Drivers don’t always get the recognition they deserve, with some companies guilty of focusing more on the end product that they sell than how it reaches their customers.

But that’s not the case with Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland and its partner XPO Logistics, which runs more than 900 trucks and trailers on behalf of Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions and has 350 XPO Logistics full-time drivers on the contract.

Here, drivers see their role as a profession and senior leaders acknowledge that fact with a driver of the year competition, the culmination of a wider driver development programme, which has resulted in a 16% reduction in vehicle incidents so far in 2023 versus the same period in 2022.

Brian Fisher, head of distribution at Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions, says: “When I first started talking to the business about having a driver of the year event a long time ago it was never about finding the best driver. It’s about recognising the drivers.

“We are a manufacturer but actually the drivers are the customer-facing part of our business. No one else sees customers more than our drivers, no one else interacts with the public more than our drivers do.”

Will Powell, XPO head of operations for Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions, agrees, saying that it is “absolutely worthwhile celebrating drivers’ professionalism”.

“Driving is a profession, more so than it’s ever been,” he says. “Some people may say it’s become easier but I think it’s more difficult now to comply with the rules, regulations and legislation. It’s probably one of the few professions in the world where your time is limited and the speed at which you can work in that time is limited.”

Driver development programme

Each driver’s ability to administer their own time, on-the-road incidents and SAFED (Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving) scores were part of the criteria used to determine the top 16 drivers who went through to the Driver of the Year event at Mallory Park Circuit, Leicestershire in September this year. 

The SAFED programme was introduced after XPO Logistics was awarded the contract to manage the Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions fleet in 2019, and is a key part of Saint-Gobain’s overall driver development programme.

“We’ve got a team of people whose sole function is to train our drivers and improve their ability to do their work so drivers are constantly assessed and re-educated,” says Powell.

As well as on-the-road coaching, vehicle specification plays a part in improving the safety of the fleet.

Cameras and telematics have been used in the fleet for the past 10 years, with Saint-Gobain committed to the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) scheme since 2013.

All new vehicles on the Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions fleet meet the Direct Vision Standard three-star rating and all vehicles over 12-tonne gross vehicle weight that enter or operate in Greater London will be required to hold a valid safety permit, ahead of new rules being introduced by Transport for London and London boroughs in October 2024.

“The decision was made to allow our driver community to have greater visibility of vulnerable road users and reduce the possibility of fatal collisions. We are always trying to be ahead of legislative changes,” says Kelvin Sidaway, XPO’s head of QHSE for Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions.

Sidaway headed the steering committee which shaped and executed the 2023 Driver of the Year event. Representatives from the fleet team and communications team were also on the committee.

This was deliberately separate to the group which runs the SAFED programme.

“We wanted the final event to be a surprise,” says Fisher. “The drivers needed to feel special when they turned up and saw the flags, the banners and the shiny trucks.” 

Vehicles from the fleet were used at the event but there was “no impact on service” as it was planned well in advance with work allocated elsewhere and holiday cover for the drivers.

Driver challenges

The event featured a number of challenges for the drivers, including: a knowledge test, based on the updated version of the Highway Code; a pre-operational inspection created by a Volvo engineer; a reversing challenge, which was deliberately ‘tight’; a figure of eight challenge, which had to be completed without door mirrors; and a vulnerable road user challenge, which was set up with the assistance of Leicestershire mounted police, with drivers having to navigate their way round a horse, a cyclist and a pedestrian.

Each challenge was scored by XPO Logistics’ in-house operational trainers. There were three individual winners (Alan Davison, driver of the year, Anthony Thornhall, most improved driver and Ryan Almond, most sustainable driver), who each received a £500 voucher and a driver experience day with Volvo Trucks, and a team of the year (Gotham).

Crucial to the event was having sponsorship from Volvo Trucks, Tiger Trailers and Hireco, which made it a far bigger event. Saint-Gobain’s first driver of the year competition in 2013 was held in a car park, and funded by entry fees.

About 100 people attended the event at Mallory Park, including senior executives from Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland, and individual Saint-Gobain brands.

Guest activities included: a virtual reality experience with Leicestershire Fire and Rescue; a child road safety programme provided by Tiger Trailers and ‘Tiger Ted’; a Dead Slow campaign provided by the British Horse Society; and the chance to drive a Volvo FH Electric.

Sustainability goals

Saint-Gobain recently trialled a Volvo FM Electric tractor unit, with a view to adding five fully electric tractor units to the fleet next year.

“We have been working in collaboration with a number of partners to secure Zero Emission Road Freight (ZERFT) funding for the HGV Electric Vehicle trial from 2025-2030,” says Powell.

Saint-Gobain’s goal is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and it has a number of initiatives to reduce CO2 related to transport. Half of the Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions fleet runs on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) and a further 10% runs on liquified natural gas (LNG). This, coupled with the SAFED programme, and fleet optimisation via reducing empty running, has contributed to saving more than 9,000 tonnes of CO2.

Sidaway says having the Volvo FH Electric at the driver of the year event fitted in well with the fleet’s sustainability goals.

The event also served as an opportunity to get internal stakeholder engagement for a schools programme.

Driver engagement

As for driver engagement, the individual winners say they were overwhelmed”, and “proud” when their names were called out.

In fact, Thornhill (pictured below) says that having recognition from senior executives at the event was  “worth everything”.

Almond says he “learnt a lot” from the event, which he will carry through to his daily driving.

For Fisher, all 16 finalists were “winners”, who had gone “above and beyond” to reach the competition.

He wants next year’s event to be bigger and better, with potentially 11 Saint-Gobain UK brands taking part, meaning about 500 drivers would be assessed and 22 would be finalists at the event. Early planning is essential and work will start on 2024’s event soon.

The SAFED training, meanwhile, will be refreshed with seasonal driving advice.

Being an HGV driver is a “constant learning curve”, according to Thornhill.

“There are new hazards, better ways to do things,” he says. “It’s not something that everybody can do. A lot of people think you get in the cab, point it and away you go but it’s not quite that easy.”

Davison, who has been an HGV driver for almost 30 years, following in his dad’s footsteps by joining the army and then getting his licence, acknowledges that it’s “a hard life being away from family” but “once you get into it, there’s nothing else really you would want to do”.

Thornhall adds: “We get to see sunsets and sunrises, go to new places, meet different people. I’ve got the best office in the world, nothing ever looks the same.”