SynX Blog

The winter season has over the years become synonymous with the pothole season as it is usually the time when most pothole cases are reported; however, the overall problem is getting worse as the seasonality becomes less typical—Irish and UK roads can be affected by potholes at any time of the year.

In the UK alone, the RAC was called out to 4,091 pothole-related breakdowns between April and June 2018, compared to 3,565 cases reported in the previous year. Since 2015, according to research carried out by The Insurance Emporium, almost one million potholes a year have been reported to local authorities. The same company submitted Freedom of Information requests to 205 local authorities and found the highest number in a year was 1,088,965 in 2016, with Edinburgh Council holding the dubious title of the UK’s pothole capital at 73 potholes per km of road on average from January 2015 to April 2018.

The factors that create potholes are basically moisture and cold temperatures—water gets into cracks, freezes, expands and breaks up the surface of the road. If the road surface is already substandard, the whole situation is exacerbated by winter conditions.

The risks brought by potholes are serious in terms of safety and vehicle damage. It has been estimated that potholes could cost over £400/€458 on average for a van while one in ten pothole damage repair bills exceeded £1000/€1145. The expense can be claimed on insurance if the damage is caused by pothole strikes, though two out of three van owners prefer to pay it themselves and in order not to see their premium increase.

According to the words of a UK Department for Transport spokesman, "Potholes are a huge problem for all road users and the government is taking action, providing local authorities with more than £6.5bn for roads maintenance and pothole repair in the six years to 2021." The UK government is in fact investing £900,000 in schemes to allow councils to better manage and plan maintenance works.

If it is true that potholes are an ongoing problem that appears to have become inexplicably worse of late, it is also true to say that that the problem isn’t new; in fact The Times ran a piece on the issue as far back as 1910. Things have gotten worse from time to time prompting a need for innovative solutions. A Radio 4 investigation into potholes recently hosted Dr Mujib Rahman, a former road-repair engineer who has become popular in Britain as a “pothole doctor”. Rahman has demonstrated that using infrared preheating improves the bond between the road and the repair, reducing the need for re-repairs. And in keeping with high tech solutions to the perennial problem, an ambitious project by the School of Mechanical Engineering at Leeds University, managed by Professor Phil Purnell, is looking into developing reconnaissance drones to detect early signs of trouble and apply preventative maintenance to reduce the expansion of potholes.

Midland Red South, a division of Stagecoach, admitted last year breaching health and safety standards and was consequently sentenced alongside their driver, 80 year old Kailash Chander, in the prominent Coventry bus crash case. The risky behaviour and poor driving of Chander, who had been working an inappropriate number of hours for his age (he was well past retirement age but still working as a casual driver for the same company), meant the company was later fined £2.3 million (€2.6 million)  for failing to act on telematics risk management alerts that allegedly led up to the fatal collision.

The telematics system that was used by the bus company at that time had in fact consistently made a number of alerts regarding the driving behaviour of Chander, though none of them had been properly addressed by the company and Chander was allowed to continue driving and working for them right up until the Coventry crash.

What happened to Midland Red South with regards to their telematics system could easily apply to other companies, which often have non-realistic expectations about telematics systems, or either do not carry out proper onboarding of the tool where company requirements are not shared with the telematics staff or whoever is responsible for doing the necessary follow-up once the technology is implemented.

The telematics tool employed had actually worked well, providing a good number of timely alerts to the company management (it has been stated that after the system had flagged poor driving, eight warning letters had been sent to the driver), which to be fair was acted upon. But despite this, nothing had changed and Chander missed a one-to-one meeting with his manager as the company needed him to be out and driving, and the meeting had not yet taken place when the fatality happened.

While driver hours were respected and the company was compliant on other levels, telematics activity was not supervised as closely as it should have been, and it seems rather that the company was not motivated enough to fully install the technology or did not adequately examine the needs of the business before choosing their provider.

According to Ian Hesselden, a partner at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, an insurance broker, "Technology provides an invaluable aid to fleets that wish to increase safety and reduce operational costs, but data obtained through telematics needs to be properly assessed and the system needs to be user-friendly for fleet operators and managers in order to capitalise on the opportunities to make improvements or neutralise threats."

If you are looking for a reliable telematics provider who can ensure you a smooth onboarding and help you with an easy-to-use system, talk to us or sign up for a free trial.

With the clock ticking inexorably toward the March 29 deadline, the question everywhere seems to concern the future of the UK and Europe with regards to Brexit. Almost two years have passed since the June 2016 referendum in which 16,788,672 leave votes secured a small majority and technically cleared the way for the UK to leave the European Union, but since then the actual outcome is anything but clear.

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit seems at the time of writing the most likely outcome as the UK and the EU have so far been unable to reach an agreement, and everyone is starting to imagine some of the possible post-Brexit scenarios as the eleventh hour approaches. What would be the consequences of a no-deal Brexit for the transport, logistics and hauliers sector?

Back in the beginning of January, some influential transport and logistics trade associations such as the FTA and the FTAI have urged companies and hauliers to start preparing for the no-deal eventuality. The FTAI in particular has advised hauliers to take immediate action and advance their preparations, or expect delays, red tape and costs after March 29.

The General Manager of FTAI, Aidan Flynn, has stated that "Whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations—deal or no deal—it will have a seismic impact on the UK's trading environment and in turn, the freight distribution and logistics sector on both sides of the Irish Sea. By leaving the Customs Union and the Single Market, the UK will trigger notable friction in the supply chain. There will inevitably be multi-agency checks at ports and the administrative burden placed on the logistics industry—particularly road haulage—will hinder business development and, in some cases, cripple the small to medium enterprise sector.”

If a no-deal Brexit is reached, the island of Ireland will be particularly impacted by the reinstatement of a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland—the Irish land border would become a frontier of the EU and there would be pressure to enforce similar customs and immigration controls to those that exist between the EU and any non-EU country.

Trade and immigration are two other major influences on the transport and logistics sectors. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK would have to revert to World Trade Organisation rules on trade; it wouldn’t be bound by EU rules but would be subject to the EU’s external tariffs. The price of goods in shops for Britons could rise sharply as businesses would have to have to pass on the cost of tariffs on goods imported from the EU. With regards to free movement, the UK would be free to set its own controls on immigration from EU countries. However, the EU could respond in kind for Britons and this could lead to delays at borders not only for expats but the situation for workers in the logistics and transport sector is also unclear.

The Loadstar, an online news resource for the logistics industry, makes two uncomfortable observations on what could happen after a no-deal Brexit: the time EU trucks spend in the UK on average is 1.9 days; a timescale that would inevitably change in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This could force hauliers to look for business opportunities outside of the UK when it becomes a much less efficient, more expensive and time-consuming country with which to trade. Another potential problem, is the massive presence of EU vehicles on the Dover-Calais route—it has been estimated that 85% of the trucks there are from the EU, posing considerable logistical challenges for both exporters and importers.

The anxiety concerning potentially huge delays at the border has already been considered by many businesses, but let’s focus on the healthcare sector for a moment: in the news just a few days ago, was a pharmaceutical company that saw fit to stockpile vital emergency equipment as the more stringent custom checks possible after a no-deal Brexit could potentially delay the delivery to patients in emergency situations. The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, has admitted that getting logistics right is crucial to guaranteeing the flow of medical supplies.

While telematics has largely been recognized as an advantage for companies running fleet operations the world over, and the fact that insurance companies have started to both promote and incentivise the usage of dash cams for end-users, a survey published towards the end of last year still reveals some lingering doubts amongst a sizable percentage of drivers, especially in the UK, as to whether telematics really do make their life easier and their driving much safer.

According to the survey, carried out by Redtail Telematics in cooperation with YouGov, around 30% of the UK drivers interviewed still feel sceptical about telematics really being useful and delivering any benefits to drivers. In those claiming that telematics does provide advantages for drivers, it is quite significant to see that the top two reasons for getting the technology is the reduction in car insurance premiums and the potential help telematics will provide in locating the vehicle if stolen. According to the same research, less quoted reasons for getting telematics would be the invaluable evidence that could be provided in the case of an accident, the incentive to switch to a safer driving style and the higher self-awareness, for a driver, of their own driving style.

From the survey it seems clear that adopting telematics is still seen in general as advantageous for British motorists; but it is still associated with prohibitive costs that, in the minds of some, outweigh the opportunity to assess and change driving habits with technological assistance. The help the technology might provide in drawing attention to the way we drive is much more constructive than simply claiming a discount on an insurance premium, the importance of which still eludes those fixated on the more obvious ways to cut costs.

A recent research conducted by The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) on the number of telematics policies active in the UK reports that the total number of active telematics based policies recorded in 2017 was 975,000 (almost one million). The number also showed an increase of about 30% on the figures made public in 2016. With this trend continuing, and if we only had greater awareness of how telematics could improve safety for all participants, chances are that the number of global road traffic incidents would definitely decrease, thus providing a powerful ethical incentive to acquire telematics-based insurance policies.

Updated 20th February 2019

When it comes to hiring a new driver for your fleet, you might think that finding somebody with the necessary certifications and driving licence, with extensive experience and an extremely positive safety and accident record, ready to start when it best suits you, actually means “problem solved”. But that’s really only part of the job, especially if we think about what still happens in most companies - they do not have a precise training process for new hires or contractors.

Even when you have a starting date agreed and a contract signed, you still have not started training your new hire. Having a proper and efficient induction process is something all types of companies need to look into – and fleets are not exceptions – to make sure that the effort, resources and energy spent during the hiring process find a positive outcome and that employees feel comfortable in the new role, ready for their new tasks, involved in the new company and motivated to work in the new environment.

Having a good employee induction process can really pave the way for an extremely positive employee-employer relationship and helps your employees becoming productive as soon as possible, providing great advantages in terms of savings and when it comes to getting more business for your company. But that’s not the only benefit: if it is true that it is not always good to judge a book by its cover, it is also true that first impressions do matter...

 According to data shared by Digicast, companies that lack an efficient induction system or do not manage induction risks have a higher chance of losing their new hires, as around 25% of the new workforce decides to leave their new workplace within the first week of work. According to Aberdeen, a provider of marketing and sales solutions, 54% per cent of the organisations with an onboarding process in place can enjoy greater new hire productivity and 50% of them can benefit from greater new hire retention. Recruitment Solutions, which research has been quoted in the Digicast whitepaper “Optimising induction training”, states that, on average, companies experienced 47% of new employee turnover after 90 days, with the same companies admitting that induction was a priority area of investment. With driver shortage being one of the most challenging issues of the transportation and fleet sector, it is clear that the onboarding process your company has plays a very important role in keeping your staff happy and minimise turnover.

With the time constraints everyone has and the fact that new hires’ training often does not correspond to a person in charge of it or has to be arranged between different employees, creating a sound induction process is surely not a piece of cake. But thanks to the presence of technology we can quickly get access to valuable online tools that make your life easier (and your company happier!).

Let’s have a look at some of their features!

#1 – Having an online onboarding process is a great starting point.

The staff working in a fleet can actually be hired via a contract or work as a freelance contractor, but there should definitely be no difference in performance efficiency, level of expertise and compliance guaranteed. Contractor manager software like Initiafy, a platform hosting online induction training videos, can make a huge work to have all of your staff on the same page and quickly get all of them used to the processes of your business in an effortless way.

#2 – Digital walk-around checks app.

Any driver working for a fleet (and this applies both to employees and contractors) needs to adhere to the paperwork needed for compliance purposes. The British and Irish legislations place a huge imperative on the vehicle checks that need to be done before vehicles start their working day, known as walk-around checks. Walk-around checks should definitely be an integral part of the training for new hires, and today you have the opportunity to move from the old-fashioned and not practical paper version to our extremely user-friendly SynX Driver app, which makes the full process faster and paperless while still 100% compliant. Make sure you include it in your training sessions and when drivers do familiarise with the vehicles they will have to drive.

#3 – Driver identification.

Another important tool that helps with drivers’ whitelisting (for both employees and contractors/subcontractors) is Driver ID. Thanks to the combination of our software and a unique keyfob+reader system installed on the vehicle dashboard, you can make sure only authorised drivers are allowed to use fleet vehicles, preventing misuse and increasing security. You can then monitor their driving style, automate timesheets and gain precious insights about vehicle activity. Make sure drivers test how it works during their training.

#4 – Driver documentation and policies.

Signing fleet policies and checking on certification and licenses is key during onboarding. The SynX feature Driver Documentation and Initiafy’s traffic light feature respectively help managers and supervisors to store driver documentation in a digital format in a safe place and to and see if any worker's qualification cards or certifications are about to expire or are already expired.

At the tail end of 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a detailed report on the perennial issue of road safety.

This year’s edition of the report, available online, has focussed in particular on the wholly unacceptable number of deaths on the roads worldwide as this is a trend that is not decreasing globally (though it is in some individual countries). Huge steps have been made with regards to motor vehicle legislation in various countries of the world to try and minimise the problem as much as possible; which suggests that, without similar regulations, we would be dealing with even more depressing statistics than we are stuck with already. What’s more, it is also true that, despite low-income countries causing the most concern when it comes to tackling road safety, the problem is stubbornly persistent and has not improved even in some middle-income and high-income countries, as the chart suggests:

The number of road traffic deaths is far from evenly distributed throughout the world, with the highest fatalities recorded in Africa (26.6/100,000 people) and South-East Asia (20.7/100,000 people); and all in all, it has been estimated that an unbelievable 1.35 million people are dying each year on the road. We are therefore very far from the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: target 3.6, which aims at halving the number of road traffic related deaths by year 2020. Road traffic accidents account for 13% of all deaths in low-income countries and 7% of all deaths in high income countries—the 8th most common cause of death in the world,

According to the numbers published, every 24 seconds somebody dies on the road. To sensitize the public to the issue, the WHO has created a report data visualization page where we can actually see just how frequently a road users dies in the world as it ominously countdowns the average time between fatalities and adds it to the growing total.

There are actually five areas of particular risk where the WHO recommends being extra vigilant when it comes to road safety, with three of them possibly applying to professional drivers. Managing them can definitely make a difference to on-going safety—so we recommend you follow suit in applying them to your fleet:

1. Effective speed management is, as such, central to most road safety intervention strategies. Regarding the WHO report, some countries still need to focus on the best practices when it comes to setting appropriate national speed limits. In your fleet make sure speed limits are respected to reduce the possibility of collisions and that you manage a responsible pool of drivers.

2. Drink-driving. The best advice is never ever drink and drive, even if there is a BAC limit provided. 5–35% of all road deaths are reported to be alcohol-related. Make sure you have a drink driving policy or set frequent reminders, particularly during sensitive periods.

3. Seat-belt use. Wearing a seat-belt reduces the risk of death among drivers and front seat occupants by 45–50%, and the risk of death and serious injuries among rear seat occupants by 25%. Make sure your drivers use seat belts.
   
   

The other two areas of safety focus, not particularly applying to fleets but to road users generally, are the use of motorcycle helmets and of child restraints.

Considering the uncomfortable statistics regarding global road safety, it is extremely important to act now or the SDG target will not be reached by the 2020 deadline.

The Health and Safety Authority of Ireland has recently published the dates of the next Transport Safety Seminars, which will take place in early May 2019.

The HSA will be hosting a series of free half-day morning seminars. The objective of these seminars is to inform and educate employers about how to implement safe driving for work practices and key transport and vehicle risk topics. The seminars will be of particular interest and benefit to employers, self-employed, transport, safety and fleet managers who operate vehicles in all work sectors. At the seminars, delegates will hear examples from companies who effectively manage driving for work.

The provisional dates of the seminars are as follows:

May 1st, 2019 – Cork

May 2nd, 2019 – Kilkenny

May 8th, 2019 – Galway

May 9th, 2019 – Dublin

Don’t forget to save the dates.

Booking details will follow soon at hsa.ie, but if you wish to get a taste of the presentations and the case studies included in the seminars, you can have a look at the detailed presentations of the 2018 seminars edition in this HSA list or in this Driving for Work events and seminars page.

It goes without saying that vehicles and drivers are a fleet-orientated company’s most important assets—your business would simply not be able to function without them. Your drivers and vehicles travel kilometres and kilometres every day, as all fleet drivers do, and consume a substantial amount of fuel accordingly. But are you sure that consumption is actually based on kilometres travelled?

We’d like to point out that vehicles often idle, and if you imagine idling to be something of a habit for nonprofessional drivers or end users only, you might be surprised to learn that it is actually not uncommon amongst fleet drivers as well, unless you take appropriate measures to prevent it of course.

What is idling then? Basically any unjustified time a vehicle is stationary with the engine running constitutes idling. This typically happens in a number of specific instances: while queuing or waiting at a red light, while parked or waiting to load or unload goods or passengers in the case of taxis. It is sometimes difficult to avoid idling, for example if your vehicle is equipped with PTO (power take-off) and needs to be left running in order to perform a necessary mechanical function; but knowing how many vehicles idle and the reason why might help you find the correct solution to the problem. Some time ago, vehicles used to idle in order to assist restarting. But today, with the advances in ignition systems, this is no longer strictly necessary.

Idling is something that needs to be avoided for three essential reasons: idle vehicles consume fuel, they increase carbon emissions and they impact on the health of your drivers (and, ultimately, everyone else to a greater or lesser extent). If you still haven’t already, you should definitely look into eliminating unnecessary idling to get extra, immediate savings on your fuel budget.

It has been estimated according to data collected by the Argonne National Laboratory, that:

• Idling a company car leads to 0.5 gallons/19 litres of fuel waste per hour
• Idling a medium duty truck leads to 0.4 to 0.6 gallons/15-22 litres of fuel waste per hour
• If every car in the United States idled just 6 minutes per day, 3 billion gallons/11 billion litres of fuel would be wasted every year, equalling a total cost of $10 billion

Imagine what type of expense idling could apply for your fleet?

Preventing idling doesn’t have to be expensive. Most of the time you would just need to implement an idling policy within your fleet—if you haven’t done so already—you will be surprised how much you save by merely implementing a zero idling policy.

If you want a more thorough process, you can use technology to track idling and establish actions depending on which drivers or vehicles are prone to idling and measure the progress you make in terms of reducing idling and in lowering fuel consumption. You might have to make a modest investment at the beginning—if you haven’t got round to using the technology yet—but the results will definitely be rewarding.

If you need some help with that, you know where we are.

While we reconfirm our best wishes to you for the New Year, we unfortunately have to remind you of something that may be a little unpleasant for some of you: it is time to go back to work and, most importantly, focus on your New Year’s resolutions and start to work to fulfil them for the wellbeing of your fleet.

If you are still digesting all the food, the celebrations and the toasting, you might appreciate a slow comeback to the office—this post would like to positively inspire by considering some useful resolutions but also in seeing them through. Let’s go through the list!

Resolution 1: Not having New Year’s resolutions. While this might sound odd, there are actually reasons why having New Year’s resolutions can be perceived as negative. If you are among those that every year resolve to exercise more or quit smoking, but never do, that’s precisely the point we’re making. Also, if you have to address important issues within your fleet and business, consigning it to a resolution made at the end of the year—in accordance with a corny tradition—is surely not a professional approach. In short: if making resolutions is just habitually pointing out the need for change without actually following up with any commitment, then you should definitely stop doing it!

Resolution 2: Embrace outside-the-box thinking. It is dangerous to be held back from change simply because ‘we have always done it this way’. If this is true for your fleet but is not producing good results, you should look into experimenting with different solutions, even if you feel sceptical about them. Overcome some of your resistance and base your judgement on measurable results: only if you do that will you be able to establish whether a fleet strategy is good or not. Even something not looking particularly doable or that different from the usual remedies can make the difference; you just have to test it.  

Resolution 3: Never forget about maintenance. Despite making prefect sense and being one of the all-time best practices to follow, fleets still minimise maintenance or look at maintenance spend meanly when it comes to cutting expenses, notwithstanding that not having an appropriate maintenance regime can easily turn into safety and compliance issues. You typically realise maintenance shouldn’t have been skipped when you have a problem or something has happened—by then it is too late. Make maintenance routine in your fleet and you will see how your vehicles, team and global business will benefit greatly.

Resolution 4: Think about your staff. Think where your business would be without your drivers. Involve them in the important decisions you make concerning your fleet and they will be eager to help. Some information about vehicles or particular aspects cannot be established without communicating with them—don’t forget that drivers are those out on the road with your vehicles every single day. You might also consider getting in touch with your customers. Make sure you value all their opinions as they are a key part of your success.

Happy New Year!

2019 has arrived, and while we are still adjusting to typing in the new date, we plan for this to be a great year for our businesses and most of all for our fleets.

But what should we take stock of when we think about the previous year?

Our Fleet Management Blog is always committed to providing the best tips and content for you, so with this post we would like to recap on what we consider to be three of the best tips from our 2018 blogs that aim to get your fleet off to the greatest possible start to the New Year. Let’s take a look!

1. Strategies to control costs in a fleet: measure types you can introduce

As every company will constantly think about strategies to control fleet costs, and fleet managers feel intense pressure to do so, this blog dealt with some possible cost reduction strategies aimed at improving the bottom line of a fleet. The starting point is to pinpoint what is actually impacting most on fleet activity and then controlling it to improve the global performance.

2. How to make sure fleet vehicle utilization hits 100%

Vehicle utilization is extremely important for all fleets, but especially for those trying to cut the costs of their operation. Assessing the usage of the vehicles of a fleet can definitely open up the potential to running your fleets more efficiently and at an optimised cost. In this process, it is extremely important to examine the factors impacting on vehicle usage and from there begin to take action.

3. How to keep both your fleet maintenance rolling AND your vehicles on the road

Lots of things necessarily need to work concurrently when it comes to fleet operations, but none of them are as crucial and pragmatic as carrying out maintenance properly while keeping vehicles on the road. In this article we take a look at that particular challenge, specifically the need for regular servicing, which is what keeps vehicles running, and the need of vehicles to be available on a daily basis.

These tips are really valuable if you are looking for something extra to boost your fleet’s performance; but if you wish to get hands-on help, you can sign up for our vehicle tracking trial or for our maintenance and compliance software trial. If you missed out on the opportunity to try them last year, you can really kick off 2019 to a great start by signing up. Once again, we’d like wish you a happy New Year!