Ensuring your fleet is compliant is crucial to any business.
By law, businesses must make sure their vehicles are safe, roadworthy and well maintained for the nature of their use, meaning that a well-managed and comprehensive process needs to be in place to effectively monitor all aspects of your fleet operations.
However, maintaining a compliant fleet is much more complex than many fleet managers think.
You must demonstrate that you have carried out all reasonable and essential measures to provide a safe working environment, including equipping your employees with the "proper tools and means" to be able to facilitate compliance.
Along with reducing operating costs, compliance is a fundamental necessity for fleets, regardless of their size. Not only can it help reduce operating costs, but businesses can also gain a competitive advantage by running efficiently.
Here, we explore some of the areas that can help ensure that the fleet remains compliant.
1.Vehicle checks & maintenance
It goes without saying that vehicles used for business purposes must be regularly inspected and properly maintained before they are roadworthy.
Legal requirements for operating a fleet require evidence that routine vehicle inspections (internal and external) are carried out, paying close attention to safety-critical parts.
Before each vehicle is taken out on the road, drivers are required to conduct a daily "walkaround" inspection of their vehicles and record any issues they find with the vehicle.
Any flaws which deem the vehicle to be unroadworthy will need to be rectified before it can be taken out on the road and driven - this not only impacts the safety of the driver but also of any road user.
Implementation of a well-managed maintenance schedule for the fleet operations is crucial to an effective fleet operation as well as helping to reduce unnecessary repair expenses and vehicle downtime.
2.Documentation
Ensure that all vehicles, including those where employees use their own vehicles for corporate business, are correctly insured, taxed and MOT tested, and that drivers have the correct licence appropriate for the vehicle they are driving. Vehicle insurance details should be readily available to drivers should they need them for any reason.
Documents such as training and medical certificates for drivers should also be kept up-to-date, organised and easily accessible to ensure policy compliance and readily analyse potential risk.
As a business, it is you who risks complete liability if you allow a vehicle you own, operate, or authorise to be used for business purposes to be driven without the required documentation - this could ultimately lead to prosecution and nullify any insurance in place.
3.Duty of care
Ultimately, as an employer, you are responsible for the health and safety of all your employees while they are out on the road.
It is your responsibility to ensure that any driver is adequately insured, trained and in good health before operating any vehicle on behalf of the business.
Drivers must have undergone relevant driver training for the vehicle they operate and how they conduct themselves if customer-facing, in addition to holding a relevant driving licence for the vehicle.
Fleet managers for commercial vehicles are responsible for guaranteeing that all drivers are in good physical and mental health. That involves cultivating a culture where drivers feel comfortable disclosing medical or mental problems without worrying about losing their jobs or income or getting in trouble.
4.Driver safety & evaluation
With more than a quarter of all road traffic collisions involving people driving for work, it's increasingly important for businesses to make sure their driver safety policies are fully implemented.
When it comes to a driver’s hours, there are several regulations in place set to protect drivers’ health and safety with working patterns. According to the UK government, if you employ a driver for business purposes, you must:
- keep drivers’ hour's records for at least one year
- make sure they are properly trained and understand the rules
- organise their time so that they can follow the rules
- check your drivers’ hours records and data
- monitor your workers’ working time
As a general guideline, any driver of any vehicle (car or goods) is recommended to take a 15-minute break every two hours while driving
Many accidents involving drivers are caused by driver exhaustion - significant violations of the law governing driving hours can lead to prosecution of both the driver and the businesses who employ the driver.
Establishing a reliable system for tracking driver behaviour such as telematics can help to effectively address unsafe driving practices such as speeding and harsh braking.
By ensuring that vehicles are operated under the best operating rules, driver training may increase fuel efficiency, reduce the risk of accidents and the downtime they cause, and lower maintenance and repair costs.
5.Planning
Compliance is a continual process, which requires visibility and consistent policies throughout the business. As new regulations come into play, businesses need to adapt to become compliant with these changes which means that processes need to be adopted.
Employees also need to be kept informed of changes to make them feel more engaged and understand the compliance requirements.
By establishing a comprehensive planning system, you can monitor, react and schedule maintenance, key dates and requirements through alerts and notifications and ensure that you have the right tools in place to help the efficiency of your fleet.
How Prolius can help you maintain fleet compliance
It's not always simple to keep a fleet entirely compliant - compliance is based on a strategy that adheres to rules and laws which can constantly change.
Investing in a comprehensive fleet management system such as Prolius Fleet allows you to collate all the information you need for an effective fleet operation in a single place. It can provide you with the confidence that fleet compliance within your maintenance, driver programmes and operational practices are in place with the relevant and up-to-date documentation.
However, it's well worth the effort since doing it right can help your organisation boost productivity and better manage the risks and expenses that go hand in hand with maintaining an effective fleet operation.
Get in touch to find out more about how Prolius Fleet can help your fleet on its way to becoming fully compliant.