Number one in the world in technical control and number two in France behind the SGS network, Dekra has 1,700 establishments spread across the country, including 1,565 centers for passenger cars and 150 reserved for heavy goods vehicles. Dekra carries out 6.5 million inspections each year in France out of a total of 24.5 million. While all of the truck activity belongs to us, we only have 190 centers in the light vehicle, the other centers being affiliates.
Le Figaro - What instructions have you passed to all of your technical control centers?
Karine Bonnet - In the light vehicle, we closed our own centers when the confinement was announced on March 17. We also recommended that our affiliate network do the same. Our sites dedicated to heavy goods vehicles were also closed but, at the request of the Ministry of Transport, we reopened them two days later. Today, 97 centers out of the 150 in our dedicated weight control network are open to participate in the truck logistics chain and ensure the circulation of vehicles of basic necessity in good safety conditions.
At Dekra, during the health crisis, 97 of the 150 truck control centers open their doors. Dekra
So it was a request from the government?
The Ministry of Transport asked operators in the heavy goods vehicle to reopen their centers to ensure the control of these vehicles for the sake of safety. Vehicles for transporting people and goods are subject to greater regulatory constraints. For passenger vehicles, the technical inspection is every six months. For the heavyweight, every year. Even if these vehicles are less involved in accidents, when this happens, the number of victims is greater.
Why not have opened all of your truck centers?
We did this on the basis of the voluntary work of our controllers. We have excluded the elderly and or fragile staff. However, some centers only have one controller. This situation highlights the cruel lack of controllers in France. Overall, we suffer from a lack of attractiveness and a lack of knowledge of the profession.
However, in the specific case that concerns us, we opened the centers that were able to continue the activity while ensuring a maximum level of security and protection for both our employees and our customers. In conjunction with the CHSCT, we have reinforced our sanitary measures, both in terms of the barrier measures to be applied but also the use of safety equipment - masks, gloves and hydroalcoholic gel.
I would add that in the truck sector, there are few interactions with the interior of the vehicle. Most of the control is concentrated outside the vehicle.
What is the level of activity in these centers?
The activity is normal. And those that are open are on logistical nodes. This does not prevent production from being slightly higher where we have fewer controllers.
We have set up communication in conjunction with the CNPA and the Ministry of Transport. We send the list of our open centers every day. When the Ministry, the CNPA or the National Federation of Carriers informs us of a need in a geographic area, we look to see if we can remedy it. Or other networks for that matter.
What about the private vehicle side?
Only 10% of the Dekra network dedicated to passenger car monitoring remained open. Dekra
We closed all of our own centers, 180 in France and 19 in Reunion. We recommended that our affiliates do the same to participate in containment measures. Given the traffic restrictions, the French are called to stay at home and no longer use their vehicle. It becomes less essential to carry out its technical control. Moreover, the government has granted a period of three months (from March 24, 2020) to submit its automobile to control. Today, between 150 and 160 affiliated centers are open. It is the same proportion in the other networks. We made them aware and supported them regarding the security measures to put in place to preserve everyone's security. We call them to vigilance and we send them information regularly.
Is your network worried and how can you help them get through the health crisis?
The duration of the crisis is the main concern. We inform our network about the ministerial measures put in place to activate partial unemployment. We help them to obtain all the aid put in place by the various business support systems. On a case-by-case basis, we will grant them payment terms. But those who were already fragile before the health crisis are very worried.
Do you think you will have to manage a surplus of activity at the end of the crisis?
We think the peak will be smoothed. But it all depends on the period in which we are going to leave containment. Elisabeth Borne announced a three-month tolerance. An additional tolerance of one month after the state of health emergency was granted by a prescription last weekend. In any case, the peak will not be greater than that of May 2018, before the application of the European directive. Traffic had increased by more than 50%. We will be able to manage the increase in flow. If necessary, the centers will be open six days a week, from 7 am to 8 pm. If the country comes out of confinement during the summer period, it all depends on how the French will behave. Motorists who are turned away just before the containment period may come first.
What are the most frequent reasons for a visit?
In the 21% of vehicles subject to a counter-inspection, we have 1.5% which concerns critical faults: heavily worn tires, lighting and brake problems.
Where is the project to subject motorized two-wheelers to technical inspection?
The Member States of the European Union have only until January 1, 2022 to set up this control or to prove in the meantime that the accidentology of two-wheelers has decreased. Last year, the Ministry had not yet issued a project. For the moment, no decree has been signed. The Covid-19 crisis is reshuffling the cards. No one would be ready for the 2022 deadline.
Do you think that the health crisis that we are going through can lead to your profession evolving?
In the field of private vehicles, I think that we will have to reinforce the pedagogy and the reception of the customer. At Dekra, we have already implemented best practices for almost two years to explain why a vehicle is made against inspection. This is how controllers have tablets to take pictures of faulty points in vehicles. With the crisis we are experiencing, the relationship with the motorist is even more significant. Likewise, I think that everyone will be more sensitive to public health and safety issues. The health crisis may change our relationship with others, with the world around us and with our priorities. Security in the broad sense will become essential. In our profession, citizens will understand and accept the meaning of this need for security.
