Police investigations set to cause huge business disruption

POLICE investigation of a work-related road crash is likely to take many months causing huge business disruption with numerous employees interviewed as the prosecution case is pieced together.

Interviews with the driver - if they survive the crash - colleagues, line managers, fleet department employees, senior managers and directors are likely to form part of the investigation process.

Leading health and safety lawyer Michael Appleby, of Housemans in London, who is an adviser to Fleet Support Group and its RiskMaster work-related road safety programme, said: “If the police decide there is a workplace ingredient to any road crash they will start to look at how the organisation involved managed the risk.

“They will interview many employees under caution and see where the chain of command takes them and where responsibility lies.

“For many employers work-related road risk is still not on their radar so the investigation is likely to be long, time consuming and ultimately hugely damaging.”

It is possible that staff at many levels in a business could find themselves being prosecuted - the driver for the initial offence and managers and directors for failing to manage the risk. In addition the company may also be prosecuted.

While the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act applies to a business, directors can be prosecuted under manslaughter laws and the Health and Safety at Work Act if the health and safety failure is caused by consent, connivance or neglect.

Mr Appleby said: “We are in uncharted waters because there has not been a work-related driving prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act. If a director is charged personally then there could be pressure on the company to plead if this means the case being dropped against the director.”

He also warned: “Those employees interviewed under caution but not prosecuted are likely to become prosecution witnesses.”

FSG backs new Government campaign to help van fleets cut costs

THE focus on helping businesses cut their fleet operating costs has increased at Fleet Support Group since the economic gloom descended 18 months ago - and now the Government has joined the call for action.

Helping fleets cut costs has been one of the hallmarks of FSG since the company was established 22 years ago and it was underlined with last year’s launch of the Fleet Cost Reduction Steering Group.

The group put forward a wide-ranging action plan (go to www.fsguk.com) to help businesses trim their vehicle costs, but research supporting a new van-focused Government campaign reveals that the majority of van fleets and their drivers have not considered ways to cut fuel consumption in the recession.

Despite the fact that tough economic times demand that organisations focus on the tight control of expenditure:

• 52% of fleets/drivers have not considered ways of reducing fuel costs in the last 12 months
• Only 7% of drivers plan their journeys based on fuel efficiency

The data was revealed as Transport Minister Paul Clark (pictured above right with Larry Martindale, Programme Manager for Van Best Practice) launched a major new Van Best Practice programme, which offers free advice to businesses of all sizes on how they can change the way they run their vans to reduce fuel, maintenance and other operating costs, improve safety and cut CO2 emissions.

FSG manages more than 55,000 vehicles on behalf of public and private sector organisations across the UK of which about 20,000 are light commercial vehicles.

For many companies, vehicle operation is the second largest business expense after people, and FSG Chairman Geoffrey Bray said: “From sourcing the most fuel-efficient vehicles to ensuring that employees drive smoothly and sensible journey schedules are compiled, the range of actions that van fleets can take to reduce operating costs is huge.”

The initial focus of the Government programme, which is funded by the Department for Transport, is on improving operational efficiency for fleets to help reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions. 

The DfT has calculated that an overall improvement in fuel efficiency of just 5% would save businesses around £250 million per year, and reduce carbon emissions by 750,000 tonnes.

The Van Best Practice initiative has kicked off with the publication of two free best-practice guides - Efficient Vans: A Best Practice Guide To Cost-Effective Van Use and Fuel Management Pack: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Fuel Use.

A third guide will be available in January, focusing on van safety along with a Driver Essentials Pack containing handy-sized top tip cards providing best-practice advice on issues such as vehicle security, loading and unloading, driver hours and vehicle checks. Further guides will follow next year on van specification best practice and carrying goods safely, along with a series of fleet case studies.

The Guide To Cost-Effective Van Use, which details the benefits of operating vans efficiently and provides practical advice on reviewing existing practices, reducing running costs and introducing improvement measures, says: “The scale and scope of the benefits realised will depend on the degree to which you choose to improve the efficiency of your vans, and the number and nature of the efficiency measures you implement.”

The advice suggests that:

• Specification of the optimum vehicle will deliver lower overall operating costs
• Improved standards of driving mean lower fuel costs, fewer and less serious accidents
• Improved vehicle maintenance will result in lower costs and more reliable operation of the business with appointment and delivery schedules met
• Improved vehicle specification and utilisation will mean lower CO2 emissions
• Robust duty of care management practices will result in reduced legal risks for non-compliance
• Improved residual values at de-fleet time will be achieved as a result of better maintenance and driving style

For example, the adoption of strict maintenance practices can reduce fuel consumption by up to 7% and unexpected repair costs are also reduced. Meanwhile, data from the DfT shows that fuel consumption can increase by as much as:

• 10% with under/over-inflated tyres
• 10% with an out-of-tune engine
• 10% with a clogged air filter
• 6% with misaligned wheels

Mr Clark said:  “Vans are vital to the economy and therefore vital to our efforts to encourage low carbon transportation. This programme will help reduce emissions as well as assisting users to save money by reducing costs.”

Larry Martindale, Programme Manager for Van Best Practice, added: “Through the programme we aim to raise awareness of the range of best practice guidance available to the van sector, helping businesses to improve their safety and operational efficiency while informing them of the financial and environmental benefits of implementing this advice.

“There are simple things that van drivers could be doing to improve the efficiency of their vehicles, such as ensuring tyres are at the optimum pressure through regular checks and avoiding carrying non-essential items.” 

Organisations supporting the initiative include the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, the Road Haulage Association, the Freight Transport Association, as well as programmes such as Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) and the Driving for Better Business campaign.

Health warning issued over road crash brand damage

ALL brands have a value, but the value of any particular brand rises or falls depending on circumstances.

In a year when some banks were taken under government control and others fought off collapse, the value of financial brands, for example, plunged.

Currently, the world’s two most valuable brands are Coca Cola and IBM. According to brand consultancy Interbrand, the top 10 list of most valuable brands is completed by Microsoft, GE, Nokia, McDonald’s, Google, Toyota, Intel and Disney.

But all brands - whether a multi-national organisation or a local business - have a value that is jealously guarded by their custodians: the board of directors or the owner.

One insurer said: “Brand damage is one of the major business risks of the 21st century. Product incidents - recalls, boycotts, scandals - can cost companies millions, affect share prices and even result in bankruptcies.

“Companies need to better understand the value of their brand and the implications that lost sales can have on their organisation.”

Therefore, in the event of a road crash involving a company vehicle perhaps the most long-term impact is likely to be brand damage caused by the avalanche of publicity resulting from a crash.

An organisation will be found guilty under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act if ‘death is caused by a gross breach of its duty of care that is substantially due to senior management failure’.

Under current proposals, convicted businesses could be fined up to 10% of their turnover. In due course the courts will have power to make publicity orders as well, which will force a company to publicise its conviction.

However, even in the event of a non-fatal road crash, publicity - at a local level and at a national level in some cases - is likely to prove a nightmare resulting in lost business.

Leading health and safety lawyer Michael Appleby, of Housemans in London, said: “The bigger the company then the more concern there is about brand and how any damage to that brand will be perceived.

“But for all companies there should be concerns about how an incident will impact on them in the marketplace. Many tender documents ask about criminal convictions and generally successful organisations only want to be associated with similarly successful organisations.”

Fleet Support Group Chairman Geoffrey Bray said: “Brand value takes years to create, but can be severely damaged in seconds. As the police increasingly look for a work-related angle to a road crash an increasing number of prosecutions are likely to be accompanied by unwanted publicity.

Fleets and garages warned of warranty dangers of using non-approved oil

FLEETS and independent garages have been warned of the dangers of using non-approved oil in vehicle engines.

While fleets want to cut costs, the use of non-approved oil could prove to be a false economy as manufacturers look more closely at warranty claims.

Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that only specific approved oils should be used in their vehicles and have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in testing engines to ensure the ‘right’ oil delivers maximum performance.

It is a policy enforced by Fleet Support Group, which insists, says Technical Director Julian Bailey-Watts, that its entire garage network uses not only manufacturer-approved oil but original equipment parts.

David Udall, Business Development Manager at Total UK Lubricants, said: “Great emphasis must be placed on independent garages using approved OEM oil grades.”

Speaking at FSG’s annual national workshop for its 470 Masterserve garages, Mr Udall said it was vital to ensure that both independent garages and fleets that previously may have used non-approved oil products did not any longer.

With fleet costs increasingly under the microscope, using non-OEM lubricants could be a mechanism to save money.

Mr Udall said: “Because of the damage that can be done if the wrong grade of oil is used, it is important that only oil approved by the vehicle manufacturer is used.”

With vehicle manufacturers looking to wriggle out of warranty claims wherever possible, Mr Udall said: “We have moved away from the ‘one oil does all vehicles’ approach to maybe garages having five barrels of different oils.

Don’t stint on risk management: safe driving should be all year not just for a week  

THIS year’s National Road Safety Week may have just finished, but occupational road risk management should be a 365-day, 24/7 priority and not for just one week a year, says Fleet Support Group.

National Road Safety Week organised by road safety charity Brake and sponsored by the Department for Transport, 3M and Alcosense ended on November 29.

A Brake spokeswoman said: “Road Safety Week 2009 is about companies using the opportunity to educate staff and customers. One in three crashes involves a vehicle being driven for work and it’s fundamental that people who drive as part of their job receive ongoing driver education.”

But, with up to 150 road deaths and serious injuries a week resulting from crashes involving at-work drivers, and more employees killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads while driving on behalf of their employer than in any other work-related activity, the focus on road safety should be continuous.

Brake Chief Executive Mary Williams said: “Due to lack of public consciousness and arguably consequential lack of status among Government priorities, road crashes remain largely a hidden concern, not addressed to any degree of significance in our education system, in the media, or in workplaces or through support services for the victims. It is fair to say that the average driver still drives with their destination and personal and professional concerns uppermost in their mind, not with a sense of enormous responsibility and risk and hazard awareness.”

However, FSG has been successful in reversing that trend in many organisations which have turned to the company’s RiskMaster online occupational road risk management programme for help

FSG Chairman Geoffrey Bray said: “At-work driver safety is about the continuous management of people. If the right actions are taken, legal compliance will be achieved, companies will be able to claim the moral high ground and, as our clients can prove, operating costs will significantly reduce as crashes reduce and employees adopt a safer driving style.”

To help companies get to grips with road safety, Brake runs The Fleet Safety Forum. The membership service supports organisations in managing their occupational road risk, reducing crashes and saving lives. It also helps companies to save on the costs associated with collisions and badly maintained vehicles, such as insurance and fuel costs.

Subscription normally costs £155 + VAT per year. However, until Christmas, the fee for new subscriptions has been reduced to £77.50 + VAT. Further information is available at www.brake.org.uk.