Investing in tyre management and driver training at WJ Group

BACKGROUND

WJ Group is an independent specialist road marking business that offers a wide range of highway maintenance services. The company operates a fleet of more than 200 vehicles, each of which is designed and manufactured in-house on a Large Goods Vehicles (LGV) chassis base to service specific operational purposes, such as road marking, surface retexturing, hydroblasting, stud application and sweeper vehicles.

WJ Group’s vehicles are built at dedicated engineering facilities, allowing them to continually innovate and introduce new features on every vehicle. This ensures that WJ Group improve their fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and save costs.

THE APPROACH

The company’s most recent innovation is their triple boiler road marking vehicle, which saves at least three tonnes of CO2e per shift by reducing the need for two vehicles to attend certain schemes.

WJ Group have dedicated fleet and driver safety procedures in place to promote best practice in fleet management and driver behaviour. Quartix, their telematics system, for example, is used to measure miles per gallon (mpg) and driver behaviour. Drivers are monitored for harsh braking, excessive speeding, mpg and compliance with defect checks and monthly results are made public in the form of a league table. Drivers who perform well are given £100 gift vouchers, while drivers who need improvement are given training to improve their driving standards.

The organisation’s Group Transport Manager is also their fuel efficiency champion and is responsible for ensuring the fleet’s leadership and smooth operation. WJ Group was first in the road marking sector to receive FORS (Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme) Bronze accreditation, and their London-based depot fleet are Silver accredited. The company have also appointed one of their training managers as a second fuel efficiency champion to oversee education to employees on different ways to be energy efficient not only while driving, but also in all other aspects of their work and daily life.

WJ Group also have an effective tyre management system in place, as they use low rolling resistance tyres on all of their vehicles. Working with Best Tyres Ltd, the company can ensure that all of their tyres are serviced and replaced on a regular basis, and Best Tyres Ltd have even created an online platform for WJ Group to view their tyre management programme in real time.

THE RESULTS

In their first year with The Carbon Trust, WJ North achieved a 10.1% reduction relative to turnover, and have since expanded this to the entire Group (WJ Scotland, WJ North, WJ South, WJ Products, and WJ South West) and have achieved a further 9.7% reduction. Their driver league table is also expected to help the company reduce their fuel consumption by 20%.

Over the last 12 months, WJ Group have saved 7.75% on emissions against turnover for the entire fleet. This has resulted in a 12% increase in overall group fleet mpg, which equates to approximately 29,551.42 litres of diesel. In addition, WJ Group’s maintenance costs have been reduced by £159,320.04 and their monthly accident frequency has decreased from 2% to 0.88%.

The organisation’s yearly CAPEX, budgeting and vehicle replacement programme ensures that all WJ Group’s cars, vans and trucks are moving towards 100% Euro 6. In the future, WJ Group hopes to trial the potential of biogas and other biofuels such as biodiesel and methanol for their heating plants on top of their trucks. Within the next 10 to 15 years, WJ Group hope to have the infrastructure in place to introduce electric trucks into their operations.

“Sustainability is at the heart of all of our business decisions, and we have a vision to ensure that we are delivering long-term value for all of our stakeholders, while also supporting our communities and protecting the environment in any way we can.”

Paul Aldridge, Sustainability Director at WJ Group