The company operates five workshops – Dartford, Livingstone, Sunderland, Longham, near Bournemouth, and at the Harefield head office in Middlesex – supported by a number of satellite repair facilities.

They also enable Revell to monitor tyre usage, a major expense.

Most vans are running at maximum weight for the majority of time they spend on the road, putting strain on tyres (as well as brakes and clutches).

However, if excess tyre wear is identified, a review takes place to establish the cause, which might be down to how the vehicle is being driven.

It’s a good indicator of driving behaviour and could result in training.

This degree of control saves the company thousands of pounds.

In addition to servicing and repairs, the workshops also fit bespoke racking to the vehicles; only the highly-specialised equipment, such as live electrical racking, is outsourced. It further minimises costs.

Following investment in equipment and training, the Harefield workshop is about to start carrying out MOTs.

“We can do MOTs more quickly and efficiently in-house rather than running the vehicle up the road ,” says Revell.

“If it’s successful we will possibly extend it to our other hub sites.”

Clancy Group’s two bodyshops handle all accident repairs, although around 10% of jobs are for external customers.

Recent investment in a new spraybooth has extended accident repair capabilities from cars and vans to heavy trucks.

In all areas of fleet operation the company is careful to ensure its costs match up with the rest of the industry.

“We benchmark against other people but we find it’s cheaper for us to do everything ourselves,” Revell says.

He checks residual values against CAP clean, auction site prices and valuations from car traders.

Vehicles are refurbished at one of the workshops prior to sale with minor dents, paintwork and a valet undertaken. On average, 20 vehicles are remarketed each month.

Full maintenance records boost demand and resale values. Lots of prospective buyers contact the company direct because of the reputation it has for looking after its vans, which are serviced every 15,000 miles.

All vans are limited to 62mph while car-derived vans are limited to 70mph.

This ensures they drive within the law on the fastest roads, while also helping to reduce fuel and CO2 emissions.

Combined with stop-start technology, the speed limiters have reduced the amount of fuel purchased by 10-15%.

“The savings are significant from having this policy,” Revell says. It also has a positive impact on maintenance requirements.