National Grid Chooses Ford Transit Vans Again

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM - October 17, 2008: When engineers respond to a reported gas leak or electrical fault on the national grid, they usually do so in a Ford Transit. That is set to continue for the next three years following an agreement between Britain's biggest utility, National Grid, and Ford.

The renewed contract covers both medium and long wheelbase Ford Transit and Transit Connect models. National Grid is one of the world's largest utilities and owns and operates gas and electricity transmission and gas distribution networks in the UK. It also operates the 24-hour national gas emergency service, which receives some 6.5 million calls a year, with engineers sent out to investigate around 1.4 million gas escape reports.

The company runs a fleet of around 3,650 commercial vehicles, 90 per cent of which are under 3.5 tonnes. With 45 per cent of vehicles in this part of the fleet already being Ford, almost all of National Grid’s fleet will be either a Transit or Transit Connect.

This will mean that around 800 Connect and 1,150 Transit 280 vans will provide a first response service for reports of gas leaks, as well as maintenance. "It's easier for the driver to park vehicles of that size at a variety of locations," says Fleet Manager Alistair Patterson.

1,300 Transit 350 models are used for follow-up work. "Once a leak has been identified outside a property, an engineer will be dispatched in a Transit, to make a repair, which usually also involves excavating the road," says Mr Patterson. "In addition, these vehicles will also be used for mains replacement and electricity maintenance work.

The recent fleet review involved a full European tender process, including commercial analysis of a number of manufacturers in terms of availability of service dealers, spares, back-up and total cost of ownership. In each case a comprehensive driver evaluation was carried out.

"We had drivers evaluating vehicles from all the manufacturers over a set route, with each vehicle then being scored against 20 criteria, including vehicle ergonomics, driving characteristics and load area – the whole driver experience," said Alistair Patterson.

Racked-out for a variety of applications, the Ford vans may also be fitted with an onboard power supply. "That's a key point for us and allows great flexibility in the final specification that is delivered to the end user," he added.

The National Grid engineers usually work from home and the vehicles, which are purchased outright, are expected to cover up to 18,000 miles a year.