Champion fleet performance for MITIE

Date: Friday, April 1, 2011

Facilities management outsourcing business MITIE claims it has maintained high standards of road safety for its workforce while doubling its fleet size to 6400 vehicles during the last five years.

Commercial vehicles make up well over half of the firm’s fleet.

Following a review of road risk policies last year, it created a Fleet Risk Management Steering Group. This resulted in initiatives such as the publication of a driver’s handbook detailing requirements for employees driving on business, on-line licence checks, the fitting of reverse parking sensors to commercial vehicles, in-car driver training and driver risk assessment and profiling.

Despite the growth of the company, MITIE says that, within its fleet peer group, it has remained in the best performing 25% in terms of road incidents.

Chief executive Ruby McGregor-Smith said: “Health and safety, which includes fleet risk management, is the first agenda item at every board meeting. This makes sure that we formally review our risks, control programmes and performance.”

She added that fleet risk is the business’s “most significant” risk area.

The Bristol-based company’s fleet includes 3500 vans, 2300 cars and 31 HGVs and a total of 10,000 drivers.

Richard White, MITIE’s health and safety boss, said: “The principal benefit of any fleet risk management programme is ensuring our people go home safely from work every day. A safe driver is also a more economical driver through improved fuel consumption and reduced vehicle service, maintenance and repair costs.”

As a result of the success of its safe driving scheme, MITIE has joined Roadsafe’s Driving for Better Business campaign as a business champion.

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