At the end of March 2017, Transpoco attended the FTAI Transport Manager conference in Ireland, where operators are informed by industry leading speakers of all the latest trends and requirements for the transport sector. The event, hosted by Johnstown House Hotel, Enfield, Dublin, started with a brief presentation of the agenda by FTAI General Manager Aidan Flynn. The conference focussed on 3 topics specifically on which we could be updated by the speakers. Here is a brief overview of what we learned during the event:
1 - Insurance costs and the importance of risk management
Despite driving being such a risky activity not only in terms of the potential human cost to workers and road users but also for companies who might suffer serious economic consequences in the event of an accident, some transport operators still seem partly reluctant to acquire risk-management tools or address underlying issues. Driver selection processes lack documentation and checks and complicate the driver shortage situation making selections even harder.
According to recent data, we still find that among the main causes for accidents are defective brakes or tyres, yet companies have a very superficial perception of accident costs and consequences (“tip of the iceberg” as shown in our first image taken from the presentation). Having regular risk assessment processes as well as maintenance procedures leads to higher safety, fewer claims, more responsible employees and satisfied customers. Eoghan Murphy, Minister of State at the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, also spoke about insurance practices in Ireland.
2 - Brexit, confidence and cooperation
Research carried out around one year ago on business conditions and the future of the sector, according to logistics operators, was repeated recently and showed less confidence in the future due to world events and the potential impact of Brexit. During the event, a presentation on the potential impact of Brexit was delivered, underlining the timeline for the process with the potential start of UK-EU negotiations in May, stressing the importance that trade continues unhindered. Main issues relate to borders, traffic and customs. It is absolutely vital that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and it’s good to see that both the Irish and UK governments are committed to this.
3 - Compliance helps safety
The HSA of Ireland has carried out an interesting presentation on the business case for fleet safety, following up with some significant stats: we still see a variable percentage of businesses, from 60% to 20% not taking actions aimed at improving safety (such as the use of H&S policies, fleet policies, driver induction and training, claim reporting systems and community involvement tools). It is important to sensitize companies on how these tools can really make a difference.
The Transpoco team followed the debates and also promoted fleet management solutions to improve on safety, efficiency and compliance. There was even a draw—one of our stand visitors had the chance to win a dashcam.
Pictures: (1) - FTAI presentation on accidents cost; (2) Intervention of Minister of State Eoghan Murphy; (3) Left to right, Juliette Pernet and Hannah Watters from our sales team at Transpoco stand; (4) Left to right, our CEO Andrew Fleury with the dashcam winner, Conor Curran, National Fleet Executive at Bridgestone Ireland Ltd.