Critical transportation safety issues - and how to manage them. NZ Heavy Haulage Association Inc

Transcription

1 Critical transportation safety issues - and how to manage them

2 Hello from New Zealand NZ Heavy Haulage Association 220 members 45 years old Staff of one Our Mission: To promote safe industry practices and to seek an advantageous environment for members operating in the overdimension and overweight transport sectors

3 NZHHA Board

4 Conference 2009

5 West Island North Island South Island

6 New Zealand New country Thinly spread population Green attitude Non-nuclear stance

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13 Safety First Moving large loads across road transport networks inherently risky business in the interests of all parties that this is managed safely

14 Safety First Series of solutions-based approaches For managing safety issues within the oversize transport industry From the experience of transport operators in New Zealand

15 1. Planning & Teamwork Teamwork is a critical part of ensuring safe outcomes Relocating a building is an example of where teamwork is critical

16 Coordination Between Contractors

17 Teamwork Teamwork needs to promote between guys working within a team Also between all sets of contractors working on a project. A coherent plan about what each team of guys were up to and the risks associated with each would have helped prevent this accident.

18 Teamwork Each team may have safety processes in place BUT The relation of the work of each team with each other needs to be taken into considered.

19 Teamwork Regulators need to be part of the network Recent work with the local Council has resulted in a risk assessment process being undertaken at each worksite when a local inspector is involved

20 Planning & Briefing A pre-planning process engaging all parties in safety assessments Interaction between various parties where necessary Proper briefing between dispatcher and driver is crucial

21 Planning & Briefing Miss-matches of gear to loads and insufficient instruction of drivers by dispatchers can lead to may safety issues such as bridge strikes and rollovers.

22 Planning & Briefing

23 Planning & Briefing

24 Planning & Briefing

25 2. Training and Current Competency A critical part of having high levels of safety within a transport company: to ensure that staff are trained to the appropriate level. It is also a matter of having appropriate standards and recognition of experience and knowledge within an industry sector.

26 2. Training and Current Competency A critical role has been liaising with: industry regulatory authorities government education agencies Outcome: to develop qualifications for our sector of the specialist transport sector

27 2. Training and Current Competency Industry Qualifications: - that are fit for purpose - have strong practical components to ensure they are industry accepted. - We are 75% of the way there in NZ!

28 2. Training and Current Competency Industry Qualifications: To produce safe outcomes on the road, then the standards put forward in qualifications - relevant - appropriate - gain wide acceptance from industry.

29 2. Training and Current Competency Training and assessing once not enough - keeping workers within the industry current with all the requirements - There is ever changing (increasing) levels of safety requirements - Achieving on-going compliance needs be demonstrated.

30 2. Training and Current Competency Currently in NZ we have developed: - National standards for load piloting - National standards for heavy haulage drivers - National standards for planning and dispatch roles

31 3. Industry Codes of Practice Industry groups should be proactive: developing codes of practice other industry documents to explain and detail how industry safety practices are carried out Need to be from a practical industry perspective

32 3. Industry Codes of Practice Codes enables the vast wealth of knowledge held by industry professionals to be captured Also these Codes places industry groups in high in the eyes of regulators for this proactive work

33 3. Industry Codes of Practice

34 3. Industry Codes of Practice

35 3. Industry Codes of Practice The ingraining of safe practices and the leading of the pack in the eyes of regulatory bodies will drive a safe practice culture within transport companies

36 4. Leading the Pack Association s need to encourage transport companies to stay one step ahead Of the Police and other regulatory authorities Not for the purpose of evasion, but with the aim of demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements before they crack down on this

37 4. Leading the Pack We want our people to be earlier adopters of safety practices Not the last to come up to speed, dragging their heels, kicking and screaming.

38 4. Leading the Pack Case Study: Working at Heights A new requirement in NZ to have a specific qualification when working at heights. The Department of Labour had brought in this requirement, and we were unaware of this One of my members was issued with a stop work notice until demonstration with the requirements was provided.

39 4. Leading the Pack The whole company had to down tools for two days while the course was undertaken. No doubt this company and the relocation industry will continue to attract the interest of officials about this requirement This would have not been the case if we had been aware of this requirement earlier.

40 4. Leading the Pack

41 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With Permitting requirements and conditions are put in place primarily to control the safety around the transport of large loads. If these conditions are far too onerous for transport companies to comply with, then levels of attainment will fall and respect for the regulatory regimes will diminish.

42 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With If regimes are designed to: "Keep it simple, Stupid", or "Keep it Short and Simple" then high levels of compliance are likely to be attained.

43 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With The regimes need to be kept simple enough to aid compliance while also controlling the various risks. Too many times a regulatory body seeks to impose restrictions that may achieve very safe outcomes but in practical terms are nearly impossible for operators to comply with.

44 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With Another alternative, is to produce easy to understand guides that aid compliance of operators We recently produced a "Drivers Guide to simply overdimension rules

45 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With

46 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With This Guide simplifies the legal requirements from 35 pages of legalese to 2 sides of an A3 sheet This has had a great response from members of the transport sector and well as the police.

47 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With Requirements that are easy to understand and comply with will produce high levels of safety as outcomes.

48 5. Chain of Responsibility Reasonably recent legislation enacted in NZ A chain of responsibility linking all within a transport process into a shared responsibility for ensuring that all legislative requirements are complied with.

49 5. Chain of Responsibility For example if a freight forwarder puts undue pressure to attain time frames and this can be proven, then an error by another person in the delivery chain due to this could be driven back to that freight forwarder.

50 5. Chain of Responsibility Having such protection in place could where necessary protect a transport operator from needing to risk safety in order to deliver the goods.

51 5. Chain of Responsibility Anyone who causes or influences a driver to exceed speed limits. Work time, rest time and logbook requirements. Maximum gross weight limits. The use of unlicensed transport service operators.

52 Conclusion: Series of solutions-based approaches for managing safety issues within the oversize transport industry 1. Teamwork and Planning 2. Training and Current Competency 3. Industry Codes of Practice

53 Conclusion: 4. Leading the Pack 5. Regimes That are Easy to Comply With 6. Chain of Responsibility

54 Questions?