Situation
Toromont CAT, a key player in the heavy industrial and mining sector of central and Eastern Canada, faced significant challenges with standardizing their uniform program for their large team of technicians. As a trusted dealer of authentic Caterpillar equipment, the company sought to enhance their team’s safety, unify their brand image, boost productivity, and reduce costs by partnering with UniFirst for uniform rental solutions.
Challenge
Toromont CAT needed to ensure that all their technicians had standardized, safe, and competitively priced rental uniforms and workwear. The uniforms also needed to align with existing brand standards and safety regulations to help keep the team visible on the job, safe, and compliant with industry requirements.
Solution
UniFirst’s core strategy involved redesigning and manufacturing brand new high-quality uniforms for Toromont CAT’s HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) and marketing departments. In addition to meeting existing brand standards and helping ensure safety compliance, it was also important for Toromont CAT to work with a uniform partner who could provide program management, while offering other important uniform services like hygienically laundering and garment maintenance and repair services. It takes special care, such as industrial laundering, to clean and repair protective clothing correctly to maintain the garment’s protective features and lifespan.
"UniFirst is a very accommodating company who reacts to our needs when required. We depend on them to help keep our technicians at the job site working productively and safely. We have a lot of hazards in this industry, and we rely on their uniform expertise as part of our safety culture."
Key Phases
To facilitate a seamless transition, UniFirst provided detailed reporting tools for better tracking of purchased uniforms and expenses. Clear communication channels were established to address concerns promptly.
The implementation of the UniFirst rental program was divided into several different phases. We were successfully able to implement these phases to improve Toromont CAT’s uniform rental experience.
- Evaluation and approval of new uniforms, including high visibility uniforms, in collaboration with Toromont CAT’s HSE and marketing departments.
- Development and manufacturing of redesigned uniforms.
- Implementation of reporting and tracking tools to enable enhanced program management.
- Roll-out of the new uniform rental program across all facilities, this essentially replaced the existing program entirely by UniFirst.
- Continuous monitoring and optimization to ensure cost savings and employee satisfaction.
Impact
Toromont’s new rental agreement was incredibly prosperous and resulted in the following benefits:
Reduced Annual Cost
Timely Deployment of New Uniforms
Consistent Pickup & Delivery at All Locations
Improved Quality & Billing Accuracy
Enhanced Employee Satisfaction
Conclusion
The successful partnership with Toromont CAT demonstrated the utmost confidence and trust in our ability to always deliver, so they in turn can deliver for their customers.
“The experience with UniFirst has been pleasant. I really appreciate the partnership and having a dedicated national rep to put out fires if necessary. Everything has been well communicated from implementation until now,” said Shawn MacGregor, Purchasing Manager for Toromont CAT.
