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The Driver is the Key

"What is Fleet Management"? This was the topic of discussion at the last monthly meeting of the Johannesburg Centre of the IRTE. Dave Robbie, director of MacDesign Technologies, was the man who had the task of presenting his views and experiences on the subject. What came out was most surprising. Guess what, as FleetWatch has always stated, the driver is the key.

Directed to an audience of engineers and technically-orientated people, the subject might on the surface appear not to be entirely relevant. However, the opposite proved true. This was perhaps so because Robbie spelt out from the outset that he did not intend to sell any particular programme but to concentrate on the generics of fleet management.

Obviously the first essential is to know accurately the cost of an operation and when cpk (cents per kilometre) was mentioned, there was an immediate response from the floor. The cpk is only the start of the total information to be captured for a meaningful cost in road freight transport. The cost in cents per ton kilometre is what is needed and in the determination of the cpk, the management system does not need reams of computer print-outs. Rather, the programme must capture the detail and must only spell out the percentage contribution of each item contributing to the total cpk. This led Dave into the major theme of his presentation which is the part played by the driver.

Robbie displayed a diagram illustrating a typical example of the cost structure of a freight vehicle. As illustrated in the accompanying diagram, a large percentage of the total cost is allocated to variable costs and it was explained that the driver has a significant influence on every item in the variable costs. It stands to reason therefore, that a major factor in fleet management is to create a situation in which the driver is managed. In fact, it was agreed that managing the driver is the number one input factor in cost control.

Items discussed in relation to driver management included:

Driver Attitude: The finest of drivers in respect of ability to drive is no asset to the employer if his attitude is wrong.

The use of tachographs and On-Board Computers: These are wonderful instruments which can provide a wealth of information. However, if used only to "police" a driver, they are useless. Used as a management tool, they can be a "friend" to both driver and employer. Caution was expressed against judging driver performance on the results of isolated single incidents as "trends" are far more meaningful

The Owner Driver: The concept of the owner driver has much merit as it can play a role in fleet management The owner driver must be managed, although in a somewhat different way to managing an employee. Using owner drivers just to evade the labour laws is not considered an advantage in the long term

The importance of setting norms and standards: The importance of setting acceptable norms and standards for drivers was emphasised with a view to regular improvement, as time and experience provides records. Comparing the performance of one driver against that of another is not considered good driver management.

The participation of the members and visitors did prevent Robbie from covering more of his thoughts on fleet management but what was covered was of great interest, enjoyable and beneficial. Maybe IRTE would do well to get Dave back for another session.

Stay with London

Chairman Barney Curtis also used the meeting to give a brief resume of the current activities of the Institute. The problem of membership fees paid to London is still receiving the attention of the committee which is reluctant to suggest a possible breakaway from London. In this respect, a comment was made that extreme care must be taken not to follow the course as did the Institute of Transport which broke away from the London-based CIT and formed a local South African body which failed and is now disbanded. The IRTE in South Africa must stay as members of the internationally recognised body and strive towards persuading employers to subsidise the high membership fees paid by their employees.

Other items of involvement include closer liaison with the Cape Town and Durban centres in the interests of national unity and support for greater recognition of the Institute by the authorities.

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