Washing a two hundred strong fleet of vehicles each day

Washing a two hundred strong fleet of vehicles each day Wilcomatic began working with Ocado, the British online grocery delivery business, in 2014. Ocado has one of the largest fleets of refrigerated delivery vehicles in the UK with warehouses all over the country. The fleet is washed and refuelled after each shift, creating a substantial demand for an efficient, cost-effective wash solution. Ocado’s need for a better solution With some of Ocado’s sites home to over two hundred vehicles, they needed a wash solution that could handle a high volume of vans in a short period of time. The shift pattern of Ocado’s deliveries created further challenges, meaning that the majority of vehicles would arrive on-site at the same time. Ocado didn’t want drivers to be spending their evenings in a queue at the warehouse, and couldn’t have their vans taking up road space outside of the facility. A solution where their vans were washed, fueled and ready for their next shift in the shortest time possible was necessary. Wilcomatic spent time to fully examine different options by visiting several Ocado sites, calculating achievable targets, and researching new wash techniques. Several solutions were considered before settling on a bespoke new programme that would speed up the washing process while still achieving a high-quality finish. This program would rinse and wash at the same time and had a high target speed of 1m45s per vehicle. Implementing a bespoke solution Pleased with Wilcomatic’s solution, Ocado asked for it to be rolled out to twenty of their sites around the country. The implementation process included the full turnkey package: design, civil works, construction, and all required screens, chemicals and consumables. Ocado immediately started to see results. With vehicles being washed at a much faster rate, they were able to free up substantial space onsite and make several efficiency improvements to their process.