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Focus on Excellence Awards • 23
Behind the Focus
on Excellence Awards
The story we ran on the Focus on Excellence Awards in December,
sparked mixed reaction from the trade. We asked Charleen Clarke, editor
or Focus Transport and Logistics magazine and awards administrator, to
address some of the concerns raised by our readers.
A late January 2009 weekend in the Western Cape witnessed the death
of 24 people – six of them children – with a further 35 injured due to
road accidents. Of the eight accidents reported, five were caused by
burst tyres.
According to the Department of Transport (DoT), 937 people died in 733
vehicle accidents between 1 December 2008 and 5 January 2009 across
the country. A Government website also reports that more than 15 000
people die in traffic accidents each year in South Africa at a cost of R46
billion to the economy.
With such overwhelming statistics, several NGOs have launched marketing
and education drives tackling the issue. The DoT too has taken proactive
steps in targeting this epidemic, this year declaring that it would give priority
attention to “road traffic law enforcement of public transport legislation;
improved co-ordination amongst role players for increased targeted road
traffic law enforcement; improved identification and management of
hazardous locations; implementation of special law enforcement initiatives
backed by effective advertising, education and communication campaigns”.
Of concern is that, in practice, this increased traffic law enforcement keenly
focus on monitoring the condition of vehicle tyres since, according to the CSIR,
tyre failure is responsible for almost 20% of minibus accidents. Also, a 2002
study by the DoT found that vehicle componentry factors were responsible for
10% of road accidents; 56% of these were due to tyre bursts.
Driving standards
It was in support of such life-saving initiatives that the FOCUS on Excellence
Awards was first conceptualised.
“Our thinking at the time,” explains Charleen Clarke, managing editor of
the awards administrator, FOCUS on Transport and Logistics magazine,
“was that the commercial vehicle industry had much to offer in raising its
own best practice standards, and in so doing improving South Africa’s road
safety record.”
The Excellence Awards is the only awards programme recognising the best
of the freight and public transport industries, both in terms of product
quality and service delivery.
“Fitting the correct tyre, for example, can ensure reduced fuel consumption,
and increased reliability, safety and cost efficiency,” Clarke continues.
To ensure that the finalists are scientifically and objectively elected and
evaluated, leading market research consultancy Scott Byers randomly
selects companies from its database of over 20 000 transport operators and
conducts a comprehensive telephonic survey. The company was chosen for
its established reputation as market researcher in the commercial vehicle
market. PricewaterhouseCoopers validates the final results.
For further information or comments on the awards programme, please
email Charleen Clarke at charleen@focusontransport.co.za