Three Things We Learned from New Zealand Racing Board

A savvy customer of ours, the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB), won the Fleet Safety Award for 2019, hosted by the Australasian Fleet Managers Association (AfMA) in May. We’ve got insight below on the three fleet safety areas that make NZRB’s fleet award-winning!

NZRB governs the racing industry in New Zealand and controls sports betting entity TAB and is the broadcaster of horse and greyhound races on TAB Trackside. After completing a health and safety risk review, NZRB found that the biggest safety risk was driver behaviour. The company needed visibility on their fleet as it travelled around New Zealand. So, NZRB decided to invest in Teletrac Navman’s fleet management system to ensure the health and safety of its employees.

Slow and steady won this race

NZRB has a mixed fleet of vans, utes, company cars, and trailers. In the first year of installing Teletrac Navman’s fleet management software, NZRB saw a reduction of over speed events by 91 per cent.

In September 2017, the NZRB set up its GPS telematics system to identify and record over speed events at a limit of 108km/h for passenger vehicles and 98km/h for trucks. As well as increasing the safety risk to staff, speeding was adding costs to the organisation in the form of vehicle damage equating to around $68,000 per year, speeding fines of up to $16,000 per year, vehicle wear and tear, and excessive fuel consumption.

To promote a health and safety culture and incentivise staff, teams that achieved zero over speed events at the end of the month were treated to a full spread breakfast. This was all monitored and recorded using telematics data. One team even had four months with zero over speed events.

Insights add value

Driver behaviour can not only impact the safety of road users, but also on a business’ reputation. Having branded vehicles on the road is a form of advertisement and poor driving behaviour from one driver can affect the company as a whole.

 “We have branded vehicles, so we need to be accountable and have proper insight into how vehicles are being used,” commented former NZRB Health and Safety manager, Jason Stapp. In two instances the NZRB received fines and infringements which occurred when vehicles were being serviced by an outside provider. Using Teletrac Navman’s DIRECTOR software, the NZRB were able to source detailed proof of how the vehicle had been used. “Insights from Teletrac Navman help us send a clear message that the NZRB has a strong focus on the safety and health of all persons operating its fleet – and will take action to reduce the risk posed by poor driver behaviours,” said Jason.

Lower fuel consumption = greener fleet

A flow on effect from improved driver behaviour is lower fuel consumption, which benefits both the environment and the bottom line. Fuel consumption in NZRB fleet operations has reduced from 21 litres per 100 km down to 13.8 litres per 100 km travelled since the full system was implemented in September 2017. With fuel prices fluctuating up and down the country, this is a positive for the company’s wallet as the estimated cost saving is $35,000 per annum. The fleet’s carbon emissions have reduced from 86 tonnes per month to 61 tonnes per month.

To learn more about the New Zealand Racing Board’s journey to a safer, award-winning fleet, click here to read their full case study.