Driving road safety initiatives for our mobile workforce. At Blackwoods, we provide safety solutions to industries across the country, which means our service teams are often driving in remote or regional areas on unsealed roads to deliver customer needs. In 2023, we launched our DriveSAFE initiative to upskill and empower our workers to stay safe on the road.
What is the DriveSAFE Program?
DriveSAFE focuses on three key areas: practical driver training, analysing telematics data, and ongoing education sessions. To upskill our drivers, we teamed up with Performance Driving Australia. They took our drivers through advanced driving techniques, the dynamics of 4WDs on and off-road, and the physics of emergency braking.
Our in-car Telematics system allows us to analyse driver trends and opportunities for improvement. It gives us satellite data on the position of the vehicle, vehicle data from the engine system, as well as highway agency data on the local speed limit. We have utilised the telematics data to host proactive conversations with drivers to promote safe behaviours on the roads. This has resulted in an 86% reduction in driver speeding, and a 27% reduction in infringement notices over two years, and a drop in fuel usage.
Targeted lunch-n-learn sessions with Performance Driving Australia allow our teams to ask questions of the professionals, discuss tips and tricks for enhancing driver safety, and serve to keep safety top-of-mind throughout the year.
Award-Winning Initiate
We’re pleased to announce that our DriveSAFE program was recognised at the 2023 National Safety Awards hosted by the NSCA Foundation and GIO as the winner for Category 4: Best Communication of a Safety Message.
This is the second year in a row we have won this award. This recognition affirms our unwavering commitment to maintaining exceptional safety standards and fostering a culture of safety and care within our organisation.
The NSCA Foundation National Safety Awards of Excellence are known for honouring organisations that exhibit outstanding dedication to workplace safety and serve as a benchmark for excellence in the industry.
Amanda Haddad, Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing at Blackwoods, notes, “The success of the Blackwoods DriveSAFE program is a testament to how positive andproactive leadership can result in creating safer driver behaviours on our roads.”
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