Driving a smarter approach to fleet safety
Tony Greenidge of Fleet Operations explains why a culture of support, data insight and behavioural change is key to effective fleet risk management.
Modern driver risk management should be seen a strategic priority that achieves compliance whilst facilitating shapes safer and more efficient journeys.
When approached strategically, it can help control costs and foster a culture that protects both people and business performance.
For many organisations managing risk is a reactive process, which is only triggered after incidents occur. Meaningful and sustainable improvement calls for all fleet stakeholders to look deeper into the detail to better understand the contributory factors.
Driver behaviour is invariably the cause of most unbudgeted fleet costs, from accident repairs and downtime to end-of-contract wear and tear recharges.
Fleet Operations work closely with businesses to help establish and quantify the financial impact of driver behaviour. Setting this benchmark is the crucial first step in assessing the future return on investment that a proactive driver risk management programme typically delivers.
From blame to behavioural understanding
All too often the question “what did the driver do wrong?” is asked after an incident, rather than “why did this happen?”
Using holistic data benchmarked across drivers and the company as a whole, Fleet Operations helps businesses identify external factors, such as traffic patterns, unrealistic schedules or internal pressures, that can inadvertently promote risky behaviour.
Increasingly employers are taking a greater interest in the quality of the journey to a destination, as opposed to simply focusing on the outcome of the activity drivers are expected to achieve when they get there.
If an employee is struggling with a new IT system, they will usually receive support and training. Driving, one of the most complex and risk-laden tasks employees undertake, should be treated no differently.
Fostering a supportive culture means making “driving for work” a standard part of appraisal discussions, using these regular conversations to engage drivers on their safety and overall wellbeing.
Small steps, big gains
Driver training should be about incremental improvements, rather than radical transformation.
Regular engagement that triggers small changes in awareness and behaviour, supported by clear communication and timely feedback, are key.
Technology can also help drive change. Solutions such as Fleet Operations’ MOVE platform can bring together licence-checking, e-learning, vehicle inspection and driver performance data to provide a single, real-time view of fleet risk.
Automated alerts and workflows flag issues as they arise, from documentation lapses to high-risk driving behaviours, triggering the right interventions at the right time.
By uniting data across drivers, vehicles and journeys, fleets can adopt a more accurate, evidence-based approach to driver risk analysis.
Establishing a culture of care
A driver risk management strategy that prioritises driver wellbeing, underpinned by data driven insights, is therefore paramount, shifting from managing risk as a statutory obligation to embedding safety and wellbeing into the culture of day-to-day working life.