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A school pupil gets to see things from an HGV driver's perspective

Hills recognised for Health and Safety commitment

An extensive driver training programme, raising awareness on cycle safety around heavy goods vehicles, improvements to sites and the implementation of a Near Miss reporting scheme have all gained industry recognition for Hills Quarry Products.

The accolades came at the national industry body Mineral Products Association’s (MPA) annual Health and Safety awards held recently.

Hills was awarded joint runner-up in ‘Reducing Occupational Road Risk’ category for its involvement in promoting cycle safety around vehicles and training of drivers.

Two Certificates of Merit were also awarded, one in the Contractor Safety and Behavioural Safety category for implementing improvements to the site induction, site signage and documentation for hauliers on site; the other in the Safety Culture and Leadership category for the roll out of the Near Miss initiative.

Peter Andrew, group director Hills Quarry Products, said: “We focussed on identifying risks and implementing systems that encourage behavioural change and I am proud that all our efforts have been recognised.

“We were extremely fortunate to be able to engage with the public on the MPA cycle Safe campaign when the tour of Britain cycle event passed through Wiltshire. Visitors to our vehicle display were able to see the improvements we have made to our vehicles to make cycling near them safer as well as talk to our drivers and share experiences.

“Our drivers were able to talk about the training that they had received to make them more aware of cyclists on the roads.”

A video which highlights the cycle safe awareness event can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheHillsGroup

Peter continued: “The near miss initiative focussed on highlighting work place risks and has resulted in a direct reduction in both Reportable accidents (RIDDORS) and accidents resulting in employee time off (lost time accidents or LTAs).

“Improving health and safety across our operations remains a high priority in our business and we will continue to look for ways to improve.”