Neil Renaut (middle) of East of England Co-op awarded “Fleet Management Superstar” in 2020 Great British Fleet Awards, 30th January 2020, London

Drivetech is delighted to share in the success and recognition afforded to Neil Renaut as winner of the 2020 “Fleet Management Superstar” award.

At a champagne reception and awards luncheon in West London today (Thursday 30th January), Neil was recognised for his and his teams’ significant achievements in “showing a strong grip on, and a complete understanding of, their fleet, as well as managing their drivers and suppliers brilliantly.”

As part of the joint submission made by East of England Co-op and Drivetech, who provides this valued customer with driver risk management and driver training services, Neil indicated significant control over the East of England Co-op vehicle fleet and drivers, and importantly pointed to significant improvements on the safety profile of their drivers, with a 43% reduction in the number of accidents and insurance claims since the programme with Drivetech had commenced.

Neil Renaut, Head of Health and Safety at the East of England Co-op commented: “We have over 580 drivers in the business – from HGV drivers, to funeral fleets, home delivery vans, and company car drivers – both “owned” and grey fleet. We needed to ensure that we provide this diverse range of drivers with a clear demonstration of our duty of care, and to provide them with road skills and driver training to keep them driving both safely and efficiently, as well as ensuring a safe and responsible approach to other road users and pedestrians. We are in a relatively rural area of the country too – so we also have our fair share of ‘rural’ challenges – remote roads, and often animals and farm vehicles to be aware of too. We have a clear Driver Policy and this is presented to all new drivers coming on board to set the standard and expectations.”

The business has been using the driver training services of Drivetech, part of the AA, for a number of years now, and has seen some admirable and notable improvements in its driver safety profile as a result. Drivetech provides services that range from licence checking to online driver assessments and e-learning modules through to more specific on road driver training interventions where deemed valid and important as regards driver risk and circumstances. With the collaboration and practical working relationship between Neil and his team consisting of Luke Warren and the main day-to-day point of liaison, Rosie Butler, Drivetech have supported the East of England Co-op well.
 
Tracey Bass, Sector Account Manager at Drivetech, observed: “We enjoy an excellent working relationship with Neil, Rosie, and Luke. We take as much pride in the results of our work as I know they do within the East of England Co-op and we appreciate the opportunity to provide a breadth of services from checking driver licences on a periodic basis to much more specific on road driver training that helps identify high risk situations that drivers may face. We derive a great deal of satisfaction from providing one to one coaching to improve and shape attitudes, behaviours and core driving competencies and are pleased with the results. Now this ‘Fleet Management Superstar’ accolade is the icing on the cake!”

As regards headline performance improvement measures, Neil Renaut provides some impressive figures: “In 2013, we conducted licence checks only in the main. However, since we introduced a more comprehensive programme with Drivetech, we have seen a reduction in accidents and claims, most notably between 2013 and 2017 which saw a 32% reduction. We have recently updated our trend analysis and I am pleased to confirm that when you compare 2013, when we started our Driver Risk Management programme with Drivetech, to 2018 we have seen a 43% reduction in the number of accidents/claims. Driving for work here at East of England Co-op is recognised as a key business task and one that we take very seriously. We’re grateful for the professional support provided by Drivetech with the team there always working hard to provide good, effective service.”

To find out more about Drivetech’s range of fleet risk management and driver training services click here and to find out more about the East of England Co-op click here.


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