Operating and managing a fleet of company vehicles is not an easy task; that much is for certain. There are a whole host of crucial elements and aspects that you must consider when you take on this challenge, safety being the most important. Forget about employee retention, profitability, and transparency for the time being — the safety of both your driving workforce and their fellow road users should always be your top priority.
For advice on how to improve the overall safety of your fleet operation, be sure to read on.
Track your drivers
Regardless of what you do to improve your recruitment process, hiring astute, focused, and diligent drivers is never a guarantee. On any given day, a member of your driving workforce could fail to concentrate while out on the open road. Each time this happens, the integrity of your safety operation will be compromised, which is why it’s highly recommended that you aim to track the performance of your drivers.
Thanks to the latest vision-based Netradyne camera technology, you are afforded the opportunity to perform this crucial task in a highly succinct, seamless, and streamlined fashion. With this cutting-edge tech at hand, you will be able to monitor your drivers’ behavior via an in-cab camera, a managerial portal, and a driver app. This will provide you with real-time driver performance data, which in turn will allow you to provide comprehensive support and training to your drivers whenever safety concerns arise.
Create a safety policy
Creating a comprehensive safety policy is highly recommended. With this document in place, you will find it much easier to enforce your company-wide safety regulations simply because they will be recorded in an official capacity. This means that there won’t be any misconceptions or misunderstandings with regard to what is expected of your workforce, ultimately increasing the likelihood of your drivers taking their individual safety responsibilities seriously.
As a general rule of thumb, consider including the following elements in your fleet vehicle safety policy:
1. Your company’s overall statement of safety intent
2. Details pertaining to individual safety responsibilities
3. Arrangements for safety protocols to be upheld
Prioritize preventive maintenance
The way in which you maintain your vehicles will have a profound effect on the overall safety of your fleet management process. By prioritizing preventive maintenance, you will have the capacity to fend off wear and tear issues over a sustained period of time. What’s more, you will also be afforded the opportunity to unearth issues that could potentially compromise your safety strategy going forward.
Maintaining vehicles, especially those that are classed as heavy-duty, is not an easy task to undertake. To ensure that you leave no stones unturned in this instance, aligning yourself with an experienced, skilled, and trustworthy mechanic is highly recommended. For advice on how to find a fleet mechanic that meets these specifications, check out this insightful article.
If you’re serious about putting safety at the forefront of your fleet management operation, be sure to heed all of the advice and guidance laid out above.