Automotive Fleet, December 2020

ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS RECEIVES 2020 FLEET SAFETY AWARD GETTING BUY IN FROM MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE COMPANY INCLUDING SAFETY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT HR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND LEGAL WAS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THEIR SAFETY PROGRAM BY ANDY LUNDIN S haron Etherington and Katie Franssen of Roche Diagnostics were named the winners of the Fleet Safety Award during the virtual 2020 Fleet Safety Experience on Nov 18 2020 which served as a virtual counterpart to the Fleet Safety Conference Etherington senior manager regional administrative services credit card fleet and travel and Franssen principal safety health and environmental SHE leader were recognized for driving down Roches fleet crash rate for three consecutive years using continuous driver monitoring to improve driver behavior and enhancing driver safety programs by introducing advanced vehicle safety features We strive in all areas of our businesses to ensure that the patient is at the core of everything we do said Etherington This is true even for the fleet We have to ensure that our drivers who support our patients through the labs hospitals and clinics are able to travel safely have reliable vehicles are armed with driver safety skills and use defensive driving techniques Our ultimate goal is that our drivers make it home safely each night A ROBUST SAFETY PROGRAM Roche Diagnostics fleet utilizes continuous driver monitoring via telematics to identify high or severe risk drivers as a way educate change and enhance driver behavior Concerns of Big Brother watching over drivers has not been an issue with several drivers reaching out to thank the AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I DECEMBER 2020 38 fleet team for implementing this initiative However getting buyin from multiple departments and drivers was Sharon Etherington left and Katie Franssen right of Roche Diagnostics were recognized for driving down Roches fleet crash rate implementing continuous driver monitoring and enhancing driver safety programs critical toward its implementation This included collaborating with safety health and environment SHE HR employee relations and legal was critical We have found that one of the biggest things we can get out of this is talking to our drivers talking to our leaders seek to understand what their priorities are and what can we do to partner together in order to get our drivers home safely every day said Franssen Roche Diagnostics fleet crash rate has gone down consecutively since 2018 going from 134 in 2018 124 in 2019 to 82 in 2020 The fleet also saw a 17 improvement in collisions per million miles all with an increasing volume of vehicles in service each year Etherington and Franssen also utilized new hire safe driver operator training online safety training behind the wheel training and Hows My Driving community observation program to improve driver behavior Enhancing these safety measures with advanced driver assistance systems ADAS to include blind spot detectors frontal crash avoidance systems lane departure warnings and backup cameras On top of this Roche Diagnostics and its fleet have worked as an essential business for providing COVID 19 diagnostics tests during the pandemic Our field technicians are working extremely hard and a lot of overtime to provide the best care for their patients said Etherington We believe one way to retain top talent which is crucial for our patients is to do everything we can to provide education keep our drivers updated on regulation industry standards safety features and really have them understand the distracted world we live in based on all the technology and movement around us 2020 FLEET SAFETY EXPERIENCE The Fleet Safety Award first presented in 2012 is sponsored by the American Automotive Leasing Association AALA This is the first year that the awards ceremony has been hosted in a virtual format Presenting the award this year during the panel was Mike Joyce executive director AALA Tom Callahan president of Donlen and safety technology committee chair for AALA and Mike Antich editor of Automotive Fleet The award recognizes candidates who show leadership innovation and measurable results in enhancing the safety of their employees those traveling with them and everyone else who shares the road AF