How Journey Management assists you to select & fit-out the right light vehicles

Journey management minimises the risk of injury caused by light vehicle accidents and effective policies and procedures implement risk minimisation. Some basic principles of journey management for inclusion in policies and procedures include:

  • managing risk factors such as heavily laden vehicles with a higher centre of gravity; and avoidance of drivers being fatigued or distracted.
  • Clearly identify and provide training on risk factors such as excessive speed; poor road or surface conditions; animal strike
  • avoidance of drivers being fatigued or distracted; drugs & alcohol and skill of operators and drivers
  • Implement a process to recognise temporary hazards and inform drivers on a timely basis, or to review the appropriateness of the route
  • Ensure vehicle uniformity and driver familiarity so drivers can quickly familiarise themselves with the location and functionality of vehicle features
  • On controlled sites, ensure driving safety rules and regulations are in place and enforced

A functional journey management plan goes hand in hand with vehicle selection before buying or leasing a particular brand and model.

  • Fit-for-purpose vehicle selection should have a fact based approach to choosing the right vehicle. The number of occupants that need to be carried in the vehicle, the miscellaneous equipment (safety items, clothing, food etc), operational equipment (tools) required and geographic and / or actual working conditions need to be considered. These are all major factors that ensure a vehicle is operating safely according to vehicle specifications. GVM and total payload requirements should be worked out for each vehicle make and model according to the job task.
  • Another important factor in vehicle selection is what the vehicle’s main task will be. Stated by the NSW Government Fleet Management Advisory, the particular vehicle requirement needs to be taken into account and should be based on a task which occupies at least 60% of the vehicle usage. Usage of less than this should be accommodated by another temporary or permanent fleet solution.

The following are key questions to include in assessing your journey management and vehicle selection:

  • Has a risk assessment been conducted on the use of the vehicle? – driver skill, number of occupants, average height and weight of occupants and seating position and restrictions, type and weight of equipment carried?
  • What is the number of occupants per vehicle and the equipment carried 60% of the time? Which configuration offers the best trade-off between occupants and cargo ? Dual Cab, Single Cab and Wagon variants
  • Have you developed staff height restrictions for each seating position in vehicles. ie. front or back.
  • What are the vehicle task requirements? – number and placement of occupants, cargo and equipment to carry, length and location of journeys, site compliance rules?
  • Do you have a company policy around vehicle selection ?- budget, fuel considerations, environmental policy, accounting methods, financing stipulations?
  • Do you have a vehicle build policy? – can you ensure uniformity and repeatability?
  • Has a risk assessment of roof strength according to ANCAP ratings and the appropriateness of the use of ROPS been completed on the chosen vehicle?
  • Is there easy access to parts and servicing after modification?
  • Is global distribution a requirement? Considerations must be given to design, engineering, manufacturing, repeatability, uniformity, product weight, transportation, packaging and installation to allow for consistent, international distribution.