No More Lost Keys: How a Construction Equipment Rental Company Organized Its Fleet Keys.

Wiame Fils manages and rents out construction equipment, small trucks, heavy vehicles, and other fleet assets across its operations. Employees and drivers regularly need to collect and return vehicle keys for rentals, repairs, loans, and daily assignments.

Before implementing Keycafe, the company had no consistent process for organizing these exchanges. Keys were frequently left in different places, making it difficult to determine who had taken them or whether they had been returned.

The company used a small internal key box secured with a padlock, along with a paper notebook. When a vehicle was assigned, the employee handling the exchange was expected to record it manually. However, if the fleet assistant was absent, other employees did not always update the notebook.

As a result, when the fleet assistant returned, there was often no reliable record showing where a key was or who had it. This led to repeated searches, lost keys, and uncertainty whenever the team needed access to a vehicle.

Wiame Fils needed a clearer, more reliable process that would keep its keys organized and provide an accurate history of every collection and return.

Wiame Fils implemented Keycafe to create a centralized and traceable process for managing its vehicle keys. The company now uses the system throughout the day to hand over keys for vehicles being repaired, loaned, or returned.

The system also supports the company’s heavy truck operations. Trucks leave every evening and return the following morning. At the end of each route, drivers are required to return their keys to the Keycafe SmartBox. If a driver is absent the next day, the key remains securely available for another authorized employee to use the vehicle.

Key collections and returns are recorded automatically, removing the need to rely on handwritten notes. The fleet team can check the system to see who has a particular key and when it was collected or returned.

To facilitate staff adoption, every driver receives brief internal training on how to use Keycafe. The straightforward process was quickly integrated into the company’s daily workflow and has been well received by employees.

Since installing Keycafe, Wiame Fils has established a consistent key management process across its daily fleet operations. Keys are no longer left in different locations, and the team does not have to depend on incomplete handwritten records to find them.

Automatic activity tracking gives the company an accurate overview of its key inventory. When a vehicle is needed, the fleet team can immediately identify its current user and confirm when the key was collected or returned.

This visibility has eliminated the key losses the company previously experienced. It has also made vehicles easier to reassign when schedules change or a driver is absent, helping the fleet remain accessible across consecutive shifts.

The standardized process has been readily adopted by employees. Drivers know where keys must be returned, while colleagues can retrieve available vehicle keys without having to search for them or contact multiple team members.

For Fleet Assistant Nathalie Hecht, Keycafe has removed much of the uncertainty involved in fleet administration. With an organized and reliable record of every key exchange, she can manage the fleet with less stress and greater confidence.