Staffordshire University has achieved compliance assurance for a large grey fleet base and its own fleet thanks to the DAVIS driver and risk management platform from Licence Check.

Staffordshire University runs a large grey fleet and inhouse fleet across five locations

The university, which has around 12,000 students across five campuses, has some 405 staff who use their own vehicles for occupational driving. But it also operates an owned and leased fleet of 24 vehicles, with 18 vans, two ambulances, two tractors, a mowing machine and a car for dignitaries.

Sue Emery, the university’s head of health, safety and wellbeing, was looking for a solution to meet the duty of care requirements and legal compliance associated with running a large grey fleet and inhouse fleet across five locations, and to raise safety awareness, improve efficiency and enhance security for end-users in the process.

She put together a successful business case for the introduction of the fully automated DAVIS platform – winner of the Innovation in Cost Reduction title at this year’s Great British Fleet Awards – for licence checking and risk management for all vehicles.

The DAVIS Single Sign On (SSO) framework was a key factor in the contract win.

SSO gives users immediate access to DAVIS as soon as they log on to their computer, removing the need for multiple usernames and passwords for different applications and thereby simplifying the login for employees while promoting enhanced security.

“Without doubt, SSO has been a key factor in helping raise awareness of the need for frequent checks to be made across our driver pool and in increasing the number of people successfully logging onto the system,” said Emery.

All Staffordshire University’s drivers, including all new starters, are onboarded onto DAVIS via an API link between the university staff database and the DAVIS platform, reducing admin time and potential keying errors.

Grey fleet drivers now have to confirm that they have business class insurance, a valid MOT and road fund licence in addition to having their licence checked. They also get alerts when these are up for renewal and are prompted to carry out regular vehicle roadworthiness checks such as such as tyres, brakes, fluid levels, lights and automotive glass.

“Any exceptions are flagged up in a weekly summary to me, and quarterly I send the reports to the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee. The findings are then relayed to the deans and directors of the various schools and professional services so that they can chase up any non-compliant staff,” said Emery.

“This gives me compliance assurance and a visible audit trail that we have fulfilled our duty of care requirements to our drivers and the wider populace,” she added.

Licence Check managing director Keith Allen said DAVIS SSO login was becoming increasingly popular amongst the customer base for its log-in simplicity and automatic compliance alerts.

A further benefit is that it permits the client organisation to access the DAVIS platform from a unique sub domain, branded with its own corporate logo and house style to provide a customised interface for a consistent look and feel.

“This feature is becoming increasingly popular, and SSO is undoubtedly a major enabler in a friction-free authentication and security process that, we believe, should become the standard for the industry,” added Allen.