Safety in the mobile workplace can never be taken for granted, and it is the responsibility of fleet managers to educate and train their fleet drivers effectively.
In many industries, employees are still working from home due to the effects of COVID-19. However, this time presents a unique opportunity for refreshing your driver safety and training processes for when your drivers set foot in your vehicles again.
Other essential industries may be busier than ever, but the principle remains the same.
Whichever way you look at it – the benefits of safer driving will have a massive flow-on effect on your entire fleet operation. Financially and practically the difference is immense.
Safe drivers make happier employees. Less crashes means fewer repair costs. It’s not rocket science.
Simple steps to improve driver behaviour
1. Find your starting point
If you have telematics technology, go back and look at past current performance levels. This software can provide a detailed report on each driver’s performance using data collected on their previous journeys. Using this information, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of each driver.
2. Provide online training
There are countless resources online that can help improve driver behaviour. AfMA’s own Online Courses are a great place to start, and provide simple easy training within 3 fields of study –
- Chain of Responsibility
- Work Health & Safety – The Mobile Workplace
- Risk & Hazard Management in the Mobile Workplace
Don’t assume your employees know this information because they’ve heard it all before. We all need to relearn and remind ourselves the importance of safety.
3. Share your vision with the drivers
Involve the drivers in your processes to make them feel like their voice is being heard. Make sure your plan is being shown in a positive light and highlight how it will be beneficial to the drivers. Maybe you might set a plan to reduce the percentage of incidents within your fleet by a certain amount.
Make that goal learnt now so when business resumes your drivers are aware of company expectations. Listen to their concerns and implement them into your strategies.
4. Identify strengths and weaknesses
Compare the data of each driver’s current performance with the benchmark you’ve created. Drawing up a league table can help drivers identify their current performance level and even turn the plan into a fun competition for those essential industries that are still heavily using their fleets during this time.
5. Fine-tune your plan
Analyse how drivers have progressed since your plan was first implemented and make any necessary changes to make it even more successful. Make sure to set a clear timeline so you can regularly check on the progress of each driver and ensure improvements continue. Communication with drivers is what’s most important – connect with them and make them feel valued.
