DC Velocity - October 2016

inbound

Workers in the global container port industry would be less vulnerable to injuries and long-term health problems if their employers followed a new set of safety recommendations, British researchers say. In a study aimed at improving the health, safety, and welfare of workers at container terminals, researchers identified continuing dangers and causes for concern, and offered recommendations for improvement.

Carried out by Cardiff University in Wales, the study was commissioned by the U.K.’s Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). Six major ports and network terminal operators offered workplace access to the analysts, who “anonymized” the data and drew up suggestions for safety improvements.

Though the report acknowledged the ongoing
health and safety progress made by port opera-
tors, it also identified several areas of concern.
They include:
b A need for more accurate reporting of
workplace injuries, since researchers found that
dockworkers report higher levels of workplace
harm than their employers do
b Lack of provision for the gender-specific
needs of female workers
b A need for workers to get involved as part-
ners in health and safety management, instead
of just following rules
b A focus on immediate safety risks at the
expense of long-term health effects
b A need to re-examine contracting practices,
as subcontracted workers face higher health and
safety risks than regular employees do
b High productivity targets that push workers
to take short cuts instead of prioritizing welfare.

“The simple fact is that you can’t put a
price on dockworkers’ lives,” said ITF president
Paddy Crumlin in a press release. “This major
collaborative research project points the way
to what can be a safer future for container port
workers. We invite all companies to walk that
route together.”
A full version of the report, “Experiences of
arrangements for health, safety and welfare in the
global container terminal industry,” is available
online at www.iosh.co.uk/containerterminals.

Study looks at ways to boost
dockworker safety

Young women have long been able to earn Girl Scout badges in areas ranging from crafts and the outdoors to digital arts, healthy living, and financial literacy. Now, those offerings have been expanded to include a program aimed at educating scouts about job opportunities in the trucking industry.

Economists have been warning for years about a looming shortage
of truck drivers, so one industry professional came up with a plan to
familiarize more girls with the field. Ellen Voie, president and CEO
of Women In Trucking (WIT), teamed up with the Girl Scouts to
create a Women In Trucking patch. “Young girls are a part of the
trucking industry’s future,” Voie said. “This is a great way to expose
them to the impact of trucking on their lives, since everything they
have has been transported at some point by a truck.”
Girls who attend a “Trucks Are for Girls” event talk to experts,
drive a simulator, and even climb inside the cab of a big rig.
“I didn’t know that it was for girls, too,” nine-year-old Jaedyn
Roemhildt told WIT’s Redefining the Road magazine after a recent
event. “I thought those trucks weren’t fun, but I got in one and it
was really fun. I didn’t even know they had a horn.”
To learn more about Voie’s work encouraging women to
pursue careers in the trucking industry, read DC VELOCITY’s
“Thought Leaders” interview with her in this issue or online at
www.dcvelocity.com.

Girls Scouts add transportation patch

Truck drivers see plenty of danger in their daily routes, from deal-
ing with the perils of rush hour traffic to avoiding drivers distracted
by their smartphones. But dashing into a burning house to save
people and their pets goes a step beyond the typical job description.

Wade Cline, a driver with the Tualatin, Ore.-based Reddaway trucking company, recently confronted that challenge during a delivery to a residence in Auburn, Wash. As he neared his destination, Cline saw a utility pole topple over, sending a live power line into a row of bushes in front of a nearby house, according to the company’s newsletter.

Seeing the bushes and the house quickly catch fire, Cline pulled his truck to the curb, knocked on the front door, and escorted a woman and her infant son to safety. As they waited for the fire squad to arrive, Cline entered the burning building two more times, retrieving the family dog and then the keys to their car.

A local police officer commended his courage, but Cline said that it simply felt like the right thing to do. “I believe that you should treat people the way you want to be treated,” said Cline, a 10-year Army veteran. “I live my life by that rule. I would want someone to do the same if it were my family.”