Guest post by: Catherine Richardson, Technical Training Coordinator at Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings
The usual excitement stirs in the air whilst we wait for the drivers to participate in one of our many Technical Training Courses. Arriving at the client’s compound we see the vehicle fleet of a humanitarian organisation. Some vehicles are new, some are old and dilapidated. Surprisingly, the one with the cracks on the A pillar is only 2 years old. I wonder whether the wrong tyres had been fitted to that vehicle. In the distance a few cars are off the road with literally with no wheels and propped up by rocks. This seems to be the same story repeating itself over time. So we ask, why does this keep happening?
Vehicles or any other motor transportation are used as tools to achieve the necessary results in humanitarian projects. How these “tools on wheels” are treated and looked after is very often a neglected issue. If personnel from every level of humanitarian organisations - from fleet professionals to drivers, mechanics, logisticians and beyond - could be educated to understand and promote the longer lifespan of these vehicles, this would bring with it enormous benefits across the board.
Such an education / training programme could focus on the following key outcomes:
- Adopting key principles: to increase health and safety for the drivers and the public.
- Extending the life span of the vehicle fleet
- Exploring into the future savings especially fuel and maintenance costs
Many organisations and agencies have already found that this type of technical training programme assists and facilitates their field projects by allowing participants to adopt a hands-on approach and an active participation during the course itself which covers such practical areas like driving, maintenance, recovery and fleet management by exploring the importance of road safety. Road safety awareness helps to reduce traffic accidents, especially in remote areas where the attention of drivers can often be compromised by challenging surroundings.
This type of technical training also emphasises the importance of vehicle inspections and maintenance to promote the expansion of the life span of your vehicles. In addition to this, an understanding of tyres and wheel maintenance is also promoted in order to assess how important the correct selection of tyres can be and when to replace. This contributes to improved safety, as well as having positive environmental effects and accompanying cost savings.
It is understandable that the running costs in field projects can have a profound effect on what is achievable locally. Therefore, having a better understanding of the running costs of a vehicle fleet (whatever size) will help to drive down costs and lead to significant savings. By increasing awareness (through active participation) of the health and safety aspects of fleet users, these techniques would help to lower other costs.
TGS has its own dedicated team of experienced and effective trainers and we recognise that each agency has their own special requirements. So we can tailor each training programme to the individual needs of each organisation based around the above-mentioned key areas for improvement which we feel most agencies can benefit from.
Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings (TGS) was established in 1996 as Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TMC) designated dealer for the United Nations and humanitarian organizations. At TGS we aim to add value to the unparalleled range of 4x4 vehicles offered by TMC. We do this by extending our philosophy of partnership to all of our customers and elevating customers’ needs to the top of our priority list.
