Case Study
How Kitwave Group (H.B. Clark, Turner & Wright and Eden Farm) Met Fleet Insurance Requirements With Vehicle-Specific HGV Navigation
- Vehicle-specific HGV route guidance
- Routes planned using each vehicle’s dimensions
- Audible warnings if drivers entered restricted routes
- Tamper-resistant installation for consistent operation
- Bespoke solution developed to meet the customer’s requirements
Client Profile
Project Background
Kitwave Group operates a fleet of commercial vehicles across several businesses, including H.B. Clark, Turner & Wright and Eden Farm.
As part of its fleet insurance requirements, the Group’s insurers required all vehicles to be equipped with HGV satellite navigation systems capable of providing safe, legal routes appropriate for commercial vehicles.
The Challenge
Standard satellite navigation systems are often unsuitable for larger commercial vehicles because they do not always consider vehicle-specific restrictions.
To satisfy the insurer’s requirements, Kitwave Group needed a solution that could account for each vehicle’s dimensions whilst helping drivers avoid low bridges, weight restrictions and width restrictions during everyday operation.
The business also wanted to minimise the risk of drivers altering or removing the navigation equipment once installed.
The SCC Solution
SCC developed a bespoke HGV satellite navigation solution tailored to the customer’s specific operational requirements.
Each unit stores the individual vehicle’s:
- Weight
- Height
- Width
- Length
Using these parameters, the system calculates safe, legal routes appropriate for that particular vehicle.
If a driver leaves the recommended route and approaches a low bridge, weight restriction or width restriction, the system provides repeated audible warnings to alert them to the potential hazard.
To prevent drivers from altering or removing the units, SCC designed and manufactured a tamper-resistant housing specifically for the project using its in-house 3D printing capability. This ensured the navigation equipment remained securely installed whilst allowing the solution to be tailored to the customer’s operational requirements.
The Result
The solution has since been deployed throughout the whole Kitwave Group, providing a consistent approach to HGV navigation across H.B. Clark, Turner & Wright and Eden Farm whilst satisfying the Group’s fleet insurance requirements.
Since deployment, the Group has experienced no bridge strikes across vehicles using the system. By automatically calculating routes based on each vehicle’s dimensions and warning drivers if they approach unsuitable roads or restrictions, the system helps reduce the risk of incidents such as bridge strikes and encounters with weight or width restrictions.
The project successfully met the insurer’s requirements whilst providing drivers with a practical, vehicle-specific navigation solution that continues to support the Group’s day-to-day operations.
Darren Williams, Operations & Logistics Director at H.B. Clark & Co Ltd, commented:
“When our insurers told us we needed to fit sat navs across the fleet, we wanted something that would work properly for our operation rather than just ticking a box. SCC took the time to understand what we needed and developed a solution around our requirements instead of asking us to adapt to the technology.
The systems have worked really well across the fleet and have given us a practical way of meeting our insurer’s requirements. The route guidance and warnings are tailored to each vehicle, which gives us confidence the drivers are getting the right information for the vehicle they’re using.
The housing they developed was another good example of SCC’s approach. Rather than offering an off-the-shelf product, they came up with something specifically for us that worked exactly as we needed it to. It’s been a practical, reliable solution and one we’ve been very pleased with.”
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