More than a year ago MBS Transport operated a fleet of 79 trucks. Today, this number is down to 50, with the company also forced to reduce its workforce by 12 drivers.

MBS Transport, which started operations in 2007, is owned by the husband and wife team of Mervin and Gillian Shkaidy.

While the company is now steadily recovering, Mervin places the blame for the dramatic drop in business largely on a number of strikes that directly affected MBS Transport last year.

Labour unrest at the Rustenburg mines meant it was too dangerous to send drivers out on the road, while August brought Marikana and its ripple effect across the platinum industry. Then, six weeks later, there was a national truck drivers strike.

To make matters worse, a large client also failed to pay a R3.2-million bill.

“It almost put us on our knees, but we recovered,” says Mervin Shkaidy. “Hopefully, this year will be better, and we are already looking at possibly expanding the fleet.”

An important part of MBS Transport’s recovery was to reduce its truck fleet, while also seeking work in industries with more stability, such as coal and chrome mining. Shkaidy adds that history also appears to show that these industries are unlikely to suffer strikes at the same point in time.

MBS Transport also does ad hoc work for a number of clients outside the mining industry, and can move its trucks swiftly to wherever they may be required.

The family business has two depots, in Bronkhorstspruit and Bethal.

MBS Transport’s main business is as a service provider to Eskom, and it transports coal from HCI Khusela Coal’s Palesa mine to the Grootvlei power station along a 193 km stretch of road.

It is one of 67 companies transporting coal for Eskom, and has 33 trucks dedicated to the task.

“We moved 74 000 t of coal for them last month,” says Shkaidy. “On average we do between 60 000 t and 70 000 t a month.”

As the service helps Eskom to keep the country’s lights on, he emphasises that MBS Transport cannot afford downtime on any of its trucks.

The majority of the MBS Eskom fleet are Mercedes-Benz trucks, so the Shkaidy family has invested in Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s (MBSA’s) FleetBoard telematics solution that promises to prevent breakdowns, reduce maintenance costs, encourage the improved use of trucks, while also reducing operator costs.

“We are very focused on cost savings, and FleetBoard has delivered on this, while also prolonging the life of our fleet,” he says.

FleetBoard provides each truck with an on-board computer that has several functionalities, such as an ‘event-call’ or ‘home-call’ button on the dashboard that can be used as a panic or breakdown button, as well as online live tracking of any specific truck.

The system can also link a specific driver to a truck, and check his or her driving habits. FleetBoard can provide information such as average fuel consumption, brake use or gear shifting, while also monitoring excessive idling and speed.

The system also keeps the fleet operator informed – when the vehicle is overheating, for example – as it constantly checks the truck’s vital signs, such as oil level, fuel level, brake wear and cooling water level. It can even detect if a light has failed, which can be important in the environment MBS operates in, as trucks must have their lights on at many mine sites.

MBSA FleetBoard South Africa national sales manager Rowlands Peters says the system has already identified a hundred drivers who have been stealing fuel, across a wide range of industries and at a number of operators.

However, FleetBoard probably saves operators the most money in terms of preventive maintenance, thereby curbing towing fees, breakdown call-out charges and operational downtime.

If the on-board system picks up on a fault, details are sent to the FleetBoard server where the severity is identified by a 24-hour call centre. In the case of imminent engine failure, MBSA will contact the customer and the nearest dealer, which will then dispatch a mechanic with the correct parts.

Peters says MBSA believes FleetBoard saves its customers an average of around R300 000 a month.

Apart from preventing costly breakdowns and downtime, MBS Transport has also saved 0.35% on its monthly diesel use the last time it checked –or around R47 000 a month – owing to FleetBoard encouraging better driving techniques, notes Shkaidy. The brake life on the fleet has also been extended by around 50 000 km per truck.

“In May, we had 13 hours downtime on the Eskom contract. Before FleetBoard, it was around 300 to 400 hours a month.”

FleetBoard implementation costs around R490 a truck per month.