Category: Press Release

FleetCheck has been named as the approved fleet software supplier for Veriforce CHAS, the supply chain risk management and compliance specialists.

Veriforce CHAS, who help organisations manage and mitigate risk across a range of business-critical areas such as health and safety, equal opportunities and environmental management practices, has created a new Vehicle Compliance Standard (VCS) that is designed to be applied to SME van and truck operators across the sector.

The VCS is supported by FleetCheck within its core software and accompanying apps, and will enable Veriforce CHAS members operating vehicles to easily evidence that they are meeting the new requirements.

Alex Minett, Head of Global New Markets, Veriforce CHAS, said: “The new VCS has been developed with National Highways and Driving for Better Business to assist our SME operators in complying with their legal obligations around using a vehicle for work, while ensuring the safety of their employees, customers, and other road users.

“Many tradespeople and organisations offering mobile services do not class themselves as drivers, or as employing drivers. However, it doesn’t matter what type of business is using vehicles or how many they have. If an employee uses a vehicle for work purposes, even to travel to a job or meeting, they have legal responsibilities for, and while driving the vehicle.”

He added that employees and the self-employed also had a duty to look after their own health and safety and that of anyone who might be affected by their work, and this included the activity of driving on public roads.

Alex continues: “Failure to manage the risk doesn’t just put drivers and other road users at risk, It can put directors and senior managers, reputations – even the organisation itself – at risk. Changes to Health and Safety legislation have increased both the likelihood of prosecution and the levels of penalty imposed against organisations and individuals following serious incidents involving vehicles.

“If an employee is killed, for example while driving for work, and there is evidence that serious management failures resulted in a ‘gross breach of a relevant duty of care,’ the organisation could be at risk of being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

“This is very much why we have formed this new partnership with FleetCheck. Vehicle safety of this type is a growing issue in our sector, we believe, and their software products provide an infrastructure for vehicles operators to put measures in place to enable compliance and then to prove that standards are being met.”

Barrie Wilson CMILT, commercial fleet consultant at FleetCheck, said: “We’re very pleased to be working with Veriforce CHAS on this project. We already have extensive experience in the SME construction sector and are aware of its particular needs, so have been able to code the new VCS into our products relatively easily.

“What we are offering to Veriforce CHAS members is a core, desktop-based fleet management system linked to apps that allow evidence for compliance to be collected in real world situations, typically by drivers conducting vehicle walkaround checks. We know that employers who manage their work-related road risk experience fewer incidents involving their vehicles, less days lost to injury, fewer repairs to their vehicles, reduced running costs and an improved service to their customer.”

Organisations demonstrating their compliance with this standard through the software are required to upload evidence to demonstrate that they meet the standard. The type of evidence that should be submitted includes company policies and processes, risk assessments, training records, employee and driver handbooks, and vehicle records.

Barrie added: “Using our software alongside the new VCS will enable these SME operators and manage their work-related road risk while developing their understanding, responsibilities, and business processes by working towards demonstrating compliance with tender specification requirements.”

Established in 2006 and based in Kemble, Gloucestershire, FleetCheck is one of the UK’s leading fleet software and management specialists, with a customer base of more than 2,000 customers operating in excess of 270,000 vehicles and assets.

Further details about the partnership between FleetCheck and CHAS can be found at https://uberdrive.com/chas/.

Cyber security strategies are seeing more businesses move to specialist fleet software in order to protect sensitive data, FleetCheck is reporting.

The need for more sophisticated digital strategies means there is a shift away from fleets using general purpose software such as spreadsheets towards dedicated products, explained managing director Peter Golding.

He said: “Over the last year, we’ve seen an increasing number of new customers come to us and adopt our software as a direct result of the introduction of comprehensive corporate cyber security strategies.

“The most well-known of these is probably the Cyber Essentials certification scheme from the National Cyber Security Agency, which aims to introduce protections against common types of cyber attacks, and is increasingly being used by organisations operating vehicles.

“From a fleet point of view, this is a very positive development. Businesses running cars and vans hold all kinds of sensitive data – including driver personal details – and there need to be measures in place that ensure a high degree of resilience against malicious parties.”

Peter said that specialist fleet software tended to take into account the specific potential cyber security weaknesses of fleets and provide appropriate protections.

“Most business coming to us for fleet software who are in this position will have been using some kind of general purpose software tool such as a spreadsheet. Now, most well-known spreadsheet packages have a reasonable degree of cyber security build in, but they are not as sophisticated in their approach to protecting fleet data as a specialist product.

“Fleet cyber vulnerabilities – like any specialist area of business – tend to be quite specific. Organisations such as ours know from years of experience where potential weaknesses may lie, and the kinds of issues that occur when it comes to vehicle operations. We have developed strategies over time that have proven highly effective and are regularly updated.

“Certainly, we’ve been highlighting for many years that fleets shouldn’t rely on general purpose software such as spreadsheets simply because they are not particularly useful tools for fleet management, but it appears that it is the question of security rather than effectiveness that is starting to gradually drive them out of use.”

Motor manufacturers should aim to avoid the electric vehicle (EV) market becoming disorderly despite pressure in the sector that could lead to a potential price war, says FleetCheck.

Peter Golding, managing director, said that sudden, dramatic price reductions in recent days in some markets could soon spread to the UK, something which was not necessarily good news for fleets.

He said: “Big EV price cuts are very much a double-edged sword for fleets, sometimes prompting immediate surges in demand but also potentially hitting residual values (RVs) and simply making it difficult to know when to buy.

“There is a lot of news on a global basis about major EV manufacturers such as Tesla and BYD cutting prices in major markets and it is understandable they should want to do so. They have created huge manufacturing capacity and sometimes have considerable inventory. It’s imperative from a business point of view that they keep sales moving at a point in time where there are some indications that global demand has momentarily plateaued.

“Cheaper EVs are obviously a positive on one hand but this kind of disorderly marketing does create issues for fleets. At the most basic level, it becomes tricky to know whether now is a good moment to buy? For example, if Tesla decided to cut UK prices this month but still have high levels of stock, will they do the same again in the summer and should businesses wait to see what happens?

“At another level, any kind of price war makes setting RVs very difficult. There is already a medium-long term expectation that we will see EV prices fall as the technology becomes more accessible and production volumes increase, but there has perhaps been an assumption that this will happen gradually. What we have instead are quite sudden, headline grabbing price reductions.”

Peter said that fleet confidence in the EV sector would be easier to maintain if manufacturers took a responsible attitude towards making sure that the market was as orderly as possible, despite the impetus to reduce prices.

“If fleets feel like as though a manufacturer is possibly going to suddenly take several thousands pounds off the price of a car, it potentially makes them less rather than more likely to buy. Smaller, regular reductions that appear part of a long-term strategy are more sustainable than immediate, dramatic cuts that have something of an air of panic.

“This is not just essential for the new car market but the used sector, too. While there are some signs that we are seeing a normalisation of the used EV market following the huge falls in values seen in 2023, any kind of new EV price war will fuel wariness among both dealers and used car buyers. The importance of a properly functioning EV market for fleets undergoing large scale electrification cannot be overstated. ”

Working towards towards “zero servicing” – with vehicles never having to visit workshops unless a fault was detected – presents huge dangers for vehicle operators, says FleetCheck.

Peter Golding, managing director, was responding to recent news that Tesla is recruiting staff for a project called “Zero Service” under the banner, “At Tesla, we believe that the best service is no service.”

He said: “This sounds like a very Tesla idea where the vision is perhaps racing ahead of the technology, and where the reality is a lot more complex and likely to remain so.

“The fact is that, as all competent fleet operators know, employers are responsible for the safety of their employers behind the wheel of any vehicle being used on business. If Tesla says that its cars don’t need proactive servicing, where does the liability lie in the event of an accident caused by a mechanical fault? I’m guessing that they won’t want to admit cause.”

Peter said that precedents existed in the motor industry that could serve as a warning of lengthening the time spent out of workshops.

“Some years ago, when manufacturers introduced synthetic oils, they started to extend servicing intervals to 30-40,000 miles. However, most eventually moved them back to an annual servicing model and intervals of around 20,000 miles.

“A key reason was that this proved just too long for a vehicle to be out of a workshop because all kinds of other faults would develop in that time, some of them dangerous. Those cars and vans needed to be seen by technicians more regularly.

“Of course, we’ve also just undergone an official review where the existing MOT test system was retained, something that was very much a recognition of the need for regular checks.”

Peter said that he understood the Tesla argument would be that there was less to go wrong on an EV than and ICE car, and that future fault systems would recognise any issues, but remained unconvinced.

“For example, even with good diagnostic systems, you could have a largely unpredictable issue arise, such as the current pothole crisis. Cars with low profile tyres and sporty suspensions are crashing into sizeable holes in the road, sending shocks through the entire structure. Now, that might knock out the tracking but also the castor and camber, and affect wheel balance. There are a whole series of variables potentially affected.

“Any one of those issues could cause a car to mishandle or for potentially dangerous tyre wear to occur over time of a kind that it’s not easy for lay person to spot. How good would a fault tracking system be at spotting those errors?

“It is, of course, entirely possible that the rise of EVs means that vehicles start spending less time in workshops but I don’t yet see any evidence yet to suggest that there should be fewer actual workshop visits. Safety should remain the number priority for fleets and that still involves vehicles being regularly checked by experts.”

Sub-£15,000 pricing for the new Dacia Spring could place considerable downward pressure on electric vehicle (EV) prices for fleets, says FleetCheck.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist, pointed out that the price almost halves that of the cheapest EV currently on sale in the UK, and is not far from being the cheapest car overall.

He said: “This does feel like a potential watershed moment for EV pricing. While the Spring is too small and too limited for many fleet applications, it does show that a modern EV with a 137-mile range can be brought to market at a very attractive price.

“The key here is that it immediately makes every other EV look like poor value and could lead to a domino effect. Suddenly, 200-mile range superminis at around £30,000 appear overpriced and they will probably need to readjust. This could impact on the next class of car up and so on, having a domino effect.

“It is certainly possible that, by the end of the year, we will see lower EV pricing overall as a partial result of the arrival of the Spring.”

Peter added that there was also a potential place for the Spring on some fleets, a role made possible by its pricing.

“Larger fleets could operate a couple of Springs as potential pool cars for local journeys while they might also find a place in, for example, fleets that undertake home visits on a local basis such as health and social care providers.

“It’s even possible that the low cost will mean fleets that have so far held out against electrification acquire buy a Spring just to dip a toe in the water. The purchase price and potential lease rates are low enough that this represents a very limited financial risk.

“Importantly, residual values are likely to be strong. This is exactly the kind of EV that a certain type of used car buyers will want to buy in 3-4 years. Demand is likely to be strong.”

Fleets need to redouble their efforts on drug-driving, FleetCheck is warning, as a leading police officer reported that the issue was a bigger problem than drink-driving in some constabularies over the Xmas period.

Speaking to the BBC this week, chief constable Jo Shiner of the National Police Chiefs Council said there was a “social acceptance” of drug taking and driving, particularly among younger people, and that some forces made more arrests than for drink-driving during December.

Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck said the trend was a warning to fleets who needed to ensure that employees realised that a zero-tolerance culture was in place.

“Generally, drink-driving has now become completely unacceptable socially but there are some signs that the same is not necessarily true of certain drugs, especially when it comes to people in their 20s, 30s and even 40s. This is something that the BBC reporting suggests but which we additionally occasionally hear from fleets on an anecdotal basis.

“Also, many people do not realise that drugs such as cannabis tend to stay in the system for a much longer time than alcohol. An employee could be using these drugs socially on a Friday or Saturday and then climb into a car or van on Monday morning and be unaware that they are unsafe to drive.

“Certainly, what the police are saying indicates that this is an area where fleets need to redouble their efforts to ensure that drivers are educated about the dangers of drug use and driving, and that anyone convicted will lose their jobs.”

Peter said that there was a perception among some fleets that prescribed medication was more of a problem than illegal drugs when it came driving, but that these latest reports suggested this was not necessarily the case.

“There is an assumption by some employers that use of illegal drugs among drivers is very limited but there are increasing signs this maybe untrue. It appears that legal drugs prescribed for medical use and those taken for recreational purposes are both potential issues.

“Arguably, these are two different problems that require quite different approaches from fleet managers in terms of the actions taken. Medication is something that needs to be declared and checked to ensure that employees are safe to drive; illegal drugs mean educating drivers about the risk and adopting a zero-tolerance approach.”

New fleet software has been launched by FleetCheck that can be adopted for free by any business that operates cars and vans.

Called DriverLite, it is based on FleetCheck’s Driver, introduced in 2017 and to date used by 1,053 fleets to carry out more than 20 million vehicle inspections.

Features include free inspection check sheets for an unlimited number of drivers and vehicles, visibility of how long each pre-use inspection takes, missed inspections, instant evidence of damage and defects, a robust audit trail of inspections, mileage collection for SMR schedules, a driver’s toolkit with read receipts, and a multi-language user interface.

Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said: “DriverLite contains everything that a fleet needs to ensure they are meeting their fundamental legal requirements when it comes to vehicle inspections. For the many businesses that are still using manual, paper-based systems to carry out these checks, adopting it is something of a no-brainer.

“The impetus for us in offering this product is both ethical and commercial. Every day, we see fleets that are not fulfilling basic safety necessities and this software provides the means for them to dramatically improve their performance in this area. We believe that everybody has the right to be as safe as possible on the road and know that this is a product that can help to reduce accidents and injury in an intuitive and effective manner.

“However, we also hope that it will lead to more fleets upgrading over time to our paid products as they learn the benefits of using our technology. It should be underlined though, that is no pressure to do this, and DriverLite is not in any way restricted. Unlike some free software products, there are no limits on the number of drivers or vehicles registered.”

DriverLite also includes a Driver Toolkit developed in conjunction with National Highways as part of their Driving for Better Business programme, providing safety advice for drivers in areas such as driving licences, road safely, fitness to drive, seasonal driving, restrictions, smarter driving and driving safety.

Peter added: “The core functions of DriverLite will ensure that there are basic risk management processes in place but the Driver Toolkit provides the bones of a genuine safety culture within an organisation. The advice it contains can really help to promote a move towards better driving.”

DriverLite can be downloaded from FleetCheck at www.fleetcheck.co.uk/driverlite.

Fleets need to be able to buy electric vehicles (EVs) now that used car buyers will want in four years’ time – but are being hampered by a lack of choice, FleetCheck is warning.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software company, said those that wanted to acquire everyday family cars today to maximise future residual values (RVs) faced instead a list of options largely consisting of prestige saloons and SUVs.

“What we’ve seen is a car market that has electrified from the top down, so if you want to spend £50,000-plus on prestige saloons or SUVs, you’ll get lots of options. This has worked reasonably well so far and those sectors are now essentially electrified. However, there are large areas of the market where businesses that want to buy bread-and-butter cars that are electrically powered are left scratching their heads.

“The biggest is probably lower-cost vehicles with a reasonable range. If you currently run a lot of small petrol hatchbacks and want to find an EV equivalent from an established manufacturer that covers around 200 miles at less than £30,000 – which seems a reasonable ask – options are very limited.

“There are other areas where choice is similarly almost non-existent – pick-ups, estate cars, anything around £20,000. The EV market is really quite homogenous in a negative way and this is proving damaging to future residual values.”

He explained that one of the key factors behind the dramatic fall in EV RVs over recent years was not a rejection from used buyers of EVs per se but simply that there were too many of the ‘wrong’ types of vehicles in circulation.

“If you look at the used market, there is ample evidence of this happening. Demand for many big, prestige electric SUVs is currently saturated, for example. These are just not the kind of vehicles that everyday buyers want – too big, too expensive to buy, and too expensive to run.

“There are models coming, we are told, and there are lower cost choices starting to appear from a wide range of Chinese manufacturers. However, life is frustrating for those who want to electrify in the short term or who don’t want to buy from a car maker without a well-established UK presence.

“What fleets need is to be able to buy the type of vehicles that everyday used buyers are likely to want in four years’ time. In most cases, that is not going to be the types of EVs available today.”

Fleets should back wider use of 20mph limits in urban areas on risk management grounds, says FleetCheck.

Managing director Peter Golding said that while the subject had become politically controversial, the argument for car and van operators was quite clear cut.

“When the Welsh government introduced their blanket 20mph limit last year, they did so on the grounds that it would save lives every year. It’s a position that very much chimes with fleet management best practice.

“Obviously, the speed limit on any road is a balance between journey time and accident risk, but it is very difficult to imagine that any vehicle operators are having their overall efficiency reduced in urban areas by a switch from 30mph to 20mph.

“In risk management terms, the case for wider use of 20mph is pretty much clear cut and because it is likely to reduce accidents, should be welcomed by fleets where it is proposed to replace current 30mph limits.”

Peter added that arguments against 20mph limits appeared to be mainly coming from private motorists who felt that it was simply too slow.

“There’s no doubt that the first time you drive through a lengthy 20mph zone, it does feel as though you are travelling at a much reduced speed but the truth is that by the time you have added all the normal journey factors into the equation – from congestion to traffic lights – you won’t be arriving at your destination any more than a few moments later.

“Sadly, it’s a debate that is becoming less and less fact-based and more about politics. For that reason, politicians themselves may think twice before wider implementation in the future. However, fleets, with very real Health and Safety responsibilities, are bound to take a different view.”

The new government that the UK is likely to see in 2024 should be pressured by fleets to deliver a more effective hydrogen van strategy, FleetCheck says.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist, said there was huge potential for hydrogen as a factor in future fleet zero emissions strategies for light commercial vehicles, and much more needed to be done to support its adoption.

“This is not a political comment but we will get a new government this year or early in 2025, and the polls show that it is very unlikely to be the same as the current administration. That moment will provide an opportunity for change.

“The truth is that one of the victories that this government can claim over the last few years is the rate of electrification by car fleets. Their taxation strategy and other measures means that the average company car is now very likely to be an EV.

“However, it has been a zero emissions all-eggs-in-one-basket approach concentrating on EVs and, while there is some support for hydrogen in their planning, it is pretty limited, and there is almost nothing that looks at the potential for van fleets.

‘The hydrogen refuelling infrastructure that exists across the UK, for example, is almost non-existent. There are plans to build 40 or so stations in support of truck and bus operators but the whole approach is very much based on larger commercial vehicles and buses.

“This is an issue because many van fleets are discovering very real limits to electrification when it comes to range and payload, and hydrogen is a potential zero emissions alternative with real promise.”

Peter said that the issue was being highlighted by the arrival in the UK of the Vauxhall Vivaro hydrogen van, which promised pump-style fuelling, a range of around 250 miles, and could be potentially purchased at prices competitive to electric vans.

“This appears to be a practical zero emissions solution for van fleets but it is very much a vehicle in search of an infrastructure. Unless you are willing and capable of putting your own hydrogen depot refuelling in place, it’s very difficult impossible to adopt.

“Any future government should be pressured by fleets to provide infrastructure for these vehicles, while ensuring that the price of hydrogen is competitive with other fuel sources. In truth, the refuelling network doesn’t need to be huge in the first instance, but it needs to be reliable and in the right places, such as motorway services.

“A scheme to put say 200 hydrogen stations in place across the UK in the next couple of years would make an enormous difference to the viability of vehicles like the Vivaro and others that could follow. For fleets that are struggling with electric van adoption, a future government that is willing to back hydrogen could make a massive difference.

“Of course, even if the government doesn’t change, a general election is a moment for a strategic rethink and our industry should then try to work again in this area with the current administration. Hydrogen simply looks as though it will solve a number of problems for fleets in cases where there are no easy answers for electric power.”