Driving The Fleet Safety Movement

Transcription

1 Drvng The Fleet Safety Movement Practcal Use of Telematcs n a Safety Program to Save Lves and Reduce Costs Whtepaper 2014

2 Table of Contents Introducton Costs of An Accdent Drver Safety Program Challenges The Cart Does Not Come Before the Horse: Telematcs s a Supportng Tool Telematcs: What Features Really Drve Safety? Takng Telematcs To The Next Safety Level Concluson

3 Drvng the Fleet Safety Movement 2014 Introducton Each year, thousands of road fataltes are attrbuted to commercal vehcle ncdents. Provdng staggerng fgures, the Occupatonal Safety and Health Admnstraton (OSHA) reports that every 12 mnutes someone des n a motor vehcle crash, every 10 seconds an njury occurs, and every 5 seconds a crash occurs. 1 The majorty of these ncdents occur durng workday hours, predomnantly durng the to-and-from work commute and ultmately the employer bears a multtude of short term and long term costs assocated wth on/off job property damage and njures. Whle these costs should provde enough ncentve to avod rsky drvng, a recent research study conducted by The Nelson & Harrs Poll confrms that ndvduals engage n unsafe drvng practces despte beng fully aware of ther unsafe nature. For example, out of the 2,045 adults surveyed between May 27th and 29th, 2014, Over 90% beleved textng whle behnd the wheel s a dangerous actvty, yet over 70% admtted to dong so. 2 What s more, personal groomng, postng to socal meda, watchng onlne vdeos, and drvng after havng a few drnks s a common realty for many. Drvers make choces, knowngly choosng the behavors that puts them and other drvers at rsk. Due to ths clear dvde between what drvers know to be unsafe and what they choose to do anyway, t s evdent that a deeper ssue exsts for organzatons and fleet managers, and educatng drvers on safe drvng practces s smply not enough. Wth accdents generatng nearly $871 bllon n economc loss and socetal harm every year, 3 new measures that go the extra mle must be ntroduced to combat these occurrences. But how, exactly, can n-offce fleet managers and drver supervsors effectvely reduce drvng rsks, mprove on-road safety, and llustrate measurable mprovements, all the whle managng the fleets day-to-day operatons? Wth a countless number of dfferent technology solutons avalable n the marketplace that clam to ad fleet safety efforts, where should the fleet manager start? Occupatonal Safety and Health Admnstraton. (n.d.). Gudelnes for employers to reduce motor vehcle crashes. Retreved from OSHA.gov: The Harrs Poll. (2014, June 19). From talkng to textng, Amercans fess up to dangerous drvng behavors despte recognzng that they re unsafe. Retreved from Harrsnteractve.com: Safe%20Drvng_ pdf Klcarr, S. (2014, May 30). Calculatng the cost of crashes. Retreved from Fleetowner.com: calculatng-cost-crashes 3

4 Drvng the Fleet Safety Movement 2014 Costs of An Accdent Accordng to The Amercan Socety of Safety Engneers (ASSE), employers are faced wth two types of accdent-related costs: drect and ndrect. Whle drect costs consst of more obvous tems such as vehcle towng, motor vehcle repars and replacements, deductbles, fnes, nsurance premums, and workers compensaton, t s crtcal to note that ndrect costs of njures may be 20 tmes the drect costs. 4 These hdden costs are vast and requre fleet managers to take a closer look at varous tems: + Tranng + Compensatng replacement workers + Accdent nvestgatons amed at dentfyng core causes + Completng rsk assessments to estmate potental damages + Enforcng correctve actons + Schedulng delays and lost productvty + Admnstraton expenses + Employee morale and absenteesm + Customer satsfacton levels and loss of busness + Negatve publcty threatenng an organzaton s reputaton Take for nstance the hghly publczed accdent where famous comedan Tracy Morgan sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for neglgence, after one of ts truck drvers crashed nto Mr. Morgan s lmousne van, 5 ultmately kllng one passenger and njurng three others. In ths case, t was sad the drver of the Wal-Mart truck was speedng and fell asleep behnd the wheel as a result of beng awake for more than 24 hours. Whle the results of the nvestgaton are pendng, on-road drver safety must always be managed by fndng the weak spots that add rsk to an organzaton. Moreover, busnesses that operate commercal vehcles and requre employees to drve for work purposes, and/or provde staff wth company vehcles for prvate purposes, are legally oblgated to manage drver and fleet safety Amercan Socety of Safety Engneers. (2014). Indrect costs of accdents. Retreved from ASSE.org: professonalaffars-new/bosc/ndrect-costs.php Banjo, S. (2014, July 12). Comedan Tracy Morgan seeks crash damages from Wal-Mart. Retreved from WSJ.com: com/artcles/tracy-morgan-seeks-damages-aganst-wal-mart-for-hghway-crash Fleet Forum. (n.d.). Fleet forum safety gude. Retreved from fleetforum.org: Fleet%20Safety%20Gude.pdf 4

5 Drvng the Fleet Safety Movement 2014 Another cost area to consder, as t relates to nsurance, s whether organzatons choose to self nsure or commercally nsure ther vehcles. Under the commercal nsurance umbrella, organzatons can essentally transfer rsk and the costs assocated wth clams straght to the nsurance company, rather than takng on drect lablty. Wth ths peace of mnd that can be found by workng wth commercal fleet nsurers, many choose to opt out of fleet safety tranng programs that nvolve addng resources drected at mprovng drver behavor. However, as a way to ncentvze organzatons to manage fleet safety, many nsurers now provde dscounts to elgble companes, typcally wth a fleet sze of 5-100, who use telematcs data to manage rsk and mprove safety. As explaned n a Delotte Unversty Press research post, behavor-based telematcs s dsruptng the auto nsurance market 7 - data s analyzed to reveal drvng behavor and provde precson n prcng to reward less rsky organzatons. Wth safety-drven nsurance, telematcs helps mnmze the lkelhood of collsons, mproves drver performance, and reduces overall at-rsk drvng behavor. As fleet costs contnue to clmb, any opportunty to save money, even on nsurance premums, s somethng fleets need to take a long hard look at. 8 Drver Safety Program Challenges One of the most effectve ways to mprove on-road safety s by developng and actvely mplementng drver safety programs. An nvestment n workplace safety and health ntatves backed by the support of an organzaton s most senor levels of leadershp has been known to result n a reduced number of fataltes, njures, and llnesses. Tradtonal methods of communcatng objectves amed at facltatng a company-wde safety movement typcally starts wth equppng employees wth tranng courses, educatonal programs, and newly developed tranng materals. Furthermore, the program should outlne the severty of the penaltes for drver safety volatons. Nevertheless, generc safety educaton programs only scratch the surface as four key challenges reman: 1. Obvous weak spots are dentfed whle the less apparent, and possbly more rsky weak spots reman ambguous. 2. Drver safety programs are appled holstcally across the entre department nstead of focusng the program to ndvdual needs on a case-by-case bass. 3. Drvers wth a sold understandng of what consttutes unsafe drvng behavor can stll engage n such actvty regardless of the hgher rsk levels nvolved, especally when fleet managers lack nsght nto the on-road actvtes of drvers as they occur n real-tme. 4. It s dffcult to measure the effectveness and payback of any drver safety program. 7 8 Fredman, S., & Canaan, M. (2014, Aprl 21). Overcomng speed bumps on the road to telematcs. Retreved from DUpress.com: Klcarr, S. (2014, March 19). Is t tme for an nsurance revew? Retreved from Fleetowner.com: 5

6 Drvng the Fleet Safety Movement 2014 The Cart Does Not Come Before the Horse: Telematcs s a Supportng Tool The answer to mprovng fleet safety s not n gvng drvers more educaton - t s n gvng hghly focused safety educaton and tranng whch s contnuously montored, managed, and reported on. One of the most commonly used tools for fleet management s telematcs. The technology offers fleet managers and supervsors wth detaled vsblty nto the on-road performance and actvtes of drvers and vehcles n real-tme. In ts most basc form, fleet managers are able to leverage the technology to track vehcles on a map, re-create prevous trps hstory, and vew dashboard reports that show tems such as total vehcle tme spent dlng and fuel consumed. Further to mprovng drver productvty and optmzng fleets, telematcs technology can also be leveraged for safety management purposes. It pnponts ssues related to a fleet and the drvers whch requre more customzed safety tranng. Some of the man rsky drvng behavors nclude: + Speedng over the allowable legal lmt + Aggressvely acceleratng + Takng sharp turns + Abruptly movng sde-to-sde, whch s commonly assocated wth dstracton lke textng, and can be captured by the accelerometer + Usng company vehcles after work hours for personal purposes + Drvng wthout a seatbelt on Although there s a busness case for telematcs technology, t s mportant to acknowledge that telematcs smply serves as a tool whch supports already well-establshed organzatonal safety polces, practces, and procedures. In other words, telematcs alone s not a slver bullet - the technology contrbutes to an organzaton s safety culture, rather than defnng t. It s for ths reason that not all organzatons are ready to leverage telematcs for safety purposes. As explaned by Nel Cawse, Geotab s CEO, gettng a 360 degree vew of drver safety s no easy task: t requres a serous commtment from all managers to cultvate and enforce a culture of safety before telematcs can be deployed. Those lookng to drve a fleet safety movement are ready for telematcs only after an nternal culture for safety has been establshed. The return on nvestment assocated wth usng telematcs can be sgnfcant. One company n the parcel delvery ndustry usng Geotab, a well-known nnovator n safety telematcs technology, has seen ther accdent frequency rate drop from 6% to 2.5%. Other research studes explorng whether telematcs postvely nfluences fleet drver safety have also provded a mountng level of mprovement evdence: two commercal carrers reported 37% and 52% reductons n safety-relevant events per 10,000 mles. 9 9 Dorn, L. (2013). What s the evdence that telematcs can nfluence fleet drver safety? Retreved from Brakepro.org: 6

7 Telematcs: What Features Really Drve Safety? Even the most experenced fleet professonals that manage the some of world s largest fleets are confronted wth a confusng array of telematcs choces. Wth hundreds of telematcs organzatons boastng smlar soluton benefts, the marketplace clutter has made t dffcult for fleet managers to dfferentate between all the dfferent technology provders and the optons they provde. Whle on the surface t may appear as though all telematcs solutons are alke, many are surprsed to learn that telematcs technology vastly dffers from one provder to the next. Before choosng a telematcs company to work wth, t s mperatve for fleet managers to conduct dlgent research. To realze the benefts, fleet managers flterng through the varous telematcs provders should ask: Does your telematcs soluton nclude a drver coachng feature where drvers are notfed wth n-vehcle audble buzzers and alerts whle drvng, as a way to proactvely manage on-road drvng behavor? Although a majorty of telematcs organzatons menton drver safety n ther promotons, only a small handful offer ths vtal to safety management feature. In-vehcle coachng alerts the drver that an event, whch has been deemed unsafe by the organzaton, has occurred or s about to occur. The drver then has the opportunty to modfy hs or her behavor wthn seconds n order to comply wth company polcy, thereby preventng a recorded event. On the other hand, f the drver chooses to contnue wth the unsafe behavor by gnorng the actve alerts, supervsors are automatcally notfed of the nfracton va emal, text, and/or on-screen messages. The event s also recorded n a drver scorecard - a report that compares and ranks lke drvers to one another and hghlghts the specfc areas needed for mprovement. Under ths scenaro, drvers that need counsellng on safe drvng are hghlghted and can be addressed wth targeted, actonable tranng. Ths s a powerful tool that not only manages behavor, but also changes frmly ngraned on-road drvng habts. To gauge the nnovatveness and qualty level of a telematcs offerng, one should always ask: Does your company manufacture ts own telematcs devces and buld ts own software? Havng a true, end-to-end telematcs soluton means your provder s nvestng n research and development to buld the hardware and software, rather than sellng pre-made devces manufactured by other organzatons. In an ndustry that s rapdly evolvng and expected to reach more than 600 mllon connectons 10 on cellular networks by 2019, nnovatng and respondng quckly to marketplace changes s key to meetng the changng needs of fleets and the ongong demand for better management systems. Telematcs technology s an nvestment, and fleet managers need to protect ther nvestment by stckng wth a provder that keeps a tght pulse on change, adapts to t, and also ntroduces necessary change to the ndustry. Don t just address today s concerns. Prepare for your future fleet growth wth an end-to-end telematcs soluton ABI Research. (2014, July 28). OEM and aftermarket telematcs expected to surpass 40% of cellular M2M connectons by Retreved from ABIresearch.com:

8 Drvng the Fleet Safety Movement 2014 The questons below probe deeper nto the sophstcaton level of the soluton you may be consderng, to go beyond the bascs and to help you uncover the less obvous soluton dfferences. If the telematcs provder answers NO to any of the questons below, n addton to the two already outlned above, you may dscover that you ll quckly outgrow the soluton: If a drver unplugs the devce and takes a trp off the grd then plugs t back nto the vehcle, wll the telematcs system provde me wth a tamperng detecton notfcaton? Do you report on how much drve tme the drver s on the road for wthout ther seatbelt on? Can I create new, custom rules and reports n the software whch sync up wth my nternal safety polces? For example, can I set a rule that enforces reversng nto a parkng spot? If a vehcle s parked, and a collson occurs, wll the technology stll detect and report on the mpact? Should an on-road accdent occur, does the system offer trp-level data at forensc detal so as to be able to re-create the trp and see what happened on a second-by-second level? Takng Telematcs To The Next Safety Level Telematcs should not be standalone. In an n-depth academc research study conducted by the author, t was dscovered that 91% of fleet professonals equate the reputaton of a telematcs company wth that of ts products and servces. The majorty of these ndvduals ndcated the mportance of havng hghly ntellgent technology wth the ablty to ntegrate wth other thrdparty systems to provde addtonal data. Integraton occurs n 2 core ways: 1. Your telematcs devce should offer expandablty through the addton of thrd party devces, such as Garmn navgatonal devces and n-cab cameras systems. 2. Your fleet management software should have an easy-to-use SDK (software development kt). The data captured further mproves operatonal effcences by combnng safety data from a varety of sources, such as CSA scores and MVRs, to create more holstc vews of drver behavor. Takng a bg data approach hghlghts the leadng ndcators n drvng behavor and how that translates to tckets and accdents overtme. 91% of fleet professonals equate the reputaton of a telematcs company wth that of ts products and servces. 1 // Seek an expandable platform 8 2 // Look for an easy-to-use SDK

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