Operational Excellence Award All systems go

Family-run haulier

If you ever needed proof that our awards don’t just recognise the big guns of the industry, look no further than JPE Holdings.

Stuck on a nondescript road on the outskirts of Essington, Wolverhampton, the family-run SME doesn’t even have a sign on the gates. And if eventually you are lucky enough to locate it, you will encounter a modest row of rough-and-ready portacabins looking out over a muddy, heavily potholed yard.

But first impressions can be deceptive: “If you want a job as a driver here, you need to show that you can at least find us,” compliance manager Lindsay Smith explains – before quickly reassuring us that, despite outward appearances, JPE works to the very highest industry standards.

Central to the business is its fleet of 36 off-road Volvo 8-wheelers and seven Volvo FH artics and trailers, which run up to 75 shifts a day. Not forgetting a road transport team that are committed to operational and technological excellence 24/7. Together, this drives the company’s impressive compliance and safety records.

Founded in 1994, JPE specialises in the delivery of virgin, recycled and blended aggregates. It also owns three quarries and excavates, delivers and collects upwards of 950,000 tonnes of the stuff every year for customers in the construction and highways industries.

The company has been involved in many leading local projects, including the Black Country Route, the Trent Valley Four Tracking Project (TV4), the M6 Toll Road and the M6 hard shoulder strengthening.

“The systems we have in place, and the staff using them, are what won us the award,” Smith says. “I’m from a technology background, so when I came here four years ago I was appalled to find bits of paper floating around and getting lost. Things were being put on the system two or three times before an invoice was generated. Part of my remit was to get the operation paperless.”

Having achieved that goal, Smith turned his attentions to the DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme, which JPE joined in December 2020. The firm now has an overall weighted compliance score of 99.1% for both drivers and vehicles.

Achieving ER, he says, was just a case of formalising the company’s procedures and policies in relation to driver and vehicle compliance. Having an IT and software system in place, as specified by the DVSA, now helps the team report on important driver and vehicle performance measures.

By working with Aquarius IT to embed ClockWatcher Elite’s tachograph analysis and vehicle maintenance and driver defect software, JPE acquired the systems needed to manage and report on all the driver and vehicle performance measures specified by ER and became an exemplary operator. Achieving ER also meant that the firm could complete the additional HS2 compliance and become only the third business to achieve both ER and HS2 audit standards.

“Earned Recognition needs to be something businesses aren’t running from but running towards,” Smith says. “No scheme matches it. FORS has had a terrible monopoly but it is no longer a compliance check, it’s only a systems check.

“Initially I was sceptical of ER but I would now wholeheartedly recommend it. The backing you get from the DVSA staff is fantastic. You phone your account handler and if they don’t know the answer to your question it gets pushed to the department that made that decision for an explanation.”

Validation

Smith also insists that firms joining the scheme don’t need to do much extra work to show compliance: “It’s not just for the multinationals,” he says. “Providing there is direction from the top to be as compliant and safe as possible, then it’s totally doable for smaller SMEs. We are sub-50 trucks and we have managed to do this.”

Smith seems as surprised to have won the award as he is delighted; JPE triumphed over some much bigger candidates. In fact, he was the only company representative on the night and the award was so unexpected that he missed his name being read out.

“I was too engrossed in conversation,” he laughs. “I was just starting to enjoy myself. I didn’t think there was a chance I was going on stage. I had a few drinks afterwards but the trouble was I had also had a few before.

“But this is validation that we are doing the right things and validation that smaller operators have a shot at winning these awards, not just blue-chip companies with shareholders. My MD was returning from holiday and was ecstatic when she heard we had won.”

Underpinning JPE’s operation are sophisticated telematics and transport management systems for driver, traffic, fuel, vehicle, trailer and tachograph management. The company’s full fleet of vehicles are equipped with 360-degree cameras on a live link – with the telematics transmitted and managed live via Volvo Connect.

All this has enabled the team to have greater control and financial visibility. It can plan and track journeys, calculate what each vehicle needs to ‘earn’ per day and accurately price each job.

As a business, JPE is “nice and steady”, Smith says, and growing each year. It enjoyed a 19% increase in turnover in 2021 and sales profit reached 21% with a net profit of £1,497,335, which equates to £15,436 profit per employee.

“My father was a lorry driver,” Smith continues, “so I already had a rough understanding of drivers’ rules.

“The business wants to take compliance extremely seriously and we are fortunate that the budget allows us to buy the best systems out there on the market.”

Sitting in his office, I am able to get a full idea of the benefits of the Volvo Connect system via a large screen on the wall showing where each truck and driver are located. The software allows JPE’s planners to manage deliveries in real time – not only by seeing where a particular vehicle is but also by providing information on the driver’s time available to drive and his current activity.

The ‘Roadtrak Scheduler’ calculates the exact haulage revenue each vehicle will achieve. Jobs turn from blue to white when they have been completed and different truck icons on each job indicate its actual status.

“Each truck has six cameras fitted to it,” Smith adds, “so accident investigation is made very easy. As an incident occurs, you can log on and see exactly what has happened. The driver camera is worth its weight in gold.”

Live cameras show the front, nearside and offside, rear, load and the driver. This system retains six weeks of data and gives the ultimate in proof of delivery where, if required, a video can be produced.

Recruitment

Turning to the main challenges JPE is currently facing, Smith says it is more about the tough recruitment landscape than rising costs. The company’s longest-serving driver has been with the firm for 20 years and its oldest driver is 74. But the promise of an easier work/life balance is luring others away.

“One or two drivers are still leaving every month that need to be replaced,” he admits. “I’ve got a Class One driver finishing tonight who is going to Tesco. You would be surprised at the number who phone up and ask about the role and when we tell them it’s up to three nights out a week they are not interested. It’s like wanting to be a pilot but not wanting to do any flying.

“The challenge is recruiting people of the right calibre. You can see the conditions that most of our trucks drive in. Delivering to distribution centres doesn’t give you the experience you need to drive off road.”

Asked if the firm has any women drivers on the books, Smith smiles: “I’ve got two daughters and if either said they wanted to be a lorry driver I would tell them to stop at the services and have a look at the toilets,” he says. “There is nothing being done about that. How many new Aldis have sprung up lately, compared with new truckstops?”

The company has also nicely sidestepped delays to truck orders: “We were lucky,” Smith says. “If you go to the dealership for a truck, they will ask you when in 2024 you want it. I’ve heard of people buying trucks secondhand, running them for six months and selling them for more than they paid.”

He concludes the chat by reiterating his delight at winning the award: “I like to think that what most appealed to the judges was the compliance figures,” he says. “The whole business is built around data – and if you can get buy-in from the drivers, that is half the battle. They are buying into the management push for compliance, which is making awards like this happen.” n right