LAWR

RCV Putting cash in the tank for driver training Waste management may be traditionally viewed as a low-skilled profession but the reality is much different. O'Donovan Waste Disposal's Jacqueline O'Donovan lifts the lid on the firm's approach and discusses why investment in training for HGV (heavy goods vehicle) drivers is essential. he nature of the waste management business means that essential- ly we're operating a logistics business, as well as a recycling operation. Each year the UK generates more than 77m tonnes of construction waste in the UK. Based on a 20-tonne tipper, this equates to almost 4m HGV waste movements on the UK's roads a year – 10,000 a day. Safety of both other road users and drivers is therefore a vital priority for any waste business. Between 2008 and 2013, in London, large commer- cial vehicles were involved in 55% of London cyclist deaths, despite mak- ing up only 4% of the traffic and we believe that ongoing and in-depth training is crucial for keeping safety at the forefront of our minds. Therefore, we invest to ensure all our drivers achieve NVQs in HGV driving as well as insisting they all hold 'Driver Certificate of Professional Competence' cards. Investing in safety Our commitment to driver training has seen the company work closely with a number of industry and Government stakeholders to develop role profiles, the industry standard for construc- tion logistics: Managing Work Related Road Risk (WRRR) and also become an approved JAUPT CPC training centre to help improve safety and standards in logistics. As well as training, companies also have to invest in providing drivers with the best possible vehicles and safety equipment. O'Donovan has recently spent in excess of £5,000 per vehicle on safety enhancements and is investing a further £80,000 over a three year period on bespoke telemat- ics equipment. The equipment allows the company to monitor driver behav- iour in real time and ensure that its fleet and drivers operate as safely as possible. As part of the Transport for London (TfL) 'Safer Lorries Scheme', all HGV operators in London will be required to fit a minimum standard of safety equipment. The scheme could be in place early this year. Class 6 mirrors This will require every vehicle over 3.5 tonnes to be fitted with side guards to protect cyclists, as well as Class 6 mirrors to improve a driver's view of cyclists and pedestrians. Not only are all our vehicles already compliant with this, our investment goes one step fur- ther by investing CCTV cameras and the use of Construction Logistic Plans (CLP) and analysis systems to avoid cyclist hot spots and areas of high pedestrian usage such as schools. Waste operators have a strong social responsibility to ensure that their fleets operate to the highest safety standards – the cost of not doing so is one that should never be paid by anyone. However, it's also part of our employer responsibility; developing strong ethics in safe driving reinforced by regular training reduces stress on drivers who face the challenge of driv- ing on congested roads all day, every day, as well as minimising risk and accident levels. Our firm also supports, and reg- ularly participates in, TfL and the Metropolitan Police's Exchanging Places scheme which sees our driv- ers interact with cyclists and encour- age them to sit in HGVs and under- stand the driver's view, blind spots and challenges which will enable cyclists to improve their own safety around HGVs. The added benefit of driver train- ing has also improved environmental performance through the understand- ing of the impact of driving style. For instance, O'Donovan has seen a significant reduction in emissions by reducing idling of vehicles. The reality is waste vehicle move- ments are not going to reduce. In today's throwaway society, our indus- try's reliance on road transport is going to remain, if not increase. It is our responsibility to ensure that our vehi- cles and drivers are able to be as safe as possible and training and equipment are both essential to ensuring all road users have the ability to travel safely. 24 Local Authority Waste & Recycling January 2015 T Last year, O'Donovan spent more than £5,000 per vehicle on safety enhancements. Jacqueline O'Donovan is managing director of O'Donovan Waste Disposal.

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