Mycompanyfleet has added new functionality to its grey fleet solution to give fleet and other managers greater control over grey fleet drivers and remote workers.

The addition of a new ‘rules engine’ to Mycompanyfleet’s Driver Self-Serve solution is in response to requests from fleet and HR managers to automate the checking of their grey fleet drivers and employees who work from home or remotely from the office.

With the addition of the new functionality, fleet and HR managers can now set parameters, such as job title, miles driven, number of penalty points on driving licence and type of vehicle, to send automatic email and text alerts to drivers telling them they need to take some form of action to update their records.

This could be to confirm the number of miles they have driven, or the number of penalty points on their licence or that their vehicle has been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s warranty, thus providing a clear and identifiable audit trail.

This not only complies with duty of care requirements but also identifies any drivers who have not followed company procedures and allows warnings to be sent of the consequences of non-compliance.

Mycompanyfleet business executive Luke Hicks explained the thinking behind the new functionality.

“In the case of remote worker, such as field sales employees, they rarely come into the office, and managers often find it difficult to get updates and information from them regarding their vehicles, their servicing, the number of miles they have driven or the number of penalty points they have on their licences.

“The new rules engine is basically a ‘soft’ set of rules that allow fleet, HR or other line managers to set the parameters by which email and text alerts to employees are triggered. This can also be on a time basis, such as every three or six months. Employees are then required to log-in and update their records with the requested information.

“If employees do not comply with management requests then warnings of the possible consequences, such as mileage claims not being paid or, ultimately, disciplinary action, can be sent. This also ensures companies are meeting duty of care requirements and have an audit trail to prove it if necessary,” he said.