Around 125,000 consignments or over two million tonnes of chemical products are delivered to Shell customers globally each year by road. Since the end of 2005, a major effort has been underway to raise awareness of, and improve compliance with, Shell safety standards among the haulage contractors entrusted with this significant logistical challenge.
Michael Crothers, Shell Chemicals outgoing General Manager Global Supply and Logistics explains: “Responsibility for our products does not end when a truck leaves a Shell facility. We need our contracted hauliers to place the same high priority on safety and environmental protection as we do.”
Jack Eggels (pictured left), Global Land Logistics Manager, adds that many hauliers are willing to adopt Shell standards, although for some it represents a significant challenge. “Not all hauliers have the capabilities to effectively drive this change journey so we have stepped up our resources and capabilities to help them,” he says.
Avoiding truck rollovers
Truck rollovers are typical of the incidents encountered across the chemical logistics industry. The main triggers are usually human error rather than mechanical failure:
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inappropriate speed
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bumping a curb when travelling too fast
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sudden swerving or braking, causing the sheer bulk of the materials being carried to tip the truck over
As part of the logistics safety campaign, an engagement pack has been produced to explain to drivers why rollovers happen and to share avoidance actions.
“It started with more focused and frequent discussions on safety issues with the haulier management teams, intensified compliance spot checks as well as incentive schemes.” He adds that HSSE considerations have become an even stronger element of contract negotiations and the haulier selection process.
“This year we also added direct engagement with contracted drivers, as ultimately they are the ones delivering our safety performance.”
He says the root causes of most safety-related incidents or near-misses involving deliveries are almost always attitudes and behaviour. To address this a ‘hearts and minds’ campaign has been targeted directly at drivers. “Part of this is making them more aware of the hazards but, just as importantly, it’s about making it explicitly clear to them that it’s OK to stop and report unsafe situations,” says Eggels.
Drivers are being engaged at all opportunities, including while loading at Shell locations, during on-the-road compliance spot checks, as well as via workshop sessions at their own company premises. Posters and leaflets are being distributed across the globe in different languages to make sure the key messages get through.
Identifying and eliminating hazards
As part of the identification and elimination of hazards there have also been revisions to procedures in some regions. In Europe, for example, sampling from the top of road tankers or tank containers at customer premises by drivers is being phased out by the end of 2007. This new policy, which is in line with CEFIC guidelines, is designed to ensure all supply chain activities are carried out by qualified personnel.
Eggels, who chairs CEFIC’s logistics sector group, says learnings from Shell’s campaign are being fed back into appropriate industry bodies. “We need to take an industry approach to this issue if we are to see a cultural change. We hope that our programme will serve as a good platform for wider initiatives.”
This feature was added to the Innovations section in December 2007
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