Continental: driving up safety with daily checks
Continental has explained how vehicle inspection and reporting tools such as its Verified Inspection solution can help drive up road safety.
“VDO and Continental are passionate about road safety, as are fleet and transport managers,” said head of fleet, Ben Klarich.
“Whether you’re in the automotive market or not; it’s just common sense that safer roads are better for all.
“Often on this topic, safety is pushed towards fleets themselves, on the drivers and the vehicle inspections, which is a cost incurred by the operator. Especially when legislation is involved, such costs can feel like a burden.
“This is similar to an insurance product for an average homeowner. Not many people get excited about buying it – you just need to have it. So the choice doesn’t give much satisfaction.
“Getting back to the roads, I believe the best tools shouldn’t just offer safety, they should offer value. That could mean more efficiency, or accuracy.”
Ben cites recent maintenance assessments and outcomes data from DVSA for the fourth quarter of financial year 2021-22, suggesting more than 77 per cent of maintenance assessments for HGV operators were unsatisfactory, and more than 67 per cent for PSV fleets.
“This is maintenance, not daily vehicle checks… but they are linked,” he continued.
“A vehicle that’s rarely (or poorly) inspected, will not be a well maintained vehicle.
“Checking a vehicle daily as a ‘tick box’ exercise with a ‘just get it done’ mentality, will keep you compliant on paper, but won’t give much insight.
“On the other side, an arduous inspection system will lead to driver disengagement, or genuine mistakes, and you’ll get the same result.
“Select an inspection tool that is intuitive, offers a good feedback loop for drivers and actionable data for the fleet manager – that’s a winning combination.
“Easy-to-fix issues will be picked up and addressed, more challenging problems can be recorded and solved in an auditable process in the cloud. Nobody is having to go above and beyond: they are using the right tool, at the right time, in the right place.”
Ben concluded: “I’d be willing to wager that the fleets with a good vehicle inspection solution have better maintenance numbers than those who don’t. They capture minor issues before they are major issues.”
