Overcoming Safety Hazards in Journey Management

Journey management is the implementation of plans and protocols that provide safety and protection to employees during travel. As an employer, you must ensure your teams can carry out all their responsibilities without running into an accident.

These plans are critical for at-risk workers, such as lone workers performing duties in the oil and gas industry, individuals driving out in hazardous regions, and even those extending care in patients’ homes.

Companies need to make a detailed plan of journey that outlines all the hazards that can befall workers. In this blog, you will learn important tips to overcome safety hazards encountered in journey management.

When Is a Journey Management Plan Required?

A journey management plan consists of guidelines and instructions that help employees travel safely to work. These plans are critical for organisations requiring lone workers to travel to remote regions or areas that encounter severe weather fluctuations.

How to Eliminate Safety Risks from A Journey Management Plan?

Organisations can mitigate risks through a journey management strategy that recognises commonly occurring hazards. The plan’s primary objective should be to reduce or eliminate risks.

So, these are some of the safety hazards you need to address when making a journey management plan.

Driving Plans for Risky Road Conditions

Due to poorly designed and unrepaired roads, almost 1200 people in Australia lose their lives each year. The fatality rate is higher for individuals residing in regional areas. As a result, organisations must ensure their workers remain protected from road accidents. One way to do this is by equipping workers with vehicles designed explicitly for unrepaired roads.

Moreover, companies can also leverage applications like SafetyIQ to conduct safety check-ins with workers. This system allows supervisors to connect with the worker promptly to ensure they are safe during their journey. In case the employee fails to check in, the system will automate the escalation process, so proper measures can be taken to protect the worker if required.

Harsh Weather Alerts

Unpredictable weather and natural disasters can cause temporary or fatal injuries to your employees when travelling for work. As Australia has a long history of natural disasters, such as bushfires, heat waves, floods, cyclones, and storms, you must ensure your employees are taking precautions during emergencies.

To do that, you can send out weather alerts on your company’s communication system to ensure everyone knows current weather conditions are unsafe for travel. You can even put some operations on hold until the weather gains composure.

Wildlife Accidents Prevention Training

Every year, almost 10 million animals are involved in road accidents. Not only is this endangering wildlife, but it can also lead to an accident if the vehicle swerves into a tree, pole, or road traffic. To mitigate this risk, your company can organise workshops on safe driving to avoid wildlife accidents.

Another measure you can take is to pass out safety manuals that present pointers on safe driving during the day and night in highly populated wildlife areas. In addition to protecting drivers from accidents, this measure will also prevent vehicle damage.

Automated Check-In System

An automated check-in system confirms that employees are safe during work hours. The automated check-in system will send an emergency signal if the worker cannot check in or update their current destination.

This signal will alert the authorities to send immediate help to the last location of the employee. Although companies can also use a manual check-in system, these processes will have higher risks of human errors. Moreover, you will have to hire additional people to ensure the system is strictly monitored during working hours.

Emergency Safety Kit

Providing teams with an emergency safety kit and its usage instructions can prevent six out of ten deaths. Therefore, organisations should equip each team or lone worker with a personal emergency kit. Moreover, organise training programs to ensure everyone knows how to properly administer and use the contents of the safety kit.

The emergency safety kit should have these items:

• Flashlight with extra batteries
• First aid box
• Dust or surgical mask
• Toolbox
• Blankets
• Sanitation products (hand sanitizer, sanitary napkins, and alcohol swabs)

Wrapping Up

Road accidents or natural calamities can befall your employees performing at-risk jobs. However, you can reduce these risks by creating a journey management plan. This plan can focus on providing safety manuals, emergency kits, and training on how to drive on poorly built roads to avoid wildlife-vehicle collisions. You can also send out weather emergency alerts and use an automated check-in system to ensure everyone reaches the office safely.

SafetyIQ offers an automated safety software solution that protects employees from accidents through centralised visibility and automated emergency escalation. Request a demo to protect your workers from travelling disasters.

Interested in learning more? Check out our comprehensive guide to Journey Management: