Culture is a reflection of who you are. It is the system of values, disciplines and practices that define how people live life. If you don’t build your culture, one will form on its own (and you might not like what you get). Cultivating a culture of safety demonstrates your level of commitment to the lives of your employees, customers and the general public.
To succeed at instilling the best, safest driver behaviors, cultural change is important.
But what does it take to cultivate a true culture of safety in your fleet?
Make safety everyone’s business
When cultivating a culture of safety, the responsibility does not fall on one team. It is a critical company-wide effort that requires every department’s participation and support.
Safety directors will often struggle to get fleet managers to promote messages and enforce policies. Uniting these two teams is your first step towards getting buy-in from drivers and getting participation across the fleet. No matter how much pressure they’re under, fleet managers need to know that it takes one crash to wipe out an entire year of profitability.
Build the right foundation
A winning safety culture depends on teamwork, strong safety policies and the ability to track driver behaviors. But how exactly do you track the unseen?
Enter driver behavior data. If fleet safety culture looked like a house, driver data would be the foundation. Driver data enables managers to have specific conversations around risky driving events. Phone use, speeding, and hard braking are all measured while drivers are on the road. Access to this information is what helps fleet managers enforce policies and improve behaviors through driver coaching.
Learn from the best
Booster Fuels is an on-demand gas delivery service and one of the safest fleets in the world. We talked with Dave Sandifer, Vice President of Operations at Booster to learn what makes safety really work. “Anytime you’re moving gasoline in the parking lot of a Fortune 500, customers want to know you’re safe,” said Dave.
The secret to driver coaching lies in how you collect driver data and the conversations that follow. “When talking to our drivers, we never lead-in with an accusation – this puts them on the defensive. Instead we teach our fleet managers to always assume positive intent,” shared Dave.
Fleet safety culture is all about the conversations fleet managers have with drivers. The key is to respect drivers and address problems immediately. When asked about Booster’s safety standard, Dave answered “no collisions are acceptable.” Drivers commit to a zero accident rate from day one.
Last of all, Dave explained that safety isn’t something that’s talked about on occasion. “To meet such a high standard, you cannot be reactive. We are always talking about safety and proactively address issues.”
After a thorough screening process, drivers are immediately brought into Booster’s safety culture. Dave shared that Booster’s goal is to hire drivers with a safety mentality capable of moving the needle within the organization. Every driver has the opportunity to bring something new to the table and make the company safer through new ideas.
Booster blends Zendrive’s advanced driver dashboard and skillful management to create an exemplary safety culture. They’ve delivered over 10 million gallons of gasoline since 2015 and have consistently outperformed the national Zendrive average by 18-percent.
To cut costs, mitigate risk and put forth the best image in front of customers and the general public, winning fleets invest in building a culture of safety.
