– By Jim McKinlay, General Manager APAC, Verizon Connect –
Tradesmen represent 58 percent of workers’ compensation claims, despite making up only 30 percent of the Australian workforce, which indicates the seriousness of the health hazards faced by our Aussie tradies and the room for greater care in addressing this issue at workplaces. This month is Tradies National Health Month and it’s the perfect time to consider measures for ensuring the wellbeing of your fleet and workers.
Here are few ways how businesses can better manage their fleet and employees’ welfare on the road with the help of advanced GPS vehicle tracking and an efficient driver management software.
Proactive alerts
Having visibility into what’s happening in the field is key for business owners to ensure employee safety. With fleet tracking technology, you can set up alerts to receive notifications when workers enter a high-risk area. If drivers find themselves in a risky situation, they can use the panic button to send an alert back to base. Not only is a driver able to alert head office of their precise location, they can put help on the way almost instantly in the event of an emergency.
Vehicle maintenance under control
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 identifies a vehicle as a place of work, so business owners must ensure vehicles are fit for use for tradies at all times. Failing to carry out timely maintenance can result in vehicle breakdowns, putting the driver at increased risk of incident. A vehicle tracking system uses data on time, engine use and mileage, to provide scheduling alerts. This helps fleet managers stay on top of preventative maintenance and helps reduce the risk of vehicle faults.
Cost effective safety solutions
It’s easy to think that implementing safety measures mentioned above could blow your budget. The good news is that adding Verizon Connects’ fleet management technology to your fleet management practices can ensure a positive and quick return on investment. Reduced fuel costs, fewer out-of-route kilometers, less accidents and more efficient maintenance can quickly add up to significant cost savings for your company.
Long-term improvement in workers’ behavior
The vast majority of drivers are well-intentioned and don’t set out to put other road users or company vehicles at risk. However, they can easily slip into bad habits. With a connected vehicle solution, you can effectively manage unsafe behaviour by tracking how individual drivers are behaving on the road. With this information at your fingertips, you can implement new safety targets for your workforce to ensure their road safety, such as a 10 percent reduction in excessive speeding.
Australian tradies make 190 serious workers’ compensation claims every day which is three times the national average. This scenario can be turned around by acting proactively on setting up fleet safety mechanisms and technology solutions to put the above mentioned measures in place and avoid health hazards for the tradies.
