A Solution for Mebin
Mebin B.V. is part of the Heidelberg Cement Group and active in sales, production and transport of ready-mixed concrete on the Dutch market. The activities take place from thirty modern, concrete factories owned by Mebin. Additionally, Mebin cooperates closely with sister company Inter-Beton in Belgium. Transportation and logistics are the core businesses of each Mebin factory. On a daily basis a fleet of over 220 truck mixers transport the produced concrete within the Netherlands. To manage this fleet properly Mebin decided to further automate its logistics process by implementing Tensing Fleet Management.
Tensing Fleet Management combines track and trace functionality, mobile data communication through GPRS, mileage registration, mobile messaging and registration of hours worked on site. Tensing Fleet Management’s architecture is designed for the future. The application is modular and flexible. It is possible to modify or change the application relatively easily, ensuring that it is capable of meeting the standards set by clients at all times.
Tensing Fleet Management at Mebin
Mebin utilized a manual status reporting system in which the driver types in a code on a special box to report status. The code depends on the actual activity: departure station, arrival work, start pouring concrete, departure work, and arrival station. This code is sent through the trucking network system to an automated logistics system. The planner can see the activity of the driver of the truck mixer on screen only if the driver enters a code.
With the implementation of Tensing Fleet Management the activities and the actual location of the truck mixer are automatically generated and sent through to the logistics system. The planner knows the exact location and status of the truck mixer. This information allows the planner to anticipate production needs and inform customers of delays or early arrivals of concrete.
“Our business is dependent on optimizing the number of rides a day made by our trucks,” says Leo Dekker, Director of Technology at Mebin. “The more a truck mixer transports a day or a year, the lower the costs of transport. With Tensing Fleet Management we can track our vehicles instantly and plan more efficiently.”
The Cooperation and Implementation
According to Dekker, “It is obvious that implementing a system like this is not an overnight operation. We, along side Tensing have worked very hard to make implementation as easy as possible. The first phase was completed in 2005. In 2006 implementation at Mebin and sister company Inter-Beton in Belgium has been completed. For Inter-Beton a bilingual version was developed: Dutch (Flemish) and French.”
Why Mebin Chose Tensing
Tensing’s long running experience with automating business processes for large concrete companies made it the optimal choice for Mebin. According to Dekker, “we searched for a company with knowledge and experience in out trade. Tensing stood out with its background of successful implementations.”
Tensing Fleet Management’s robust basic functionality met every requirement by Mebin with the option to add a navigation system in their truck mixers in the future. The real time display of truck status gave Mebin valuable insight into wait time at customer locations and allowed for better administration of working and driving hours. The track and trace function allowed Mebin to keep surveillance on driver speed and report accidents and theft quickly. Additionally, Tensing supported the RAM Mobile Data network for wireless data communication which allowed Mebin to operate throughout Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg without roaming charges.
Delivered Products:
- Software: Tensing Fleet Management;
- Coupling with back office system Command Alkon
- Hardware: Aplicom C-series, with touch screen, hands-free speech and text messaging;
- Data communication: Mobitex of RAM Mobile Data.
- The application Tensing Fleet Management is RAM Ready certified.
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