The essential element of The “PLAN” step in road safety. The most important objective of an occupational road safety plan is to prevent work-related motor vehicle incidents and minimize the injuries, financial costs, and other losses they cause. With that in mind, the first step is to understand where the organization is in terms of road safety and determine where it needs to be. From there, one can establish targets, decide what success looks like, and develop a plan to get there. There are five components in the planning stage which include knowing the essentials, getting management committed, checking the gauge, identifying hazards and assessing risks, establishing metrics, and set targets.
While our last article
BUILDING A ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM THAT IS FLEXIBLEÂ discussedd the three important steps to achieving excellent road safety. This article will elucidate more on the PLAN step, we will be discussing more details on the element of the PLAN step.
Below are the essential Elements of the PLAN steps.
1. Know the essential.
One of the most important elements of the PLAN step is knowing the essentials. The essential features required for good development must be truly understood and practiced by road safety personnel. These essentials include understanding the responsibilities of staff, the establishment of working commitments, adopting the right method of work and so many more.
2. Get the organization committed to what they stand for.
Every road safety organization has a message they stand for, which is safety towards lives and properties. The organizational team must ensure they work in line with their standard as this helps the lower-ranked employees to learn more. Management support is necessary to access resources such as funding for training to improve driver skills and to purchase fit-for-purpose vehicles. Management must also allow employees to be an active part of the program by participating on the safety committee, helping draft policies and procedures, and leading tailgate meetings.
3. Checking the gauge
Most of the time, organizations are not sure of where their staff stands when road safety is concerned. Checking the gauges on your car’s dashboard, it’s a good idea to check on employee safety attitudes and beliefs. A status review helps the organization understand how drivers, supervisors, and managers feel about measures and practices already in place. It also helps identify gaps and processes that need repairs.
Whether it’s an online survey, a focus group, a coffee room chat, a tailgate meeting, or a suggestion box, there are several powerful reasons for talking with employees about occupational road safety.
4. Identification and assessment of hazards and risks.
The planning step involves the identification and assessment of hazard and risk which poses potential destruction to the organization, staff, and properties. Identifying the driving-related hazards employees encounter and evaluating the associated risks are fundamental parts of road safety planning. These steps enable you to set priorities for taking action.
5. Establishment of targets and metrics.
Organizations should have targets in the form of legal backing for their drivers and cars, depending on the function of the company. Due diligence should also be considered to ensure every action is followed up all the time.
The first step to achieving excellent road safety is the PLAN step if this step is not fixed. Ill become impossible to achieve the other two steps.
