Having complete business buy-in at all levels was key for Alison Moriarty, fleet manager at Skanska, to improve the safety of her drivers.

The two-time Fleet News Safe Fleet of the Year award winner told Fleet200 delegates in March about the steering group she set up within Skanska, enabling her to implement fleet policies in as little as six weeks.

“Traditionally it would have taken 12 months to get new policies, such as our more stringent drink and drugs policy, through health and safety but the steering group includes key decision makers who can say ‘yes we will do that’,” Moriarty said.

In 14 months, Moriarty and the steering group have renewed every fleet policy within the business thanks to the holistic approach to safety.

“You must look at each issue from a moral, legal and financial standpoint,” she said. “Not only are they very important, but each aspect will be very important to different people.”

Moriarty said financial teams will focus on areas such as insurance costs and a reduction in repair costs, whereas the legal team will be more interested in reducing liability. Safety teams will be more focused on the moral aspect of making sure drivers and the public are safe.

At Skanska, fleet risk is now embedded within the company’s health and safety strategy.

“Driving should be addressed with the same gravitas as any other work activity. In fact, driving has the highest mortality rate in most businesses,” said Moriarty.

As a construction company, Skanska already had stringent health and safety policies to protect workers while they are ‘at work’, but Moriarty pointed out that these didn’t included driving for work.

Now every driver has a risk assessment every 12 months, driver hour restrictions are in place for everyone who drives for business – regardless of what type of vehicle they drive – to ensure adequate rest periods are taken and the driver CPC course for HGV drivers has been extended to those in vans.

The strategy also focuses on the commute: driving at work is considered as the period between the employee leaving the house and the moment they return home.

> Moriarty's Powerpoint presentation is available via email. To receive a copy email Jeremy Bennett.