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BT and RoSPA - A Case Study
With a commercial fleet of just less than 40,000 vehicles, BT is well placed to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with managing occupational road risk. For a number of years, the firm has led the way in developing a systematic approach to keeping its employees – and others – safe on the road. In 2001, BT began using an interactive risk management tool called Virtual Risk Manager to assess its drivers, which was followed by computer-based training for employees identified as being “at risk”. And last year saw the development of a partnership between BT and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, through which subsequent on-road training is provided for drivers who would benefit from further input. RoSPA’s Driver and Fleet Solutions department trains these drivers as part of the Government’s Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) for Vans programme. In fact, a BT driver trained by RoSPA became the 10,000th person to successfully complete SAFED for Vans since the programme was launched in 2006. Tony Holt, BT safety adviser for travel and transport, said: “The reason we chose RoSPA was because we wanted to put our drivers through an approved Government course. RoSPA, because it offers SAFED training, enables us to do that.” BT is currently upgrading its initial Starting Point driver assessment, meaning that all those who are directly employed by the firm – in the region of 100,000 people - will either retake the assessment or complete one for the first time during the next three years. And the assessment is not just for members of staff whose job involves a lot of time spent at the wheel. “It is for anyone who drives for BT in any way, shape or form, even if they hire a car just once a year,” said Tony. “We take the safety of all our drivers very seriously.” Employees who do not drive for work are also encouraged to take an assessment, as are their family members and friends via a freely available interactive computer based training module called One More Second. The assessment takes into consideration a range of factors, including age, behaviour, attitude and incidents, to produce an individual risk rating for each driver. Those drivers identified as at risk, perhaps due to their high mileage, can receive one-to-one help, for example a manager could assist them in identifying ways to reduce their mileage. Based on their risk rating, some drivers will take interactive computer-based training, which takes a similar form to the current learner-driver hazard perception and theory tests. Drivers who would benefit from subsequent in-vehicle training are referred to RoSPA’s SAFED scheme. SAFED is a driver development programme aimed at improving safe and fuel-efficient driving techniques. Tony said: “SAFED training makes sense for safety, financial and environmental reasons. Driving economically uses less fuel and helps with safety. The training focuses on the development of a smooth driving style and keeping within the speed limit, both of which mean fewer trips to the fuel pump, and SAFED techniques can also reduce wear and tear on the vehicle, cutting maintenance and repair costs.” The SAFED programme has reported that drivers who have completed the training found they achieved an average 16 per cent improvement in miles per gallon. Steve Heyworth, the RoSPA trainer who took the milestone 10,000th SAFED participant out for his training, said: “It is a pleasure to be involved in the programme that RoSPA is running with BT, and I particularly enjoy seeing the surprise on the drivers' faces when they realise how much fuel can be saved by changing their driving technique. “The safety aspect of the training is also crucial and, through SAFED's aim to develop a smooth style behind the wheel, there is a clear crossover between safe driving and fuel-efficient driving techniques." Tony also identified the joined-up nature of SAFED training – encompassing safety, cost savings and environmental benefits – as being a particular strength of the programme. He said: “Of course, SAFED is about fuel-efficient driving and when you have a fleet the size of ours, if we can save just five per cent on fuel, that can amount to millions of pounds in savings a year. “Having said that, the most important thing to us at BT is safety - making sure our people go home at the end of their shifts. “It is internationally recognised that BT is leading the way on driver safety. It is something we take extremely seriously. When you consider that we have a commercial fleet of around 44,000 vehicles, and then we also have those who drive private cars and hire cars, it is clear that we have to take it seriously.” BT’s investment in driver assessment and training has resulted in benefits for individual employees and the company as a whole. “The standard form for looking at how well we are doing is the number of incidents per 1,000 vehicles,” said Tony. “We reduced ours from 60 incidents per 1,000 vehicles to 30 over the last six years.” And Tony is keen to develop the relationship between BT and RoSPA in the future, with a potential link up on motorcycle safety being one option under consideration. Rick Wood, head of training in RoSPA's Driver and Fleet Solutions department, said: "BT is showing the way for other organisations to go in terms of managing occupational road risk. "It is doing a fine job, in particular because it focuses not just on its high-mileage occupational drivers, but also those who do not spend too much time behind the wheel.
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