You idiot! Why the heck didn't you follow the written procedure? What do you mean you haven't been trained? How can you not understand the procedure? It’s in black and white! What do you mean that's not how things are done? You’re just making excuses!

Sound familiar? Is it possible the fleet manager, in trying to ensure compliance with every imaginable piece of legislation and code of practice written since Noah was handed the plans for the Ark, may have unwittingly made it so complicated that even Stephen Hawking could not unravel its mysteries?

Maybe next time someone claims not to have understood procedure, perhaps we should take a good hard look at the systems we have implemented. Are they simple enough that people will actually follow them? Is this how things are actually done, or is it just the fleet manager's view of the world? How is the information presented –have we given them so much paperwork they need a heavy vehicle just to carry at all?

Let’s get back to basics and KIS – keep it simple!

To stop our Anonymous Fleet Manager (AFM) blowing a gasket, we created Internal Combustion, a monthly column for fleet-related rants that lets AFM blow off some steam. Got a fleet gripe you'd like to get AFM's opinion on? Email emily.ditchburn@ipwea.org and she'll pass it on.