What is a Journey Management Plan?
A journey management plan is a document used to minimize the safety hazards when an employee is driving. And it does so through two main processes: removal of unnecessary driving and managing risks of necessary driving.
Journey management plans are mainly used in businesses that transport many goods like logistics, oil and gas, and mining. For example, Shell uses journey management planning to safely haul oil from offshore oil rigs to the required location. It can also be used to have a safe journey towards long-drive destinations during business trips and vacations.
In this article, the following points are explained:
1. Benefits of creating and implementing a journey management plan
2. How to make an effective journey management procedure
3. Advantages of a digital journey management system
What are the Benefits of Creating and Implementing a Journey Management Plan?
There are many benefits in using a journey management plan, but we will only focus on four main benefits. The information below is referenced from a journey management plan sample of the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) of Ontario and Energy Safety Canada.
1. Reduced Number of Vehicle Incidents
Since a journey management plan aims to reduce hazards when driving, its primary effect is a reduced number of incidents like crashes or personnel injuries. This has many implications.
The first one is the reduced expenses to compensate for injuries, damaged properties, legal procedures, environmental costs, and insurance premiums. The second effect is a healthier and less stressful workplace since there are lower risks.
2. Aware and Responsible Workers
In the journey management plan sample, employers have the responsibility to educate their employees about all of the possible driving hazards and risks as well as the legal driving requirements mandated by the government. It also includes training them to assess those hazards and create plans to minimize the risks.
In effect, the training for journey management will mold workers to become more responsible and more aware of their duties and their essential role in driving safely.
3. Reduction of Operational Cost and Carbon Emission
Since the journey management plan aims to reduce driving as much as possible, this will significantly reduce driving costs such as fuel consumption, meals, and accommodations. It also lowers the vehicle operational expenses such as purchasing costs, maintenance costs, and insurance policies.
Less driving and fewer vehicles also equate to less carbon emission produced by a company. And lower carbon emissions can help in acquiring green certifications and good publicity.
4. Increase in Productivity
Frequent driving takes away a lot of time and energy from the workers who should have been given to do better work endeavors, consequently lowering work productivity. Since driving is significantly reduced when following a journey management plan, workers now have more time and energy to do more work.
How to Make an Effective Journey Management Plan Procedure?
A compelling journey management plan procedure removes driving and provides a meticulous risk analysis of all the necessary driving. And it follows four main aspects of consideration. The information below is referenced from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) of Ontario and Energy Safety Canada.
Step 1: Avoid Driving or Traveling Instances As Much As Possible
The first step in making an effective journey management plan is to remove all unnecessary driving for work.
One of the most effective ways to do it is to create a work-from-home policy. To effectively work, it might be necessary to work with the human resource department to pinpoint which employees can thoroughly do their work even while at home.
Another way to lessen driving is to meet clients through virtual means like video conferences and online meetings. Not only will this remove driving, but it also eliminates travel time, meals, and accommodation expenses.
Step 2: Use Alternatives To Driving
If travel can’t be avoided, look for alternative ways to reach your destination without driving. One of the best alternatives is using public transportation like buses and trains. Although it can be crowded at times, it’s still fast, reliable, and cheap.
If the destination is close by, walking or using a bicycle is an excellent alternative way. It’s carbon emission-free, zero-cost, and beneficial to the body.
For very far destinations, the best alternative way is to ride an airplane. It’s faster and saves you a lot of energy and effort as compared to driving.
Step 3: Minimize Driving Risk
If driving is essential, for example, to deliver large goods that can’t be transported through public transportation, then it’s time to include risk analysis on the journey management plan form.
The first step in risk analysis is to identify all possible risks. To do so, check the route if you’ve already driven through it. If not, consult a workmate that has and ask them if there are potential hazards along the way.
Then, check the weather forecast for the departure date and assess whether the route has hidden hazards once the weather changes.
After identifying the hazards, the next step is to assess how to mitigate each risk. Does the driver need additional tools or training? Does the vehicle or some of its parts need to be changed? Does the route need to be changed?
After careful analysis, it’s time to finalize and document the trip plan. Below is the list of essential information that needs to be in the trip plan:
- Name of driver and passengers
- Vehicle identification
- Travel route
- Address of the destinations
- Contact information of the driver and all of the passenger
- Check-in system
Advantages of a digital journey management system
Journeys are part of everyday business. Proactive and efficient management not only saves costs and time but also protects and unburdens employees. It has been shown that it is also worth switching to a digital application in journey management. This could streamline data entry and documentation, and all employees always have immediate access to the same information.
A digital solution like Lumiform offers companies many advantages in managing forms and analyzing data. With the mobile app and desktop software, you can:
- Access free, ready-to-use journey management plan templates from the Lumiform template library.
- Convert existing paper forms to digital format or create your journey management plan templates in just a few steps with the flexible form builder.
- Use the app on your smartphone or tablet to perform pre-trip inspections – offline or online.
- View and annotate photos during inspections to create a comprehensive and detailed report.
- Automatically generate and send inspection reports to the appropriate personnel.
- Store inspection reports in secure cloud storage to ensure that only authorized personnel can access the data.
