MARSTON Holdings has been able to meet its fleet and risk compliance obligations with confidence and complete transparency, and reduce its risk, after implementing automated licence checking services from DriverCheck, part of the Ebbon Group.

Marston supports government, utilities and private sector clients through the delivery of market-leading, integrated technology-enabled solutions from design through to implementation, management and recovery, operating through a variety of brands including Engage, NSL, Marston Recovery, ParkTrade and Vortex.

Its clients include local authorities seeking to build environmental schemes that reduce congestion and pollution through the use of air quality solutions in areas such as Clean Air Zones, while it also provides technological transport solutions, parking enforcement and debt recovery services.

The multi-faceted business operates a fleet of 1,200 vehicles with 2,000 designated drivers, comprising some 260 scooters, both electric and petrol powered, 350 cars, 550 light commercial vehicles and around 125 HGVs. It also has 120 grey fleet drivers who use their own vehicles on company business.

The company previously relied on a largely manual but fragmented licence checking service which gave a patchy picture of the risk profile of the business and a lack of central visibility of the status of its drivers.

When Lee Jackson, Head of Fleet and Transport, joined Marston in 2019, he quickly realised it was deficient in a number of key compliance areas which could leave it exposed as a business.

Jackson said: “We needed to ensure that our drivers, right from the recruitment process throughout their careers as drivers with us to when they left the company, were fully compliant with the law, and that they had a valid driving licence for the class of the vehicles they were driving. We had already had the support of the exec to put in place an operational plan to ensure all drivers had the relevant licence for the class of vehicle they were driving. Now all our drivers have their licences checked four times a year.

“With our grey fleet drivers, we put in place an e-mandate to allow us to check they had valid and up-to-date licences, that their insurance was appropriate for the work they were doing and their vehicles were fit for purpose. “Now, after implementing the DriverCheck system, we see that some 98% of our drivers have 0-3 points on their licences. Anyone with six points gets a call from a director and a re-assessment of their duties is carried out.”