I would like to share with you my deep concern and disappointment regarding the two tipper rollovers within our business over the last week. Many of you will recall, back in 2011, a driver working on our behalf lost his life when his vehicle cab was crushed by a colleague’s tipper vehicle that overturned onto it.  We were very fortunate no one was seriously hurt in our most recent incidents, but we cannot afford to leave our Health and Safety performance to luck.

I will be reviewing the investigations into these incidents personally, to ensure we learn from them and do all we can to prevent a recurrence; however we already know in both incidents that, in addition to the effect of adverse ground conditions and the nature of the loads being tipped, neither of the drivers were inducted onto the delivery sites, one was not wearing his seatbelt and it seems warnings from the inclinometer systems fitted to the vehicles were, for some reason, not headed.  I view our failures to follow long established safe systems of work very seriously and have tasked our Senior Managers to develop an action plan to prevent a repeat of these dangerous occurrences. Please help me with your support to implement this plan.

However we all have a part to play in preventing injuries.  We must ensure everyone receives effective training, so they understand the importance of safe systems of work relevant to them, and all visitors to our sites, including contractors and drivers, must receive an induction so they are aware of the Health and Safety standards we set and the behaviours we expect.  In addition we all have a moral duty to STEP IN if we see anyone not following safe systems that are intended to prevent injury, such as tipping on uneven ground, or not wearing a seatbelt. This is not a job to be done only by our colleagues from Logistics or business sites receiving raw materials, it requires the support and attention from ALL OF US.  A VFL is a great opportunity to look after our drivers and reinforce the safe tipping procedures.

Our Health and Safety performance is a team effort and we must all do everything necessary to look after ourselves and each other. I count on your support to keep everyone safe

STAY SAFE

JESUS