Accidents cannot be avoided in any business. We can make sure we take all the steps needed to ensure they are refunded to a non-existent minimum. Good practice and high-level or organization skills are the keys to making any business free of errors or accidents.
When it comes to the world of running fleets or a large logistics business, the accents are usually on stages. These can happen in the warehouse or dock during loading and unloading goods.
This can be damaging to the products or the workforce. Either of these can bring your work to a halt and cause you to lose time and money.
Road accidents, even something very minor, can be a reason for delay. The problem with a fleet is that each moving part works as a runner in a relay race. They must all get to their destinations on time to ensure the next person in charge of their task is falling behind on deadlines.
Some road accidents could be more intense. These could result in the injury of the driver or the staff.
It could also cause damage to your truck or goods. In such a case, it is essential to stay on top of things and make sure fast action is taken to resolve the issue.
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The Technological advantage.
Most modern companies today used advanced fleet software. These are high-function applications that keep track of all the limbs of your fleet.
They monitor the movement of your trucks, monitor your drivers’ behavior, calculate routes, and optimize delivery schedules. It is a beneficial tool in helping a business run at a smoother pace.
If you are a manager who uses these systems, the application will trigger a notification to you if there are any accidents in the fleet. This happens in real-time, which gives you a significant advantage to take quick actions. They also provide you with the accident’s exact location with the details of the truck, the driver, and the route it was on.
One of the broader advantages is that the use of technology can reduce the chances and the effects of road accidents. Some trucks have additional tracking and mapping technologies that detect any obstacles and give warnings—top-of-the-line machine learning algorithms program these.
Other features like a high-end dash cam will not just function as a surveillance camera for the truck and the driver but also assists the driver. They also send real-time information like HOS compliance and weather conditions to the dashboard, which will further reduce the risk of an accident.
What To Do At The Time Of A Road Accident?
When the manager gets such notification, the first thing to do is assess the situation. If it is a minor accident, the driver can be guided over the phone about the next legal course of action and carry on with the delivery of the goods.
We do not want to halt operations over minor-mishaps. It is also not the time to have a long conversation with the driver about the accident’s nature.
If the gravity of the situation seems highly damaging, then the course of action must be more serious. The manager must contact local towing services and medical units to ensure the driver’s health, and then the truck is addressed. Based on the information from the GSP tracking unit of the dashboard, the manager will determine the exact location of the incident.
The manager will then have to determine if they need to send a new truck to replace the fleet or fix the damage. This is important as the shipment reaching the consumer is still the priority for the company. The dashboard will also show which other tucks on the fleet share the route to be pulled in for help.
The managers must then ensure to back up all the data from the ELD and the dashboard to further assess the incident. This information must be stored aside for a second backup and also to build a case for internal and external use.
What To Do After The Road Accident?
Once you are sure that your driver is safe and sound, do not hear their side of the story. Understand what went wrong and understand what the steps to take to ensure this does not happen again. You can also want to make written statements from your driver, and other people invoked in the accident to hold a permanent record.
Check the information on the ELD using the dashboard to ensure the driver is not confusing facts to make sure you do not run into a rut with the insurance agencies. The dash camera footage will come in handy at this very time.
If the damages exceeded their insurance coverage, you should take the truck to the dealership and allow them to review your evidence. The dealership can tell you how your insurance can help in the future and what your current insurance coverage should be.
Present all your facts to the insurance agencies if you need a claim. When all the facts are disclosed, there is a very grim chance of losing time or money. The next step would be to train your staff about this incident and ask them to pitch ideas to better the process.
In Conclusion,
Having top-of-the-line software is redundant without a manager who knows how to use them correctly. This person must not just monitor the data but also use them to make better business decisions. After an accident has occurred, it’s essential to look at this as a learning and see what other changes can be made.
Accidents are more common than one could imagine. Be it small bumps to significant blows; they are all a part-and-parcel of life on the road. Having advanced technology will only help you reduce the impact of them without derailing the business.
Keep in mind that the satisfaction of the consumer is the end goal. If any trucks or staff in your fleet meet with any accidents, make sure you address the issue, but also find an alternative to get you reasonably moving. There will be no business without the consumer.
