ECA puts a spark in safety programme
THE Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has become one of the first trade associations in the country to back the Government’s road safety-focused ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme...
Van drivers are one of the key focuses for the programme because of the growing number of light commercial vehicles on the road and their disproportionate involvement in road crashes.
In the last decade, the number of vans on the UK’s roads has increased by around a third and overall van traffic has increased by 40% – and with the majority of ECA member companies asking their employees to travel to jobs in vans, the organisation says it is acutely aware of the hazards.
Furthermore, Government figures suggest that male drivers aged 17 to 39-years-old, who drive as part of their job, have the highest incidence of being involved in a work-related road crash in a van – putting many professional electricians in the ‘high risk’ bracket.
The ECA is the UK’s largest and leading trade association representing electrical, electronic, installation engineering and building services companies throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the interests of equivalent companies in Scotland are served by a similar body, SELECT.
ECA head of health, safety and environment Paul Reeve said: “We actively promote the importance of road safety to ECA members - on our website, in our newsletters and at meetings and conferences around the country.
“We are very keen to be an active player in the ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme. Driving is a significant hazard for electrical businesses and we are keen to ensure our members know how to minimise the risk to employees and to reduce costs and liabilities.”
The ECA has 2,900 member companies involved in electrical installation work ranging from local employers to national multi-service organisations. Collectively, ECA member companies have an annual turnover of more than £5 billion, employ over 30,000 operatives and support 8,000 apprentices in craft training.
ECA member Chelmsford Electrical was one of the first businesses to become a ‘business champion’ as part of the initiative. See case study (RoadSafe: winter 2007).
Mr Reeve added: “We are encouraging more ECA members companies to follow Chelmsford Electrical’s lead and become ‘business champions’ and there has already been further interest among the membership.”
‘Driving for Better Business’ programme manager Caroline Scurr added: “We are delighted that the ECA is promoting the initiative and the importance of occupational road safety to its members. Statistics show that van drivers are in the ‘high risk’ category when on the road, but, as Chelmsford Electrical has shown, those risks can be significantly reduced with the implementation of a focused safedriving programme.”