CBA surveys risks

UNDER CONTROL

SURVEYS • CBA’S ANNUAL SAFETY SURVEYS SHOW CONTINUED IMPROVEMENTS IN ITS MEMBERS’ PERFORMANCE, ALTHOUGH THE ASSOCIATION SAYS THERE IS STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

THE UK CHEMICAL Business Association (CBA) has released two annual reports covering performance measures for its road haulage, warehouse and tank farm members – the Logistics Index – and also a report on the safety, health, security and environmental performance of its distributor member companies – the Responsible Care Indices of Performance. Both Indices offer reasons for some degree of comfort, though CBA cautions against complacency.

The CBA Logistics Index, now in its thirteenth year, is based on 21 returns from haulage, warehousing and tank farm firms that employ a total of 2,967 people. CBA has published its Responsible Care Indices of Performance annually since 1993 and the 2018 Indices are based on returns from 89 companies employing 5,758 people. SUCCESS IN LOSSES There has been a positive outcome as the safety report reveals a continuing decline in the Lost Time Accident Rate and the number of accidents occurring. CBA logs data for accidents resulting in incapacities of more than three days – a standard that is a higher than the one required by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). Even under the stricter benchmark, CBA member companies reported just 30 accidents resulting in incapacities of more than three days in 2018 – a decrease on the 33 reported in 2017.

When looking at the breakdown of incidents being reported, accidents resulting from a manual handling process or a slip, trip or fall accounted for 43 per cent of the total for 2018. Five accidents resulted from an exposure to a harmful substance, while eight were reported in 2017. Most positively, there was not a single fatality reported in 2018.

“It’s good news that the Lost Time Accident Rate has shown a year-on-year fall but, in historic terms, there is still room for improvement,” says Andrew Beck, chairman of CBA’s Responsible Care Committee. “However, it is pleasing to note the decline in the number of individual accidents and the long-term trend in transport incidents.”

WIDER PERSPECTIVE Aside from the positive gains in the realm of workplace safety, the sustainable actions on company waste have shown beneficial changes too. CBA members reported that they generated 10,121 tonnes of special or hazardous waste in 2018. Of this, 18 per cent (1,814 tonnes) was recycled, recovered or disposed of with energy recovery. CBA members also produced 6,603 tonnes of non-hazardous waste in 2018, of which, 43 per cent (2,828 tonnes) was recycled, recovered or disposed of with energy recovery.

It is reassuring there have been improvements in the number of reported transport incidents. The importance and scale of transport can readily be seen when shown that CBA logistics companies alone made nearly one and a quarter million journeys to distribute over 4m tonnes of chemicals.

In 2018, four transport incidents were reported, identical to 2017; all were road traffic incidents without a chemical release. Despite this, there were 0.96 incidents for every million tonnes distributed in 2018, an increase on the 0.86 reported for 2017.

However, it should be noted that CBA’s data goes beyond the thresholds set by the Department for Transport and RIDDOR legislation. The data collated by CBA includes all transport incidents requiring the attendance of the emergency services – including minor traffic accidents, mechanical breakdowns and even punctures. CBA reports all such incidents regardless of fault.

STICK TO THE RULES It has been encouraging to see that enforcement from the authorities is strictly maintained and that the number of incidents has decreased. In the Responsible Care Indices, CBA logistics services companies reported 16 enforcement actions during 2018 covering individual sites and transport, a decrease from 20 in 2017.

When examining individual sites, there were no convictions, Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Prohibition Notices or HSE Improvement Notices recorded against CBA logistics member companies in 2018, although one company did receive an improvement notice from the Environment Agency.

For transport, there were 15 Prohibition Notices received in 2018. Seven were for infringements of a minor nature that did not delay the vehicle’s journey and could be rectified later; eight required immediate attention.

Under the Logistics Index, two convictions were recorded against CBA members in 2018 as opposed to one in 2017. One arose from a prosecution by HSE for offences under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The second arose from a prosecution by HM Revenue & Customs for a breach in export licensing conditions. No HSE prohibition notices were issued, but four HSE improvement notices were issued in respect to breaches of the Health & Safety at Work Act.

The decrease in incidents – particularly serious ones – is a welcome outcome for the industry, as are the positive attitudes towards waste disposal and legal compliance. However, progress is still needed to reduce the numbers further. Thanks to reports such as these, industry is able to pinpoint the highest risk sectors of the workplace and work diligently to continuously reduce the risks. HCB www.chemical.org.uk

CBA MEMBERS MOVE A LOT OF DANGEROUS

PRODUCT WITH VERY FEW ACCIDENTS

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