For all of us involved in the transport industry, whether it be as an owner, driver, mechanic, yardie or an office worker in management, we have all seen someone cutting corners and have probably been complicit in the way it manifests itself in just about everything we as an industry try to achieve. We have all seen the results which sometimes are minor or even regarded as humorous.
Yes, it may get a few laughs or candid comments like “ya fool, what are you doing?” or “what are you thinking?”. It may even end up plastered all over some sort of social media when someone stuffs up and doesn’t get it quite right. However, sometimes it can be extremely dangerous or life threatening with high consequences for all involved and can be very spectacular when being brought to the attention of everyone and reported through mainstream media like A Current Affair or nightly news as a major issue or concern.
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But why does it happen? To me, with a background in training and education, it is simple – it all comes down to the education and training of individuals. That includes all of us, no matter where we fit into the big scheme of things. If you have never seen good, or have not been shown what good is, or what the standards are, then you are only guessing and most likely it is caused by not being properly educated or trained in what is required to successfully complete the task.
I personally see it all the time, where a person is casually going about their allotted task, not realising that what they are doing could be done better, more safely or in a way that could reduce the risks of something going wrong with potentially severe consequences. A lot of the time, when picked up on, they say they didn’t know or had never been told.
It is not what we do, it is how we do it. The most important part of the statement is also knowing why we do it that way. It must be explained that there are probably easier ways to complete a task, however, the reasons why we don’t do it that way are ‘such and such’.
It is really like looking at a map or nowadays, Google Maps, and thinking that taking the shortest route will get someone to where they are going. You may find that the shortest distance has you going on minor roads with steep grades and sharp corners that are really not suitable for your vehicle. Maybe going a little longer route might be safer and involve a lot less risk.
I totally understand that the freight task is increasing exponentially and encouraging new staff or employees is a challenge with low margins and rising costs. I get that, but compromising safety by not allowing for or taking the time to properly train and educate an individual that you want to help you complete the task is really just false economy.
Unfortunately, the numbers stack up that having an individual doing a task that may have the basic credentials for the job doesn’t mean they’re automatically right for it. Even though it is still happening, the days of handing some new guy the keys and saying, “Melbourne is that way, why are you still here?” are not viable in any sense. When that same person manages to stuff something up and ends up costing us all money, time or wasted resources, ask yourself why? Using the ‘Five Why’s’ method or a root cause analysis will always bring it back to the safety, education and training of the individual, or more likely the lack of it.
Don’t think that training just involves watching a video and answering a few randomly chosen multiple guess questions. Once again, anyone can just guess their way through this type of training. But do they really learn anything unless the time is taken to properly explain why the answer is correct?
When I am out on the road with a new driver, one of my favourite things is to take them to somewhere where we get the sign ‘trucks use low gear’. I ask them “what does that sign mean to you?” and get them to explain it. Honestly, I am sometimes quite shocked when a licenced heavy driver can’t explain what it means and has no idea of the requirement under the law. I then either continue to coax the correct answer out of them or explain in detail what using the appropriate gear actually means and get them to practice it. I also get them to explain the repercussions of not doing the right thing and the likely consequences, both physical if there is a loss of control caused by excessive speed, which could be caused by lack of brakes, caused by overheating, or just the monetary cost if they’re caught by an officer who is generally a local in the area and knows the law.
Most of the time I get a thanks and told that nobody has ever explained it to them. That’s correct, because it isn’t mentioned or tested when obtaining their heavy vehicle licence.
Education, safety and training are the keys to a lot of the problems experienced in our industry. Don’t get fooled into the false economy!
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