Emergency Procedures
Fleet Management and Driver Capacity
Managing a transport fleet requires strong administrative skills, good communications and close coordination with the procurement and other functions to ensure efficient timing for collection and delivery. Organisations must ensure that the vehicles are in good mechanical condition and to establish maintenance and control procedures to prevent any down time.
Managing a fleet of vehicles, more so in emergencies, is complex and comprehensive due to the number of actions required. Every organisation should appoint one individual to be entrusted with following up on all matters related to the transport vehicles: controlling, managing, overseeing and analysing the performance of the fleet in response to the emergency.
If the current fleet consists of fewer than 30 vehicles and there is no dedicated fleet manager, organisations are advised to identify up to 2 staff members who can take on such a role in a full-time capacity during the emergency. Alternatively, it could be wise to contact another organisation of similar magnitude and agree to have a shared fleet manager or possible contracting a fleet manager from a staffing company. While it may be challenging to share resources, transport is a cornerstone of emergency operations and therefore planning for fleet management capacity will have a very positive impact on programme delivery.
Every organisation should appoint one individual to be entrusted with following up on all matters related to the transport vehicles: controlling, managing, overseeing and analysing the performance of the fleet in response to the emergency.
Aside from having the right number of drivers, you should also ensure they have the ability to respond in an emergency. You can do so by:
- Contact driver training provider and set up an agreement with them to provide training at
the start of the emergency
- Contact maintenance training provider and set up an agreement with them to provide
training at the start of the emergency
- If the Coronavirus response is happening in a country prone to man-made disasters with
political context, then it is advisable to contact a security training provider, be that internal or external. This will enable drivers to respond to hostile situations on the road. In any case drivers need to be briefed at a regular basis about the security situation.
- With the support of HR or Medical Staff, identify a trauma psychologist. Sometimes your (national) staff members can be directly or indirectly affected by the emergency and might require counselling
- Similarly ask the support of HR or Medical Staff to ensure that your drivers, own and drivers from rental vehicle companies stay healthy and that they know what protocol to follow to minimize being exposed to the virus.
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