Breyer Group

The Company

Breyer Group is a family business. Founded as an asphalt roofing contractor by Fred Breyer in 1956, the business is run today by his son, Tim, who is Managing Director of the Group.

Operating from its head office in Romford, Essex, the company now has more than 500 employees. The Breyer Group has become a very well-known and respected name in the construction industry, providing roofing and refurbishment services alongside responsive repairs and maintenance. Resident and client satisfaction is at the forefront of what they do as the Breyer Group exists to improve homes, enhance lives and create stronger communities.

The responsive repairs and maintenance service is delivered by the B-Line division of the Group. B-line serves clients in the housing association and local authority sector and has grown significantly over the last five years. The Breyer Group fleet comprises 265 commercial vehicles and 20 cars, primarily in the B-Line division.

The Challenge

With a people-centred approach to its maintenance service, which includes a two hour response time for emergency repairs and a same day response for urgent repairs, efficient management of a fleet of 265 vehicles is vital. The Breyer Group’s previous provider offered only vehicle tracking without any additional capabilities and so the company was looking for a world class telematics provider that would enable them to pinpoint fleet movement more accurately in order to meet customer expectations.

A further challenge came in the form of managing insurance costs, which had risen exponentially as the fleet grew. Working closely with HDI-Gerling Insurance Company, the Breyer Group was looking to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents and the number of claims, which in turn would achieve cost savings.

The Solution

Breyer chose TomTom’s WEBFLEET solution, which has completely transformed the way the fleet operates. In addition to enhancing the customer experience by providing accurate arrival times on site, the WEBFLEET’s OptiDrive facility provides detailed information on driver performance, recording incidents of idling, speeding, harsh steering or sudden braking, and fuel consumption.

“We use the system operationally to allocate the most appropriate contractors to jobs, optimising business efficiencies and customer response times,” explained Finance Manager Nigel Wood. “Whilst this was great from a customer point of view, we also wanted to see how WEBFLEET could improve efficiencies in our own business, specifically in helping us drive down our insurance premiums.”

Working closely with HDI-Gerling Insurance Company and the Willis Group and with the support of its TomTom Telematics partner, Breyer set out to achieve three key reduction targets – frequency of accidents, accident severity, and number of claims. “We introduced WEBFLEET across the company, with all drivers, including the Managing Director, having the system installed in their vehicles,” said Nigel Wood. “We used the OptiDrive facility as a tool to raise awareness of duty of care and health and safety issues. By encouraging drivers to monitor their own behaviour through the onboard system that tracks and scores their driving, we quickly established a culture where everyone wanted to improve their scores.”

By publishing the OptiDrive scores across all drivers, peer pressure to improve took over, as the behavioural trends of each individual was recognised and the worst offenders were identified in what the insurers have nicknamed the ‘Joseph Report.’

Within a very short timescale, improvements were already noticeable. “By being able to drill down and examine idling time, excessive driving hours, late finishes/early starts, weekly speeding reports and improper manoeuvring, we had real time control of what was happening within the fleet and where necessary, we could take action to improve performance,” explained Nigel Wood. “By having the tools to monitor and encourage our employees to drive more carefully, we also successfully reduced our fuel spend and CO2 emissions. This exercise has improved our driver safety and our duty of care to our workforce.”

The biggest benefit for the Breyer Group, though, has been reduced frequency and severity and number of motor claims, leading to a £60,000 saving on insurance premiums the following year, with further savings set to be achieved in subsequent years if performance targets are achieved.