Survey identifies FSGs RiskMaster as top safety solution

21 October 2008

Fleet Support Group’s RiskMaster at-work driving safely programme is the most complete occupational road risk management solution on the market, according to a new independent survey.

The survey of 38 companies offering occupational road risk management services reveals that no company markets a product that provides a linked audit trail of drivers, vehicles and journeys - including ‘grey’ fleet drivers - to the level of Fleet Support Group’ RiskMaster programme, which includes a ‘Permit to Drive’ approval scheme and since the beginning of this year has also embraced a telematics solution, iRIS (Integrated Risk Information System).

With lawyers and courts using the Health and Safety Executive/Department for Transport ‘Driving at work: Managing work-related road safety’ guidance as the benchmark for occupational road risk management standards, there is concern that some businesses may have implemented a product or service that does not effectively manage the risk thus leaving themselves open to legal action due to management failings.

The analysis examined a total of 13 different at-work driving safety services from the 38 different suppliers across the fleet industry - vehicle leasing and fleet management companies, specialist risk management providers, software companies, insurers, motoring organisations and telematics providers

Services looked for were: risk assessments, online driver appraisal/profiling, e-learning packages, on-the-road driver training, driver licence checking, availability of an online driver handbook, vehicle inspections, a ‘grey’ fleet focus, accident and maintenance data feeds, telematics, linked data collection for risk identification, automated ongoing risk scoring and the full online availability of all products.

The study was compiled by Gary Kent, who runs Toot Rock Consulting and has around 30 years fleet experience latterly as European fleet manager at City business solutions organisation Dun & Bradstreet.

He said: “To totally manage occupational road risk, companies must have in place controls that cover the driver, vehicle and journey whether staff drive a company-provided vehicle or their own. My analysis highlighted no product that covered the three elements in totality in the way RiskMaster does.”

Mr Kent added: “There is concern that a number of providers are suggesting that by implementing their product or service, the company’s duty of care is satisfied. This could be a dangerous assumption to make and could expose management to a possible charge of management failure in the event of a fatality where the service/product used has clearly not properly addressed the issue.”