Safety news

Essential Energy has earned national recognition for its commitment to safety and innovation in fleet management.

The Australasian Fleet Management Association (AfMA) awarded Essential Energy the prestigious 2023 Fleet Safety Award for rolling out an In-Vehicle Monitoring System (IVMS) across the fleet.

A key element of Essential Energy’s organisation-wide technology transformation, the system is focused on improving driver behaviour, fatigue management, and decision-making for lifecycle management. Further to this, the IVMS provides real time notification of duress events, initiating immediate response times from Emergency Services.

With Essential Energy employees driving more than 32 million kilometres a year, the innovative approach with the IVMS provided practical benefits to day-to-day operations. Employees can access data to review reports on their asset performance data and utilisation metrics. With timely access to this information, leaders are empowered to initiate data-driven conversations regarding asset performance and fatigue management with their teams.

Since implementing the IVMS system, Essential Energy has reduced the number of vehicle incidents, enhanced pre-operational inspection compliance, and improved overall asset health.

Essential Energy received the award at a ceremony in Sydney attended by more than 600 industry representatives attending the 2023 Australasian Fleet Conference & Exhibition.

Essential Energy Chief Operating Officer Luke Jenner said the business hoped to share the valuable learnings from implementing an IVMS system with fleet managers and other organisations seeking guidance on similar challenges.

“This award is a direct reflection on our employees and their desire to keep people safe and be willing to embrace change. It would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our people to continuous improvement and innovation.

While the award is terrific recognition for our business, the bottom line is that the IVMS system has improved safety for our people and the community. That’s the most important point.”

Fleet Manager Michael Mills said that the success of this project was underpinned by a determined and passionate project team, driven to deliver a simple and effective solution to lower driving risk.

"Every Essential Energy employee is committed to road safety, recognising and mitigating the risk of driving is crucial for the safety of themselves, their loved ones and the people in the communities where we work and live. This award is a testament to that commitment.

Innovation and technology provide us the opportunity to improve driver behaviour and the ability to respond immediately when a vehicle is in duress. Implementing a IVMS supports our vision to lower the risk when driving and this is a whole-of-business commitment.”

As the award winner, Essential Energy have been invited to attend professional development forums held by AfMA across Australia to present insights from the award to other fleet organisations.