As a business grows, and new vehicles are purchased, the responsibility of the business owner to ensure that they are well maintained, safe and well driven, becomes ever more complex. Often these responsibilities are delegated to a fleet manager, however, the overall responsibility stays with the business owner.
If a vehicle should become unsafe due to lack of maintenance or repair, the fleet manager/business owner can be held liable for negligent entrustment. As defined, liability is premised upon providing an employee with a dangerous tool or instrument, such as a vehicle, while knowing, or having reason to know, that use of the vehicle creates unreasonable risk or harm to others.
A program of preventative maintenance is the obvious strategy to ensure that you avoid putting your workforce or other road users at risk. Preventative maintenance will also maximise the availability and efficiency of your vehicles and extend their life span.
Scheduled servicing, inspections, and vehicle repairs need to be undertaken regularly and should address: engine oil and filter changes; transmission fluid; fuel system; cooling system; engine and transmission mounts; drive shafts or CV joints; belts and hoses; tune-ups; electrical system components; braking system; steering and suspension system; tyres, wheels, and rims; exhaust system; undercarriage and frame; exterior and interior lights; body, glass, and mirrors; windshield wiper system; horn; seatbelts and seat structures; fluid leaks; and auxiliary systems, which may have been retro fitted.
These scheduled programs are usually based on time (for example monthly), mileage, engine hours or gallons of fuel used. The difficulty for many companies is that just as the vehicles were purchased at different times, and the usage and fuel consumption varies between individual drivers, sticking to a schedule as the fleet grows becomes ever more time consuming.
While many companies schedule preventive maintenance manually, more and more companies are turning to automated systems. Manual systems, as discussed, can be tedious and time-consuming to manage, especially for larger fleets but the technology is becoming increasingly affordable even for the smallest fleet.
Computerized systems to schedule maintenance are a natural progression from other widely used technologies such as telematics for monitoring driving standards, mileage and location, and can be easily linked in, thus saving the business owner’s time. They provide a more efficient method for gathering timely reports on all aspects of fleet management, generating reports faster and more accurately, allowing the fleet manager to make timely proactive decisions.
In-vehicle technology is developing at such a rapid rate, with new technology constantly being introduced, either when vehicles are manufactured, or retro-fitted, that it is important to choose a system that can be customized to your specific applications. Depending on your fleet operating requirements, the system should enable you to create customized preventive maintenance schedules, create and track work orders, track fuel usage, record detailed maintenance histories and tyre logs, track accident and claims, manage inventory, and monitor labour, invoicing, and stock reports.
But all this wonderful technology intended to make life easier for managers, and safer for drivers, still relies on one very important factor, the vehicle’s driver or operator. Staff and/or their safety representatives should be fully consulted about the organisation’s policy on safe driving, including the use of in-vehicle technologies that are provided in company vehicles or in staff’s own vehicles that are used for work.
The vehicle operator/driver should always carry out visual vehicle condition checks before starting out each day, by walking round the vehicle to check that all lights, mirrors, tyres and windscreen wipers are in order, that the vehicle is adequately fuelled, and has sufficient oil and water by checking fuel level indicators, even including screen wash.
Where monitoring technologies are used, commitments may need to be given to staff about the way the data gathered is used and confidentiality of information relating to identifiable individuals. There needs to be a clear understanding that the organisation expects everyone to drive within the law, safely and responsibly on work journeys, that in-vehicle technology must only be used as designed, and that the organisation will provide appropriate help and training in the safe use of such technology.
When staff use their own vehicles for work, (grey fleet) it should be remembered that the employers’ legal duties extend to all equipment, used by an employee at work, whether or not supplied by the employer.
It is all about roadworthiness and ensuring that the vehicles your company uses are safe to drive, not just to keep within the law, but to maximise the efficiency of your fleet, the productivity of your staff and the maximum return on your investment.