Arriva Bus - Case Study
Overview
Arriva Bus is one of the largest bus companies in the UK with over 6,000 buses at 80 locations. They employ over 14,000 members of staff, including 1,400 bus engineers that provide maintenance and repairs to the UK fleet.
All Arriva Bus employees are provided with protective workwear from a specialist supplier.
The Challenge
In April 2014, Arriva Bus reviewed their current supplier of protective workwear and workwear maintenance services. It was identified that the existing provider did not meet Arriva’s full requirements, with employees’ comfort and waiting times for new garments being a critical issue.
As a result of the review, phs Besafe entered into a tender process with other leading suppliers of workwear garments and services in the UK. This enabled us to offer an insight into the high quality products and services we could supply, as well as how we could improve the relationship between the bus engineers and their supplier.
To fully identify Arriva’s targets and objectives, phs Besafe attended a number of meetings with key stakeholders involved in the procurement project, including bus engineers, union representatives, regional procurement members and senior engineering directors.
It was decided that the key objectives would be to ensure all workwear is compliant, robust and fit for purpose, as well as being provided in a timely manner.
The Solution
Working with the key stakeholders at Arriva Bus, phs Besafe was able to provide a bespoke range of protective workwear that met all key objectives.
phs Besafe created EN20471 compliant, orange high-visibility workwear with contrasts of navy for areas that are subject to large amounts of heavy soiling from oils and degreasers. Additionally, phs Besafe ensured that the garments were robust and hard-wearing, offering a 50 wash guarantee.
For increased comfort, the garments incorporated features such as an elasticised waist, adjustable cuffs, and articulated knees and elbows. Lastly, we agreed to create a stock holding of all items so that new garments would be provided within 5 days.
The Benefits
The fully managed workwear service from phs Besafe encapsulates a bespoke stock holding of all products, ensuring that all engineers are never without vital protective workwear. phs Besafe also ensures that garments are comfortable, compliant, cleaned and returned to the engineer’s locker every week.
As a result of the installation, all 1,400 wearers, including 51 new starters who were measured after the initial fitting period, were kitted out in full work-wear within 8 working days during 2015’s busy Easter period.
“We wanted our team to have the highest possible quality workwear that would not only comply with the EN20471 standard, but would be something they could be really proud of.
phs Besafe worked with our project steering group to re-engineer our range of workwear around the safety and comfort requirements of our engineers and we have been thoroughly impressed by the level of service and expertise of the team – specifically when it comes to laundering the items.”
Steve Tindell, Procurement Category Manager, Arriva Bus