Winstone Aggregates Auckland Transport division has implemented "Take Five" to highlight and eliminate hazards by using a five-step process: Stop. Think. Identify. Plan. Do it safely. This approach is complemented by a comprehensive reporting system used to record hazards, implement safe practices and improve driver performance.

National transport manager Brett Horrobin is proud of Winstone's safety culture. "That's just a fundamental thing - you can comply with all of the guidelines, but if you're not continually reporting and creating a culture of reporting, learning and fixing, it just doesn't work. "We focus very heavily on safety. Detailed reporting and hazard resolution is what underpins the company's safety performance." With a quick click of the mouse, Horrobin is able to view safety performance, hazard control, training and a number of other statistics with a computer programme developed by the company. Any patterns or problems are very quickly noticed.

Hazard awareness

According to the Department of Labour, between 2007 and 2008, 119 people were killed, and more than 37,700 people were injured on the job severely enough to be off work for more than a week. Workplace safety is a very important issue for companies - especially in the very busy quarrying and aggregates industries, where drivers are hauling big loads and operating truck and trailer units.

Part of Winstone's reporting suite is an annual safety schedule that includes health and safety (H&S) committee meetings and H&S checks done, and lists H&S objectives for every site. But the real point of difference at Winstone is its comprehensive hazard awareness reporting systems. "Things need to be ticked on a monthly basis. We're constantly checking," Horrobin says.

Each employee at Auckland Transport has a target of one hazard to be reported per month. At the moment, a quick check of the programme shows Horrobin that the levels of reporting are well above the minimum. Of these hazards, at least 80 percent must be resolved each month and the programme records what has been done to control or eliminate the hazard as well. Additionally, of all the hazards identified, 15 percent should be identified through the "Take Five" process. "Our guys have to stop. Think, before they do something. Work out a plan. Identify the hazards, and do it safely," Horrobin says.

Because everything is recorded electronically and is instantly accessible, Horrobin and other managers and supervisors are able to access hazard to incident ratios, hazard to employee ratios and numbers of near hits/near misses reported by staff. "We review this monthly, and any individuals that need reinduction, retraining or assistance are clearly highlighted and helped," he says. "Also, if anyone isn't contributing towards reporting of hazards, we can have a word to see what the situation is."

The company's focus is on reporting all potential hazards, eliminating as many as possible and having procedures and training in place to keep its staff safe. "We're more concerned about harm to the individual than the actual truck," Horrobin adds.

Safety culture

What has been the result of the company's imbedded safety culture and hazard reporting? "There has been a significant reduction in injuries and a significant reduction in costs as a result," Horrobin says, "especially in the reduction of strains and sprains, which is our highest injury category."

In 2008, ACC reported that sprains and strains accounted for 98,800 work-related claims (44 percent of all claims), so this is an impressive claim from Horrobin. The company has implemented a stretch for life programme, which seesits staff carry out a series of daily stretching exercises to reduce exposure to strain and sprain injuries. This is usually carried out at the commencement of the work day and is a great team building session as well, as there are usually a few laughs along the way. In addition to creating a safer work environment for staff, Winstone Aggregates has seen a decrease in the related costs that these types of injuries cause, including a reduction in loss of productivity from injury related downtime. "What is most important is that we send our staff home in one piece so they see their families every night. This is the single most important facet of the whole health and safety process I believe," Horrobin says.

Another effect of Winstone's safety processes has been an eight percent reduction in fuel consumption due to its speed limiting policy on the trucks. "All of our trucks are speed limited to 90km/h, a safety initiative as well. You create a safer truck and you also reduce your fuel costs."

Cameras

The company has recently begun a month-long trial with cameras on one of its truck and trailer units to combat a big problem for drivers at the moment - pedestrians crossing the drawbar between the truck and trailer. "We're seeing increased reports of people crossing the drawbar when trucks are waiting at traffic lights - especially with truck and trailer configurations like ours where the gap is a lot greater than normal," Horrobin says. "The odds are that one day we could hurt someone pretty seriously."

Once Winstone had highlighted and identified the potential for a serious incident, measures were put in place to eliminate the hazard. Stickers were placed on the drawbars to warn pedestrians of the danger, but continued reports mean the company has had to be more proactive to avoid a serious incident. "In fact, a driver had a close call the other day - at the lights a guy jumped up onto the drawbar to go over, the truck took off at the same time and the guy fell forward into the front of the trailer and landed on the ground. The driver just saw him and stopped in time - otherwise he would have run straight over him."

The company mounted three cameras on one of its Freightliners - in the front and back bumpers and one between the truck and trailer, which means while the truck is on the road the driver can see the drawbar at all times via a monitor in the cab. Two weeks into the trial, Horrobin says the driver loves it: "he's already seen a guy on the drawbar".

Meanwhile, the camera at the front acts like the black box of a plane: "It records about 180 hours of data, so that if a truck was involved in a serious incident we could play it back and see what's happened", and the camera at the back of the unit acts to eliminate blind spots. When reversing, the view on the monitor in the cab changes to the reverse camera, another safety feature to protect pedestrians along with the truck's side mirrors, which are also designed to remove blind spots.

Inclinometers

Inclinometers on trailers are another safety feature that Winstone has implemented. "One of the big hazards associated with our work are hoists going up on the trailers - if they're on a lean, they can fall over," Horrobin says. "We've had, probably in the last two years, about $100,000 worth of costs in trailer repairs, let alone what could potentially happen to someone caught under them. "We're trying to eliminate 20-tonnes and $120,000 worth of equipment just falling onto its side - and on or around people."

The inclinometer sits at the back of the trailer on the axle, and alerts the driver in the cab with a series of beeps relevant to a warning status if the trailer is over the set tilt threshold. "At the same time it logs an event, time and location within our GPS reporting suite as well as sending live alerts to either a cell phone or email address at time of exception. This way dangerous practices and patterns can be recorded and measures implemented to avoid a repeat in the future," Horrobin says.

Indicators on the wheel hub

A straightforward visual safety practice the company uses are the bright green wheel indicators on the wheel hubs of Winstone's trucks. The two green indicators point towards each other. If wheel nuts come loose, these indicators will get out of sync, providing a basic visual sign to alert the driver. Drivers must check these indicators as part of their prestart checks in the morning to make sure that the indicators are aligned.

Tail doors

Another hazard that has the potential to cause serious injury are the tail doors on the units, which can inflict serious harm or fatal injuries if the driver was caught between the back of the bin and an open tail door - for instance, if a sticking load suddenly moved with the hoist in the raised position. "We have procedures in place that eliminate this hazard and ensure drivers do not put themselves in that position," Horrobin says.

Elliptical tarps

Another potential for serious injury to drivers is during climbing up the ladders when covering loads. "We don't want them doing that because there is the potential to fall off and sustain a serious injury. We spent a considerable amount of money, putting new covers on them so drivers can wind them from ground level."

Driver safety

Winstone has procedures in place to ensure its drivers are fully aware of the company's policies and expectations in regards to driving its units. "Our guys are professional drivers - so we expect them to perform in this manner, at the same time providing them with working conditions that are conducive to the sustainability of all concerned. There is no compromise towards worktime regulations," Horrobin says. The company also reviews log book sheets everyday to make sure the drivers are having their breaks.

Driver Training

Winstone Aggregates' transport division has a comprehensive employment process in place to complement its driver training, reporting and health and safety practices. "When a driver applies to work for us, a current requirement is a Class 5 [license], which is truck and trailer," Horrobin says. "We also look to see whether there have been any NZQA unit standards achieved, along with any extra relevant certificates, support training or safety training. We let them know right at the outset what our expectations as far as safety are, and then also try to ascertain what their views are." While references play a big part in Winstone's pre-employment process, once the company is serious about a particular individual they are required to complete an SAS - safety attitude survey - which consists of a series of online questions. "This gives us an indication of how the individual views safety, which is very important for our company. We want to get the right people with the right attitude towards safety," Horrobin says.

Once hired, employees are required to attain a specific set of NZQA unit standards for delivering aggregate, which is Winstone's standard material. They also need to complete the relevant loader training if they will be loading trucks themselves. "Pretty much any thing to do with heavy machinery, we've got procedures and SOPs [standard operating procedures] for. Any task that has the potential to be hazardous, we have training for, as well as having a site hazard register that identifies tasks as simple as filling the truck with diesel, rolling the covers over and driving down the road," he says. "We also hold health and safety meetings every month and the supervisor and drivers have toolbox meetings where they discuss safety. I consider these workshop groups a form of training."

By Gemma Bridge, Deals on Wheels.