Fleet managers have had a rough ride over
the past couple of years. Supply chain issues have delayed parts deliveries and
increased wait times for new vehicles. Globally,125M vehicles that were
scheduled to be built since January haven't rolled
off production lines, says the Australasian Fleet Managers' Association.
However, there's still plenty that fleet
managers can control – the safety and integrity of their fleet - as these tips
reveal.
Create a fleet safety plan
Prepare and plan to prevent poor
performance. Ask your drivers for their suggestions and concerns. As well,
consider:
- How you'll
communicate the policy
- When it will be
reviewed, and by whom
- How it will be
enforced.
Conduct preventative maintenance
How proactively do you maintain your
vehicles? The key elements of such an approach include:
- Regular
inspections. Not only pre-trip, but also a system to capture drivers'
inspection reports and yard checks
- Preventive
maintenance by your in-house team, using refresher training and the latest
tech
- Optimised parts
inventories with barcode technology to gauge the most-needed items
- Scheduled
repairs based on mileage, engine hours, fuel use, etc.
- Servicing.
The most common fleet issues relate to
wheel alignment, hydraulic systems, or engines, with the latter due to a lack
of compression, bad fuel mix, or overheating.
Preventative maintenance helps you
control costs, and build more reliability and safety into your assets and
systems.
Run safety training and awareness
Driving a vehicle is potentially one of
the most dangerous activities within workplaces, says the Australian Road Safety Foundation. Yet
many organisations aren't as vigilant as they are for other workplace
activities.
More than nine out of 10 Australian
vehicle accidents happen due to human error, a Federal Parliamentary Inquiry has
heard. Autonomous truck fleets might be a solution in the long term, with trials underway in Australia.
Until then, there's one fleet driver category that's doing well – bus
drivers. Researchers have found they had, on
average, fewer and less severe risks of injury, possibly due to slower operating
speeds and more
training.
No matter what vehicle types are in your
fleet, you can improve your safety training and awareness by doing the
following:
- Identify your
drivers' training needs by drawing on accident statistics and your fleet analysis
tools
- Match training
with each driver's behaviour and individual skills
- Set performance
benchmarks that link in with your fleet safety plan (see above)
- Train and
diversify through individual, group, online, on-road, and driver coaching
- Articulate your
training strategy with clear deadlines, expectations, communication
protocols, feedback loops, and a system to manage completed and refresher
training.
You can boost your safety with newer,
safer vehicles, but it's rarely an instant fix. That's because the National Road Safety Strategy says
it can take 20 years to achieve fleet turnover.
Invest in telematics
Improve fleet safety and productivity by
investing in dashcams to record driving, and a telematics platform to track
your fleet's movement in real-time. This is a tool to give you actionable
insights into the status of your vehicles and your drivers' movements.
Data analytics will reveal which team
members are driving safely and who isn't. It might even fuel a ‘reward and
recognition' program for the safest driver of the month/year to draw attention
to the behaviour you want to see.
Telematics analytics allows you to
intervene with those drivers who aren't up to standard, before your insurer
deems them a higher risk, bumping them into a higher risk insurance category.
Motor fleet insurance
We can customise motor fleet insurance
for your needs, whether your fleet includes cars, utes, vans, light rigid
vehicles, buses, prime movers, trailers, rigid trucks, plant, and equipment,
etc. Typically, a motor fleet policy factors in:
- Fleet size and
composition
- Driver selection
and training
- The type of
goods transported
- The area and
your scope of operations, including base, depots, and transportation areas
- Accident
history.
Here's what's generally covered:
- New vehicle
replacement
- Market value or
sum insured (depending on which is the lesser)
- Financial
protection for total losses
- Damage your
business causes arising out of one event
- Legal liability
to third parties for non-dangerous/hazardous goods
- Dangerous goods
- Removing
non-dangerous debris.
There are also additional covers that you
might need. Let us help you better manage your risk profile to improve your
fleet management.
This content is created and provided by Finnigan Investments
(Australia) Pty Ltd trading as OneAffiniti on behalf of Austral Risk
Services, and is for commercial purposes. Any financial product advice in this
content is provided by Austral Risk Services AFSL No. 244369. This material is
general in nature and has been prepared without taking into account your
objectives, financial situation or needs. Accordingly, before acting on it, you
should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances.