Driving for Better Business

England rugby star Joe Marler explains it’s not a weakness to seek help when you’re struggling.

CALM Driver is our way of helping you get support information to your commercial vehicle drivers, so they know there’s someone here to talk to, every day, if they’re struggling.

• Saved £201,000 in first year
• Reduced annual fleet spend by 14% year on year
• 52% increase in licence check compliance
• 21% reduction in non-fault collisions
• 19% cut in at-fault collisions
• Up to 12% fuel saving for specifically trained drivers

The driver handbook has been renewed and reissued. One of the benefits of a single-platform management system is that every driver can acknowledge that they have been issued with the handbook and policies and agree to abide by them. The handbook will soon be available online as well as in hard copy form. The over-riding polices are that:

• Only Trust employees may travel in a Trust vehicle
• No Trust vehicle may be used for personal journeys
• Drivers must report any issue with the vehicle or road incident
• The handbook outlines tasks and the Trust’s rules for completing that task safely

The Trust has invested in specific driver training for new starters and those in need of improvement. No one with less than two years driving’ experience can drive a Trust vehicle, but Steve says that issues with drivers tend to be attitudinal rather than skill-based. The training emphasises good anticipation, and light-footed acceleration and braking. There has been a fuel saving of between 9% and 12% on those drivers which have undergone this training. As the Trust considers transitioning to alternative fuelled vehicles, this training will be rolled out to the entire driver workforce, as these are the skills they will require to maximise EV range. “Moving to alternative fuelled vehicles will be a cultural shift for our drivers, so we must give them the skills to use the vehicles safely and well,” says Steve. “We find that if we hire good people and train them, it is effective at producing compliant and safe drivers.” Speed is managed, and drivers who commit dangerous or extremely inappropriate speeding will have their right to drive revoked.

Trust vehicles carry aggregates, tools and equipment and so loading requirements can vary. The organisation has two sets of mobile scales and visits two depots, unannounced every month to check the weights of vehicles. This is both educational for the drivers and gives an immediate insight into risk. Of 100 vehicles weighed this year, two were significantly overloaded and others prompted discussions with drivers about loading only necessary items and leaving capacity for what else may be required during the shift. Every vehicle has its dimensions and load capacity written in permanent marker in the cab. “Our process is to identify an area of concern, put a system in place and then test that process,” says Steve. “We back this up with extensive comms, including our ‘trailer on tour’, where our senior management team visits our sites and answers queries and educates the teams. That is a valuable opportunity for us to underline road safety messages.”

The driver risk assessments are complemented by separate scores from Teletrac Navman telematics. The FS score shows compliance with the company’s policies, including insurance and qualification to drive; and the telematics scores their actual driving. “Being able to access data and identify the good from the not so good, is very important,” says Steve. “We could then recognise the good, but also call out the bad. That requires a structured conversation. For some drivers, poor driving is the result of ignorance, and we can help them to understand what they should be doing. With some employees, however, we have revoked their right to drive on our behalf.” As C&RT teams tend to be several people strong, and vehicles are shared assets, Steve has operational flexibility to explain to employees that they are not considered appropriate drivers of the company vehicles. Grey fleet employees can also lose their right to drive for the business if they fail to confirm details such as MOT, insurance, and photocard renewal in a timely manner.

AES Fleet offer fleet compliance solutions across the PSV, HGV and LCV sectors. As with all road risk management, however, the company’s good practice starts at home and MD Richard Stansfield says the business benefits to their fleet operation are substantial. AES runs nine Transit vans, from which their mobile engineers fit and maintain camera systems, air conditioning units, telematics systems and more. The company has long been involved with fleet improvement programmes and is a proud user of Driving for Better Business resources.

Amey is a leading infrastructure services and engineering company. It designs and maintains many of the UK’s strategic assets, working with national and local government, and other commercial customers, to manage assets and complex projects. It has 11,000 employees, including operations, engineering and consultancy teams.

Auto Windscreens repairs and replaces automotive glass for all types of vehicles. It also undertakes Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) calibrations following windscreen replacements, to ensure technology such as forward-facing cameras, lane departure or speed recognition sensors continue to operate correctly. It has 390 LCVs and 50 company cars. Business Support Director, Shaun Atton, tells us how the company has reaped benefits with its work-related road risk schemes.

The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) looks after 2,000 miles of historic canals and rivers including 2,949 bridges, 1,582 locks and 280 aqueducts. UK waterways encompass seven historic parks and gardens, 2,706 buildings and structures, six battlefields, 46 scheduled monuments and four World Heritage Sites. The Trust recently overhauled its approach to road-based risk management under the auspices of fleet manager Steve Mulvaney.

FM Conway is a leading infrastructure services company with over 60 years’ experience delivering vital services in transportation, the built environment and open spaces for communities and businesses. With innovation at the forefront of its operations, the business places a major focus on protecting all road users, which is emphasised by its ISO39001 certification; the cornerstone of its commitment to utilising new technologies to deliver a safer way of operating. Supported by its revolutionary health and safety strategy, the Big Ten in 10, FM Conway is committed to eliminating fatal and life-changing harm on the strategic road network.