“Health & safety a matter for all”

The underlying aim of the Freight Transport Association (FTA) event is to ensure that managers with a responsibility for health and safety within transport and logistics, are provided with a full insight into key industry initiatives, best practice and enforcement focus areas, and to help introduce a safety culture of ‘from-the-top-down’ is embedded in their own organisations. 

Chairing the 2014 Safety in Logistics Conference is Sally Thornley, FTA Director of Standards, Audition and Accreditation who said:  "Safety is the responsibility of all and this conference highlights the important role that industry leaders, policy-makers, enforcers, consigners, vehicle and equipment manufacturers, transport and fleet managers, drivers and other road users have alongside our safety professionals in identifying, minimising and mitigating risk.”

The key issue of managing the risk for cyclists and other vulnerable road users will also be included within the FTA Safety in Logistics Conference programme. Two presentations are scheduled, and will look closely at the subject from two different perspectives; that of the operators view, and the vulnerable road user distribution standard. The two keynote speakers who will address the delegates on the issues for vulnerable road users will be Dean Clamp, SHEQ Director at Wincanton, and FTA’s Head of Urban Logistics Policy - Christopher Snelling.

The conference, which takes place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham on Tuesday 10 June, will also give road transport operators health and safety managers the ideal opportunity to update themselves on other industry initiatives, including an overview of key messages that form part of the Health and Safety Executive’s strategic plans. 

Other key sessions and speakers at the FTA conference will include:    

• Load securing – Mark Horton, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)

• Vehicle runaways – Simon Bland, Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

• Home deliveries – Chris Jerman, John Lewis

• Driver behaviour  - Astrid van der Burgt, Kuehne + Nagel

• Multi-decked vehicles/trailers – Richard Owens, Don-Bur

This years Safety in Logistics Conference is sponsored by Brigade Electronics and Volvo, and is supported by IOSH and IRTE.

Places are available for FTA members at a cost of £325 plus VAT for the first delegate and £275 plus VAT for subsequent delegates, and for non-FTA members is £385 plus VAT for the first delegate and £345 plus VAT for subsequent delegates. 

For further information or to book a place, go to http://www.fta.co.uk/events/safety_conference.html or call the FTA Member Service Centre on 08717 11 22 22.

The Handling & Storage Solutions Safer Logistics Campaign

Handling & Storage Solutions has launched the Safer Logistics campaign to promote health and safety awareness in logistics in 2014.

We were inspired to launch the campaign by the Health and Safety Executive encouraging all stakeholders to show leadership and ‘be part of the solution’.

It is vital to push home the message that poor health & safety practices have no place in the modern logistics world.

What you can do

Clear safety first principles are worth repeating.

- If you doubt the safety of a working practice, stop. Talk to your supervisor or manager and agree a safe way of proceeding. Don’t carry on and hope for the best.

- No matter who you are in the management structure or workforce, take responsibility for your safety, don’t assume someone else has taken care of it.