Appreciated Safety Day in Norway
To minimise the risk of accidents and injuries when loading and unloading bitumen, Nynas holds annual driver meetings.
On 21 April, Nynas organised a safety day in Norway for drivers transporting bitumen from the depots in Drammen and Gothenburg. It was an eagerly-awaited gathering, given that until now the pandemic has made face-to-face meetings impossible.
“For the past two years, we have had to inform drivers through our self-produced films instead of meeting in the usual way,” says Ola Mossblad, Operations Manager Denmark & Norway, who organised the day together with Depot Manager Per Oskar Holm-Hansen.
The Safety Day offered a packed programme of news, information and training under the overall heading of Safe Bitumen Handling.
“We discussed, among other things, experiences from accidents that have occurred, to ensure that they do not happen again, and addressed practical issues ranging from overfilling to fire extinguishing and hydrogen sulphide,” explains Ola.
The safety meetings play an important role in helping drivers understand that they have a responsibility to stop loading and unloading if they feel the situation is unsafe – "Observe, think & act" – and thereby minimise the risk of accidents.
“In addition to increasing their knowledge of the hazardous aspects of bitumen handling, the driver becomes an extension of us in relation to our customers, so they know what unloading requirements apply at their sites," says Ola.
This year's gathering in Norway was a good start to the new season, and the participants, more than forty in number, found it both a good and educational event.
