Challenge

Looking after a nation’s roads is a serious logistical challenge, so it’s no wonder that the UK’s Highway Traffic Management wanted to do everything they could to simplify operations. One of the key ways they wanted to ease the challenge was through smarter management of keys for their fleet of vehicles.

The vehicles in this fleet are an essential part of Highway Traffic Management’s operational services, but the issue the company was facing was that keys would often go missing which led to vehicles becoming temporarily out of use, seriously affecting business. This cost the company a considerable amount of money and time.

Highway Traffic Management is a company of 400 employees so the scope for error was high. This led them to search for a more efficient way to manage their keys.

Solution

After an online search, Highway Traffic Management came across Keycafe. The affordable price of the key management system from Keycafe stood out to them initially, and when researching further they realized that the features on offer were everything they needed. Compared to other transport-specific key management solutions, they found Keycafe to be much more cost-effective.

Initially, Highway Traffic Management purchased one SmartBox as a trial for one of their depots. Because it was immediately well-received, they now have every key in their fleet tracked by Keycafe at every depot location. The company is able to keep tabs on exactly which staff member has the key to each vehicle and when they checked it out.

Previous to working with Keycafe, all keys were kept in a single lockbox which meant every driver had access to every vehicle key. This contributed to the missing key issue. Using the Keycafe app, drivers only have access and visibility for keys they’ve been assigned, reducing the margin of error and incidence of key loss.

At the end of the day, they can rest easy knowing that each key is where it’s supposed to be.

Result

Since implementing Keycafe, not a single set of keys has gone missing. It has saved them a lot of time no longer having to look for lost keys, as well as a lot of money not having to order replacement keys that go missing. Because of the key access history log, drivers now have undeniable accountability when it comes to issues like speeding tickets and damage to vehicles.

The time freed up has enabled the transport department to focus on tasks at hand that are important to the company as a whole. And, they picked up an unexpected bonus in that the system allows the company to track working hours of staff members driving vehicles by looking at the times keys were taken and returned.