Profitability and employee motivation is the key to success in safety
Issued March 10 2006 Profitability must be the new focus rather than corporate liability says the Fleet Progression Forum
The fleet industry must demonstrate a link between fleet safety and profitability to gain buy-in at board level, as the implications of corporate manslaughter and liability fail to strike a chord. This should be supported by incentivising employees in order to harness a culture of safety and accountability within business. This was the message delivered by the Fleet Progression Forum (FPF) at its inaugural event on 8th March, where the focus was to define a benchmarked, industry-leading safety solution. The FPF, which was founded by FMG Support is a cross-industry body dedicated to championing the key issues and challenges within the fleet industry to drive positive and actionable change.
Members of the FPF believe that the fleet industry must be responsible for delivering the implications of fleet safety onto the boardroom table. While many companies realise the importance of health and safety, the majority associate it with actions in the workplace such as fire, spillages and machinery-based incidents; they view the use of vehicles as a personal activity rather than business-related.
The FPF also believe that this is compounded by a lack of tangible messages that would gain buy-in at a senior level within organisations. This has led to a state of apathy and lack of willing to invest in a fleet safety solution that goes beyond driver training and on-line assessment tools that deliver basic legislative compliance, but do not reduce incidents or create a safer working environment. The FPF believe that fleet managers must demonstrate a financial correlation between safety and profitability; an organisation that invests in a robust fleet safety solution will generate more profits due to a decrease in incidents and lower insurance premiums.
This must be supported by an internal scheme that incentivises employees and motivates them to accept safety at the heart of corporate culture.
The FPF also agreed that any safety solution must be grounded in real time data that continuously monitors the daily actions of fleets and is linked to, and developed in line with existing health, safety and environmental policies. It must also include the creation of individual driver profiles with regular driver checks and driver training. Most importantly, the data that is generated must be consistently analysed and fed back into the safety policy so that continual improvements can be made; driving down incidents and improving profitability.
“The fleet industry must take responsibility for delivering the message that tangibly proves to decision makers the financial benefits of investing a in a rigorous safety solution,” says Nick Brown, chief executive, FMG Support and founder of the FPF. “This is the only way to ensure that the issue of fleet safety strikes a chord with chief executives and financial directors; the reality is that the message relating to corporate manslaughter and liability is not hitting home. This must also be supported by an internal programme of activity that motivates employees to take safety seriously; we want good safety practice to be seen as second nature,” continues Brown.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of FMG Support by Propaganda Public Relations. For further information contact Amanda Lyons or Amie Pascoe. T: 0113 287 0123. F: 0113 287 0111. E: amanda.lyons@propaganda.co.uk
