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Fleet Support Group is celebrating a double triumph at this year’s Fleet Safety Forum Awards, with the judges saying that the company “works tirelessly towards a crystal clear vision of improved fleet safety”.
The Chippenham-based company, which manages a fleet of more than 50,000 vehicles, was named Fleet Safety Provider of the Year for its all-embracing vehicle, driver and journey online RiskMaster technology.
In addition, FSG founder and chairman Geoffrey Bray won the Kevin Storey Award for Outstanding Commitment to Road Safety.
The annual awards are organised by road safety charity Brake and recognise excellence in road risk management in helping to reduce the number of at-work drivers involved in crashes on Britain’s roads.
The Government estimates that up to 200 road deaths and serious injuries a week result from crashes involving at work drivers. More employees are killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads while driving on behalf of their employer than in any other work-related activity.
RiskMaster is in demand from an increasing number of fleets including Dun & Bradstreet, WHSmith, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, Unison and the Labour Party.
FSG has recently updated RiskMaster to include measurement of driver performance, and automated alerts to senior managers, to ensure that recommendations are being acted on.
Roz Cumming, Brake’s Fleet Safety Forum manager, said FSG won the award not only for RiskMaster, but also for working in partnership with clients and for developing an approach to consultation for new product development.
She said: “They have pulled together an advisory panel of experts ranging from police to lawyers to risk management practitioners. This expert panel also ensures that the company’s products are continually improved to best practice standards.”
The development of RiskMaster is based on what the Fleet Safety Forum judges called Mr Bray’s “fantastically clear vision for safety”.
With a passionate belief that a corporate focus on reducing road crashes will deliver financial savings for fleets, Ms Cummings said: “He encourages companies to care about, and to make a real difference to the safety of their own drivers and other road users. He is a true advocate for road safety.”
Mr Bray said: “Implementing a robust at-work driving safety strategy should be a priority for all businesses. Public and private sector fleets have a legal duty to safeguard the welfare of staff, but they also have a legal duty to comply with a raft of legislation which can only be achieved by having in place such a policy.
“Not only that, but evidence from our RiskMaster clients shows that managing occupational road risk effectively cuts road crashes. As a result, significant financial savings accrue as well as improved business productivity as vehicle downtime is slashed.”
The awards triumph further underline FSG’s track record in promoting the importance of road safety to Britain’s fleets.
Earlier this year, the company drove off with the Best Safety Initiative Award at the 2009 Fleet News Awards - the industry’s annual ‘Oscars’ organised by the UK’s leading fleet industry weekly newspaper.
And, last year, FSG won the Fleet Safety Forum’s Fleet Service Provider of the Year for iRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) - its highly sophisticated software system combining its long-established RiskMaster programme with in-car telematics. Previously, FSG won the Forum’s Safe Vehicle Maintenance Award (large fleet) in 2006 and in 2007 it was named Fleet Service Provider of the Year.
The focal point of RiskMaster is a Permit to Drive, which means each driver and vehicle annually passing a rigid ‘fit for the road’ examination with regular online driver declarations about licences and health status - to ensure employers are completely aware of all issues affecting their drivers. Failure to comply can mean withdrawal of a driver’s ‘permit’.
Employees are granted a Permit to Drive following a DVLA licence check and an online driving assessment that is then used as the basis for any training as highlighted following analysis, profiling drivers as ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’ risk. Vehicle maintenance records, insurance details and any data on crashes and motoring offences are also fed into the system.
As information is supplied, it is analysed by the RiskMaster software system, which then point-scores a driver’s data. If points rise above a preset level, management is alerted. A driver can qualify for a permit, or a temporary permit, or be denied.
The analysis is a continual process so every driver has a Driver Operating Life Report and they are simultaneously measured against their employer’s own specific parameters. A telematics option can also be added to RiskMaster.
The Awards, held at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwick, were sponsored by Arval.