Harmfree funding secured
NTA General Manager Carol Mcgeady says Harmfree Transport is an industry-designed and industry-led programme supported by ACC.
AN INDUSTRY-LEADING WELLBEING hub to support transport industry staff is being developed following an $850,000 ACC Workplace Injury Prevention Grant.
The ACC Workplace Injury Prevention Grants programme provides funding to organisations or individuals who are striving to solve workplace health and safety challenges.
Harmfree Transport is an initiative of the New Zealand Trucking Association Inc (NTA) and National Road Carriers Inc (NRC) which will implement a Good Work Design approach to address psychosocial risks of workers in the transport sector to reduce injury.
NTA and NRC, in partnership with Autosense Ltd, Fatigue Management Fit for Duty Ltd, and Success Formula Ltd (NTI) will work together to create a set of tools, information, resources, and training material that will be tailored to the transport industry.
Harmfree Transport will focus on improving workplace safety and worker wellbeing, including the implementation of consistent processes, procedures and policies that can be adopted as a roadmap to achieving a risk-free workplace.
“As an industry organisation we are closely connected to our members. Their health and safety (H&S) and HR staff often tell us it’s really difficult to connect across different companies. They want to learn and solve issues to create a safer workplace for their team, but it can be really challenging connecting with their peers to seek support, discuss issues and create better processes,” says Carol Mcgeady General Manager, NTA.
“Creating a programme that is industry-designed, industry-led, and supported by ACC, means that the programme will be designed in a language and style that’s practical for transport. With the right systems and processes in place, workplace health and safety incidents will reduce, creating a safer work environment that results in less claims to ACC.”
As well as delivering the tools and resources required to create safer workplaces, Harmfree Transport will also provide an environment that encourages H&S and HR experts to reach out for support from their counterparts across the transport industry. The programme is being created to foster the sharing of knowledge via an industry network with a view to creating a safer workplace environment.
Justin Tighe-umbers, CEO, says the programme is ‘human-centred’ in its design.
“The programme is designed by the transport industry for the transport industry, so we know this funding will make a difference,” Justin says.
Expected outcomes will include increased use of best practice guidelines, greater engagement across all staff on the development of Good Work Design and an enhanced understanding of dynamic risk with a significant reduction of harm and injuries.
Mcgeady and Tighe-umbers both agree, that without the support from ACC it would be very difficult to get a project like this off the ground.
“This initial funding enables us to accelerate development of the Harmfree Transport programme. Helping our transport operators create safer workplaces and share best practice will have so many positive flow-on effects – least of all safer drivers and vehicles on our roads,” says Carol.
Harmfree Transport is expected to be running early next year. “There has been quite a lot of work in the background and now the funding is confirmed we are planning to roll out some pilots in the first quarter of 2023,” Carol says.
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