Historic award win for Tesco.com as fleet safety focus saves millions

The head of one of Britain’s best-known fleets has been honoured with a national award for his best practice work including a road safety programme which has saved millions of pounds in crash costs.

Dino Papas, fleet manager at Tesco.com, was named Fleet Manager of the Year - Delivery/Logistics, at the first-ever Fleet Van Awards, held at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, last week (December 2, 2008).

The judges recognised how best a best practice approach had driven safety to the heart of the fleet operation, which operates 2,000 vans making up to 65,000 deliveries a day to customers nationwide.

The judges said: “Fleets in this category operate in an incredibly tough environment and have an immense number of daily challenges to deal with, while meeting stringent delivery targets.
“Tesco.com’s fleet of vehicles has shown best practice vehicle management and has driven forward new developments among suppliers in a range of areas, from safety through to the environment.”

Tesco.com, one of the first ‘Business Champions’ under the Department for Transport’s ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme, which is managed by RoadSafe, was launched in 1997 with just one van, but now requires an army of 6,000 Customer Delivery Assistants to drive vehicles so it can carry out its role as the world’s largest online grocer, covering an estimated 60 million miles a year during visits to one million active customers.

But, like many growing fleets, road crashes were a serious problem. Mr Papas told delegates at the Fleet Van Conference, which preceded the awards ceremony: “A fleet this size will travel many millions of miles each year, have a diesel bill to match and present other significant commercial risks.

“For my team, delivering success for our customers and business, to a large extent, means mitigating against these risks, and more specifically managing van damage and fuel costs. We have done this best when combining technology and people.”

The firm recognised that driver attitude and behaviour were key and it introduced a Customer Delivery Assistant Instructor Team, which assessed all recruits and existing employees and drove forward the highest driving standards.

In addition, in-vehicle telematics was introduced to show exactly how vehicles were being used on the road and identify drivers in need of further help. It enabled a driver scoring system to be developed for every store, based on criteria from engine idling to speeding.

In addition, an accident review board was created to learn lessons from every preventable incident, while driving standards are revalidated every year.

As a result, while the fleet has jumped in size by 25% in the past two years, the crash rate per vehicle has nearly halved.

Mr Papas said: “As a result, we are talking about millions of pounds in savings. If the accident trend had continued, then we would have been spending £3.5 million more on van damage than we are today.”

The aim of the ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme is to develop a network of employers and champions to promote good practice focused on a reduction in the deaths and injuries caused by cars and vans used for business purposes.

‘Business champions’, drawn from public, private and voluntary sectors, both company directors and fleet decision-makers, work through various networks and associations to deliver awareness to their fellow businessmen.

The target audience is those businesses operating company car and van fleets, as well as those who rely on staff who use their own vehicles on work-related journeys.
The programme is managed by RoadSafe, which is a leading motor industry-backed forum for promoting and devising solutions to road safety problems.

‘Driving for Better Business’ programme manager Caroline Scurr said: “We are naturally delighted that the progress Tesco.com has made in reducing crashes has contributed to Dino Papas winning a major fleet industry award. Tesco.com has been involved in the programme since its inception. The company is an excellent example of a business that views cutting road crashes as an investment benefit.

“At a time of economic turmoil many other companies operating small, medium and large fleets and in all sectors of industry and commerce should follow Tesco.com’s lead and would see the financial benefits accrue. Public and private sector organisations improving their crash record should be one of the target areas for pro-active cost management.”