HEALTH & SAFETY ASPECTS OF FLEET MANAGEMENT
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WELCOME |
Most of us are drivers and many of us need to drive extensively as part of our job. That represents a major potential for accidents, which is why we have covered the topic in a number of previous newsletters (see for example “Driving & Mobile Phones”, “Winter Driving”, “Traffic Accidents”).
I’ve aimed this newsletter particularly at those with responsibility for fleet management because these are the people who, more than any others, establish the level of importance given to the health and safety of their organisation’s drivers.
For many, fleet management is only one of a number of competing responsibilities. Unfortunately this often means it is not treated with the level of importance it deserves. This is where our SOLUTIONS service can be so convenient. It is a service that is specifically tailored for organisations who need occasional one-off health and safety support rather than a full health and safety management system. There’s more information about this, along with our other services, on our website.
However, you address it, I urge you to take driver safety seriously. With so many road accidents occurring every day, it is worth taking a little extra effort to ensure you are not part of those statistics.
David Skews, (CEO)
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HEALTH & SAFETY ASPECTS OF FLEET MANAGEMENT |
Most organisations operating in the UK need to use road transport of one form or another. That might be large fleets consisting of lorries, cars or perhaps buses. In other cases it may be a small car pool. However, regardless of the number and type of vehicles, managing them should always take account of health and safety requirements.
If you are responsible for managing road vehicles for your organisation, you need to have in place a policy that states how you will ensure health and safety requirements are taken into account. In addition, you need to examine your working practices to ensure they conform to what your policy says.
So what do you need to take into account in regard to fleet management? For convenience we can consider the subject under the following broad headings:
- Vehicles
- Drivers
- Journeys
- Accidents
Vehicles
Health and safety should be considered even before vehicles are acquired. In other words, when selecting vehicles it is essential that they are suitable for the job for which they are required. For example:
- Is the make and model capable of carrying the intended load in terms of weight and size?
- Is there a requirement for special equipment and fittings to help with lifting loads and then securing them safely during transport?
There are other issues to consider such as the environmental impact of different fuels – which, incidentally, can also have a significant impact on the health of your financial budget.
Once vehicles are bought or leased, it is essential to have procedures in place for routine maintenance, including such mundane tasks as regular servicing, inspections and MOTs (if applicable). Maintaining comprehensive servicing and repair records is vital so that in the event of an accident you are in a position to prove that everything reasonably practicable has been done to maintain your vehicles in a safe condition.
In this respect, it is important to have the co-operation of your drivers. It will fall to them to perform regular basic checks of such items as tyres, lights, wipers and the various fluid levels. Implement a procedure whereby they perform the necessary checks and sign to the effect that they have done so.
Drivers
Perhaps the single most critical safety element in transport is the driver. As with vehicles, health and safety applies even at the recruitment stage - checking such aspects as driving licences, motoring histories, sight tests, DVLA notifiable medical conditions and a pre-employment driving assessment. These are all checks that might appear to be time consuming at the time of recruitment but they could avoid far more expensive and time consuming work later on.
There should be formal induction training for drivers, backed up with a rule booklet. Apart from regular company matters, induction should cover such topics as basic legislation in regard to seat belts, mobile phones and driving hours. Company policy on such matters as alcohol and drug use (including for medicinal purposes) and what to do in the event of a breakdown should also be covered, along with those basic routine vehicle checks.
It is essential to foster a culture of safety behaviour amongst drivers by occasional follow up of the instruction given at induction. This is particularly important with repeat offenders or those who are particularly accident prone.
Journeys
The most obvious way of reducing motoring accidents is to reduce the amount of driving by using public transport or employing audio/video conferencing facilities. If journeys are essential, better route planning can often reduce driving distances and perhaps avoid particular trouble spots.
The nature of road journeys varies widely from personal transport to delivery of extremely heavy and bulky items. Consequently, it is impractical to be specific in a newsletter article about potential risks. However, in keeping with all aspects of health and safety, different types of journey should be subject to formal risk assessment to identify the hazards, levels of risk and then to identify means to reduce the risks to minimum practicable levels.
Some risk assessments are straightforward, whereas others may require the advice of experienced health and safety practitioners.
Accidents
Finally, should an accident occur, it is important that drivers are adequately prepared. This may be a little more difficult for the occasional user of a pool car, but should be routine for regular drivers.
There needs to be a policy of what information to exchange with other people who are involved in the accident, including witnesses. Reporting procedures need to be clear, including any internal investigation processes you have in place.
It is a good idea to provide vehicles with an accident kit, including items such as pen and paper, disposable camera, torch and a small first aid kit. These items are relatively inexpensive; though they need to be checked regularly so that they are guaranteed to be intact should they be needed.
Additional useful information is available in the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) booklet “Driving at Work”, which can be downloaded from the HSE website
All in all, the UK road system is a dangerous place and anything we can do to reduce the carnage is time, and money well spent. However, taking a serious approach to health and safety in fleet management has the added benefit of safeguarding our own employees and saving the very significant costs that arise when accidents occur.
If you need to discuss any specific health and safety issues you have with fleet management or for advice on conducting risk assessments,
get in touch with us by phone or use the enquiry form on our website.
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David Skews, (CEO)
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EDP Health Safety & Environment Consultants Ltd
Lakeside, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK
Telephone: +44(0)1744 766000
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