LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 31, 2025--
Vp Brandon Hire Station, the UK’s leading tool and equipment hire specialist, has reduced accident-related costs by 40%, saving £192,000 annually, after adopting AI-powered solutions from Samsara, the pioneer of the Connected Operations® Platform.
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Before using Samsara, the company – which operates a 500-vehicle fleet across 125 UK locations – was rapidly scaling, but struggling to build on existing safety initiatives. A lack of visibility, insight and operational structure made it difficult to manage day-to-day activity and maintain consistent safety standards.
By implementing Samsara’s platform, Vp Brandon Hire now benefits from real-time fleet data. AI dash cams and GPS tracking provide accurate insights into driver behaviour, enabling immediate coaching, targeted interventions, and structured reporting.
Since deployment, Vp Brandon Hire Station has achieved:
Antony Draper, Director of HSEQ at Vp Brandon Hire Station, said: “The perception was that we didn't have a problem, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Safety is now a competitive advantage. Our month-end reports include health, safety, environment, quality, audit, and road risk data, largely driven by Samsara's safety scores. It's not just a management tool, but a set of KPIs for the entire business."
Vp Brandon Hire Station has implemented Samsara data into daily operations, using safety scores to monitor performance and raise standards across the fleet.
"Samsara highlights inefficiencies, priorities, and areas of focus," Draper added. “It's transformed our approach to safety. When you have trusted data, you can make better decisions.”
“Vp Brandon Hire Station shows how real-time insights can drive measurable safety and efficiency gains," said Philip van der Wilt, SVP and GM EMEA at Samsara. By embedding employee safety into business performance, they’ve built a smarter, more resilient data-led operation.”
Vp Brandon Hire Station is expanding its partnership with Samsara, with plans to roll out the Driver App for virtual coaching and implement Connected Forms for digital vehicle inspections. Its success has also influenced its wider group, with Vp MEP Hire introducing Samsara, and two sister companies also exploring the platform.
Assets
About Samsara
Samsara (NYSE: IOT) is the pioneer of the Connected Operations® Platform, which enables organizations that depend on physical operations to harness Internet of Things (IoT) data to develop actionable insights and improve their operations. With tens of thousands of customers across North America and Europe, Samsara is a proud technology partner to the people who keep our global economy running, including the world’s leading organizations across construction, transportation and warehousing, field services, manufacturing, retail, logistics, and the public sector. The company's mission is to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the operations that power the global economy.
Samsara is a registered trademark of Samsara Inc. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
About Vp Brandon Hire
Vp Brandon Hire Station – part of specialist equipment-rental group Vp plc – is the UK’s leading national tool and equipment hire specialist. Operating from more than 160 branches nationwide, the company supplies construction, industrial, trade and DIY customers with a comprehensive range of high-quality tools, plant and safety equipment. Supported by a dedicated National Customer Contact Centre, next-day delivery and click-and-collect services ensure customers get the right kit on site, on time. Committed to safety, sustainability and outstanding service, Vp Brandon Hire Station keeps projects of every size moving. For more information visit www.brandonhirestation.com.
Vp Brandon Hire Station Cuts Accident Costs by 40% with Samsara
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.
Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.
Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.
The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.
“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”
The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.
Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.
Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.
“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.
Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.
The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.
In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.
Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.
“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.
The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.
If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.
Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.
The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.
This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
