Mer expands Kings College London's EV charging network

Electric vehicle (EV) charging company Mer has won a contract put out to tender by Kings College London to expand its EV charging network.

Mer said the expansion included replacing older charging points with smart chargers, adding provision in new locations, networking the chargers, and providing a back-office system for monitoring and reporting.

Alexandra Hepple, sustainability officer at King’s College London, said: “We have our own growing EV fleet and increasingly our contractors also use electric vehicles, leading to higher demand for charging.

“Mer has done a fantastic job of creating a charging network that suits our needs today and also enables us to expand in years to come.”

Mer said it carried out site surveys across the King’s estate to identify utilisation rates of existing chargers and pinpointed locations for additional charge points such as the new sports centre at Honour Oak Park in South London.

In total, Mer installed 15 AC charge points across eight sites – a mixture of 7kW and 22kW fast chargers.

Stevie Jones, associate consultant for fleet and workplace charging at Mer, said: “We swapped out this older infrastructure for smart chargers that can be networked and easily managed via our Mer Connect platform.

“This gives the sustainability team full visibility of who is using the chargers and when, as well as providing data on the carbon saved compared to using diesel vehicles.”

Alphabet recognised as Top UK Employer for tenth year running

Alphabet GB has been awarded the Top Employers United Kingdom 2023 Certification, marking the tenth time the leasing and mobility company has been recognised by the Top Employers Institute.

Organisations assessed by the Top Employers Institute Programme are evaluated based on the results of a HR Best Practices Survey. Covering six HR domains and consisting of 20 topics, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning; diversity, equity and inclusion, and wellbeing.

David Plink, chief executive officer (CEO) at the Top Employers Institute, said: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations. And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year.

“These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work.”

Mike Dennett, CEO, Alphabet (GB) added: “It’s an honour to see Alphabet named a Top UK Employer for the tenth consecutive year.

"Our people are the very heart of our organisation, and this certification is a great way to benchmark how we are performing as a company, as well as identifying opportunities for us to develop further.”

National Highways to host conference for commercial fleet operators

National Highways is to host a one-day conference covering the issues commercial fleet operators should focus on to help reduce collisions involving their drivers and save lives on the roads.

Topics covered at the Commercial Vehicle Safety on the Strategic Road Network conference include lessons learnt from collision investigation, what to do if first on the scene of a collision, driver fatigue, distraction and impairment, mental health issues, and how these can impact on drivers and safety in practice – commercial vehicle operator experiences.

Nick Harris, chief executive of National Highways, said: “There is a shared responsibility for safety on our roads between National Highways, operators of commercial vehicles and, importantly, those responsible for the procurement of services involving the use of commercial vehicles.

“This responsibility demands recognition of everyone’s health and safety obligations – driving is a high-risk activity, and that those risks are managed and minimized in the same way as onsite risks.”

The conference will be held at the National Space Centre in Leicester on March 16, 2023.

Longcliffe celebrates silver FORS accreditation

Longcliffe Quarries is celebrating achieving and maintaining its Silver Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) accreditation for a third year.

FORS is a voluntary accreditation scheme for fleet operators that ‘aims to drive up standards within fleet operations and demonstrate which operators are achieving exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency and environmental protection’.

Longcliffe logistics manager James Hopkinson said: “It is recognition for the whole logistics team from drivers through to maintenance mechanics and demonstrates our continued commitment to improving safety and environmental performance.”

The company said to win and maintain FORS Silver, it had to prove it is maintaining its progressive approach in six key areas including vehicle performance (emissions and air quality); road risk and cycle safety; professional development; and vehicle safety equipment.

To demonstrate its positive approach to road risk and cycle safety, the company’s 46 drivers had to take part in a full-day’s training which included spending half a day out on the road on bikes.

The company also said it had to demonstrate high standards of visibility equipment in its lorries, including a four-way camera system and an alarm which sounds when a vehicle is about to take a left turn.

Paul Boustead, group managing director at Longcliffe, said: “This award is testament to the hard work of our fleet and logistics teams. It not only highlights our performance and safety commitments, but it also ensures we meet the standards expected by many of our customers.”

Applied Driving achieves ‘record levels’ of growth

Applied Driving has reported it had a record year in 2022.

Following a 24% increase in its UK and international client base, the company experienced a 142% rise in in-vehicle driver training sessions and 34% growth in completed e-learning modules.

The company said it has also seen strong demand for its technology Companion+ as fleets focus on the elimination of at-risk driver behaviour.

“We have achieved record levels of growth during the past 12 months having expanded both our customer base and channel network,” said Andy Phillips, global managing partner at Applied Driving.

“There is greater recognition than ever within the marketplace that companies have a duty of care to safeguard their drivers and other road users, while the challenging economic environment is driving the need for fleet-related cost savings.”

To help meet increasing demand, Applied Driving has appointed a new head of training and education, Orlando Collesso.

“We look forward to building on the success achieved in 2022 through the continued innovation and service excellence of our growing team,” Phillips added.

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