We're proud to be working with an Emergency Service workshop, based in two sites in the South of England, with a fleet of over 1,000 vehicles.

The Problem to Solve

The Workshop Manager contacted Rotronics to help identify the cause of recurring faults and problems with their previous testers. The testers in use weren't accurate and the results weren't credible. The Emergency Service team kept seeing repeated defects as the previous testers only recorded the starting capacity and not the load capacity.  They also didn't take into account the considerable parasitic drains present, due to the nature of the job of the drivers.  This led to a series of misdiagnoses and the proactive Workshop Management team wanted to mitigate against existing defects.

How Did We Help?

We worked with our customer closely over two months, carefully listened to the issues and analysed the repeated problems. Emergency service vehicles have complex battery requirements, with many constant parasitic drains, coupled with a requirement to be 100% reliable, so keeping them ‘match fit’ is non-negotiable.

We worked through a series of trials with different testing and charging products after a field visit with products that we believed that they'd need, including the EXP1000FHD, the DCA8000, the CTEK Pro25 chargers.

Following the workshop trials, the team were delighted with the results and we provided two DCA8000s and a combination of 20 CTEK PRO25 standard and Pro25SE lithium chargers, split between the two workshops. 

We developed a battery management programme for each workshop to maximise the usage of equipment and tailor-made processes for the technicians to ensure each vehicle could be in optimal condition. They now have the same battery management practices in each workshop. We have also offered a full service and repair option with us for the future and they have a programme of ongoing support when needed.

What Our Customer Said

The Workshop Manager said: “Since working with the Rotronics team, we have reduced our battery budget by around 25%. Using this new equipment has meant that we can now pinpoint issues, work on solutions to fix emerging problems and have advanced warning of difficulties that will transpire further down the line.  It gives us a bit of a crystal ball for our batteries.

“We have totally changed the workshop mindset and never say anymore, ‘we’ve always done it like that’.  To the point that the 20% of our team who were really sceptical about the new technology and testing and charging regime, are now the ones who champion it most because they see the considerable improvements.

“It’s vital that we look after batteries – because of the nature of the job, our drivers need 100% confidence that their vehicle will never let them down.  The testers and chargers are always in use in our workshop and vehicles are tested and charged at every service or routine visit.

“Being mindful of the vehicle battery has changed the mindset of our workshop team in a really positive way and it certainly doesn’t add to time pressures in any way.”