Gimme some ideas, My employees are ruining my new trucks

[Fugazi]

I'm sick of this shit. Brand new $65k Dodge pick ups are being abused by the employees.
I understand that wear and tear is inevitable, but these are literally brand new.
Less than 5000 km and one of them has a huge dent rear quarter panel.

Nobody will own up to it and Im having a hard time getting approval for better cameras around the building.

How can I implement a system that will give the employee no choice but to come clean about accidents.
We employ a pre-departure check list, that includes noting all damage, mileage, oil change....etc but sometimes employees are using truck well after people have left and no way to make sure the truck came back unscathed.

How can I guarantee I get accurate paperwork and documenting of damage after hours ?

I need to implement an idea that is cost effective, but gives the employee no choice but to denote the damage.
Help me, please.

Ill consider a prize to the winning entry.

 

[Seano]

Don't have the same people who drive the trucks inspect them.

 

[igordog]

What happens to them if they do admit to damaging the vehicle? Do they have to pay for it or risk losing their job? That may be why they won't admit to the damage...

Perhaps a quick associate meeting explaining the proper procedure for damage to the vehicles, and what will happen to them if they DON'T report an accident/damage might be in order.

 

[Begbie]

Surely you can implement some sort of check system where yourself or a manager gives the vehicle a once over before the employee takes the vehicle out. The employee then needs to sign the vehicle out and also sign it back in so you will know exactly when the damage was caused.

Just re read your post fully... surely there must be a manager around at all times?

 

[Fugazi]

Don't have the same people who drive the trucks inspect them.

The trucks are inspected by other than the drivers, this is for after hours mostly.
It can chaos after hours and anybody could jump in a truck....

 

[SafyreSchool**]

Don't have the same people who drive the trucks inspect them.

And have it done overnight so the two don't see each other beforehand or after.
Night before, inspect the trucks, morning they go out, at night they get inspected again. Keep it so the same guy always drives the same truck.

 

[Josh]

Pretty basic stuff. I drive employer-owned vehicles for both my jobs, and the pre-trip inspection and logbook make it very obvious who caused the damage.

 

[Gorack]

When I worked for a private ambulance company we had to document all scratches, dents etc. on a diagram of the vehicle and turn it in before our shift started. When we came back in from shift there was a garage manager that would take out the checklist and go over your vehicle to make sure there's no new damage.

Outside of employing an after-hours manager like that I'd say if you keep the vehicles in a fenced in/secure area the vehicles could be checked the following morning since you know who was last to use it the night before.

Another tactic they employed were "street spotters." These guys drive around the city looking for our companies ambulances. They watch the activities of the crew and such without the crew being aware they are being watched. Many people got fired for doing stupid shit in the field that was seen by a street spotter.

 

[Fugazi]

What happens to them if they do admit to damaging the vehicle? Do they have to pay for it or risk losing their job? That may be why they won't admit to the damage...

Perhaps a quick associate meeting explaining the proper procedure for damage to the vehicles, and what will happen to them if they DON'T report an accident/damage might be in order.

We're easy going, mostly. No firings. If they're repeat offenders they gotta go though.
They're just not gonna own up to it, Ive been dealing with this for 8-10 years and after buying brand new trucks Im sick of it.
These guys know whats expected of them, they're just not on the honor system.

 

[odog]

Are multiple drivers using the trucks each day or is it usually just one? At my last job driving we had to do a circle check with a sketch showing all previous damage before and after we used the vehicle. We then had to sign off that there was no new damage. Even if we swapped trucks midday we still had to do it.

Maybe you can get some cheap digital cameras and the driver has to take a photo of the four sides of the vehicle before and after he uses it.

 

[TruthBeTold]

Fire them

 

[Fugazi]

Surely you can implement some sort of check system where yourself or a manager gives the vehicle a once over before the employee takes the vehicle out. The employee then needs to sign the vehicle out and also sign it back in so you will know exactly when the damage was caused.

Just re read your post fully... surely there must be a manager around at all times?

Not at 1-2-3 am when business is at full tilt, especially during summer.

 

[Snakesolidsnake]

Two things I can think of:

Have someone inspect the vehicles as the come in/out. Not sure how much you spend on repairs, but it may make sense to have someone do this as one of their primary jobs. If a vehicle comes in after hours, someone should look at it before it goes out again, that way even if an employee doesn't document something that happened, you will know who did it.

You can also do pre- and post-inspections, make sure that the pre-inspection is turned in before they leave. That way, if someone damages the truck and doesn't justify it and put it on the the post-use check sheet, the next user will see the damage and put it on the pre-use inspection. Then you will at least have an idea of when the damage occurred. The problem with this is that the before check sheets can be done afterwards to make it look like the damage was there before they used it.


The big problem you are going to have is how much time and resources you want to put into it. How much is this damage costing you? If you are spending $50k a year to fix things, it would make sense to hire someone whose sole job is make sure the trucks are looked after. You can always find a way to hold people accountable, it just depends on how much you want to spend to do it.

 

[Fugazi]

Are multiple drivers using the trucks each day or is it usually just one? At my last job driving we had to do a circle check with a sketch showing all previous damage before and after we used the vehicle. We then had to sign off that there was no new damage. Even if we swapped trucks midday we still had to do it.

Maybe you can get some cheap digital cameras and the driver has to take a photo of the four sides of the vehicle before and after he uses it.

Multiple, to which Im trying to kibosh.
But business calls and we need to go, can't wait for a particular person to drive.
I was contemplating cameras, but we have identical trucks, they could damage one and take a pic of the next...

 

[white-pony]

Nobody owns up to the damage? Dock everyone's paycheck to fix the truck.

They don't like it? Turn in who did the damage or fire them.

 

[Fugazi]

Keep it coming fellas, Ill be back.

 

[Tigerknee]

obviously you have to make an example of one of them

 

[odog]

Multiple, to which Im trying to kibosh.
But business calls and we need to go, can't wait for a particular person to drive.
I was contemplating cameras, but we have identical trucks, they could damage one and take a pic of the next...

You could put a sticker on each side of the truck denoting its fleet number. Then pictures from the front and back must include license plates.

 

[ElKarlo]

What happens to them if they do admit to damaging the vehicle? Do they have to pay for it or risk losing their job? That may be why they won't admit to the damage...

Perhaps a quick associate meeting explaining the proper procedure for damage to the vehicles, and what will happen to them if they DON'T report an accident/damage might be in order.

This, if the penalties for telling the truth outweigh those for lying, well...

 

[crowded]

If the damage is merely cosmetic perhaps this isn't a battle worth fighting? If it is, dollar-wise, then maybe hiring someone on the cheap to do the after-hours inspections is the way to go.