Collins Earthworks uses Samsara's real-time insights to power productivity and drive competitive growth

"Samsara lets us be more productive in our roles so we can help the company grow. With the amount of time it saves, it pays for itself.”

Matthew Smith, Low-Loader Manager, Collins Earthworks

A rapidly growing construction company uses Samsara to increase efficiency, improve safety and drive growth.

• 46 vehicle gateways and forward facing dash cams

• HD dash cam footage creates new opportunities for coaching and promotes a culture of safety

• In-depth report insights create new means of pricing jobs and driving growth

Collins Earthworks Ltd is an earthmoving business in the midst of a transformation. A leading construction company comprised of 5 affiliated businesses, Collins Earthworks has grown from 50 to 400 employees in 15 short years thanks to its investments in its fleet and workforce, and its commitment to customer service.

Poised for continued growth, Collins realized their previous telematics system was not meeting their needs. “Our old system wasn’t a good enough tool to utilize at this scale—we were just using it to see where the trucks were,” Matthew Smith, LowLoader Manager at Collins Earthworks, explained. “As a company growing in size, we needed more than that.”

When they began searching for a new option, Samsara’s integrated solution caught their eye. While Samsara was new to the UK, the team was impressed by the company’s good standing in the US and its commitment to innovation. They signed up for a Samsara trial that almost exactly coincided with a vehicle accident. Luckily, everything was captured on Samsara’s dash cameras and the team was able to review the footage to understand what had happened. “It pretty much sold itself,” Smith said.

Improving safety and protecting drivers

Samsara’s dash cameras are now installed across more than 40 of Collin’s vehicles and continue to deliver results. Since deploying the dash cameras, the company has seen a massive reduction in complaints from the public and a change in attitude towards safety among their drivers. “The ease of use with the camera system is incredible,” Smith said. “We automatically receive harsh event alerts, decide if action needs to be done, and then give them the coaching they need. It’s so easy!”

And since the dash cameras automatically capture any harsh event, they’ve eliminated the ‘he said, she said’ finger-pointing, which helps the company focus on driver coaching. In one instance, Smith was able to identify a driver who was regularly speeding. Smith reviewed the footage with the driver and turned it into an opportunity to help the driver correct his unsafe driving behavior.

While drivers were initially wary of the cameras, they have since come around. The footage has been used to exonerate their drivers in several instances of disingenuous complaints. “It has done them much more good than harm,” Smith said.

Mastering efficiency

Samsara’s ease of use and razor-sharp insights are driving productivity across the company.

The Collin’s team has started looking at Samsara to more accurately price their services. By using Samsara’s Fuel Reports, Smith can calculate exactly how much fuel each low-loader has used on the trip in comparison to how heavy its load is. Based on the report findings, he’s able to adjust future estimates and help the company comfortably scale.

Perhaps the most valuable return for Collins has been more time. What used to take hours, now takes the team minutes. The same goes for tracking vehicles. “We are using it to pinpoint the exact location of the vehicles in real time.” Smith explained. “Samsara lets us be more productive in our roles and helps the company grow. With the amount of time it saves, it pays for itself.”

The future is bright

The partnership Collins and Samsara forged is just the beginning. Smith and his team regularly meet with their Samsara representatives to learn about new products and features coming out and how they might benefit Collins Earthworks.

“Collins is a company looking to the future, looking how to improve, and how to be better than our competitors,” Smith said. “The industry that we’re in is constantly evolving, constantly growing - and Samsara is too."