Case study
Enhancing Emergency Fleet Operations: How North Wales Fire and Rescue Service Transformed Fleet Management with FleetWave
Industry: Emergency Services
Fleet Size: 260
Asset Count: 2000+
Region: North Wales, UK
Customer Since: 2012
Products Used: FleetWave
Background
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) is dedicated to protecting an estimated population of 678,461 residents, along with hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting North Wales each year, across an area of 2,400 square miles. This includes approximately 317,051 domestic properties and 24,484 non-domestic properties. NWFRS employs around 900 staff members in both operational and support roles, responding annually to around 3,200 fires, 500 road traffic collisions, 500 other emergency incidents, and 3,600 false alarms.
To fulfil its mission, NWFRS operates a large and varied transport fleet, including 54 fire appliances, one incident command unit, and 31 specialized vehicles. The Service also maintains extensive equipment, including Road Traffic Collision (RTC) cutting and extraction tools, ladders, portable pumps, hose branches, electrical generators, winches, trailers, tail lifts, and workshop tools. Additionally, it has electric vehicle charging points to support a sustainable future.
Beyond emergency response, NWFRS plays an active role in fire safety and prevention through extensive outreach in schools, businesses, and local communities, fostering a safer environment for all residents and visitors. This comprehensive approach, combined with its specialized fleet and equipment, enables NWFRS to respond effectively to diverse and challenging incidents across the region.
We Interviewed Geraint Jones, Head of Fleet and Engineering at North Wales Fire and Rescue service about the impact that FleetWave has had on the business over the past decade, since implementing it in 2013.
Challenges
Before implementing FleetWave, NWFRS faced daily challenges in managing their fleet operations. Geraint shared that they struggled with “disjointed information, data scattered across multiple sources, and reliance on numerous spreadsheets,” which made effective fleet management difficult.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) faced multiple challenges in managing its fleet before adopting FleetWave. Previously, the service relied on an internally developed and maintained fleet management system, which eventually reached its end of life. This required NWFRS to seek a new solution that could efficiently address their needs without the limitations of their old system. “We used to be on a unique system which was developed in-house and maintained in-house, and obviously that came to end of life, which prompted us to go out to tender,” Geraint, Head of Fleet, explained. This transition presented an opportunity to modernise, as they needed a reliable solution without unforeseen costs or surprises.
When NWFRS considered FleetWave in 2013, the software stood out for its comprehensive package, which included key fleet management features without the need for costly add-ons. NWFRS was keen to avoid the pitfalls they had heard from other fleet managers who experienced added costs for fuel management and other modules. “I’ve heard stories from other fleet managers,” the representative said. “They have a fleet management system, but then they need to look after fuel, so they need the fuel module, which costs extra. That’s what we don’t like—uncertainty. “We plan our revenue budget three years in advance, so any mid-year cost increases are a challenge because we simply don’t have the budget to pay for them. Having everything we need included really helped us make the decision.”
Managing the fleet on their old system was also cumbersome and time-consuming. The previous system involved extensive paperwork, with job cards printed for each vehicle maintenance task. Technicians would fill in these job cards manually, and then administrative staff would re-enter the data, logging labour hours, parts used, and other details. “It was a big space for error,” explained the representative. “We’d keep all vehicle and asset details there, and maintenance records, but it was all through job cards. Technicians would fill them out, hand them back in, and then someone would have to enter all the labour times, parts, and other information manually. It was labour-intensive, really.”
NWFRS was one of the early adopters of using the FleetWave workshop floor (now FleetWave Technician) in real-time, reducing the need for paperwork and minimizing the risk of lost records. “I didn’t want any papers floating around because I’d had experience with job cards going missing, being found months later behind lockers or desks so we got everything working in real time with FleetWave, and we just we haven’t looked back since”.
Beyond administrative challenges, NWFRS also contends with the unique demands of the emergency services industry. Vehicles require specialized conversions to support firefighting and rescue operations, and the high cost of these conversions means each vehicle must be kept in service as long as possible to maximize ROI. “This results in a very high age profile for our vehicles compared to industry norms, leading to parts obsolescence and challenges in sourcing replacements.” Fleet size and complexity add to the difficulties, making it essential to manage vehicle procurement, disposal, and scheduled maintenance efficiently. As NWFRS’s fleet includes a variety of assets, from firefighting vehicles to specialized tools and equipment, centralized management of fuel, parts procurement, stock control, and vehicle allocations is critical.
Solution
NWFRS recognized the need for fleet software, as their “fleet size, including assets, makes it almost impossible to manage procurement, disposal, and scheduled maintenance efficiently without it,” said Geraint. They needed a solution to streamline fuel management, parts procurement, stock control, vehicle allocations, and more.
The features of FleetWave that NWFRS finds most beneficial vary across departments, as different teams utilize the system for their specific needs. For example, Geraint shared, “I don’t really get involved with stock control or purchase orders, but I do look at vehicles and assets all the time for budget forecasting as well as procurement and disposals. Having that information to hand is really valuable.” This access to real-time data has streamlined critical decision-making processes, especially for budgeting and procurement.
Additionally, the Workshop Floor feature has proven invaluable for the maintenance team. Geraint highlighted, “The Workshop Floor is a huge benefit because the Supervisors get their technician performance data from there. So that’s really helpful for them.” This feature enables supervisors to track performance metrics, improving accountability and efficiency within the team. It also plays a significant role in managing labour costs: “It’s really about exporting the timesheet data and putting it into a pay check, so you can look at how much time is being spent on jobs, how much time is being spent on travel. We’re basically looking at maintenance jobs and activities and putting it all together in one place.” This consolidated view allows Geraint and his team to monitor performance, identify trends and address potential inefficiencies without micromanaging, ensuring the data is used to keep things on track. Overall, FleetWave’s versatility in supporting various functions has made it a game-changer for NWFRS, enhancing both operational efficiency and decision-making across departments.
Before implementing FleetWave, NWFRS faced challenges with managing vehicle data and documentation. Geraint shared, “We keep everything there now, even the contract hire vehicles. Before, you’d have to go looking through the file tree, wondering ‘Where’s the document for that? Where’s this? Where’s that?’ Now, everything is in one place.” This streamlined approach has eliminated the need for time-consuming searches and disorganized file systems. He added, “When we took this on in 2013, having the facility to upload documents and images was a massive, massive benefit for us. It allowed us to clear out a huge file room full of filing cabinets, which were previously crammed with paperwork. Now, we hardly ever visit that room.” The ability to upload and store documents digitally has significantly improved efficiency, reducing the reliance on physical records and ensuring that crucial information is easily accessible when needed. This feature has been a game-changer for the organization, saving time and helping to maintain a more organized, digital workflow.
NWFRS utilizes FleetWave for a variety of essential fleet management functions, with key features including vehicle maintenance, technician management, purchase orders, and supplier management. Geraint shared, “We’re using it for vehicle maintenance, technicians management, purchase orders, and we’ve also got suppliers on there. We use it for fuel, so we’ve got 2 fuel cards that we use, importing data from All Star and UK Fuels into FleetWave.” Prior to implementing FleetWave, managing fuel transactions was a significant challenge. Geraint explained, “Before FleetWave, not being able to see our fuel transactions in one place was an absolute nightmare. It just takes a load of your time because you’re having to download the data from your provider’s website, and it comes in two different formats, so you’re having to make sense of those two and add them all together at the end. It’s just messy.” With FleetWave, fuel management has become much more streamlined, offering a centralized platform for tracking and analyzing fuel usage. “Having that all in one place is great,” said Geraint. Given that fuel is the largest budget line his Department manages, he emphasized, “The fuel budget dwarfs all other budget lines that I have to manage, so I really need to know what’s going on there.” FleetWave has thus provided a critical solution for improving accuracy and efficiency in fuel management.
Our Impact
FleetWave has had a significant impact on NWFRS, enabling them to make more informed decisions and streamline processes. One of the key benefits highlighted by Geraint is the access to expert support through the Ask the Expert sessions. He shared, “Having access to Steve through the Ask the Expert sessions and having that kind of expertise available and somebody with an in-depth knowledge of the system and a detailed understanding of what you’re doing and what you’re trying to do is really good. So it’s really positive having access to that.”
FleetWave has played a pivotal role in helping NWFRS make data-driven decisions that lead to significant cost savings. Geraint explained how the system was used to evaluate the condition of critical hydraulic equipment across the fleet: “We use it all the time for data and if we need to make a case, we look at the historical information we’ve got. For example, we use FleetWave maintenance data for cutters, spreaders, rams, and all kinds of hydraulic equipment fitted to every fire engine throughout North Wales. These pieces of equipment were starting to get old, and we needed to consider replacing them.”
By running maintenance reports through FleetWave, NWFRS was able to track the increasing maintenance costs over time, helping to forecast future expenses. Geraint shared, “We were able to demonstrate the steadily increasing costs and forecast what the costs would be if this trend continued. We put that information to use and went to the service leadership team to decide whether we should invest in new equipment.”
Ultimately, the data helped NWFRS make a cost-effective decision. Geraint continued, “The hoses were coming up for 10-year replacements, and it was going to be quite costly. We looked at the projected cost of replacing the hoses and decided we could live with these increasing costs and replace the hoses instead of buying new equipment.” This decision, supported by FleetWave’s data, led to a significant cost-saving for the organization.
FleetWave’s customization has allowed NWFRS to use the software in a way that suits their unique operational needs. Geraint noted, “I can imagine that different services or industries would use it differently. For us, we don’t use it that much to forecast tire replacements since they’re typically damaged rather than worn out. Other companies might use it differently, but it’s all about tailoring the system to our needs.”
One of the standout features of FleetWave for NWFRS is its ability to easily gather and extract data, making reporting and analysis straightforward. Geraint shared, “A plus side of FleetWave is definitely gathering and drawing data from it, and it’s easy to get evidence out of, and that’s what I really like.” The system’s user-friendly query builder allows for efficient report creation without needing to build complex queries. He explained, “I can build a report using the query builder, and it’s so easy. A lot of the instant information you need is already on the screen, so I don’t need to build a query. I just put the data that I need into the report—whether it’s maintenance or vehicles—and then export the whole thing, delete the columns I don’t want, and keep the ones I do. It just makes life a lot easier.”
For Geraint, this simple yet effective approach to data extraction has been a game changer. He added, “You have your reports that you build, and then they’re always there for you.” With FleetWave, the team is able to quickly access the insights they need, saving time and improving efficiency in their fleet management processes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, NWFRS selected FleetWave for its comprehensive, all-in-one solution, offering a “one-stop shop” without the need for costly add-on modules or product development. This streamlined, cost-effective approach has empowered NWFRS to efficiently manage their fleet operations while focusing on sustainability goals. We look forward to collaborating with them as they continue to drive innovation and reduce their environmental impact.
