About Highland Surfacing & Contracting Ltd

Highland Surfacing & Contracting Ltd provides quality, affordable paving for customers in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.  Founded in 2013 by Derek Farrell and Theresa Kemp, the business prides itself on its exceptional customer service offering and ability to cover vast and remote areas.

Working with some of the most highly skilled professionals in the industry, the business specialises in surfacing roads, car parks, airfields and footpaths with its 34-strong mixed fleet of small construction plant vehicles, HGVs and vans.

The Challenge

As soon as Highland Surfacing and Contracting Ltd made the decision to invest in more small construction plant vehicles, its insurance premiums increased due to both the high value of the assets and the industry-wide issue in theft of those particular vehicles.  

Additionally, with employees often working in remote areas without signal, the business could not always communicate with its drivers to check in on their location. Therefore, when vehicles were transporting loads or travelling to pick up orders, it could not always give its suppliers or customers real-time updates on when its drivers were due to arrive.

Furthermore, with the business running a very complex operation, which included lots of plant shifts and vehicle movements at any given the time, the business wanted improved visibility. This would mean transport managers were able to dispatch the next job as efficiently as possible, to help minimise fuel and time wastage.

The Solution

Every vehicle is now connected to Teletrac Navman’s award-wining DIRECTOR platform, so the entire fleet is tracked in real-time. The ability to track all vehicles has reduced insurance premiums, whilst offering the business owners greater peace of mind tracking and locating any assets, given the prevalent issue of plant vehicle theft.

The increased visibility has also helped Highland  Surfacing & Contracting Ltd’s to continue to deliver its excellent customer service offering, providing real-time updates to its clients, such as estimated arrival times. Additionally, Transport managers can co-ordinate the fleet based on each vehicle’s proximity to the next job, which has contributed to a reduction in mileage and improved response times.

The business also benefits from the ongoing technical project management expertise of Teletrac Navman’s Professional Services team. At the start of the contract, Teletrac Navman’s in-house consultants worked closely with Highland Surfacing & Contracting Ltd. to understand its core objectives and created a bespoke plan for the business to get the most out of the system. With regular meetings and software training, the Professional Services team has helped ensure the company continues to receive the greatest possible return on its investment.

The Results

Since implementing DIRECTOR, the business has:

• 100% by-the-minute visibility of its 34 vehicles
• The ability to share that visibility with customers for better customer service
• Reduced overall fleet costs as a result of improved operational efficiencies

Robert MacKenzie, Transport Manager at Highland Surfacing & Contracting Ltd, says the solution has played a significant role in improving operations and reducing costs:

“Without a doubt, the DIRECTOR platform has enabled us to make smarter business decisions thanks to the data-driven insights it provides. However, it’s not just the platform that’s made a difference, the ongoing support of the Teletrac Navman Professional Services has helped ensure DIRECTOR is running in line with our company’s goals, which has meant we’ve been able to get the greatest possible return on our investment with their careful planning and support. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with Teletrac Navman’s software and customer service.”