CFC makes online training available

Online one-to-one training on any aspect of using fleet management software is being made available by CFC Solutions at just £50 per hour.

The new service is designed to enable fleets to get access to high quality training at a very cost effective price and is tailored by CFC’s training department to the needs of each particular customer.

The training is supplied using the Cisco WebEx online teleconferencing software. The trainer can be seen and heard through live video while, onscreen, real time demonstrations of the fleet software can be seen.

Managing director Neville Briggs said: ‘Traditional fleet software training, held in one of our training rooms, is excellent for taking a large group of users through the whole spectrum of fleet software use, but not so good at targeting particular users with particular problems.

‘This is where we see online training of this type being highly effective. At a low cost and without the member of staff having to leave their offices, training can be provided that tackles very specific knowledge gaps.’

Typical areas that could be covered include disposals, terminations and housekeeping, how to run reports, new vehicle ordering, P11d management, importing information from your fuel card provider and MOT records.

He added: ‘There are areas in our software where many fleets could find new efficiencies by making full use of the software’s capabilities. Online training has very obvious benefits here.

‘Also, there are areas of their fleet software system that users know about and value but, because they do not use the facilities often, forget how to use, and training can be used as a simple reminder.’

Briggs pointed out that online training also has other advantages over traditional training courses, especially with the recession making expenditure on training often difficult to justify.

He said: ‘Because the trainee doesn’t leave their place of work, online training is very cost and time efficient, and has green benefits because a long car journey is avoided.’
(CFC Solutions: October 29).

Government issues response to Transport Committee report

The Government has restated its policies on how it taxes and charges road users, including its position on fuel duty and road pricing in response to a committee report.

It reiterated it would ‘not be proceeding with a national road user charging scheme in the next Parliament’, despite the Committee for Climate Change stating it would make ‘economic sense’ (Fleet News, October 22).

However, it said it was continuing to monitor progress of the recently introduced road pricing scheme in the Netherlands.

The full joint response from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) to the Transport Committee’s July report, ‘Taxes and Charges on Road Users’, is available at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtran.htm. (fleetnews.co.uk: October 29).

Google shakes up sat-nav market

Shares in sat-nav device companies have fallen substantially after Google unveiled its free live sat-nav for mobiles.

US firm Garmin fell 18% after details of Google Maps Navigation were revealed. Dutch firm TomTom dropped 13% on when markets opened on Thursday.

The Google application promises free real-time, turn-by-turn directions for people to follow on their phones.

The Motorola Droid will be the first mobile phone equipped with the system.
Google Maps Navigation, revealed on Wednesday, combines services including a search engine to find addresses, Google Street View for photos of locations, and live traffic data.

Other mobile sat-nav applications, such as TomTom’s, can cost up to £60 to add.

TomTom’s share decline wipes out all of its gains since August. Separately the company warned of lower prices in the coming months. (bbc.co.uk: October 29).

Shell profits show sharp decline

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has reported its quarterly profit fell sharply, and warns the outlook remains ‘very uncertain’.

The company said profit for the three months to September fell 73% to $3bn (£1.8bn) from a year earlier.

‘We are not expecting a quick recovery,’ Shell chief executive Peter Voser said.

BP, its UK rival, this week reported its third-quarter profits were well ahead of expectations. (bbc.co.uk: October 29).