Use a TMS for end to end transportation management capabilities
Every supply chain consists of not just the manufacturing and warehousing of products, but their
Driver training should include a period at the time of their onboarding, followed by regular training and development programs during their time at your organisation.
As a key part of your organisation, your drivers need to be skilled and competent at their job. They represent your company and are the ones that deal with customers on a daily basis. They will determine how your company is perceived, and can make or break your business. Risky driver behaviour can cost your organisation a lot of money, time and resources if this is a recurring problem. Some of Fleetx’s products are geared towards improving driver performance through technological solutions, but making them undergo training for their personal skills will benefit both your organisation, as well as your drivers.
Driver training should include a period at the time of their onboarding, followed by regular training and development programs during their time at your organisation. Training is essential for teaching safety skills to new drivers and should be part of an ongoing strategy. Maintaining a safe fleet requires regular effort, and there is no one solution for improving drivers skills and behaviour.
For safety training to be effective, it should ideally be supported by other actions related to fleet management. These include:
To start things off, you will need to build a fleet safety program that specifically addresses your organisation’s needs. To do this, you need to have a good understanding of the current risks associated with your drivers, vehicles and daily operations. Using fleet analysis tools to analyse historical data relating to accidents, theft, and poor behaviour will help you conduct your risk assessment.
Developing a full profile of your drivers’ behaviour and their individual skill level will allow you to be more effective and proactive in your training efforts. For example, analysing information on speeding or harsh braking will help you understand what kind of interventions are needed to reduce accidents, and identify the drivers that require this training.
After identifying the problems, establishing performance indicators or benchmarks will help you understand your current situation better, and visualise the way forward.
Fleet management software is a great support tool for training programs because it allows you to store all driver related information in one place, and track their progress through regular reports. This information can be used to generate risk profiles and highlight potential training needs in the future.
Choosing an effective training approach is the next important step. There are a variety of training methods to choose from, and each of them have their advantages as well as disadvantages. To help you make this decision, we’ve compiled them into a list.
While processing new recruits, driving related training should be an integral part of the onboarding process. This can include sessions on the drivers handbook, road safety regulations, getting familiar with their future vehicles, vehicle controls and safety features. Drivers can also be briefed on relevant organisational challenges like theft, security procedures, etc.
This initial training, if carried out well, can address essential aspects of their role and the risks involved. These can cover:
These follow-up training sessions should be informed by regular driver assessments and company requirements. Monitoring your drivers performance with the help of fleet management software will allow you to create and adjust your training programs according to the need of the hour. This additional training can build on the training received during onboarding, and can help your drivers practice these skills. It is recommended to carry out refresher courses after a fixed period. These can include:
Invest in your drivers’ development! You can create a program that allows drivers to graduate several steps, which correspond to higher skill levels and responsibilities in the organisation. This could be in the format of a graduated progression from bronze to silver to gold standard driver for example. Gold standard drivers can be expected to have a higher level of technical knowledge than employees that drive for daily work purposes.
Promotions from one level to another can be awarded on the basis of (for example) an accident free record, or passing specific training courses. A system like this will also incentivise your drivers to develop their skills and rise to higher positions within your organisation.
Implementing driver safety programs can bring significant improvements to your business. Working with an established fleet management company like Fleetx can provide your business with support in setting up your driver safety program, and can ensure that you benefit from these training courses. Here are a few of these benefits to get you started:
If you want to understand how fleet management software like Fleetx can help keep your drivers and vehicles safe, please reach out to our team for a chat! We can discuss your organisational goals, identify gaps and find the solutions that will help you fill them.
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