Long-Haul Truck Driving: What Business Owners Need to Know

Injuries in the workplace can cost companies thousands of dollars in reparations, especially if a company is found to have neglected health and safety concerns. Trucking businesses are one of those businesses more likely to encounter staff injuries that cost them labor and can lead to unhelpful and costly legal disputes.

That’s because, in the course of loading and unloading goods, there’s a high likelihood that employees will injure themselves. That’s not to mention the back problems or illnesses that can occur for truckers on the road.

This article looks at safety in trucking businesses, highlighting areas in which your own company can improve.

Equipment Training

The first on-the-job training you need to put your new recruits through is in the equipment they’re going to be using every day. Ideally, you’ll have a designated tutor well-equipped to offer the quality training required to reduce workplace injuries, whether they’re sustained by loading cargo, changing truck tires, or while opening shipping containers. Training covers your company in terms of liability issues, while also giving your employees confidence that they’re operating machinery and engineering equipment effectively, and undergoing the simple task of carrying and loading with safety in mind.

Regular Cleaning

An untidy warehouse or storage shed can become hazardous as waste accumulates on the ground, or piles of products and boxes become trip hazards for those working in your business. Hiring professional cleaners to work regular shifts in your company warehouse is an efficient method of keeping clear of any workplace obstructions, sticky patches, or unhealthy working conditions. Meanwhile, it’s imperative that your cleaning staff also have the health and safety of your regular employees at the forefront of their minds. That means no wet floors, and warning signs when they’re operating in your staff’s loading zones.

Awareness of Risk

Truckers commonly find themselves handling and maneuvering incredibly heavy loads. Even opening the swinging metal doors of high-quality storage containers comes with its level of risk. As well as educating your workforce with regards to the correct ways to use the machinery around them, it’s also essential that they’re aware of the general risks associated with industrial labor – and how they can minimize the related potential impacts on their bodily health. Whether that means concentrating on posture when lifting, or maintaining awareness when loading forklift trucks, vigilance should never give way to complacency in the workplace.

On the Road

Truckers themselves spend a good deal of their working lives alone on the road. When out on their drives, it’s utterly vital that they adhere to the laws of the state and country that they happen to be driving through, as well as the company’s rules regarding rest stops, sleep stops and meal stops. You can track your drivers through their location monitors in their cabins, that way making sure that they’re not contravening any rules. The rules are in place, of course, to keep themselves and other road users safe – so it’s of great importance that you ensure all your drivers and taking care of themselves, with regards to the law, on the road.

Safety matters in physical industries; to keep your employees safe inside your trucking business, the tips above should guide you to better conditions in the workplace and for drivers on the road.

Equip operators with the proper tools needed and promote safety to help them avoid injury.