APM Terminals has announced a new Truck Safety program featuring carefully researched and tested standard operating procedures for outside truck drivers delivering or picking up containers will be put into effect by the end of 2016 throughout the company’s Global Terminal Network.
“Our goal is to ensure we have safe operations. The basic concept here is to eliminate the risk of accident or injury to the thousands of truck drivers who enter our facilities daily by strictly enforcing a “Stay in the Cab” mandate for external truckers, with clearly identified Designated Safe Zones in non-operational areas specified for those occasions when leaving the truck is necessary,” said Kevin Furniss, APM Terminals Vice President for Health, Safety, Security & Environment. “This program reflects the tremendous team work from various terminal functions collaborating to develop a systematic approach to Safety”.
A pilot program at APM Terminals facilities in Rotterdam, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Callao (Peru), and Apapa (Nigeria), including 100 hours of safety observations and 160 identified risk situations was performed and the data analyzed to review existing procedures and risks. Reasons for drivers leaving their truck cabs, and thus increasing the risk of accidents with container handling equipment or other trucks, included document handling, looking for containers, asking for directions, inspecting chassis, guiding equipment operators, and securing loads while in the yard.
Implementation of the program, now underway, requires all APM Terminals’ facilities to provide specially designated, physically protected areas for drivers conducting required operational activities outside of their truck cabs, by the end of the year, and offer safety instructions specific to each facility’s layout and traffic flow.
“What the project really does is to put in place much more structure and with specifics regarding expectations; this is a call to action,” stated APM Terminals Vice President and Global Head of Operations, Jack Craig.
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