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  • Driver safety management

    There are a number of laws and various legislation you need to comply with when managing drivers.

    Let’s start with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This act states that you need to assess the risk to your business, your fleet, to members of the public, and where possible you need to manage that risk.

    Another legislation you need to be aware of is the Management of Health and Safety at Work Act 1999. This regulation was introduced to make sure businesses conduct risk assessments, identify potential hazards, and control any hazards.

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    An effective risk assessment should cover all aspects of managing risk. That includes the driver, the vehicle, and the journey.

    It’s important to remember that your work vehicles are an extension of your workplace and are your driver’s main place of work.

    You need to have watertight processes in place to ensure your drivers have the correct licence for the type of vehicle they’re driving.

    How confident are you that you have watertight procedures in place to ensure that your drivers and vehicles are safe and legal?

    Some of the key factors you should always consider are:

    Driver experience – how much do you know about how experienced your drivers are?

    Driver health – have you checked if your drivers have any of the 200+ underlying health conditions that need to be disclosed to the DVLA?

    Fit-to-drive policies – do you have a daily declaration procedure to ensure your drivers are fit to drive?

    Driver licences – are you checking your drivers’ licences regularly? Are you keeping a closer eye on high-risk drivers?

    Assessing Driver Behaviour

    Your drivers are your first line of defence to make sure your vehicles are safe and roadworthy, and to make sure they’re driven legally.

    This is why it’s essential to have an effective driver’s handbook. All of your dos and don’ts and driver best practices should be covered in it.

    This is where robust record-keeping is essential. Your drivers should sign something to say they’ve read and understand the handbook.

    You need to keep these records to prove, in the event of something going wrong, that you’ve taken all practical steps to ensure your drivers are safe and legal.

    It’s also crucial that you keep your handbooks and policies up to date with legislative changes.

    In 2022 alone there have been several changes, most notably the introduction of Rule H1, also known as the “hierarchy rule”.

    Driver Training

    Driver training is crucial in driver safety and assessing risk within your fleet. Before letting anyone behind the wheel of one of your vehicles you need to be sure they’re fit to drive.

    You should conduct periodic driving assessments. This will enable you to spot changes in driver behaviours and identify high-risk drivers.

    Monitoring telematics data will also give insights into driver behaviour, such as harsh braking, breaking the speed limit, and other erratic behaviours.

    Training and assessing drivers on a regular basis will also have a positive impact on fuel spending and vehicle maintenance, making a noticeable difference in profitability.

    If you’d like to find out more about FleetCheck or chat about how we can help and support you, please feel free to get in touch with a team member by using this form or calling our office on 01666 577928.

  • Data Security

    Within the fleet sector, there is much personal information you’re likely to collect, so understanding and adhering to data security laws and regulations is crucial.

    You need to ensure you have robust security when it comes to collecting and storing personal data.

    FleetCheck allows you to store all of your fleet and employee data electronically. We’re fully GDPR compliant and ISO 27001, which are the reassurances you should look for in a fleet management software provider.

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    What Do You Need to Remain Compliant?

    It is mandatory to check your driver’s licences to ensure they’re eligible and legally able to drive the vehicles they’re operating.

    When doing so, you will be collecting much personal information. You’ll need consent forms in place to do this and an outline in your driver’s handbook of how this information is being handled.

    Consent Forms

    There is a lot of personal and sensitive information you’ll be storing about your drivers, such as their age, address, date of birth, and drivers’ licence number, to name a few things.

    You need to consider who will have access to that data, how it will be stored, and the procedures you have in place for handling the data.

    All of this should be made clear on a consent form given to your employees, so they’re comfortable signing it over.

    Storing Data

    Storing personal data manually using paper is challenging to manage and maintain a robust and secure system.

    This is where fleet management software like FleetCheck comes into its own to make your life easier and, more importantly, ensure that all of your driver’s data is secure and handled correctly.

    If you’d like to find out more about FleetCheck or chat about how we can support your data security processes, please feel free to get in touch with a team member by using this form or calling our office on 01666 577928.

  • Fleet managers becoming conversant with EV battery types, says FleetCheck

    Fleet managers are starting to recognise the pros and cons of different electric vehicle (EV) battery types in a similar way as they would the differences between petrol and diesel power, says FleetCheck.

    The trend is still new, the fleet management software specialist says, but is a potentially important step on the road to widespread fleet EV adoption.

    Peter Golding, managing director, explained: “This is something we have noticed from our user base. A few are no longer seeing an EV as just an EV, with a single technology powering all, but are starting to recognise that there are differences.

    “At the moment, the key point is knowing about the cost, safety and charging capabilities of the two main types – LFP and NMC batteries* – especially as the latter are starting to find their way into more and more entry level EVs.

    “In a lot of ways, it’s similar to knowing about the pros and cons of diesel and petrol in combustion engine terms, especially as some manufacturers such as Tesla and MG use both battery technologies in the same models.

    “To some extent, each has characteristics that are suitable for different applications. We’re not quite at a stage yet where manufacturers advertise which types of battery they are using in particular models but that might not be far away.”

    Peter said that the situation was likely to become more complex with the arrival of new battery technologies over the next few years.

    He explained: “It seems there is a story in the press every week about new potential battery technology for EVs, with sodium ion being a favourite. Some or all of these may well have a place on fleets in the future. Especially, there could be an acceleration of interest in new options thanks to raw material shortages such as nickel.”

    *LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and NMC (nickel manganese cobalt).

  • ERS Medical

    Introduction

    ERS Medical provides a range of specialist patient transport and courier services to the NHS and the wider healthcare sector. ERS Medical wanted a robust fleet management system which could integrate with their telematics provider and had the functionality to track maintenance dates concurrently with the management of costs and driver compliance.

    They were given the go ahead to invest in the FleetCheck system and investigate the additional products offered by FleetCheck, including telematics, fuel integration and licence checking.

    ERS Medical implemented FleetCheck fleet management software in the October of 2017 and then began integrating their telematics.

    Before using FleetCheck

     
    Project Manager, Rachael Collins said, “Before we came across FleetCheck, we struggled to find a system that could offer a user-friendly interface the whole company could use to update and view fleet-related events and information.”

    How FleetCheck Helped

     

    • Vehicle mileages are now automatically updated, resulting in no more manual mileage checks; an instant advantage for Rachael and the others involved in the ERS Medical transport team.
    • Rachael has complete control and visibility over all fleet-related activity and spending. This has facilitated the exclusion of previous, outdated spreadsheet and paper-based processes.
    • ERS Medical now has the assurance that no key dates (such as MOT services) are being missed and that they can keep tracking much, they’re spending from fuel and maintenance to driver’s parking and penalty fines.
    • They have complete control over all daily, fleet-related activity, and due to FleetCheck helpful alerts system, they can pre-plan vehicle maintenance schedules to help minimise interruption and eliminate room for error.

    Fleet Information

    The business has a fleet of non-emergency ambulances, courier vehicles and a small selection of HGV’s (403 vehicles in total).

    “All our sites manage their compliance by keeping the system up to date.  They also have full access to all fuel transactions and can monitor and run reports on spending across the fleet.”
    Project Manager, Rachael Collins

     

  • Construction Hire Solutions

    Introduction

    Construction Hire Solutions is a hire company operating across the UK that specialises in the railway and general construction sectors. Construction Hire Solutions depend on their fleet to keep business moving. Construction Hire Solutions implemented FleetCheck’s fleet management software in the July of 2013 alongside sourcing their telematics provider.

    Before using FleetCheck

     

    • Construction Hire Solutions managing day-to-day fleet tasks, including booking services and other vital events, via paper-based systems.
    • The Fleet Manager needed complete assurance that they were legally compliant and that the processes she had planned to put in place would be better than adequate for the company’s accreditations.
    • They did not have a system that could store all the necessary documents, dates and details with the ability to link up with their newly obtained tracking provider.

    How FleetCheck Helped

     

    • Being able to link their tracking provider with FleetCheck has bought many great benefits – their vehicle mileages are now auto-updated, meaning no more manual mileage checks.
    • They now have complete control of all vehicle and driver-related activity, so all paper-based processes have been eliminated, and tasks are forward-planned, properly managed and recorded for future reference.
    • They have complete confidence that their fleet is managed correctly, their processes are legally compliant, their costs are monitored, and their drivers are safe and legal.
    • Thanks to FleetCheck’s intuitive system of alerts, Nancy has complete clarity of how much time she has before specific tasks, such as MOTs, must be completed. She no longer worries about key dates falling overdue.

    Fleet Information

    The company currently operates 55 hired and business-owned light commercial vehicles.

    Nancy Baker said, “Ultimately, anything that needs my attention is stored in FleetCheck, making it a one-stop shop for us.”

    As Nancy comments, “The set-up process was quite straightforward, and anything that I struggled with was dealt with very efficiently by FleetCheck’s support team, making the whole movement from paper to software stress-free.”

    An enormous amount of administration time has been saved by using FleetCheck’s software. Nancy explains, “Without the system to handle our fleet administration and compliance, we wouldn’t have been able to expand our fleet as rapidly as we have. We would likely have needed to recruit more staff to keep up with the various checks, tasks and reports required for our FORS accreditation.”

    When asked to summarise her experience, she said, “Our main drive for a fleet management system was our FORS accreditation. Having an audit of all the required fleet-related documentation for our vehicle maintenance and having the ability to easily keep track of our drivers’ health/eyesight checks has meant that we’re confident that we are compliant to the FORS requirements.”

    Nancy concludes, “I am always expanding the number of features I use on FleetCheck; the more I use it, the more I find is possible and the easier it becomes.”

  • Cohens Group

    Introduction

    The Cohens Group is one of Britain’s leading pharmaceutical chains with multiple branches throughout the UK, located mainly in the community and increasingly within new community health centre developments. The Cohens group understands the importance of having a legal and compliant fleet, not only for the company’s protection but also for its drivers’ safety.
    The company wanted to find a fleet management system to store all vital fleet-related documents in one central software system, and they implemented FleetCheck fleet management software in May 2010.

    Before using FleetCheck

     

    • Regarding maintenance scheduling, all data was documented on paper and spreadsheets, meaning there was always the risk of damaged or misplaced documents.

    How FleetCheck Helped

     

    • FleetCheck has provided the capabilities to link with and display their tracking data and, most importantly, maintain and improve their fleet’s overall compliance.
    • Dennis wanted complete control and visibility of the fleet to support and maintain its compliance, and he has been able to achieve this by having all fleet data in one platform.
    • They now have clear visibility of accurate, auto-updated mileage readings, eliminating manual mileage checking, which was a significant time saver for Dennis and the rest of the fleet team at Cohens Group.
    • Transferring from spreadsheets and paper-based processes means tasks; for example, vehicle maintenance planning is now forward-planned, suitably managed and accurately recorded in a central system for future reference.
    • Cohens Group can confidently say that its fleet is well managed, its processes and costs are closely monitored, and most importantly, its fleet Is legal and compliant.

    Fleet Information

    Cohen’s group operates a mixed fleet of around 280 vehicles, all of which are handled from multiple locations across the UK and are managed by fleet and transport manager Dennis Butterworth.

    Dennis explains: “Having everything pulled together into one place was the most significant relief for us as it has given us complete visibility of all fleet activity, which goes hand in hand with remaining legal and compliant.

    “The paper-based and spreadsheet system we were using before we came across FleetCheck was so variable we had to make sure we cross-referenced all our data, which proved to be quite time-consuming and, again, wasn’t great in terms of improving our compliance.

    Dennis said, “Having fragmented data made it challenging to keep on top of key dates, which decreased our compliance level. This meant getting all our data imported into a single system that could store and display all the data we needed to manage the fleet effectively.

    “FleetCheck is a one-stop shop for fleet management; with a great level of control, the system is easily accessible and user-friendly. Finally, when needed, the support team at FleetCheck are really helpful”

  • Chisholm & Winch

    Introduction

    Chisholm & Winch is a construction, refurbishment and fit-out specialist with a track record that spans five decades and specialisms across the airport, commercial office, leisure and hospitality and residential sectors.

    Before using FleetCheck

    • As managing the fleet is a part-time role, Jason was finding it challenging to keep on top of chasing drivers to carry out adequate daily vehicle checks and recording of the results.
    • As Chisholm & Winch is a FORS member working with major contractors such as Mace, Balfour Beatty and BSB the exposure of vehicle inspections not being carried out could cause reputation and legal compliance issues.

    How FleetCheck Helped

    • The company are now efficiently managing its FORS requirements through the FleetCheck system.
    • Jason now finds life much easier as the drivers use the FleetCheck Driver app to carry out their daily vehicle inspections reported within the software, giving Jason a complete overview of the fleet.

    Fleet Information

    The fleet of three vans is managed by Jason Winch, who is the procurement and Health and Safety Director for the family-run SME Building and Fit-out Construction Company.

    Managing the fleet is not his full-time role as his main responsibilities are looking after the purchasing and supplying materials to construction sites as well as organising the Quality, H&S and environmental aspects that are required.

    Jason concludes, “By using FleetCheck I now have more time to spend on other parts of the business, which in turn has increased productivity… I would definitely recommend using them!”

     

     

  • 60% say fleet software reduces unplanned vehicle downtime, reports FleetCheck

    Six out of 10 businesses say that using fleet management software helps them to reduce unplanned vehicle downtime, FleetCheck is reporting.

    Peter Golding, managing director, explained that research the company had undertaken among users of its products shows that cutting downtime is considered a key benefit.

    He said: “Unplanned vehicle off road (VOR) rates are a subject that is moving higher up the agenda as production shortages mean that fleets are operating ever older cars, vans and trucks. These inevitably are more difficult to keep roadworthy, breaking down more often.

    “We are finding that managing VOR is becoming an increasingly important factor in businesses choosing to adopt fleet management software. This new research backs up that point and also shows the technology is effective in minimising the problem.”

    Peter said that primarily, fleet management software helped to reduce VOR by creating much greater visibility over maintenance events and defects, both ensuring that routine servicing and maintenance were carried out, and that any other issues were recorded and resolved.

    Also, the technology allows multiple events to be brought into line. For example, a service and an MOT could be carried out on the same day, removing the need for two days off-road.

    “Software brings much greater structure to service and maintenance management, which is what essentially helps to reduce downtime. As fleets continue to age – something that looks inevitable for some time to come – it will become more and more significant in this respect.”

  • Anixter

    Introduction

    Anixter is a leading global distributor of Network & Security Solutions, Electrical & Electronic Solutions and Utility Power Solutions. With vehicles spread across such a large number of depots around the country, Anixter has always been very conscious of having a well-run compliant fleet. The company implemented FleetCheck fleet management software in the December of 2017

    Before using FleetCheck

    • The company was managing fleet tasks via paper-based systems in every depot, which made keeping on top of key dates stressful.
    • There was a lot of cross-referencing to keep the vehicles and drivers safe and legal, alongside the “hit and miss” communications from their leasing partners.
    • A system was sought that could give complete assurance that they were legally compliant, as well as support them in achieving FORS accreditation.
    • Anixter were looking for a system that could store all the required documents, along with easy-to-use functionality.

    How FleetCheck Helped

    • Shortly after going live with FleetCheck, Anixter began integrating the data from their fuel card provider into the system.
    • This has given them the tools to carry out accurate CO2 reporting, MPG analysis and technology.
    • Driver behaviour and spot fuel-heavy driving habits are now better monitored.
    • They have managed to very quickly gain complete control of all vehicle and driver related action and all paper-based processes have been eliminated.
    • Tasks are now forward-planned, properly managed and recorded for future reference in a centralised system for all to access.
    • Anixter have been able to keep on top of their vehicle safety checks without having to do all the cross-referencing work in between.
    • Complete transparency of when key tasks such as MOT’s need to be completed.

    Fleet Information

    Anixter currently operates a mixed fleet of two HGV’s and 53 vans of different sizes.

    The fleet is split over 15 depots, all of which are spread across the UK with each site having a depot manager monitoring the specific groups of vehicles alongside their primary role of warehouse management.

    Project implementation manager, Craig Bradburne, says:

    “For one of our depot manager’s, the operation of our vans is a side task to what we do. Their priority is to look after and manage the warehouses as efficiently as possible. One of the things I recognized was, as a business, we weren’t operating as a fleet.  People didn’t have the ready access to all the information that was in and around that. Maintenance was starting to become a higher risk of falling behind as we’d be waiting for the trigger from the lease companies and then sometimes, the information was all over the place.

    “One of the things I really liked about FleetCheck was the ability to pull everything together into a central portal.  On a depot level, I could easily set the system up, so the depot managers can just view the relevant vehicles/ drivers to them.

    “An enormous amount of administration time has been saved by using FleetCheck software.  We’ve started using the FleetCheck Mobile App too as previously we were using a paper system and relying on our drivers to get the completed checks back to us as soon as possible without being damaged or misplaced.”

    “Changes I have suggested for the system are often put into practice for my convenience which just proves FleetCheck’s willingness to make my job easier. I am often approached by companies who advertise themselves to be similar to FleetCheck, however from what I have seen so far, FleetCheck is by far the easiest to use and the support I have received from them when needed is just brilliant. I was sold from the first moment I saw it”

     

  • Adept ESD

    Introduction

    Adept Elevator Storage & Distribution was established in 2004 to assist business with safe storage of lift equipment and onward distribution to site. Adept have been using using our FORS Fleet Management Software since 2018, and the fleet is managed by Operations Manager, Kel Zoller.

    Before using FleetCheck

    • The daily workload of fleet management was split between a multitude of other jobs meaning that keeping up with key tasks was a worry.
    • Kel had concerns that time-sensitive events such as MOT’s, PMI’s and Tacho downloads may be missed, causing a lack of compliance that could affect their FORS accreditation.

    How FleetCheck Helped

    Kel now enjoys being able to keep track of all related items concerning drivers and vehicles and has more control over fleet expenditure, including fuel.

    Fleet Information

    Their fleet consists of two Flatbed Hiabs (18-ton gross weight) vehicles and one 7.5-ton tail lift vehicle

    We found FORS FMS to be a fresh and innovative way to record everything associated with our fleet. It’s simple to navigate and we can view and add data with a click of a button. Our overriding feeling when using them is impeccable customer support. Anytime we have needed advice on the system, any one of the teams who answers the phone is always on hand to help. Nothing is ever too much trouble. Their support is top class !!” – Kel Zoller