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CASE STUDY: Meachers Global Logistics •
Page 45
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When joining the Southampton-based company, all new employees have to watch a basic 25-minute DVD called Office Safety Essentials as part of their training. Director Richard Lambourne says: "As an employer, you always need to think about what could happen and concentrate on removing the risk. We have trained a few H&S officers, but the first rule we encourage in the traffic office is that, to an extent, you are responsible for your own safety, and this means using your common sense."
The company has conducted a risk assessment, which works out the likelihood of an accident in its transport office, identifies the people at risk, and then implements measures that can either eliminate or control a potential hazard.
"There are plenty of agencies out there that can carry this out for you, but I suspect there
are hauliers that will not want to pay this additional cost, particularly during a difficult economic period," Lambdurne says.
His key advice includes making sure a risk assessment is checked regularly to ensure it is up to date, and to be extra careful with pregnant employees, because they could be more at risk of having an accident.