"Zero Harm" safety culture for Balfour Beatty

24 April 2009

Mike Brown, Fleet Services Director of Balfour Beatty Plant and Fleet Services (BBPFS), emphasised BBPFS’s total commitment to safety in its large fleet when he recently briefed the ‘Risk in Fleet conference’ on the initial implementation of Balfour Beatty’s new “Zero Harm” safety culture.

Balfour Beatty has some 14,000 vehicles on the road on any given day.“Zero Harm” aims to introduce an environment in which there are zero fatalities and serious injuries to employees; sub-contractors and the general public by 2012.

As part of their approach to Zero Harm, BBPFS has established a new four-part driver risk management programme.”Drive Safe, Arrive Safe”, a novel approach to the road safety message that blends honesty with experience and challenges attitudes and behaviours in work driving.

BBPFS’ e-learning Modules, which can be accessed from any site with Balfour Beatty Intranet links, allows drivers to be taught about the way the company manages its drivers.It also tests and monitors their understanding of the company’s procedures.Subjects covered in these modules include what to do in the event of emergency and eco-driving.

Balfour Beatty drivers are also given special care and attention through the driver risk index which forms part of the firm’s management information system and was developed with Cranfield University. This scientific b

Finally, BBPFS unique driving simulator which was launched recently and is the first such simulator launched by a commercial organisation in the United Kingdom, allows focused and intensive training to be delivered in response to shortcomings identified in the driver risk index process.In particular, trainees can be trained more easily to improve their fuel efficiency when driving.

In his briefing to the conference Mike Brown explained that Balfour Beatty was now benefiting from a better insurance premium profile and improved fuel efficiency as a result of the introduction of the new programme.

Charlotte Patch, Balfour Beatty Fleet Service’s Commercial Officer, further underpinned the importance the company placed on managing work related road safety effectively and explained why businesses should support the Department for Transport’s “Driving for Better Business campaign” as Balfour Beatty does, to make their commitment to safety very clear.

Rob Gifford, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, the Conference Chair encouraged other businesses to take note of this statement.