‘Risk management is about drawing in data and then making use of that data,’ says Shaun Rowley, senior product marketing manager at BT Fleet.
‘A lot of companies gather data, but they don’t do anything useful with it. What is a risk to the business, what’s a risk to the driver or to the vehicle?’
BT Fleet has always taken a holistic approach to risk management, examining every aspect of the operation. Now the company is offering this in-depth approach to external fleet management customers.
The risk management system includes building a driver risk profile, by looking at licences, checking accident data and examining service and maintenance data. Is the driver getting through brake pads and clutches faster than others, for instance?
Customers have access to this information through the BT Fleet portal and through regular meetings and e-mails.
‘We don’t suggest training everybody, but concentrate on those that really need it,’ says Mr Rowley. ‘This is what we are seeing and this is what we suggest going forwards.’
BT Fleet looks closely at vehicle build. Every van and truck gets the same level of attention, looking at how the vehicle will be used and how the load affects handling and stability.
‘We will hire a proving ground if required and test the vehicle with the kit on it, to see how the vehicle affects risk,’ he says.
Choosing a van extends beyond safe handling, to how the driver will use the vehicle. Would twin sliding side doors result in less walking around the vehicle, particularly at a busy roadside location?
‘Many companies operate a lean working environment in their offices, laying out the work space to minimise unnecessary movement. What they don’t do, is operate that same philosophy in a vehicle,’ says Mr Rowley.
For the first time, this year the company will manage more external vehicles than internal, with BT Group accounting for 34,000 of the 80,000 vehicles on its books. Customers include EDF, E.ON, Thames Water, National Grid and Network Rail, all businesses with a similar specialist vehicle requirement. The company also manages fleets for G4S, Chubb and Tyco ADT.
‘We looked at what we are good at and the sort of fleets that we should focus on, so we have concentrated on utility fleets,’ says sales and marketing director, Joe Fielder.
‘We are very much a safe pair of hands, but we have ambitious plans now to explore where we best fit in the public sector. We’re going for double digit growth again next year, as one of our key ambitions is to be a £100m business externally.’
The firm is moving into blue light operations, taking on police, fire and ambulance fleets. It is also approaching local authorities, city and county council fleet operators.
Risk management is a recent addition to the BT Fleet offering, one that tends to be added to existing customer packages.
‘A lot of customers like the fact that we have to be a practitioner of what we supply. The majority of our customers don’t relinquish responsibility for their operator licences, though we do our best work if we are allowed to fleet manage too,’ says Mr Fielder.
‘We are always proactively looking at compliance.’
BT Fleet Workshops
A key aspect of the BT Fleet management solution is that the company runs 64 workshops around the UK, each capable of handling a range of cars, vans and trucks.
‘Every vehicle that BT has, we service ourselves,’ says Mr Fielder.
‘We’ve got plans to open another three to four workshops in the coming months. They run extended hours, with eight running until midnight. There will be 24-hour hubs eventually.’
Loading a vehicle with equipment has an effect on fuel consumption, not a risk management issue perhaps, but high on the list for any fleet manager. BT Fleet has developed an engine mapping solution in collaboration with Viezu, that allows the technicians within its workshops to remap engines to suit the job. By using this technology on BT’s own 25,000-strong LCV fleet, the company has recorded fuel savings of 14%, netting up to £4 million per year and cutting CO2 outputs by 20%.