Companies that outsource their fleet operations are at risk of not adhering to compliance best practices unless they have sufficient knowledge in-house, according to Jaama.


Richard Evans, sales manager at Jaama, said: “The outsourcing of fleet operations can come with its own compliance issues due to lack of knowledge, understanding and visibility of the fleet operation if it is now the responsibility of HR, finance or procurement.  
 
“There needs to be fleet knowledge within the organisation to ensure duty of care and compliance best practices are being adhered to.”
 
Evans will be presenting a free-to-attend best practice workshop on compliance at Fleet News’s major new event, Fleet Management Live, at the NEC in Birmingham on October 6 and 7.
 
The workshop will address key compliance areas such as driving licence checking, towing and the grey fleet. 
 
Evans will explain what impact the removal of the paper counterpart of the driving licence in June has had and how companies can now perform licence checks.
 
He will also address compliance issues concerning the categorisation of licences. 
 
Evans said: “It is essential that fleet operators are not only legislatively compliant when it comes to ensuring drivers are legally categorised to drive certain vehicles, it is also essential from a best practice and duty of care perspective that there is a clear audit trail that drivers have the appropriate skills to drive such vehicles. 
 
“Drivers who passed their tests before January 1, 1997, will be allowed to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes on their ordinary licences, but those who passed after that date are limited to 3.5 tonnes.
 
“Although those who passed their test prior to 1997 are legally entitled to drive larger vehicles, the ability to drive may be missing.”
 
Companies must also be careful not to fall foul of towing regulations.
 
Evans said: “Fleet operators need to ensure they are familiar with the laws around towing and fitting tachographs as an operator may stray into the realms of commercial fleet management without being aware.”
 
As for drivers using their own vehicles for business journey – the so-called grey fleet – Evans said: “The provision of company cars tends to harvest a culture of policy acceptance whereas drivers who have procured their own vehicles may have more of a resistance to policy enforcement.  
 
“Duty of care responsibility is still relevant whether the fleet is leased, owned or grey and ensuring compliance of vehicles and drivers is paramount however the vehicles are procured if they are being used on company business.”
 
During the workshop, Evans will cover what tools and resources are available to help develop a cohesive compliance strategy and explain how to avoid being “a slave to data capture”. 
 
Evans said: “Think carefully when introducing new technologies and the implications of the data they will produce.  Does your current system take data feeds from telematics or third party apps?  Does your outsourced fleet company utilise driver apps whereby the driver reports issues direct to the third party? And are you then made aware of this information?  
 
“Make sure that all of your data is centralised to ensure you have a holistic view of your entire fleet operation and you are not a slave to a number of disparate systems as this may become overwhelming and key compliance information may be missed.”
 
To find out more about Fleet Management Live or to register for your free ticket, visit www.fleetmanagementlive.co.uk

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