An effective, competent, self-monitoring mobile workforce can be the key reason for a company's continued success. But when risk remains unchecked, a fleet and its drivers can also be the biggest source of unrecoverable costs.

Risk comes in a number of ways. Traffic accidents involving your fleet - even minor ones - can cost your business thousands of dollars. Sudden fleet costs can range from repair charges and insurance claims on vehicles damaged in accidents, to emergency medical services for injured employees and associated legal fees.

There is, however, a sensible way to limit fleet-related costs: effective fleet risk management. Having a system for assessing and mitigating risk helps to ensure your employees are protected, and so is your company's bottom line. This means you can prevent sudden cost blowouts before they even happen.

In this blog, we'll look into the unique risks of fleets today, and share specific risk management steps for protecting your company's revenues and long-term viability.

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Risks and potential costs of workplace accidents

We can start by considering the main dreaded event for any fleet-dependent business - a car crash. Even for minor collisions that cause a dent in a car's side doors or front bumper, repair fees can add up quickly.

Fixes can cost near $1,000 or more, and because nearly 25% of fleet vehicles are in accidents every year, the line item for vehicle repairs can quickly upsurge. The social cost relating to a traffic-related injury can be enormous - around $900,000, as estimated by the Ministry of Transport [link to source]. A company's share of that cost can exceed $15,000, including liability for ambulance, hospital, and specialist treatment fees. Prosecution under the Health and Safety Act is also possible if the company is found to be negligent.

Fleet risk can also produce problems in sales and customer retention. When product delivery or service fulfilment fails because of fleet issues, your company may face the difficult choice of losing business or pouring essential resources into saving major client relationships. This means spending more time and money that can't be easily recouped.

Risk management can prevent many, if not all, of these issues from brewing in the first place. Here are three specific ways to control fleet risk and improve your company's financial and operational outlook.

1. Make safe, compliant driving part of your corporate culture

When an organisation's leaders embrace good driving practices as a core company value, it creates a culture of Health and Safety compliance that employees can easily fall in line with.

Company leaders should set the tone by communicating positively about the benefits of safe driving and why it's so essential to doing great business. Other good steps include rewarding good driving behaviour, and emphasising good driving habits when onboarding new employees.

A culture of encouragement around safe, responsible driving means fewer accidents and lower risk.

2. Reduce the need for vehicle maintenance

All vehicles need the occasional tune-up. But having constant insight into vehicle condition and being proactive about upkeep can lower costs, both in terms of reducing maintenance frequency and avoiding emergency repair situations.

For one, driver training can lead to less stress on vehicles. Sudden accelerations, harsh stops, and idling are a few damaging behaviours that drivers can be cautioned to avoid. When employees understand how smooth driving relates to vehicle upkeep and act accordingly, you can expect lower incidental repair expenses, and fewer operational delays that hurt business.

Having a transparent reporting system is also important. With reporting software that's accessible via the cloud, you'll be able to monitor and act quickly on vehicle performance issues and remotely assess driver behaviour. The result is more consistent fleet uptime and healthier company revenues over time.

3. Implement driver training

Driver training is central to effective fleet management. When drivers know how to stay safe and keep vehicles in prime condition, the company's bottom line is more secure.

A good driver training programme should be measurable, so that you can have visibility into which drivers are most competent, and which ones to keep a closer eye on. Lending more support to less-proficient drivers - for example, with extra training or more supervision - will help you lower the occurrence of accidents.

Driver training should also be flexible. Since any number of stressors can enter your employee's lives, driver fitness can change over time, and ongoing classes should accordingly be adjusted to each individual. Also, a training regimen should allow for updates as new laws and regulations are passed. This flexibility will help your company ensure compliance and further minimise risk. 

Fewer accidents mean lower costs and a stronger bottom line, and effective fleet risk management helps achieve that.

By building a corporate culture around safe driving, reducing vehicle maintenance with smart oversight and reporting, and giving the mobile workforce responsive, ongoing training in best driving practices, you can effectively limit the natural risks that come with a fleet. And it's very likely that such measures will have a positive effect on your company's financial outlook.

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