70 Years of Comepetence?

Almost 12 months ago, I posted about a little-known fact from 1964 when a question was asked in the House of Commons to then Minister of Transport Ernest Marples due to the high number of rollovers involving mixers.

"How many mixer rollovers occurred over the past 12 months, and how many resulted in fatalities" the minister was asked.

There are two reasons why this is important.?

Firstly, it was obvious that even back in 1964, mixer rollovers were common enough for this to be raised in the commons, and unsurprisingly, the minister couldn't answer the question.?

Secondly, if it was an issue in 1964, why wasn't anything put in place to prevent rollovers or at least try and reduce them??

We can go even further back to 1959 when the Ready Mix Company (South East) Ltd introduced a scheme to deliver their concrete by owner-drivers.?

It was stated at the time that the policy of the group (RMC) "that the business of making and selling concrete should be carried on as far as possible separately from the business of delivering the concrete to the customers" and that the owner-driver scheme was introduced to further that policy, in the belief that it would stimulate:

"speedy and efficient cartage, the maintenance of trucks in good condition, and the careful driving thereof, and would benefit the owner-driver by giving him an incentive to work for a higher return without abusing the vehicle in the way which often happens if an employee is given a bonus scheme related to the use of his employer's vehicle."

The haulier contract from over 70 years ago wants the product delivered quickly and efficiently but want's this done by the insistence of a?"competent driver"?to operate the vehicle.?

Nowadays, one national company requires a driver who is?"fully trained and qualified in the mixing, loading, handling and transportation of the Materials (including its hazardous nature)" -?I'm still waiting to find out which qualification this relates to.?

So, we can now go back over 70 years and the industry, even before I was born, required a competent driver to drive and operate a concrete mixer truck - so why has nothing ever been done about it??If the basis of these contracts have never changed, why do we still ignore the obvious?

It's not just the industry that requires a trained and competent operator; apart from the laws and legislation continually ignored, what about the end user??

The Highways Safety Hub have minimum standards for anyone working or delivering on National Highways projects across the UK.?

This best practice hub covers all plant and vehicle types and requires a demonstration of competence via an industry-recognised card scheme.?

For a mixer driver, this includes, as a minimum, a competency assessment before being put to work – be familiar with plant/equipment and ensure that they always operate/use plant and equipment per manufacturer's instructions/recommendations.?

Sounds good, I suppose.?

Balfour Beatty has the exact requirements, including the need to be competent in dealing with spills and environmental protection - imagine that.?

HS2 have requirements through their Logistics Environment Sustainability and Safety Management Plans (ESSMP), but these aren't implemented across the supply chain, so why have them in??

Competence is the most overused word in our sector regarding our transport operations. An industry that continues to ignore its responsibilities continues to put lives at risk.?

While looking for solutions from the manufacturers, the starting point would be to operate the mixers as per the manufacturer's instructions.?

Training across our sector has become a money-making exercise for many, whilst industry-recognised competence schemes won't be used because they don't suit the politics or the agenda.?

I'll ask again, how long do you think it will be before the Police, DVSA, HSE, DfT, Traffic Commissioners, Fire, Rescue, Ambulance services, and Air Ambulance think enough is enough??

...sooner than you think