Driving for Better Business

This session was recorded at The Health & Safety Event 2021 and features Andrew Brown - Partnerships Director, CALM

There are many pros – and just a few cons – to life, when you’re responsible for fleet safety in a nationally-recognised firm operating 120 HGVs, 1,578 vans, 283 company cars, and a grey fleet of around 100.

A decade or so ago – before the new dawn ushered in by telematics – everything looked very different indeed in the Iron Mountain transport world.

Tarmac saw clear tangible improvements in all three areas of focus: Productivity, Safety and Sustainability. Within 3 months, all metrics showed significant improvement:

• Average decrease in speeding across all areas (from Oct 2019 – Jan 2020): 10%
• Highest decrease in speeding seen in the North and Scotland region (from Oct 2019 – Jan 2020): 25%
• Average decrease in turnaround time across all areas (from Nov 2019 to Jan 2020): 8%
• Highest decrease in turnaround time seen in the South region (from Nov 2019 to Jan 2020): 11.8%
• Average decrease in idling across all areas (from Nov 2019 to Jan 2020): 3.4%
• Highest decrease in idling seen in the Central region (from Nov 2019 to Jan 2020): 5.3%

John Anderson, national logistics director for Tarmac, said: “As a leading responsible business with a nationwide fleet of HGVs, we are committed to advancing improvements to ensure that we maintain the highest possible standard for our fleet and anyone operating on behalf of Tarmac. “Driving is recognised as one of the most hazardous activities that many of us will do during our working lives. Managing and mitigating work-related road risks is of paramount importance to us – with an ongoing emphasis on driver training and on influencing road user behaviour in order to prevent accidents happening. “We’re always looking for ways to boost safety and enhance productivity, as well as introducing technology that allows us to enhance the driver and customer experience.  “We recognise that health and safety measures need to be continually reviewed and updated to guarantee that we maintain the highest possible standard for our fleet and for anyone operating on behalf of Tarmac. Collaboration is key and we’re proud to be working with partners, such as Driving for Better Business, National Highways and Masternaut, to maximise opportunities and drive improvements in this area.”

Live Manager Training Program:

• Masternaut worked with Tarmac to design a national training program and a new standard operating procedure to ensure maximum effectiveness of the dashboard
• Masternaut trained every manager at Tarmac on how to use the dashboard effectively for their role, how to interpret the data and how to keep the data updated
• The training included the roles and responsibilities of each level of manager in relation to the dashboard and how and when to execute these responsibilities
• Managers were given clear instructions on how to use the data to create real change on the ground, how to escalate recurring issues, how to report upwards and get support where needed
• Each manager left the training day with a clear list of objectives on how they will use the dashboard to get the most out of their team and a booklet to remind them of their responsibilities
• Senior managers and directors were also informed of the new reporting structures involved using the dashboard, which saves time for all employees involved

Tarmac expressed an interest in monitoring performance and improving the productivity, safety and sustainability of their fleet using telematics data. Masternaut worked with Tarmac to create a live, online dashboard that displayed the data for three headline metrics that Tarmac wanted to focus on to achieve this objective: Turnaround time, Speeding and Idling. The dashboard provided an easy to access, one-stop shop location for all Tarmac reporting purposes and is used by everyone from depot managers to logistics directors. The dashboard was initially piloted in Yorkshire and was then rolled out across 400 sites nationwide.

• PCNs reduced by 96%
• Insurance reduced by 35% per vehicle
• Lease rises offset by maintenance savings
• 45% reduction in collisions in 16 months
• 20% reduction in fuel costs in two years despite price increases

He reworked the drivers’ handbook and instituted an audit trail to ensure it had been read, which the fleet was previously lacking. A driver app called Veho Check allowed easy dissemination of the handbook. The app also facilitates daily vehicle checks, with a specific procedure drivers must follow, and which is completed with an electronic signature and date/time stamp. Defect reports automatically arrive on Mick’s system and are sent straight to the hire companies which provide the vehicles: Rent-a-Merc and Reflex Vehicle Hire. The leasing contract is up for renewal in a couple of months, and Mick has been warned that inflationary effects on maintenance costs and materials will push up rates. However, the drastic reduction in mileage, with its consequent savings in vehicle maintenance and tyres, has offset this substantially, and the rise in vehicle cost will only be £31 a month.

In December 2020 Mick met with his insurance company, AXA Connect, to go over the company incident figures. He assured them that he could reduce the company’s work-related road risk but required their help and they responded by providing 50% of the funding for driver training. TES brought in a professional training company, RED Fleet Driver Training, with a comprehensive eLearning solution. RED’s app creates a personal profile for each driver and provides access to a wide range of eLearning modules, including safe driving in different conditions and on different roads. Drivers also have short in-vehicle coaching sessions from a driver trainer. TES’s insurers have reason to be pleased with their investment in the company’s training programme. Insurance costs have reduced from £1100 to £720 per vehicle in two years. Mick believes another reduction is likely at renewal. TES recently received a rebate of £11,000 for the last quarter due to low claims.

When Mick Kiely took over management of TES 2000’s fleet, he studied the company’s fleet insurance and incident reports and realised he needed to take drastic action. Apart from a handful of flatbeds and crew cab vehicles, the rest of the fleet are LCVs which are used purely for employee transport to sites. Drivers routinely used the company vehicles for personal journeys. Mick banned this and instituted a policy of only clients and company employees being allowed in company vehicles. He emphasised to his drivers that they were not insured to carry family members and should not run personal errands in them. This was a drastic but necessary change as most drivers used the vehicles in lieu of a family car. However, in the first six months of this policy being enforced, it created enormous fuel benefits. Drivers who had covered 25,000 miles in 2019 now only did 12,000 miles a year. There is a direct correlation between mileage and risk exposure. By more than halving the fleet mileage, Mick reduced incidents and risk. There was some resistance to the safety changes Mick introduced because previously drivers had had little management. However, he gave drivers no choice except to follow company policy or surrender their right to drive a company vehicle.

Mick introduced dash cams and telematics to all vehicles. The solutions, Vision Track and Driive with Reflex, are provided by the vehicle suppliers. He set up exception reports so that all risky incidents would come straight to him as an email alert. He then rings drivers as soon as they are off duty to discuss the incident. Usually this is a short conversation and, for 90% of drivers, that quick chat ensures it never happens again. Initially these alerts numbered 600 a day – equivalent to four per vehicle. Telematics and other safety interventions have reduced this to just 15 a day. Telematics has also facilitated the enforcement of rules, such as the ban on personal use. The most common incidents now reported are harsh braking, caused by approaching traffic lights or roundabouts at inappropriate speed.