Fleet Safety Starting Points

Introduction

Every organization has a vision or picture of what it desires for its future fleet management program. Values manifest in daily decision making. Fleet usage guidelines and norms informally define how employees utilize vehicles and manage their time with customers. It is recommended that you invest the time to proactively define your fleet safety program and driver policy for your team and for the benefit of your customers. Get strategic about your business no matter what size fleet you have currently.

The key is to agree upon and articulate the Company vision, mission, values, and strategies to engage the entire team in such a way that each person can own their achievement. Employee buy-in is easiest to achieve when you cultivate a team approach to planning and adopting policies. Solicit feedback from employees while developing new policies or changing existing ones.

Discovery Process

  • Review the company’s website to understand the history and culture. The “About Us” page is usually a good place start.
  • Build upon existing Employee Handbooks or Policy Documents
  • Interview the Owner and/or Executive Team about the relationship between the fleet and business strategy
  • Explore how company initiatives and policy align with vehicle usage:
    • Reducing Carbon Footprint
    • Community Involvement
    • Cost Reduction Initiatives
    • Existing Safety Programs

Considerations

  • Consider the Approval Process: Who, from the executive team, endorses the driver policy and this scorecard?
  • Who in your company will be responsible for creating scorecards?
  • At what frequency will scorecards be reviewed?
  • How often is the scorecard report going to be run? Daily, Weekly, Monthly?

Next Steps

Fleet Safety Best Practices