This Fleet Safety Benchmarking Project: Literature Review provides a synopsis of all research and active programs which seek to measure the safety performance of an organization’s fleet.
Fleet vehicle crashes are costly and preventable. With relatively small investments, organisations can achieve large savings in their operating costs/losses. Importantly, work-related road crashes are the biggest occupational killer in Australia.
A critical review of these options found that benchmarking was likely to be the most effective method of improving work related road safety outcomes (Mooren et al. 2012). However, implementing evidence-based countermeasures should be done as part of this process. Moreover systematic reviews based on known road safety risk factors, or safety management elements that are thought to be effective are sensible things to do as well.
Why should benchmarking matter?
Benchmarking is a process of comparing strengths and weaknesses of organisations with the aim of learning how best to make improvements. The kind of benchmarking that would be suitable for OHS objectives encouraged by WorkSafe Australia is one that provides a continuous improvement process. Blewett and Shaw (1996) conclude that ‘Benchmarking provides a creative impetus that can lead to highly innovative solutions to OHS problems’ and that it is a powerful tool for encouraging broad involvement in OHS within an organisation. The type of benchmarking that would be most fruitful for achieving improved work-related road safety outcomes is one that goes beyond comparing results (incident rates, injuries and costs) to one that also looks at the processes by which results are achieved.
Funding for the National Fleet Benchmarking Project: Literature Review was provided by the NRMA/ACT Road Safety Trust and was finalised on 04/06/2015.
