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BusinessCar Focus On... risk management

Date: 13 November 2015   |   Author:

In the latest in our series of 'Focus On.' articles, Paul Barker speaks to five bigwigs from the fleet industry's leading risk management firms and hears their opinions on several subjects, from educating businesses to the adoption of future technologies

Applied Driving Techniques - Andy Phillips, director

What is the biggest issue in the sector?

A large proportion of companies do not have the time, expertise and commitment internally to implement and deliver an effective risk management strategy. For many, driving is not part of their core business, so it does not have any senior management focus.

In fact, the responsibility often sits somewhere between a number of functions within the business - human resources, finance, fleet and health and safety - which means there is often limited buy-in or budget availability.

How will the sector have progressed in three years' time?

The introduction and adoption of technology will be providing greater understanding of risk, leading to increasingly complex risk models and the ability to take more proactive steps to reduce accidents and improve road safety.

Advances in telematics, vehicle cameras and behavioural profiling will deliver unprecedented amounts of real-time and historical data, with reporting and analysis tools making it easier to assess and analyse risk.
While this will provide greater levels of accurate information to implement appropriate control measures, it will also bring with it added levels of risk if an organisation fails to act on this added insight.

For example, should a collision occur involving a tracked vehicle and data shows that the driver had a poor record for speeding, this data could leave a company or senior manager open to prosecution if action had not been taken to address the issue.

What is the biggest mistake fleets make?

Implementing control measures without truly understanding risk and not having a clear strategy in place across the business. Having blanket driver training, for example, simply becomes a waste of time, resource and budget because it is unnecessarily targeting employees that have no need for this added guidance, or worse providing the wrong type of training to those that do.

Also, it is wrong to assume an issue is simply down to the driver, when there may be a problem at an operational or company level. Risk may be caused by an organisation setting unrealistic targets or having the wrong processes in place, which is creating the risk and causing the actions of the driver.

What one piece of advice would you give a fleet operator?

Undertake full analysis across the business to fully understand risk before implementing any control measures. Taking a step back and reviewing all aspects of the fleet operation will make it possible to identify issues and areas of improvement to help get senior management buy-in.

This will support the introduction of an appropriate strategy to address corporate-level risk and create the necessary environment for safety culture change.

Sum up your past 12 months in 24 words or less

Developing advanced systems and management reporting, while taking advantage of integrated fleet technology, to support increased appetite among fleets for risk management and driver training.

Preview your next 12 months in 24 words or less

Building on 40% growth with new products and services, while progressing Driver Safe study to discover if behavioural profiling can identify high-risk drivers.

E-Training World - Graham Hurdle, managing director

What is the biggest issue in the sector?

There are significant differences in attitudes from company directors regarding driver risk. Some are treating the assessment and training of their drivers as a very positive thing, enabling them to meet their health and safety obligations, reduce costs and demonstrate a corporate responsibility to their at-work drivers.

Then there are those that are doing nothing. This can be for a number of reasons.  Some are burying their heads in the sand over their obligations and just ignoring it. Others are blaming a lack of budget and constantly putting it off. Others accept that they 'should' be doing something but are hoping they won't encounter problems if they ignore it.

We have had occasions when companies who had chosen to do nothing have contacted us after a serious accident involving one of their drivers asking for a solution as a matter of urgency. Someone once said that the best time to fix the hole in your roof is when the sun is shining. I'd say that was also relevant to risk management - don't leave it too late!

How will the sector have progressed in three years' time?

Risk management for at-work drivers will be far more commonplace - in fact, the adoption of driver profiling and e-driver training is currently growing at the quickest pace I have ever seen, which gives me confidence that it will be the norm in three years for businesses to have something in place.

What is the biggest mistake fleets make?

There are two key mistakes. One is that they profile their drivers but then fail to take any action. The profile is there to give you a risk rating and an insight into a driver's strengths and weaknesses. From that, action needs to be taken (unless they are low risk in every area), but some businesses do not follow through with any remedial intervention (e.g. online driver training for medium-risk drivers, on-road training for high-risk).

The other is that they do it once and then leave it for a couple of years. This will never embed a culture of safe driving within a business; it has to be a regular activity, which is why, at E-Training World, we created short modules of e-learning covering a whole host of topics so that drivers can be trained on an ongoing basis.

What one piece of advice would you give a fleet operator?

Do not view risk management as a cost. It's a hugely worthwhile investment and, in a very short period of time, you will see a return through fewer accidents, less expense repairing vehicles, less administration, fewer short-term car hires and improved driver productivity.

Sum up your past 12 months in 24 words or less

We've seen the fastest phase of growth in assessing and training drivers in the 30 years I've been in this profession.

Preview your next 12 months in 24 words or less

We have driver profiling and e-driver training systems for car/van, LCV, HGV, PCV, minibus and motorbikes and we'll see uptake continue to grow rapidly.

Greenroad Technologies - Zeev Braude, CEO

What is the biggest issue in the sector?

Acquisition and adoption of the right technology.  Whether an organisation has or has not adopted a telematics solution, choosing an effective and comprehensive system that will help them stay competitive and efficient remains the biggest challenge.

How will the sector have progressed in three years' time?

I believe we will see greater adoption of telematics solutions by SMEs, as well as continued adoption by larger enterprises.

Much of this increase will be a result of continuous improvement of fleet management solutions in the area of translating the data points collected, like driver behaviour improvement, into insight for the entire fleet operation. In addition, as the market moves to mobile-based solutions that do not require devices to be fitted in vehicles, the solutions will become more accessible to smaller fleets.

Finally, as fleets retire vehicles with very basic on-board diagnostics, and as more sophisticated OBDs provide more comprehensive data, telematics solutions will be able to further optimise vehicle diagnostic information.  

What is the biggest mistake fleets make?

Many fleets are still taking a reactive approach on fleet risk. Once an accident occurs, they pull out all the stops to find out what happened, and why. In best cases, they share their findings with drivers and managers to alert them to be on guard regarding similar circumstances or events.

This 'after the fact' approach is flawed on many levels. Most importantly, it does nothing to prevent 'new' incidents, which the fleet has not already experienced.

And since the variety of circumstances leading to accidents is unlimited, applicable learnings are of limited use. In addition, they do not provide an actionable, proven framework that enables drivers to truly change their behaviour to avoid similar incidents.

What one piece of advice would you give a fleet operator?

Find a way to generate lasting improvement in your drivers' on-road safety and driving habits.

Sum up your past 12 months in 24 words or less

Innovation has come from not only enhancing our mobile offering for ease of adoption, but also adding in-vehicle video and advanced driver-assistance systems.

Preview your next 12 months in 24 words or less

We will keep driving behaviour at the centre of our solution and serve fleet and safety managers.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists - Lesley Upham, Commercial director

What is the biggest issue in the sector?

There are many pressures on small and large businesses' budgets and time; however, driver risk management (DRM) should not be allowed to fall between the cracks, as payback will be received in safety and reduced fleet bottom line.

It's clear the sector still needs a relatively high level of education when it comes to understanding just why it is vital to reduce risk for business drivers. We still come across many. businesses who either have no DRM programme in place or at least have gaping holes in it.

How will the sector have progressed in three years' time?

We expect the fleet sector to have a much greater awareness and adoption of driver risk mitigation. In the interim, it is possible, perhaps even likely there will be a high-profile case involving a company being prosecuted for a lack of DRM procedures following a serious on-road incident involving one of its drivers and vehicles. While we hope an incident like this will never happen,

it would lead to a sharp rise in businesses addressing these requirements. However, we believe proactive education and information will lead to a general cultural change at the workplace, a change that proactively embraces driver safety before a tragedy

What is the biggest mistake fleets make?

Thinking that as they haven't had an on-road incident (serious or otherwise) they are somehow compliant with and under the radar of all applicable legislation.

Both the HSE and the police would take a very dim view of an employer should a serious on-road incident occur if a robust risk management programme wasn't in place. It's essential that employers with people who drive for work, irrespective of whether that is a company-owned or private vehicle, have a driving-for-work policy, check licences properly, risk-assess everyone who drives for work and provide interventions for those identified as being higher risk.

It's also a mistake to assume that advances in vehicle and hardware technologies are a substitute for maintaining driver safety.

What one piece of advice would you give a fleet operator?

Your DRM programme is not a one-hit solution - putting it in place is just the start of nurturing a road safety culture, improving driver behaviour and reducing driver risk. A programme has cyclical interventions; for example, licences should be checked annually.

Sum up your past 12 months in 24 words or less

Being new to the industry I wanted to meet fleet managers to understand the demands of keeping their drivers safe and their business functioning.  

Preview your next 12 months in 24 words or less

By listening to customers we will focus our products and services to match fleet managers' needs.

Kwik-Fit - Peter Lambert, Fleet director

What is the biggest issue in the sector?

Fleet is under increasing pressure with rising insurance premiums as the result of false, fraudulent and disputed claims.

Lack of quality video evidence combined with poor driver behaviour and training programmes exacerbate the issue. There are growing concerns, too, about traditional SD card camera technology due to the potential for lost or corrupted data and lack of visibility of when an incident has occurred

How will the sector have progressed in three years' time?

There will be widespread uptake of 3G vehicle camera technology, enabling fleets to have immediate visibility of a collision, near miss or harsh driving with access to high-definition video footage.

In fact, insurance companies and brokers will be recommending, contributing and in some cases including this technology within their schemes and policies.

Meanwhile, companies will be proactively using video footage and driver behaviour data captured from 3G cameras to identify and address areas of risk within their fleet operations while using it to form an essential part of any tailored driver training initiative.

What is the biggest mistake fleets make?

Failing to take preventative action to better protect employees, other road users and members of the public. Today's near miss is tomorrow's collision, so it is essential to have processes in place to capture and analyse driver behaviour to identify areas of improvement and minimise risk factors.

Often, companies are reluctant to invest in the appropriate vehicle camera and tracking technology because of the additional expense, but ignore the potential benefits in terms of reduced insurance costs, increased road safety, added operational efficiency and enhanced duty of care.

What one piece of advice would you give a fleet operator?

Install a 3G vehicle camera solution that can offer instant 'first notification of loss' and detailed driver behaviour reporting and statistics (speak to your insurer or broker to see if they are willing to offer a contribution towards the kit or a reduction in premiums). Do not rely on old and redundant SD card technology.

Sum up your past 12 months in 24 words or less

Introducing integrated vehicle camera and tracking, instant footage mobile app, and a Safety League Table.

Preview your next 12 months in 24 words or less

Working closely with insurance and driver training partners to develop innovative solutions.



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