the battery, so the problem can be addressed.

• Applying speed limitations to vehicles used by less experienced employees or temporary staff. Allowing them to gain experience whilst increasing on-site safety during their run-in period.

• Triggering an automatic message directly to the operator and/or an automatic speed reduction when high shocks are recorded.

• Using reports analyses from I_Site as a basis for the daily board meeting with team leaders, or for choosing an 'employee of the month' who contributed to higher safety and lower cost.

• Indicating when a machine should be replaced.

3 tips to optimise operations

Fleet management is the way forward for Danske Fragtmænd: "I_Site allows you to optimise your operations and its associated costs," says Bjarne Kristensen. He has 3 simple tips for warehouse managers :

1. Get a fleet management tool;
2. Learn how to fully utilise the fleet management tool and customise it to your operations;
3. Use the support function to help you use the tool in the best way."