The BVRLA is partnering with technology company Ebbon-Dacs to provide the fleet industry with a free online vehicle safety recall notification system in 2012.
Although the UK has a good record of handling vehicle safety recalls, the BVRLA says fleet owners are facing rising costs in administering and managing the range of paper and digital notifications they receive from motor manufacturers.
“Our members own and operate more than two-and-a-half million vehicles and finding a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution that the whole industry can adopt has been one of the association’s long-term goals”, said BVRLA chief executive John Lewis.
The new recall system is the result of close work between the BVRLA, its members, Ebbon-Dacs, motor manufacturers and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
Alastair Peoples VOSA chief executive said: "Britain has some of the safest roads in the world and the recall system contributes to this. It's really encouraging to see manufacturers and the fleet industry working together to improve the effectiveness of the safety recall process."
His views were echoed by Simon Oliphant, chief executive of Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions and chairman of the BVRLA Leasing and Fleet Management Committee.
He said: “This is a great example of the industry working together for the greater good – improving safety and duty of care while eliminating a mountain of paperwork and associated costs.”
The aim of the BVRLA was to encourage development of a service which would be free to access by members and manufacturers, who would benefit from the reduced financial and administrative burden of notifying fleet owners.
How it works
Ebbon-Dacs’ web-based system will provide a single location for all manufacturers to list their safety recall notifications.
BVRLA members or their appointed agents can retrieve the information by inputting their own fleet data so that it can be compared. A report is then produced, showing all vehicles that are subject to a new recall notification and highlighting those with outstanding recalls.
The new system also has the potential to cover non-safety recalls and customers will have the option to purchase a product for notifying drivers.
“As a long term supplier to the vehicle leasing industry, we feel privileged to be chosen for this critical safety initiative on behalf of the BVRLA, its members and the automotive manufacturers,” said Robert Pilkington, managing director at Ebbon-Dacs.
“We believe that introducing this new ‘standard’ will help simplify the whole process - leading to greater efficiency and faster safety recall handling in future.”
Support and commitment from members and manufacturers is vital to ensure the information is kept up to date.
It is hoped that fleet owners and motor manufacturers will be able to test the service during its pilot stage in May 2012 and it is expected that it will be widely accessible from August 2012.
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