Rule 1: The priority is to get the freight loaded and delivered to the customer on time.

Rule 2: How much fuel should be used to get the job done? See Rule One

So there’s no room for the “pipe and slippers” style of driving in your fleet then? This is the way the UK ambassador for SAFED describes the Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving initiative which he has just launched to NZ in conjunction with MoT and NZ Transport Agency. In the UK, following the fuel strikes of the late 1990’s where there was a massive public backlash against rising fuel prices, the UK Department for Transport invested in the development of a programme to help heavy transport drivers to maintain their fuel spend at old levels, despite rising prices. It worked. And now the programme has come to New Zealand.

John Boocock, the UK ambassador has just finished training the Senior Drivers who are key to the delivery of this training programme across the industry and has also held a series of seminars around the country in conjunction with Peter Baas of TERNZ, MoT and NZTA.

John talks about the programme being not only a way of saving fuel, but also being a more relaxed style of driving. Reduce the top speed reached by your drivers, but get there sooner, by using OAP; Observation, Anticipation and Planning. SAFED case studies support my previous writings to you; reduce your costs and improve your customer service. Use less fuel, but also reduce crashes, incidents, road user complaints, R&M, and now that your drivers know what is expected of them and can plan their day accordingly, they are less stressed and better equipped with skills to get the load to the customer safely and on time.

So what is SAFED? It is a one day course for your drivers which teaches them how to make the best of the technology in their truck, including block changing up gears to stay in the green band for longer, how to stay rolling at intersections and other techniques which bring driving habits into line with the new breeds of trucks, rather than the models most learnt to drive in. The cynics amongst you will say “it’s just another training course” “it’s not relevant to our operation” but those who care to scratch the surface will find real savings which could make a real difference to your bottom line if you implement it diligently.

Why have I devoted my GPS column to this programme this month? Because I want you to earn more from your existing resources. I want you to use the drivers, trucks, fuel and GPS systems which you already have to generate more profit. Why should you have to buy an extra truck when you get a new contract? Why should your fuel bill go up just because you are travelling further?

Of course SAFED is a training course and we’ve all been on those. Get a day off work, get excited about something new, come back to work to find nothing has changed and settle back into the old ways…. But now that you have started using your GPS system to give feedback to your drivers, they know what you expect from them, they know if their average speed is in line with the rest of the fleet, if they spend too long idling or dally around the wash bay at the end of the day, or if they have a higher R&M bill than the other trucks…. So when they go on SAFED they have more tools at their disposal to become more efficient in everything they do and you can measure how much better they are by using your GPS based KPIs and Dollar based accounting; exactly the goal you have been chasing since you put GPS in your trucks because the salesman said you’d save money.

So where were we?

Rule 1: The priority is to get the freight loaded and delivered to the customer on time.

Rule 2: How much fuel should be used to get the job done? 10% less than we used last time.