Caulfield Contractors improves visibility and goes paperless with PODFather
Caulfield Contractors, part of the Link Group of companies shaping the UK civil engineering landscape, is realising the benefit of introducing PODFather’s proof of delivery solution to the M1 smart motorway project. With nine gangs and over 60 vehicles working on this high-profile project, Caulfield needed a solution it could rely on to bring visibility, traceability and accountability to its operation. The PODFather system is used daily to manage job allocation, vehicle tracking, and proof of delivery for the fleet, with each vehicle handling multiple loads of muck away https://thepodfather.com/and aggregate every day.
Caulfield Contractors, once a family-run business, now a multimillion-pound engineering company, is committed to providing first class technical expertise and experience to its customers. “We pride ourselves on delivering complete solutions, so when we were awarded the contract to manage drainage on the M1 smart motorway project I knew how important it was to have the right technology in place to give us the visibility and accountability to substantiate our actions,” comments Nick Caulfield, Co-Owner of The Link Group of companies. “Having heard nothing but great things about PODFather it was the obvious, and only real, choice for us.”
Previously the Caulfield team relied on paper tickets to manage vehicle movements and track progress. “With paper tickets you are operating with minimal visibility of what’s going on out on site. This is where the PODFather system allows us to excel. We now have a paper-less operation and instant, real time visibility of all vehicle loads and movements,” comments Jay Athwal, Caulfield’s Project Manager. “PODFather is an intuitive and informative software solution that has the benefit of being supported by a first-class team of industry experts who quickly understood our challenges and delivered us a solution that we’ve successfully rolled out across this project.”
The PODFather tracking and proof of delivery solution has enabled the Caulfield team to improve productivity across its operation. The logistics team can now see exactly what is happening in real time, with one benefit being that vehicles can be diverted between motorway gangs to maximise working time. “I’m using PODFather every day and it’s a great tool for improving traceability and visibility,” comments Stuart Nappin, Caulfield’s Logistics Manager. “Irrespective of whether I’m in the office or out on site I have real time visibility of what’s going on everywhere, across all our gangs, and can make changes accordingly. I can also deal with any issues or delays in real time too.”
PODFather manages the whole process from the allocation of jobs through to tracking wagon movements, collating weighbridge information and capturing proof of delivery photos. Everything is accessible via the Caulfield/PODFather portal and ensures the management team has the information it needs at any time. “Having a clear audit trail of what happened when is essential when you are operating at this scale,” adds Stuart Nappin. “Not only does it make my life easier, but the drivers see the benefit too – jobs are communicated clearly and in a timely manner and everyone knows what’s expected of them when.”
“The Caulfield Contractors operation is an excellent example of what our construction offering is all about,” comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at PODFather. “Paper is the bane of everyone’s lives in this industry and the PODFather solution just makes that all go away; replacing manual processes with fast, easy to use technology that delivers real time visibility, and long term accountability, to industry leaders such as Caulfield and the wider Link Group.”