MTA 2022-408

The Air Products team led by Mark Pawsey (second right) collects the trophy from TVS Interfleet commercial director Phil Ashton (third right)

AIR PRODUCTS

Air Products manufactures and supplies industrial gases so it touches virtually every aspect of modern life – from medical oxygen to food, automotive, welding, wastewater, agriculture and fizzy drinks.

Air Products’ goal is to be the safest industrial gases company with a target of zero accidents/incidents. Safety is at the core of its approach to driver training and near-miss reporting, and the company continuously evolves its training programmes and addresses safety concerns raised by drivers.

From 2021, the aim of the safety strategy has been to demonstrate Air Products’ continued commitment to being an industry leader in safety, by:

■ Keeping employees and stakeholders safe and working towards its global goal of zero incidents/accidents

■ Focusing on assessing risk and identifying improvement opportunities through feedback to reduce incidents

■ Improving safety refresher training by being proactive with messaging and reminding drivers “little and often” of the need to assess risk.

One example is an improved driver feedback system for reporting incidents. The old process wasn’t the most effective in that feedback was one way and drivers didn’t always get a response to issues raised. On top of this, any actions were not centrally co-ordinated with no follow-up and no simple way to identify if the same issues were being noticed by several drivers.

The new system, Driver Observation Reporting Automation (DORA), was introduced in 2021 and ensures seamless and paperless tracking of feedback as well as providing drivers with automated updates.

One of our judges said it was “refreshing to read a succinct submission showing improvement on driver observation reports, with automation showing great results and a 139% increase in reports with 99% of reports completed”.

Another commented: “There is high engagement, with more than 5,000 training modules completed, and a 40% reduction in lost time injuries. These are great initiatives that are showing excellent results.”

 

“To get this external recognition is fantastic.

I’m delighted for the team”

Mark Pawsey, distribution manager UK and

Ireland, Air Products