Vehicle Technology
Increasingly organisations rely on technology to help improve its performance. Occupational Road safety is no different and the pace of new technology can be overwhelming, Vehicles are being fitted with technology at source to help prevent accidents, such as lane change warning and advanced braking systems. Whats right for your business depends upon a number of factors including how competent your drivers, supervisors and managers are.
Specify
Develop a policy that allows you to be specific about the technology your business needs, ensure it has a set criteria and that this is met by any supplier who submits a quote / bid.
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Work with your professional drivers and other key stakeholders to draw up the criteria for each specialist item of technology and confirm that it can be integrated into your existing technology, if it cant be integrated then identify the business case for a new standalone platform.
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Be committed to the technology, if you dont commit as a business then its implementation will be an expensive failure.
OEM
Vehicle manufacturers vary the offering that they make to customers by region and country.
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When ordering a vehicle do not assume that a specification at point of delivery will be the same. You may also consider that some safety equipment is not safe for your drivers, for example, satnav is common in most modern vehicles, however the screen may provide a distraction to the driver from the road . You should assess each piece of safety technology and make a decision if its a requirement.
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This can save considerable expense when safety equipment is an optional extra.
After Market
The principles for considering aftermarket technology is the same as for OEM.
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Consider if the technology falls in line with your specifications and criteria, does it meet the business needs and what benefits will it bring to the business and employees.
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Apply this to ALL technology you are considering, there are many examples of companies investing into technology only to find that it doesn't meet the business needs and they have to write it down.
Implement
It does not matter what the technology is, once you purchase it you need to introduce it and get it used, if anyone reverts back to the old way of working your technology system is now flawed.
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Consider with care, how easy is it to use by the drivers. Is it robust to meet the daily needs - for example if its a hand held device can it stand up to the natural elements in which it will be operated (dust / rain / snow extreme heat or cold) can it be dropped, run over and still work?
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What training will you provide and to which employees? How will you deliver the training and change the culture so that on the "go live" date everyone will switch to the new system and then continue to use it.