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Within the current political and economic environment the drive to reduce costs remains a key topic and one that increasingly fleet managers are being tasked to address.

At the same time, there is the ever-present need to deliver safety and quality to the business and employees.

Independent and local automotive businesses can offer quality and safety as well as the convenience of a local company. Whether it is a garage for vehicle servicing or a crash repair bodyshop, you can gain significant advantages by choosing a local Kitemark service.

The rigorous processes and audits that Kitemark businesses go through to achieve their Kitemark licence makes them stand out from the competition in terms of demonstratable quality and safety – something fleet managers can use to show due diligence and corporate responsibility as well as addressing regulatory obligations. In addition to this, Kitemark is unique in conducting regular audits to ensure that the same quality and safety is delivered every time.

With Kitemark licensees being audited before they can call themselves Kitemark, you can gain extra confidence from the start that your fleet will be well cared for.

So when you are next reviewing your fleet service and repair work, make sure you consider your local Kitemark garage or bodyshop – you will be well rewarded.

The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 came into force on 16 January 2009.

This new Act increases penalties and provides courts with greater sentencing powers for those who break health and safety law. Therefore managers who turn a blind eye to managing the risks of driving for business – for example, not maintaining the company’s business cars regularly and not replacing car tyres when they are illegal to save costs – will be more severely punished.

With new corporate manslaughter regulations, the need to demonstrate due diligence, corporate responsibility and minimise risk, fleet managers are under more and more pressure and so need to feel confident that their company vehicles are being serviced, maintained and repaired correctly. They need to be sure that the risk to poor repairs has been lowered, not just the cost.

Because Kitemark garages and bodyshops are inspected prior to being accepted into the scheme, they are assessed for their customer arrangements and services as well as their equipment, site facilities, staff competence, management, materials, methods and training.

Every garage and bodyshop is inspected and gaps/errors and non-compliance to the standards are addressed before they gain their Kitemark Licence. This means that when a car is taken to a BSI Kitemark garage or bodyshop, the garage knows what has to be done and how to do it correctly as this has already been proven at an inspection by BSI – an independent organisation whose aim is to raise standards and deliver safety.
 

www.Kitemark.com/findit has a directory of all bodyshops and garages that have Kitemark status. Currently, there are 282 such bodyshops and 130 garages and many more are in the process of achieving it. The benefit of choosing Kitemark is that in doing so you can clearly demonstrate that you have applied best practice and due diligence in your management of corporate fleet cars.
In light of the latest legislation – Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 – all fleet managers are obliged to ensure their vehicles are “maintained to the highest possible standards”, are fit for purpose and that a duty of care has been delivered.
Choosing Kitemark garage servicing or bodyshops helps to ensure these obligations
are met.
As all garages and body-shops are audited before they are awarded a Kitemark licence and re-audited annually you will know from the start that they will consistently deliver the right standards and Kitemark quality. As such, fleet managers who choose to use Kitemark garage servicing or bodyshops can demonstrate that they have applied best practice in their choice of service provider and so mitigate the risks involved as well as making sure they get best value through a good, honest
and safe service.
Kitemark is the most robust certification mark in the sector and it offers real value to businesses, fleet managers and the drivers.
In today’s business environment, where accountability and liability are key factors, Kitemark can offer real reassurance.
 

With the squeeze on budgets and increasing cost-saving targets, the role of the fleet manager gets harder every day. While the role of procurement may have been recognised as an important part of the cost-saving agenda, as a fleet manager you still have to deliver the results – financial and safety.

So you need to spend intelligently, make sure the auto-motive services you use deliver the very best quality for the expenditure you commit. With so many garages and bodyshops keen to secure your business the decision is made more difficult and time-consuming. How can you be sure you make the best choice? 

Choosing a Kitemark garage or bodyshop can deliver you the best value in terms of cost savings, safety and efficiency. Because all Kitemark holders are audited before they are awarded Kitemark status you know they can deliver what they say they will. 

The risk of wasting valuable budget on faulty, poorly performing, unsafe or unreliable servicing or repair will disappear. Because Kitemark garages or bodyshops are inspected regularly, you can be sure they consistently deliver Kitemark quality. 

Cheaper options may be a false economy which could see you having to return your vehicles for further work, disrupting the whole fleet operation.

Contact: 08450 765610
www.kitemarkautomotive.com 

With the recent consumer launch of the Kitemark Vehicle Body Repair scheme on June 18 your drivers and other staff in your organisation will start to become more aware of the Kitemark and the reassurance that it brings. Organisations will have a duty of care for their employees and this means that they will need to be able to reassure staff that whether it is a fully leased and expensed company car or a delivery van, it will have been safely and properly servicing and maintained. 

As with many other sectors – such as fire, construction, electrical and services –
organisations have put their trust in Kitemark as the only real means of being able to demonstrate due diligence and best practice. As a fleet manager, you will be in the same position, so why not specify that your corporate fleet is serviced and maintained by Kitemark garages? 

You can now get better reassurance of quality, safety and trust as every Kitemark garage is fully audited before it gains its Kitemark status so you know you will get the best service from the start and demonstrate that you are serious about safety.

Kitemark can help you deliver real value for money as well as contributing to longer term cost saving solutions. 

Visit www.kitemark.com for more information on how Kitemark can help you maintain a safe and reliable fleet.

Recent reports suggest that fleet management strategies are re-focusing on managing and reducing costs. This is not surprising considering the tough times we are currently experiencing.

However, it does not mean that you have to settle for less. One area of fleet management where you can gain reassurance that what you are spending is worthwhile is in servicing & repair and accident repair.

Here there are Kitemark schemes applicable to both which offer outstanding benefits to fleet managers through the integrity and value that the Kitemark offers.

All Kitemark garages or bodyshops are assessed for compliance to the standard before they are awarded a licence. In the short or long term this means that your fleet cars will be better maintained resulting in less breakdowns and offer the best protection for the drivers in the case of an accident.

Recent tests carried out at MIRA by Thatcham and Quentin Willson (see www.kitemark.com) show how poorly repaired vehicles do not perform well in a subsequent accident and therefore could cause greater and more serious injuries than a car repaired by a Kitemark bodyshop using the right men, methods, materials and machines.

Poor vehicle servicing could leave your fleet cars with more problems than it started with. Breakdowns and non-starts can cause delays and waste valuable business time. Kitemark garages ensure that they only do work that is required and provide a good, honest, fair and quality services.

Specify Kitemark for servicing or crash repair. Visit kitemarkautomotive.com or call 08450 765610.

Whoever carries out your fleet servicing will need to be able to show that they will provide the very best service to the highest standards so that you can demonstrate your compliance with the necessary regulations, best practice and duty of care towards your fleet drivers.

By choosing a Kitemark Garage you can be sure that these key elements will be delivered every time. Because Kitemark is a voluntary scheme it shows those that are committed to delivering a quality, honest and safe service and because they are audited every year you can be sure that they will maintain this standard.

Jim Steel Garages in Nottingham – an independent Kitemark Garage licensee – won a servicing contract with Grosvenor Contracts for 342 vans for the local council as a direct result of having Kitemark status. 

He said: “Kitemark has been the best thing we’ve ever done. We’ve certainly had a big upturn in work since getting the Kitemark. I took my Kitemark stuff along to our first meeting with Nottingham City Council to talk about the possibility of taking on the fleet work. It meant every question they asked I could back up with paperwork.”

Poor vehicle servicing could leave your fleet cars with more problems than it started with.
Breakdowns and non-starts can cause delays and waste business time. Kitemark garages ensure that they only do work that is required and provide a good, honest, fair and quality services.

Visit www.kitemarkautomotive.com.

The recession presents different but just as real challenges to the fleet management sector, where the task becomes doing more with less. Rising unemployment and the need to reduce costs will only continue to increase the pressure on achieving best value while exercising a duty of care and meeting regulatory obligations.

Planned resilience to disruption from faulty repairs, poor workmanship or poor service can be time-consuming and costly. Using Kitemark garage servicing or accident repair provides reassurance that the work will be done honestly, safely and reliably. 

By choosing Kitemark you can clearly demonstrate that you have applied best practice and due diligence in your management of corporate fleet cars. In light of the latest legislation – Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008 – all fleet managers are obliged to ensure that their vehicles are “maintained to the highest possible standards”, are fit for purpose and that a duty of care has been delivered.
 
Fleet managers can help to ensure they meet all these obligations by choosing to use Kitemark garage servicing or bodyshops which offer the highest and most robust service quality in these sectors.

Poor vehicle servicing or repair could leave your cars with more problems than they started with and impact the vehicle’s safety. 

So choose Kitemark for good, honest, quality and safe services.

Within the current political and economic environment the drive to reduce costs remains a key topic and one that increasingly fleet managers are being tasked to address. 

At the same time, there is the ever- present need to deliver safety and quality to the business and employees. Independent and local automotive businesses can offer quality and safety as well as the convenience of a local company.

Whether it is a garage for vehicle servicing or a crash repair bodyshop, you can gain significant advantages by choosing a local Kitemark service.

The rigorous processes and audits that Kitemark businesses go through to achieve their Kitemark licence makes them stand out from the competition in terms of demonstratable quality and safety – something fleet managers can use to show due diligence and corporate responsibility as well as addressing regulatory obligations. In addition to this, Kitemark is unique in conducting regular audits to ensure that the same quality and safety is delivered every time. 

With Kitemark licensees being audited before they can call themselves Kitemark, you can gain extra confidence from the start that your fleet will be well cared for. So when you are next reviewing your fleet service and repair work, make sure you consider your local Kitemark garage or bodyshop – you will be well rewarded.

These days everyone needs to get more for less and this includes making fleets work harder. Kitemark garage services or Kitemark bodyshops can help fleet managers achieve this.

By choosing a Kitemark garage or bodyshop you can be sure of getting the best levels of service, at fair prices and reliably and consistently delivered. 

This can save your company wasting time with poor quality work that needs to be re-done.
In the case of bodyshop repairs, using Kitemark will ensure that you have delivered the safest and best quality repair to your fleet drivers.

Using Kitemark quality servicing and repairs means that your fleet cars will be safe and fit for the road for the maximum amount of time – so they work harder for their drivers and for the business.

With Kitemark licensees being audited before they can call themselves Kitemark, you can gain extra confidence from the start that your fleet will be well cared for.

For this reason you can also be sure that independent garages or bodyshops will deliver the highest quality and safety so you have the choice as to where you put your fleet business. Next time you review your fleet service and repair work make sure you consider your local Kitemark garage or bodyshop – you will be well rewarded.

Specify Kitemark for servicing or crash repair. Visit www.kitemarkautomotive.com or call 08450 765610.

Recent reports suggest that fleet management strategies are re-focusing on managing and reducing costs. This is not surprising considering the tough times we are currently experiencing. However, it does not mean that you have to settle for less.

One area of fleet management where you can gain reassurance that what you are spending is worthwhile is in servicing & repair and accident repair. Here there are Kitemark schemes applicable to both which offer outstanding benefits to fleet managers through the integrity and value that the Kitemark offers.

All Kitemark garages or bodyshops are assessed for compliance to the standard before they are awarded a licence. In the short or long term this means that your fleet cars will be better maintained resulting in less breakdowns and offer the best protection for the drivers in the case of an accident.

Recent tests carried out at MIRA by Thatcham and Quentin Willson (see www.kitemark.com) show how poorly repaired vehicles do not perform well in a subsequent accident and therefore could cause greater and more serious injuries than a car repaired by a Kitemark bodyshop using the right men, methods, materials and machines.

Poor vehicle servicing could leave your fleet cars with more problems than it started with. Breakdowns and non-starts can cause delays and waste valuable business time. Kitemark garages ensure that they only do work that is required and provide a good, honest, fair and quality services.

Whoever carries out your fleet servicing will need to be able to show that they will provide the very best service to the highest standards so that you can demonstrate your compliance with the necessary regulations, best practice and duty of care towards your fleet drivers.

By choosing a Kitemark garage you can be sure that these key elements will be delivered every time. Because Kitemark is a voluntary scheme it shows those that are committed to delivering a quality, honest and safe service – and because they are audited every year you can be sure that they will maintain this standard.

Jim Steel Garages in Nottingham – an independent Kitemark Garage licensee – won a servicing contract with Grosvenor Contracts for 342 vans for the local council as a direct result of having Kitemark status. 

He said: “Kitemark has been the best thing we’ve ever done. We’ve certainly had a big upturn in work since getting the Kitemark. I took my Kitemark stuff along to our first meeting with Nottingham City Council to talk about the possibility of taking on the fleet work. It meant every question they asked I could back up with paperwork.”

Poor vehicle servicing could leave your fleet cars with more problems than it started with.
Breakdowns and non-starts can cause delays and waste business time. Kitemark garages ensure that they only do work that is required and provide a good, honest, fair and quality service.