By Rob Wilson – Director IPWEA FLEET

Staying intouch

On 16 April, IPWEA ran a webinar round table on Managing Fleets Through the COVID-19 Pandemic. The session included an overview of initiatives and responses being applied by a group of eminent fleet managers and invited comment and feedback from participants. The intention of the session was to create a meeting place for fleet practitioners and to help the fleet community share important information while working through the crisis. Further detail on the session and key takeaways can be found here .

IPWEA has adjusted, and continues to adjust our approach to professional development during this period of social isolation. In addition to our routine Online Fleet Management Training commencing 28 May 2020, we will be running a mid-year fleet management webinar series. Commencing in June the series will enable fleet practitioners to continue their professional development and build important knowledge and skills for the future. The series will include sessions on; cost management, electric vehicle transition, special vehicle builds and fleet performance management. We’ll provide more detail on the mid-year webinar series over the coming weeks.

Interestingly some fleets have increased the use of employee’s private vehicles during the COVID-19 crisis to bolster vehicle availability and improve social distancing outcomes. The use of privately-owned vehicles by volunteers or employees to undertake organisational business is often referred to as grey fleet (because of the grey area between private ownership and business use). Whether business use is reimbursed or not, grey fleet carries a risk, primarily related to workplace health and safety (because the vehicle is deemed a workplace), but also related to reputation and operational performance.

Considerable attention has been directed towards the management of grey fleet in recent years. According to Fleet Auto News it is important that organisations assess the use of grey fleet to understand the risks involved. Initially an audit should be undertaken to understand how many vehicles are used for grey fleet and what they are used for. Particulars should also be recorded about the vehicles; age, make / model, insurance details, registration status and the driver’s licence details and status.

There is a vast amount of published material relating to grey fleet and this can be useful and instructive in developing organisational policy. Some references include:

National Road Safety Partnership Program - Grey Fleet Safety Management and associated references including Fleet Auto News - Companies urged to recognise legal obligation to grey fleet vehicles and Safe Work Australia - Grey fleets – a significant risk with unique challenges.

If you’re using worker’s private vehicles for business use it is worth making sure you have the necessary risk controls in place.

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