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Ahead of the game

29th July 2010, Page 26
29th July 2010
Page 26
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Page 26, 29th July 2010 — Ahead of the game
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The UK's biggest listed logistics company is influential in the way legislation is applied, but size brings drawbacks as well as benefits when it comes to compliance.

Words: Guy Sheppard / images: Tom Cunningham To be forewarned is to he forearmed and Wincan ton shows that having a head start on compliance pays dividends With its 3,600 vehicles accounting for t% of the UK's entire 0-licensed fleet, the company is so big it exerts direct influence over the form legislation takes.

"Because of our we are interfacing regularly with the DtT [Department for Transport] or lawmakers who are creating or changing legislation," explains technical services director Dave Rowlands.

This ensures that any proposed changes are workable or the company and that it is ready for them. Smaller operators might object to Wincanton's influence and Rowlands concedes that, on occasions, it does pursue its own agenda. But he says the company is fighting for common sense objectives that benefit business generally.

And maintaining close ties with legislators is no guarantee against surprises because a new interpretation

of the law can happen without consultation. "It's a moving feast all the time: explains Rowlands. Legislation is sct but interpretation of that legislation changes and you're not always party to that change:.

One example he cites is a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign on the way loads should be restrained. "Only now are we entering discussions with them in order to understand and agree protocols and set expectations: Size may win influence but, with 300 operating centres around the country, it poses problems as well. "Because of our scale, it is difficult at times to ensure that every operation is as clinically compliant as each other," says Rowlands.To counter this, a common set of procedures prevails throughout the company.

Whether responsible for hauling fuel or handling door-to-door deliveries, each CPC holder still has the same level of responsibility to ensure compliance.

"The aspects of going into someone's home would be very different to delivering fuel to a forecourt, hut the core values are the same for transport compliance." says Rowlands.

Responsibility for compliance extends right up the management hierarchy. Chief executive Ciraeme McFaull chairs a central health and safety committee and is sent details about operations where internal audits expose serious failings. Rowlands has responsibility for compliance and leads a team of auditors who review everything from vehicle test failures to tachograph records.

Audits are usually done annually and Wincanton's in-house business. Pullman Fleet Services, which handles more than 80% of its maintenance requirements, is subject to the same auditing procedures as transport.

The need for drivers to share responsibility for compliance is made clear in the company handbook. Daily checks are policed by a CPC holder and.according to Rowlands, tell-tale signs will indicate if this is not being done correctly.-If you open a vehicle maintenance tile and see a mud wing was missing when a trailer went in for its safety inspection, you'd want to know why this wasn't picked up by the driver."

All accidents are investigated and all tachos arc analysed by a third party. "We will catch out those who don't want to do things properly," insists Rowlands.

The company aims to learn from mistakes and a full-time accident investigator analyses incident figures to see if there are any common issues that need addressing.

"We started to report all our major incidents on a web-based system and that started to throw up an interesting number of bridge strikes," recalls Rowlands. An internal publicity campaign followed, highlighting the frequency of this type of accident and, over the last two years, the number has halved. He says that a fleet telematics system will give a good indication of whether or not a vehicle is being driven responsibly. Logging calls from the public about the way Wincanton's vehicles arc driven is a further source of information.

He believes it is vital to stress the need for compliance among drivers and messages about legal changes arc repeated many times, using different forms of communication such as posters, in-house magazine articles and toolbox talks.

"We use marketing techniques to get something to sink in. You are constantly trying to ensure that it is a revolving door of communication that might have the same


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