This Fleet Safety Guide has been developed to be sufficiently generic to be adaptable to different organisations in the humanitarian community and their respective cultures around the world, and to gain acceptance by their management and staff.
It is strongly recommended that the guidance provided be applied to all fleet and road transport activities in the humanitarian community. While the primary focus of this guide is on light vehicles, the same approach can be applied to motorcycle and truck based or mixed fleet operations. This includes:
- All organisation, contractor and other vehicles and drivers whilst on the organisation’s premises (‘others’ includes – visitors, suppliers, etc.)
- All organisation and contractor vehicles and drivers driving on public roads and in public areas on the organisation’s business
- All road transport activities including personnel and freight movement, and operation of mobile plant (e.g. forklift vehicles)
using the guide
Having identified and committed to the need to manage fleet safety, Section 1 of the guide provides the business case for managing fleet safety with examples of the benefits to the organisation and to the local societies the organisation serves.
Section 2 of the guide, in an effort to provide practical steps and guidance which are adaptable to the particular needs of any organisation, describes the Fleet Safety Management System and provides the option of two approaches for an organisation to follow:
- A simple ten-point approach for smaller, less complex organisations.
- A more detailed systematic approach for larger, more complex organisations.
Whichever option your organisation chooses to adopt, the advice and guidance provided in throughout is equally applicable.
Section 3 sets out the requirements and recommendations for fleet safety management covering all aspects of the driving task – driver safety, vehicle safety and journey management, and includes information about transport contractor management.
Finally, section 4 provides practical guidance for planning and implementation of a Fleet Safety Management System, including information covering programme management and communications.
- Does the senior management of the organisation need to manage fleet safety
- Do we operate vehicles for work?
- Do our employees drive for work purposes?
- Do our staff drive our vehicles for private purposes?
- Do we provide employees with personal vehicles?
- Do employees or other drive on our premises?
- Do we employ contract transport services?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above the senior managers are responsible for ensuring appropriate systems and controls are in place and that they are operating effectively.
Throughout this guide there are links to take the reader to documents and tools contained in the accompanying CD that provide practical procedures, processes, pro-forma etc. which are freely available for the organisation to adopt and use. There are also links to other expert resources for further information and guidance.
The key to using this guide and managing fleet safety is – it is easy to do providing there is the will to do it. This will only happen with active leadership from the top of the organisation.
Further support is available from the Fleet Forum to help any organisation to manage fleet safety and implement the contents of this guide. Please email us on: [email protected]