From vocal industry bodies to the excellent work of individual fleet managers and company owners – there’s no doubt those in the transport sector are road safety advocates, and most professional drivers take the matter very seriously.
But with tight margins and time constraints, it can be difficult to justify directing funds towards proactively moving the safety bar one rung higher.
Teletrac Navman’s 2018 Telematics Benchmark Report, taken from a survey of Kiwi transport professionals, found that one in five respondents (21%) consider improving driver safety as a top business goal, improving vehicle safety is also noted by one in 10 (10%).
But these goals are vying for position against the financially-lead goals of reducing operational cost (43%), expanding customer base (34%) and increasing profits (32%).
Telematics use is widespread, and businesses are seeing the tracking system’s impact on safety – around one third of respondents (34%) note that their organisation sees fewer collisions as a result of using telematics.
However, businesses could be using their telematics systems more proactively to improve safety.
Only 38% of the organisations are evaluating and benchmarking driver performance, and even fewer (29%) are rewarding drivers for better performance.
Better drivers, higher savings
Effective safety initiatives our customers are undertaking include enrolling drivers in defensive driving courses; committing to an ANCAP vehicle rating of 4 or more stars; and monthly incentives for drivers, or teams, who reach zero over speeds in a month.
However, strong new safety programmes do cost, so you’ll need to justify the spend and prove results.
Businesses that have the most success in reaching safety goals use their tracking systems to measure progress based on financially quantifiable results.
Fuel usage reporting is a good progress indicator – and a financially accountable goal with the rising price of fuel.
Harsh braking, harsh acceleration and speeding are all behaviours that waste fuel, so tracking and reducing these behaviours will improve not only safety, but your bottom line.
In many instances, the drivers are not aware of the impact of their actions on the bottom line.
Mangonui Haulage Transport manager Darren Brot shares the Teletrac Navman speed reports with drivers at their monthly meetings.
“In the beginning they were often surprised at the speeds they reached.
Today they take a lot more notice,” Brot says.
Vehicle damage is another cost that is useful to benchmark – not only the cost of the repairs, which can reach thousands, but the time that a vehicle is out of action and sometimes even drivers themselves.
By reducing over speeds across the fleet and getting drivers into defensive driving courses, you’ll lower the risk of having incidents on the road.
Flow on financial effects: levies and customers
Swanson Transport used the results from its telematics to prove its safety management practices to ACC to achieve “gold fleet saver” status.
Being certified through the Fleet Saver programme is a way for businesses to lower their ACC motor vehicle levies through demonstrating strong safety management practices.
A strong commitment to both vehicle and driver safety, with proof to back it up, can give you a competitive edge with customers who are looking for safety in their supply chain.
John Jones Steel managing director Frank Van Schaijik says that one of the industry trends he has noticed is that the main contractors are now more interested in how the company keeps track of certification.
“In the past we would tell the main contractor that our vehicles and machines were all certified and provide a copy of the current certification.
Now, given the increased focus on safety and compliance, they ask how we keep track of maintenance on site and what processes we have in place to flag any issues,” Schaijik says.
Excellent safety is more than a box to tick, it’s a financially savvy business move.
