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Technology drives productivity and efficiency savings for Blackwell Earthmoving Ltd.

Finning has helped Blackwell Earthmoving Ltd make significant cost savings and cut emissions by reducing idle time on its major project using Cat® VisionLink® telematics software.

Blackwell Earthmoving Ltd is well-known for its expertise in large-scale earthmoving in the UK and is recognised as a leading provider of specialist earthmoving contracting and professional services. The company collaborates with civil engineering contractors and consultants to deliver some of the UK’s most significant infrastructure projects in the transportation, water, and power sectors. Managing these large infrastructure projects involves a strong focus on driving productivity and maximising efficiency, which are key priorities for this Essex-based nationally operating company.

Finning UK & Ireland, the world’s largest dealer of Cat equipment, parts and aftermarket services, worked closely with Blackwell Earthmoving as part of a scheme that involved deploying a fleet of 45 Cat machines working on a major UK infrastructure project.

In line with this, Blackwell Earthmoving embarked on a year-long anti-idle campaign in a bid to minimise fuel costs and develop the skills of its operators. Justin Downer, Operations Director at Blackwell Earthmoving, designed and ran the campaign and describes the vital role that the Finning team and the data from VisionLink played in its success:

“On this site we have 20 excavators, 21 dozers and four graders, which is a lot of machines to keep track of. With guidance from the Finning team, we’ve been able to effectively use the VisionLink system to track what each of the machines does in real-time, which enables us to monitor productivity across the entire site. This includes having real-time data on the volume and frequency of material excavated and moved on site using the payload tracker which is clearly displayed on a user-friendly dashboard.

“One of the key metrics for us was to reduce idle time across the fleet of machines working on site. The VisionLink system makes it easy to monitor this for individual machines and operators as well as a collective fleet.

“Over three months, we collected baseline data, enabling us to set realistic targets. We then launched the campaign, splitting operators into teams and putting in place financial rewards for the best performers and coaching for those who needed it.”

"The campaign was an unqualified success. We reduced idle time, cut fuel use and improved operator efficiency by enabling objective conversations between managers and their staff – backed up by real-time data.”

VisionLink is a cloud-based software, with a unified interface which is accessible on desktop or the mobile app, helping back-office or on-site managers track productivity for fleets of all sizes. Mauricio Escorcia, Technology and Infrastructure Projects lead at Finning UK & Ireland expands on the possibilities the system opens up for improving project efficiency:

“Using VisionLink enables fleet managers turn efficiency challenges on site into opportunities. For instance, by addressing the need for improved utilisation, and having the capability to track and manage an entire fleet via one interface.

“Even with just a few machines analysing the data derived from the system can make a real difference to productivity and can drive cost efficiencies in real-time. For example, it enables fleet managers to see which payloads are light, or where haulers are having to wait to load or vice versa resulting in unnecessary machine idle time.

“Reducing idle time has huge potential for making cost savings on most sites, and the Blackwell Earthmoving anti-idle campaign is a great example of how the hard data from the VisionLink system can lead to better decision making and improved operator skills. In this case the fuel savings alone proved the value of the system, and the long-term benefits of an anti-idle culture will be enormous.”

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