Why is the need to integrate sources of fleet risk data so important?

What is the issue here?

In the latter part of the 20^th century, we saw a dramatic rise in the use of contract hire as a way of acquiring motor vehicles for business.  The reason was not just because it was off-balance sheet but because in one monthly payment, the fleet could buy an integrated solution that included acquisition, disposal, funding and maintenance.

As we now view the need for safety compliance in fleet risk as well as the drive for reduced accident claims, it is hard not to draw a parallel with the contract hire industry.  This is because fleets are again faced with a multi-faceted hurdle in checking licences, profiling and training drivers, controlling grey fleet and optimising claims handling.

To further complicate matters, whilst fleets are perfectly capable of buying these services (from lease providers, insurance companies and other providers), very often the fleet is left on its own when faced with deciding which to buy, how much to buy, at what price, for what reason and with what results. 

Why is this an issue?

Clearly, different fleets have different resources in this area depending on their size and their appetite to engage in a program designed to reduce road risk.  Despite these variations, common needs of all fleets are:

1.     to integrate all risk data into one, visible, accessible location,

2.     to be able to test risk data inputs instantly for severity using consistent parameters,

3.     to quickly implement pre-agreed remedial actions arising from higher risks,

4.     to check if the action taken achieved the overall program objective.

Given all this work, on top of implementing the risk services themselves, it is easy to see that for a fleet to achieve its overall objective to reduce road risk, demands a sophisticated integration of several sources of dynamic data.  Regrettably for the fleet, reducing road risk via the tools above, represents a relatively new concept and therefore not easy to do in-house via an off-the-shelf software application. As a consequence it becomes a manual and time-consuming job that creates delays and thereby, perversely, increases risk!

Even if systems were available, the fleet would need expertise to decide how to interpret levels of risk and indeed what to do about them. This falls within the scope of skills of a risk co-ordinator that knows what has worked in the past and without that knowledge, a fleet is left only with the option of experimenting in the hope the type of remedial action taken does in fact reduce risk.

Another challenge for fleets is in making sure the integration of risk data occurs consistently throughout the year because the time delay between a risk being identified and the cure being applied does have an impact on how effectively the cure works.  For example if a driver that has a blameworthy incident due to poor roundabout technique, receives training on that problem more than three months after the incident, its relevance (and the longevity of the training message) is lower than if it were carried out two weeks after the incident.

The solution?

• The fleet should seek advice as to where it sits in terms of safety initiatives and what would be necessary to raise that level to a point that is compatible with the organisation’s aspiration
•  The fleet should then create a solution-led (as opposed to product-led) road risk reduction program in partnership with a specialist risk management supplier that focuses on raising safety culture amongst drivers
• The fleet should select a single supplier that can offer all the risk tools as one cohesive solution (including claims) supplied by one accessible team that appoints one personal risk manager to every driver.
• The supplier should offer reliable advice on how to interpret multiple sources of driver profiling data so as to maximize the effectiveness of any remedial action 
•  Connections between principal causes of risk and potential remedial action should be pre-empted and defined so there’s a pre-set matrix that takes in all eventualities 
• The lead time between risk causation and remedial action needs to be shorter so as to increase the effectiveness of the curative measures.

At RVM Fleet Services our integrated approach allows us to help fleets to implement effective safety policies, analyse trends and identify high risk drivers. Our Driver Training program is targeted, timely and appropriate.  The result is lower accident rates, improved driver safety, and reduced costs.

Contact us now on 01132248888 or e-mail risk@rvmfleetservices.co.uk to find out more.