E&S Motors, one of the UK’s leading 24-hour breakdown and recovery operators, operating on behalf of many of the country’s foremost rescue specialists, is now reaping the rewards from retrofitting vehicle CCTV cameras across its fleet of vehicles.
After seeking technological solutions to provide indisputable footage of all recovery operations, the vehicle recovery specialists sought the expertise of Centrad to recommend solutions that would deliver 360 coverage on their vehicles.
Centrad has since retrofitted its cutting-edge solutions across E&S motors entire fleet of various vehicles ranging from 18 tonne and 14 tonne recovery trucks, down to their 3.5 tonne recovery trucks and service vans.
On its larger vehicles, E&S Motors opted for a dashcam to cover the front, under mirror side cameras, reverse cameras to cover the rear and a camera installed underneath the flyer so they can get full visibility of the loading process. On their smaller vehicles, the company has installed all the same solutions, with exception to the under-mirror side cameras.
These solutions have already driven significant benefits for the business by providing clear evidence in the case of incidents, delivering a noticeable reduction in disputed claims, while also assisting in the company’s training and driver development programmes.
The installation of the camera beneath the flyer was particularly beneficial for E&S Motors in this regard as it allowed the company to conduct regular spot checks on its roadside operations, ensuring adherence to best practice and providing footage which could be used for future training or re-training opportunities.
This was a significant draw for the 24-hour rescue control specialist, which prides itself on working closely with the Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR), operating to the standards it sets out.
To facilitate this, Sean Poole, Operations Manager at E&S Motors believes footage gained from the cameras serves as a valuable resource for the business, helping its recovery operatives to understand real-world scenarios and learn from actual roadside incidents and situations.
Sean commented: “As a business, we want to ensure that our staff are the best at what they do and in order to do that we need to make sure that they’re upholding best practice in their role, which is why training and professional development is at the very core of our operation at E&S Motors. Centrad’s camera solutions have provided a totally different dynamic to this by giving us a clear, unbiased view of our roadside operations and from that enable us to support our recovery teams in delivering high levels of service and to undertake their role safely.
“The cameras essentially allow us to certify that our staff are operating vehicles responsibly, whether that be ensuring a load is securely restrained or that towing procedures are being followed correctly. We’ve also found that watching back footage of how our recovery operatives interact with customers has been incredibly useful, as it’s a crucial part of the job that can get overlooked, and an area that in turn can be easily improved with the right training processes in place.
“Ultimately promoting professionalism and best practice throughout our operation is vital, and with our recovery operatives being on the front lines they’re in many ways the face of the company, so ensuring they consistently demonstrate professionalism, safety, and efficiency in every aspect of their work is crucial to the longevity of the business – which is why the cameras have become such a valuable tool within our operation.”
With the camera systems also featuring real-time monitoring and automatic incident alerts, this also enables the business to have clear, unambiguous footage of any incident that occurs, which is becoming increasingly vital for insurance purposes, especially in the fight against phantom claims.
Sean continued: “Battling to resolve phantom claims was becoming increasingly challenging as unfortunately, due to the nature of the job, there is a preconception that recovery specialists are often culpable when incidents or damages to vehicles occur, making many operators easy targets. There have been numerous instances where fault has been placed on our own recovery operatives even when the recovered vehicle in question has been damaged after collection, yet claims have still been made against us regardless.”
“However, by implementing camera technology with the assistance of Centrad, what was becoming a constant day-to-day pain has now been almost entirely quashed.
“Thanks to their knowledge of the industry, cutting-edge solutions and responsiveness, Centrad has supplied a proactive solution that has not only delivered 360-degree coverage over our vehicles but has given us the means to harness a comprehensive and robust mechanism for enhancing best practice across our recovery team. Over the past two years their partnership has become indispensable to our operation, ultimately enabling us to focus on the day job and maintain high levels of service.”
The core legislation is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, as is well known. Any investigations, court action, or other action falling short of prosecution will most likely fall under this Act and a range of safety regulations.
