North East Carriers strengthens safety focus
North East Carriers (N E Carriers), a member of the IMPERIAL Logistics Group, is a leading logistics company that provides specialised transport solutions across southern Africa. It has recently enhanced the safety of its fleet through a newly implemented Driver Check monitoring system. The system enables N E Carriers to strictly control its driving behaviour, including that of its large sub-contractor base. N E Carriers operates more than 700 sub-contractor vehicles, employs more than 1,150 drivers directly and indirectly and logs in excess of three million kilometres monthly.
One of the key success factors of the initiative is that it has effectively leveraged public participation to heighten driver accountability. A Driver Check sticker which includes the N E Carriers 24-hour call centre number is prominently displayed on the rear of each vehicle.
“It is our mission to provide safe, cost-effective and tailor-made transportation solutions, with safety being our number one priority,” says N E Carriers’ Managing Director, Annette Odendaal. “Everything we do is safety orientated and we use every means available to ensure the safety of road users, by means of enforcing safety measures and control of our employees and sub-contractors.”
“We are using the Driver Check monitoring system to engage the public as part of our safety drive and have found the simple mechanism of the Driver Check stickers and a call centre to be a very effective way of allowing the public to be our ‘eyes’ on the road,” she says, adding that the stickers on the vehicles create a psychological push for the drivers to be on their best behaviour at all times.
“One of the complexities of our business is managing large sub-contracted fleets,” says Odendaal. “The Driver Check system has been instrumental in overcoming this difficulty by providing reports and statistics per sub-contracted vehicle.”
The call centre plays a neutral third party role that ensures professional and objective logging of feedback received. In addition, the Driver Check system provides instantaneous emails to relevant managers when an incident is logged by a motorist, as well as monthly reports and statistics. This enables company management to take immediate action, as well as to assess results and statistics on a monthly basis for trends and other pro-active learnings.
Every incident is actioned by N E Carriers based on calls logged and two additional safety officers have been employed to follow up and expedite on all safety related issues. Every call description is further analysed in-house to assess the severity of the incident. Additional training is conducted on safety topics in “Toolbox Talk” team sessions. Drivers can therefore be trained on how to avoid such incidents and a culture of continuous learning is thereby created. Unfortunately, some cases result in disciplinary action due to the severity of the event.
“We have a policy that no vehicle may leave any site without the Driver Check sticker and no sub-contracted vehicle may operate without it. This ensures visibility across all vehicles on the road backed-up by the reporting system,” says Odendaal.
The Driver Check database records the registration of each vehicle as well as the owner, enabling the system to provide the call reports per distinct fleet under the N E Carriers banner. This further enables N E Carriers to assess the safety of each of the sub-contractors in an impartial way. Both the Driver Check call log and the internal analysis results are sent through to the sub-contracted fleet owners, delivering effective communication channels and early and pro-active identification of high risk areas.
There is also a chain of command set up in the Driver Check system, whereby the incident notification is sent to the sub-contracted fleet manager first, failing which it is sent to N E Carriers. This prevents N E Carriers from being inundated with all incident reports and enables the sub-contracted fleet managers to take responsibility for their own fleet vehicles.
“We now have a far better working relationship with our sub-contractors. We are able to work with them by providing reports and statistics that assist them in reducing high risk incidents,” she explains.
With the implementation of AARTO rapidly approaching, N E Carriers has been preparing their drivers through extensive training, which has included the use of the Driver Check call report within a driver points system.
Odendaal says that this offers the drivers a real-world trial run for AARTO.” Drivers have a better understanding of how the system works and the possible impact of losing too many points. They are aware that their licence is their livelihood and that they need to protect their points by driving responsibly at all times.”
Importantly, the Driver Check system also regularly reports compliments received for considerate and responsible driving and adherence to road rules. Drivers are recognised for positive feedback and merit certificates are awarded monthly.
“Customer service levels have improved and our customers have responded positively towards the pro-active steps taken in protecting their brands and products,” adds Odendaal. “This has enhanced trust, honesty and transparency in relationships which are key factors in any outsourcing decision.”
“We view it as a core corporate responsibility to play a leading role in contributing to road safety,” concludes Odendaal.
About North East Carriers
North East Carriers (N E Carriers) is a forward thinking Lead Logistics Provider (LLP). N E Carriers is a logistics company that provides specialised transportation solutions across southern Africa with a specific focus on the construction industry. N E Carriers employs a combination of its own vehicles and manages > 700 dedicated and ad-hoc sub-contractors and logs in excess of three million kilometres monthly. Real-time visibility is ensured through the implementation of track and trace technology. For more information please contact Annette Odendaal at 082 822 1105.
About Driver Check Monitoring System
Driver Check offers a Driver Monitoring Service to South African fleet owners of any size, whether operating a single delivery van or a fleet of hundreds of tankers. Vehicles participating in the service are identified by the Driver Check bumper sticker with the Driver Check logo and call centre number on it. This enables concerned motorists to report unsafe driver behaviour. Incidents are logged and reported by the call centre, and communicated through the right channels to the fleet owner. Ultimately our goal is to keep South Africa's roads safe. For more information, please contact Gail Robertson at 083 229 5856 or visit www.drivercheck.co.za.
About IMPERIAL Logistics
IMPERIAL Logistics is a global logistics and supply chain leader that moves business and industry through innovation, inspiration and foresight. Through its established Southern African and International divisions, IMPERIAL Logistics’ service delivery comprises fundamental logistics and end-to-end supply chain management solutions to blue chip customers in almost every industry. As a preferred logistics outsource provider, IMPERIAL Logistics positions itself as an extension of its customer’s business, building its customer’s brand alongside its own. IMPERIAL Logistics Southern Africa is a multi branded business, categorised into four key divisions, namely Transport and Warehousing, Consumer Products, Specialised Freight and Integration Services. IMPERIAL Logistics International comprises four operating units, namely Panopa Logistik, neska, IMPERIAL Reederei and Brouwer Shipping. For further information, please visit www.imperiallogistics.co.za.
