BARNES Group UK, a supplier of workshop and maintenance essentials to the engineering, rail and airline industries, has seen the number of accidents on its fleet drop by 20%, maintenance costs reduce by 15% and insurance premiums cut by 40%, following the introduction of ‘RiskMaster’ - a new road-risk management programme.

Barnes Group operates 60 vans.

Already signed up to a maintenance and accident management service run by Fleet Support Group (FSG) the firm opted to trial its RiskMaster programme, set up in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

RiskMaster helps companies set clear objectives and asks fleet managers to apply for an on-line ‘permit to drive’ for all drivers – including those employees driving non-company vehicles. Drivers are then asked a series of questions to establish fitness to drive, which helps identify those who might need further training, which is provided by RoSPA.

Jeremy Jarvis, Barnes Group finance director, said: ‘We had a mix of information provided, both on-line and in hard copy. Drivers with nothing to hide complied quickly and, although some had ‘forgotten’ incidents, overall the quality of driver- provided information was excellent.’