FLEET CASE STUDY |
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Giant heating and plumbing products distributor Wolseley UK recently developed a cost model to estimate how much new business it would have to win to offset losses as a direct result of road traffic accidents involving its vehicles.
The resulting figures were enough to focus directors’ minds on the importance of implementing a comprehensive risk management programme across the company’s 5,000-strong UK fleet of company cars and commercial vehicles. In the intervening two years the company has recorded a remarkable transformation in its accident record to the extent that both the average cost of crashes and the number of incidents have tumbled to all-time lows and the amount of cash now clawed back from third parties, which was previously unrecovered, essentially funds the fleet safety programme. In addition, insurance premiums have decreased by a five-figure sum.
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Wolseley UK is part of Wolseley plc, the world’s number-one distributor of heating and plumbing products and a major supplier of buildings materials. The fastexpanding company presently operates in 22 countries and in Europe operates a total fleet of 8,000 company cars and trucks. In the UK the company has 16,000 employees and there is hardly a member of staff that is not touched by the safety programme, which has largely been implemented and is being championed by Paul Gallemore, who joined the company two years ago as head of health, safety and environment.
Prior to Mr Gallemore’s arrival at Wolseley, a FTSE 100 company, the driving skills of commercial vehicle drivers were assessed and a safety audit had been completed. However, he said, data was not being linked to accident records and the implementation of best practice was limited. On arrival, health and safety specialist Mr Gallemore instigated a root-and-branch review of the entire fleet’s safety performance, having identified driving as the greatest risk faced by employees.
The result was the implementation of many initiatives that he had already introduced at previous employer Ryder plc. There, Mr Gallemore had overseen a reduction of about 90 crashes a month involving vehicles on its UK fleet with resulting spin-offs in terms of increased productivity, vehicle’s schedules being significantly less disrupted and huge cost savings.
| “In the UK the company has 16,000 employees and there is hardly a member of staff that is not touched by the safety programme” |
“At Wolseley we are using the same methodology and raising the profile of fleet safety and getting everyone engaged,” explained Mr Gallemore. Overseeing the whole safety-orientated transformation of the fleet is the company’s Fleet Safety Steering Group (FSSG), which meets quarterly and comprises a cross-section of departmental managers along with representatives of business partners Zurich Financial Services, insurance broker Willis and Interactive Driving Systems.
Additionally, three specialist sub-groups have been established that focus on analysing crash and insurance claims data; company car driver and accident trends and commercial vehicle drivers and accident trends. Fleet suppliers including GE Commercial Finance, Fleet Services and the Fleet Management Group are among key members of the sub-groups.
The FSSG has overseen the implementation of numerous occupational road risk management measures and Mr Gallemore says: “Wolseley is a very forwardthinking, proactive group operating in a rapidly-expanding company with a huge focus on implementing best practice nationally and internationally.”
