Refresco chooses I-Site for greater operator safety and fleet monitoring
Refresco, world leader in bottling soft drinks, offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations from 100% fruit juices to carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters.
Refresco France specialises in the formulation, preparation and bottling of beverages. Located in Margès, in the Drôme region in southeast France, the site has four 6/4 production lines and a total of 270 employees. It operates almost continuously, stopping for only 10 days per year. More than 350 million units are produced there each year. Around sixty Toyota trucks operate at this site, all equipped with I_Site fleet management from Toyota Material Handling, which Refresco uses daily to manage its fleet and prevent accidents and damage.
About Refresco
Refresco is a global independent beverage solutions provider operating in 13 countries around the world. Headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Refresco Benelux has six production locations, including France. In a fast moving and constantly changing market, Refresco continuously searches for new and alternative ways to improve the quality of its products and processes, always looking for new ways to drive innovation.
Facts and figures
- Company: Refresco
- Location: Margès, France
- Industry: bottling
- Solutions: Toyota BT Reflex RRE250 reach trucks, Toyota Traigo80 electric forklifts, Toyota BT Levio LWE electric pallet trucks, Toyota BT Staxio SWE electric stackers, I_Site Fleet Management
I_Site, a crucial fleet management tool
Refresco's logistics managers discovered the I_Site fleet management solution during a training event organised by Toyota Material Handling France. “We quickly realised that we needed I_Site to help us with our two most crucial issues: employee safety and truck monitoring,” recalls Ketty Meynier, the site's supply chain manager, “Today,” Ketty continuous, “everyone needs information to manage their business. With I_Site, this information is centralised. It's very useful for both operators and trucks.”
Jean-Luc Bernard, operations technician at Refresco, adds: “I_Site is an important management tool for teams. Users (there are 145 of them here, including 50 certified operators authorised to drive front-end and retractable forklifts), have access to important information such as their CACES certification data, and more. And then, for me as a trainer, being able to correct mistakes when an operator makes or repeats them is crucial."
Analyse the causes of truck shocks
To improve truck monitoring, I_Site provides information on the status of the forklift, battery usage, the driver, etc. "When there is an impact,” explains Patricia Horain, Telematics Product Manager at Toyota Material Handling France, “the tool indicates the forklift, the operator, the date and time, the level of impact and the geolocation. I_Site also identifies the supervisor who unlocked the device. We can also determine the impact level at which slow mode is activated and create notifications.”
It's a good way to analyse the causes of impacts, empower the various parties involved and implement best practices: training, traffic flow, compliance with safety instructions, etc.
POC for even more security
Refresco also activated the pre-operational check (POC), a series of checks that every forklift operator must carry out at the start of their working day. Each customer can create lists that correspond to their application, with 15 questions: if there is a problem, it is recorded and the truck can be put into slow mode. The team leader can then be alerted and check the malfunction. “It is useful because it allows us to ensure that the usual checks are carried out systematically by each operator when they start work,” notes Jean-Luc, “This ensures that their forklift truck is in good working order.”
Ketty Meynier concludes: “I am completely satisfied with the trucks and the I_Site tool: in fact, I hope to continue our partnership with Toyota Material Handling in the years to come. We have been working with Toyota Material Handling for 10 years: the working relationship is very pleasant and there are continuous improvements. For us, people come first, and this constructive way of working makes all the difference.”