BUILDING FOR SUCCESS
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At Travis Perkins, driver training is paramount The construction industry has had more than most to deal with when it comes to managing changes in accreditation. In the past 25 years, 2,800 people have been killed on construction sites or as a result of construction activities. Many more have been injured, and drivers are well represented among them.
The professionals who are close to the business are well aware of this grim statistic and they know that training is the route to getting that figure down year-on-year.
Graham Bellman, group head of transport at Travis Perkins, has a pragmatic view of training. He explains that the Travis Perkins fleet replacement policy is based on an eight-year cycle, and while this makes good economic sense to get the best use from the fleet at the lowest cost, it can lead to drivers working with often dramatically different technologies.
Bellman describes the scenario for a driver as "stepping from the deck of the Titanic onto the bridge of the Enterprise".
For this reason, Travis Perkins not only has driver induction programmes to familiarise new drivers with all the required equipment, but also vehicle handover training that is conducted in league with manufacturers and dealers.
"We reviewed our whole training requirement some years ago," reveals Bellman. "We realised that much of it had become a job for a specialist if we were to maintain the high standards of safety and customer care we require."
With a fleet of more than 1,800 vehicles, Bellman has a big'lob on his hands. He adds: "It's not only about the machinery, either. Mrs Smith in Acacia Avenue needs a different style of customer care to a building site supervisor. People who fail to appreciate things like that don't help the transport industry's reputation."
Bellman retains a degree of the training in-house, but he uses the expertise of two third-party providers for the bulk of the job. One of them is Oxford-based training specialist The Resources Group, which has worked with Travis Perkins for the past four years while the complexity of the task has increased.
Its managing director, Laurence Cave, explains that it's not just the initial training that matters. "For companies operating vehicles utilising specialised equipment, to say it's a logistical nightmare would be an understatement.'
He adds: "They are responsible for ensuring that all drivers and operators hold the correct certification, that it is valid and that they are aware of when refreshers are required. They also need to keep abreast of any changes in legislation and react to them quickly and efficiently."