Since its establishment in 1990, the Western Bainoona Group (WBG) has played a prominent role in the development of the UAE’s infrastructure and is an acclaimed name in the field of general contracting, earthworks, roadworks, bridges, infrastructure works, crushers, asphalt plant and land transportation.
Maintaining an optimized fleet of trucks and a well-trained team of drivers has been instrumental in WBG’s success. As Mercedes-Benz trucks comprise the majority of WBG’s fleet, the trucks are integrated with Fleetboard, Mercedes-Benz’ telematics-supported Internet service for trucks. This allows WBG to have full control of their truck fleet through real-time access to all vehicle data, which enables them to make data-driven decisions to ensure vehicle uptime. By monitoring idling time and fuel consumption, valuable feedback to project and site managers are exchanged, resulting in better control on truck utilization.
The drivers are an important part of the business. They are trained regularly to master a preventive driving style to reduce wear and tear and fuel consumption. Thanks to the customer friendly, flexible and wide range of parameters that could be obtained from the Drivers Performance Analysis feature from Fleetboard, WBG could use them to take decisions towards awarding the achieving drivers and training the underperforming ones.
WBG has been a customer of Fleetboard since 2011, after conducting initial trials of Fleetboard’s driver and vehicle management services on its Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks. Having seen the projected performance improvements and cost savings as a result of using Fleetboard, WBG decided to equip all of its Mercedes-Benz Trucks with Fleetboard telematics as a standard feature from 2015. Currently, WBG boasts over 250 active Fleetboard units in its fleet of Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs trucks.
Zouheir Chamandi, president of Western Bainoona Group, says: “Fleetboard is a powerful tool that has given us unprecedented control of our fleet, at our fingertips. Thanks to Fleetboard, we managed to save over 10% of fuel consumption from idling and achieved almost zero fuel loss from potential fuel theft, by tracking fuel loss data with Fleetboard features such as Trip Records, Mapping, and Driver Performance analysis.”
WBG has worked closely with Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA (DCV MENA) and Emirates Motor Company (EMC), the general distributor of Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Abu Dhabi for driver training support and management of service and uptime data through a long-term service contract.
“We receive support continuously from DCV MENA and EMC to enhance our analytical skills and utilize the full potential of Fleedboard’s data. In addition, EMC never hesitates to provide additional driver training along with on-time parts and services, all of which contribute immensely toward the successful operation of our Mercedes-Benz fleet,” says Zouheir.
The staff managing Fleetboard at WBG is divided into two teams, both reporting to the group plant director. The first team headed by a service manager is responsible for the follow up and monitoring of preventive maintenance and services, and the second team is responsible for monitoring the performance of the drivers and trucks.
During the last ten years, WBG has actively utilised data from Fleetboard’s driver performance analysis, trip records and service/uptime data to reduce operating costs thought significant savings on fuel and maintenance expenses. According to Zouheir, a lot more can be achieved with the vast amount of data that is being generated. For example, WBG is exploring the integration of data from Fleetboard with the company’s SAP system and automate processes such as job card creation based on service data from Fleetboard.
“At Western Bainoona Group, we continuously enhance our capabilities to ensure we remain the forefront of our industry. We provide our valued customers with unmatched products and services by implementing cutting edge technology and partnering with highly reputed suppliers. By unlocking the full potential of Fleetboard in our fleet, we are reiterating our commitment to provide excellence to our customers,” says Zouheir.
Olaf Petersen, general manager – Daimler Trucks Sales, Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA, says: “We truly value the partnership and appreciate the trust from Western Bainoona Group. Together with EMC, we are committed to providing the best services and to further strengthen our long and prosperous partnership.”