A journey management plan is crucial for any business that has a travelling workforce.
That typically includes industries that are centred around the transportation of goods, services or people and industries like the resource sector, mining, gas and oil that require a FIFO workforce and travel between job sites.
Here are some tips for developing a journey management plan that will maximise driver safety and ensure they have the support they need.
Evaluate whether travel is essential: The safest trip is the one not taken. This is why it is important to assess all travel and eliminate any non-essential driving to help reduce the risks. If travel is essential, investigate whether vehicle-sharing, rail or bus transport is available first before committing a worker to a road trip.
Avoid key fatigue times: Drivers should not hit the road at night time unless it is absolutely essential – especially between 2am and 6am. The afternoon between 2pm and 4pm is also a time when drivers are likely to be fatigued, especially if they have just eaten.
Risk assessment for every trip: Before a driver starts on their journey, a proper risk assessment should be made that includes assessing if the driver is in the right condition to drive (not fatigues, under the influence of alcohol or drugs etc), traffic and road conditions and ensuring the weather conditions are suitable for travel.
Vehicle maintenance: It is vital that all vehicles used for work travel is properly serviced, maintained and has the right emergency equipment stowed including spare tyre(s), tools and a first aid kit.
Fatigue management: It is recommended that drivers take a break every two hours, stop to sleep before night time and avoid driving after less than six hours of sleep. If the driver is setting off in the afternoon, a short power nap after lunch is advised. Avoid unnecessary long-distance travel and try to share the load between drivers for essential distances.
Ensure every journey is logged: This should include the starting point, the final destination, rest and meal stops as well as checkpoints along the way.
This is where Journey Management System (JMS) can streamline, automate and simplify your journey management.
The JMS application is installed on mobile devices travelling with the driver that uses the phone’s reception as well as GPS to monitor the progress of the travel throughout the entire journey.
Checkpoints are automatically ticked off along the journey and if a driver fails to reach one of these checkpoints within a designated period of time, automatic alerts are sent to managers using SMS, emails and mobile audio.
This means that if a driver has been involved in an accident, has experienced mechanical failure or has been halted in a rural or remote area for any other reason, assistance and/or emergency support can be dispatched immediately.
