– By Rob Wilson –
As Fleet Managers we can influence many of the factors that affect fleet performance. For example; we can make sure preventative maintenance is undertaken, we can prepare specifications to ensure new purchases are fit-for-purpose and we can replace vehicles at the right time. But what about the driver?
We know that drivers and operators can have a significant impact on the fleet – pardon the pun – but in most cases the Fleet Manager has little to no direct influence over their recruitment, training and competency assessment.
So who is responsible for driver and operator performance?
The Fleet Manager has a responsibility for the performance of the fleet. Operational line management has a duty of care to ensure policy and procedures exist, that staff are trained and that competency and behaviour is monitored. Human Resources has a role to play in recruitment and defining training and assessment policy – and so the finger pointing begins.
The fact is organisations have a duty under Workplace Health and Safety to ensure safe systems of work. This means that there needs to be arrangements in place to coordinate the various parts of the organisation to ensure the right people are hired, training is provided, that performance is monitored and any indications of poor performance are addressed.
Increasingly organisations are undertaking periodic and on-going assessment of competency to ensure drivers remain capable of operating the vehicle or plant item safely. The set and forget approach of authorising someone once at the time of induction is not adequate.
Proactive organisations monitor fleet incident statistics and act to address any unwanted patterns. In a similar vein its good practice to monitor infringements – the repeat offenders may well be your next crash statistic!
Many organisations now undertake routine licence currency checks of their drivers or check how many demerit points the driver has accrued. This can occur as part of an annual performance review and can be a lead indicator of future incidents.
Driver training is also an important aspect of an effective fleet. Training may be provided on initial employment and in an on-going sense. Interestingly, in addition to the conventional field based training, on-line simulator systems are also available. IPWEA offer an on-line driver training program that provides the tools to identify areas for improvement and reduce risk.
So as a Fleet Manager you may or may not have delegated responsibility for the competency of the drivers and operators of the fleet. However, you may still find yourself firmly in the middle of the issue.
As a minimum the Fleet Manager should be raising the driver / operator issue with senior management and advocating for strong policy, sound recruitment procedures, on-going monitoring and where necessary corrective action.
