Fleet operators across the UK should be focused on safety. As a result, they should highlight to staff who carry heavy loads in their vehicles to remember this fact and amend their behaviour behind the wheel.
Heavy loads add stopping distance
New research published by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VCV) has revealed how carrying a half-tonne of equipment in a standard van can increase its braking distance by up to 36 per cent. This equates to an extra five metres of stopping distance travelled when a vehicle brakes from 60 mph.
Testing was carried out by the company at the MIRA Proving Grounds in Nuneaton using the manufacturer’s range of Caddy, Transporter and Crafter vans. It simulated realistic stopping distances for the vehicles when carrying a range of different loads.
Be ready to brake
Responding to the research, VCV director Carl zu Dohna said: “Braking distances in the Highway Code are based on an advised standard and don’t take into account the loads that many van drivers carry. Our research highlights an important safety message that van drivers could really benefit from.”
Mr zu Dohna went on to add that adapting your driving style to take into account the additional braking distance required when transporting heavy loads can therefore be crucial in helping to save lives and to better avoid costly, and potentially serious, accidents.
Jenny Smith, product manager for Tele-Gence, comments: “Anyone transporting a heavy load should appreciate the change in driving style that this requires. Failing to do so not only places themselves in danger, but also other road users and innocent parties.”
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There’s more to being a good employer than providing a monthly wage packet. By also offering wellbeing support, you’ll improve driver retention and have a more successful business.
It’s easy to think if you’re paying your drivers a fair wage for a job they’ll be content with their lot. But there’s more to a happy workforce than that; wellbeing is being increasingly recognised as one of the main factors driving employee satisfaction and company performance. According to workplace consultancy Great Place to Work UK in its 2016 study on ‘Wellbeing and the importance of workplace culture’ , “organisations with effective wellbeing programmes outperform the market.”
Wellbeing is hard to neatly define. Great Place to Work UK describes it as “a complex blend of the physical, psychological, social and relationship aspects of employees’ working lives. It includes factors such as their working environment and how they get on with their manager and colleagues.”
On a purely human level, every employer has a duty of care for their employees’ welfare, but employees’ wellbeing also makes commercial sense. An employee who feels cared for is more engaged with their work and this in turn improves performance, as illustrated by the graph below.
The flipside to this, according to Great Place to Work UK, is, “If the work/life balance isn’t right, or employees don’t feel respected, valued or treated fairly, they’re more likely to become demotivated, disaffected and eventually leave the organisation.” Given the driver shortage within the transportation industry, it’s more important than ever you retain the workforce you have. Besides which, you’ve already spent time and money bringing them into your company and equipping them with the right skills, so by providing a workplace where employees want to stay in the longterm helps to keep these costs down.
In a recent haulage drivers’ survey, carried out by Shell’s UK health manager Dr Marianne Dyer, respondents listed their top three most important wellbeing needs as: quality of sleep/rest and privacy; a safe, healthy environment; and keeping in touch with friends and family. Also ranking high in importance are: access to healthy food and convenient services on the road; and pro-active and supportive management.
In terms of whether drivers feel these needs are being met, the response was mixed. While 76% stated they mostly or fully agree they’re able to keep in touch with friends and family – their third most important concern – only 47% agreed they have access to enough healthy food – their fourth most important concern.
As for their top concern, 61% agreed they have the opportunity to take sufficient breaks, yet 18% disagreed with this.
When it comes to another high priority for drivers, a pro-active and supportive management, 59% agreed they feel treated fairly at work, 58% agreed they feel safe and cared about at work, 55% agreed they get sufficient training to perform well, and 54% agreed their work is valued and they receive regular feedback on their performance.
There’s clearly work to be done, so what can you do to improve your drivers’ wellbeing? The first step is to understand which wellbeing needs your drivers value the most.
Once you’ve identified your drivers’ needs, think about what you could be doing to take better care of them. The good news is, to be effective, looking after your employees’ wellbeing doesn’t necessarily mean spending money and could be as simple as paying closer attention to work schedules and providing flexible working to ensure your drivers have a better work/life balance.
Another no-cost yet important way to improve wellbeing is to make sure you know and respect your drivers, recognise them as individuals, and show you trust and appreciate them.
Beyond that you could consider implementing a more specific wellness programme. Some examples Shell has put in place for drivers include providing information about affordable, high quality, healthy food, introducing a shift work-acclimatisation programme, partnering with providers for access to free Wi-Fi spots, setting up an emergency SOS service to get drivers home quickly in case of family emergency, and offering access to health facilities.
It’s best to introduce just a few objectives at a time.
Some ideas:
Health topic on the agenda of every meeting
Fitness challenge for charity
Success stories sharing
Ultimately, whatever approach you take for your company, it’s clear that looking after your drivers’ emotional, mental and physical needs helps to foster a safe and happy workplace, which is key to moving your business forward.
Source: Fluid Thinking – Shell
Fuel Card Services, one of the largest independent providers of fuels cards in the UK, has been selected to become an FORS Affinity Partner – the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).
Working in collaboration with FORS, we have created FORS Fuel Expert, offering discounts and benefits to FORS members.
Fuel Card Services’ Managing Director, Denise Frost, said, “With FORS Fuel Expert, we now offer up to 16 different types of fuel cards, including all major brands – with exclusive service, savings, and security for FORS members and those working towards accreditation.”
Denise Frost
Service benefits include:
• Exclusive personal account manager • Experienced FORS practitioner • Full support for existing and prospective FORS members • Up-to-date knowledge on the FORS standard
Savings benefits include:
• Up to 5ppl saving (against UK average) • Up to 10ppl saving on motorways • FORS members save 60% off standard card fees • Time and money savings
Security benefits include
• Fully secure cards with PIN, limits, fraud alerts and more • 24/7 access to your fuel card account • All major fuel brands available • Backed by a FTSE 100 company
FORS Fuel Expert also includes FORS Reporting, a substantial package of reports including fuel consumption with MPG reports. These can be downloaded to Excel or can be exported to FORS Fleet Management System (FORS FMS), which is powered by Fleetcheck who are another FORS Affinity Partner. The package also includes C02 certificates providing information on greenhouse gases produced by the company vehicles – essential as evidence during the audit process.
If you are a FORS company, or if you are working towards accreditation, your business is entitled to some exclusive fuel cost saving offers from FORS Fuel Expert from Fuel Card Services. Click here for more information.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is a collaborative non-profit set up by the government and industry. The APC has helped to provide in excess of £86 million in investment for the nation’s low-emission automotive sector.
A total of 87 small-to-medium-sized enterprises have so far been supported by the body, helping to cement the UK’s position as a leading light in the development of new technologies to promote low-emission driving and enhanced efficiency.
The work and support offered by the APC is designed to lower the barriers to market for companies with innovative ideas and technologies. One such business to have received great benefit from their work with the APC has been Sunderland-based battery technology firm Hyperdrive.
Indeed, Hyperdrive commercial director Stephen Irish commented: “The APC has been a genuine catalyst for change. We have averaged an 80 per cent staff increase each year since we began.”
He added that the APC project has been “absolutely critical” to supporting this growth, as has the company’s ongoing collaboration with binding partners.
Jenny Smith, general manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “Genuine and ongoing government support for more new businesses to operate in the low-emission automotive sector can only be a good thing, not only for companies themselves, but for the environment, for drivers and the nation as a whole.”
Your business can benefit from affordable telematics with no hidden start-up fees or long-term commitments. Find out how at www.tele-gence.com
As connected and autonomous technology becomes more commonplace in cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles, the benefits for road users will gradually become more evident. Safer roads, more efficient vehicles and fewer traffic jams are all desirable objectives – and can be achieved with the aid of platooning, a new method of enabling vehicles to travel safely and efficiently together, in line, in constant communication.
What is platooning?
Vehicles equipped with connected technology follow each other in a convoy on major roads and motorways.
A radar system in the lead vehicle constantly measures the distance, speed and closure rates in the secondary vehicle(s).
A control module is responsible for computing all the relevant data, which is used to send decision signals that either keeps the vehicles in the platoon moving together, or engages the brakes to avoid a collision.
How does it work?
A forward-facing camera displays what the leading vehicle sees to the secondary vehicle(s). These cameras can also be used in conjunction with lane departure warning and lane keeping assist systems.
The ideal stopping distance
A €6.4m EU-funded project called SARTRE was able to run platoons with gaps of just 5m to 6m between them.
And it will bring safety benefits
The technology that links the vehicles will also bring safety benefits. For example, when the lead vehicle brakes, the information is communicated to the following vehicles in 0.1 seconds.
This means that a platooning vehicle moving at 50mph will travel a distance of just 2.2m before braking automatically.
Platooning could ease traffic jams
Vehicles travelling closer together will also take up less road space, leading to fewer traffic jams.
The legislation
Questions of liability in the event of a collision still need to be addressed – not only to fleet drivers’ need to adapt to ceding control of a vehicle in a platoon but to other road users who need to adapt their driving to accommodate these new types of convoy.
Source: Fluid Thinking – Shell
