Masterview technology has revealed the interior condition of some employees’ company cars, which are more reminiscent of the local rubbish tip than a valuable company asset.

The interior condition was photographed by technicians at Fleet Support Group’s nationwide network of independent Masterserve garages equipped with Masterview.

The rubbish was in the footwells and on the seats of the cars and included uneaten food, drinks containers and sandwich wrappers among other items.

The condition of the company cars was deemed so bad by technicians at some of the garages that they refused to work on the vehicles until they were cleaned.

Masterview is a unique remote video inspection system used to transmit live pictures of vehicles about to undergo service, maintenance or repair at a Masterserve garage back to FSG’s maintenance centre.

Pictures are sent via a broadband link from the garages where they are viewed by FSG’s maintenance experts to check on the condition of vehicles and components. They provide a pictorial service, maintenance and repair record of every fleet vehicle.

When vehicle abuse or damage is detected, fleet managers in charge of the vehicles are informed and shown the photographic evidence so they can take action. Consequently, Masterview is used to proactively police vehicle condition.

The detection of vehicle abuse - including use of a company vehicle as a rubbish tip - is likely to result in reduced second-hand values for vehicles.

Geoffrey Bray, chairman of FSG, said: “These images were transmitted immediately to the fleet managers in charge of the company cars allowing them to deal with drivers directly, or to notify management at a local level of vehicle condition and encourage the managers to speak to the drivers about general vehicle care.

“Vehicles are an expensive company asset and drivers should be encouraged to treat them with respect or face disciplinary action. By actively encouraging drivers to care for their vehicles, fleet operating costs are reduced and vehicle values maintained.

“Masterview has become many fleet managers’ eyes in policing vehicle condition and delivering peace of mind - particularly where vehicles are operated remotely and are
rarely seen by transport chiefs.”