Keeping an Eye on the Road: Leading Gas Supplier Ahead of the Fleet in Driver Safety
Air Products South Africa has once again demonstrated its commitment to safety in its operations, this time putting its drivers’ safety at the top of the agenda.
In a bid to enhance the safety and security of its drivers, the company has installed DriveCam in its fleet of trucks. This system records and monitors the causes of bad driving.
Distribution Manager of Air Products South Africa, Donovan O’Grady, says that the DriveCam monitoring system has positively impacted driver behaviour and attitudes, leading to a markedly lower accident rate.
“Through DriveCam, Air Products has been able to reduce accidents by highlighting undesirous driver behaviour. It has improved driver understanding and performance through review of the recorded incidents. A driver can also manually record unusual occurrences he feels necessary towards providing feedback following a trip, ” O’Grady adds.
He explains that the system is located on the windscreen of the vehicle and consists of a video recording unit, which has two cameras: one focused on the interior of the cabin and the other on the road. Video footage is recorded for a total of 8 seconds – 2 seconds prior to an event and 6 seconds after an event.
“The system is triggered either manually by the driver, or automatically in the event of some kind of sudden movement or jolt, such as taking a hard corner, braking suddenly, or a collision,” explains O’Grady.
Air Products, as a leading manufacturer and distributor of industrial gas to an extensive network in the southern African region, prizes its drivers as integral to a successful supply chain. The company’s drivers are referred to as ’operators’ and are subjected to an intensive cryogenic driver programme which entails being evaluated twice a year.
“They have to pass written tests during these evaluations to demonstrate their knowledge of how to react in a hazardous situation,” says O’Grady.
“The data that we receive from the DriveCam system enables us to modify our driver training programme. It’s given us a better understanding of what happens on the roads and, more importantly, because it is recorded it allows us to immediately address bad driving habits and techniques,” he says. The data is uploaded via a cell phone connection to the company’s data centre, and is immediately available for scrutiny. O’Grady points out that one further benefit is that footage can be used as prosecutory evidence in a court of law.
“Being monitored in this way, when they need it, has changed the attitude of our drivers,” maintains O’Grady. “And the results speak for themselves: fewer accidents and the added benefit of a reduction in fuel consumption.”
Looking after its drivers is further proof of Air Products’ commitment to operating safely and diligently in the environment they share.
Published on September 20, 2011 in Air Products News |