Safety in Operation Award

Partnered with

Air Products

Air Products’ goal is to be the safest industrial gas company with a target of zero accidents/incidents. Its fleet of 353 drivers and 278 vehicles makes around 220,000 deliveries to 10,000 UK customers each year, ranging from large industrial facilities to small leisure environments.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a relatively common condition, and drivers are a high-risk group, with statistics suggesting that better identification and treatment of OSA in the heavy goods transport industry could prevent up to 40,000 road accidents every year.

Many drivers don’t come forward with symptoms however, for fear of having their licence suspended or revoked. In 2022, Air Products launched a voluntary OSA programme to break the taboo and raise awareness. The programme has already made progress in reassuring drivers that help is available without penalty, screening those at risk, and diagnosing and treating where appropriate.

Our judges said: “Well done Air Products – this is quite often an area that’s forgotten or just taken for granted. Identifying and reducing a risk is a fantastic leap for their staff wellbeing.

“A safe business, with a great initiative that is dealing with an unspoken issue that affects many.

“Sleep apnoea has been a topic of conversation for many years and it’s admirable that the company has tackled the problem head-on.”

CLEAN Linen & Workwear

ROSPA Fleet Safety Gold award winner, Earned Recognition member and Royal Warrant holder, CLEAN Linen & Workwear’s 975 employees operate 100 HGVs across seven sites serving 5,500 clients in the hotel, restaurant, automotive, engineering and pharmaceutical sectors. It is one of the UK’s leading independent laundry companies providing professional linen and work wear rental services.

Through the development, adoption and implementation of its CLEAN Health & Safety strategy, CLEAN is increasingly a Safer Workplace for all.

It is imperative to CLEAN that it always looks to innovate and the company reviewed its incident investigation process to clearly identify the root cause of all collisions and near misses and to enable it to have a clear vision on how collaboration with all key stakeholders should take place and to further demonstrate clear areas for improvement and training. CLEAN’s transport division has compliance, safety, service and training as overarching business principals, which are entrenched in its “everyday excellence” motto.

Our judges said: “An excellent submission meeting all criteria. It followed a very structured approach, demonstrating results with benefits to the company and employees.

“Great to see the engagement with drivers to ensure their wellbeing is taken into consideration. Rolling the initiative out across the business shows real commitment to safety.

“This company has gone to a third party for assistance in reducing collisions and accidents and has run with it.”

Pall-Ex UK

Leading pallet network Pall-Ex has demonstrated a strong commitment to safety in operations by addressing key areas within its central hub in Leicestershire. With 60 FLTs, 180 night and 70 day vehicles moving over 10,000 pallets through the 220,000sq ft hub during peak times, there is increasing need for safety policies to control risk.

While the vast majority of incidents were not related to personal injuries but resulted in damage to equipment and property, Pall-Ex is committed to setting an industryleading safety-first culture, generating pioneering benefits for the working environment.

Through a series of comprehensive changes in processes, education, and continuous improvement initiatives, Pall-Ex has significantly reduced incidents and maintained a safe working environment for its employees.

Pall-Ex’s industry-leading H&S system ensures everyone onsite, including hundreds of visiting drivers, are trained in H&S regulations, ensuring safety excellence. Arriving drivers are required to present ID cards as evidence of training. If not in place, the hub will train the driver before giving access to the site.

Together with a range of other measures, annual mechanical handling incidents have reduced by 63% year-on-year.

Our judges said: “An excellent submission with huge investments made across the operational site. All the statistics are heading in the right direction, and clearly asset management is better as the cost per asset is reducing too.

“Pall-Ex has demonstrated throughout its entry that it identified issues it had with safety in all of the areas of operation and has developed mechanisms to make the whole hub at Leicester a safe working environment safe for staff – and safer for vehicles.

“I believe that their motto “achieving excellence together” is proven within this entry.”