Fleet managers are facing new challenges on all fronts as they adapt to a changing business environment. Responsibilities now cover issues including reducing emission, mobility, duty of care and others.
Floods underline the importance of health and safety
Fleet managers are facing new challenges on all fronts as they adapt to a changing business environment. Responsibilities now cover issues including reducing emission, mobility, duty of care and others. The floods that have hit Britain in the past fortnight have underlined the responsibility fleet managers have for the health and safety of their staff.
In the event of extreme weather, fleet managers should be encouraging drivers to organise their journeys carefully and plan in advance to avoid difficult driving conditions. There have been a number of reports of drivers getting into problems as a result of flooding and temperamental weather conditions can easily result in drivers being caught unawares.
It’s easy to say that it will never happen to me, but the wisest solution is to plan for the worst. Basic provisions such as a health and safety kit, blanket and torch could prove vital should you become stuck in a difficult situation.
The need for contingency planning has also been raised by the recent weather. Companies must understand the importance of contingency planning should contract hire vehicles become damaged through bad weather.
The financial losses caused by the recent flooding are continuing to rise and businesses without a fleet ‘back-up’ plan will find their losses increase further as damaged contract hire vehicles potentially ground their fleet and affect business operations.
Forward thinking fleet managers are already embracing the challenges of their changing role – I’d urge others to take their lead.
See you next week.
Mike
