The SafetyFirst@Heppner programme consists of 44 resolutions selected at collaborative workshops held in 2021. This programme is based on 4 pillars: induction, training, prevention and leadership. The Group has set up an ad hoc training programme to address safety issues in the field, as well as providing concrete communication tools.

Training in "leading a stand-up": responding to realities on the ground

Every week, a 15-minute flash meeting is held in the loading bays, the “stand-up”. A safety topic is systematically discussed for 3 minutes and, once a month, the quality team adds a compulsory common theme. To ensure that these stand-up sessions are properly conducted and that safety issues are integrated into them, Heppner’s Training and Quality teams have jointly developed this specific training course for bay team leaders.

  • 2 days face-to-face + 1 h coaching for each team leader
  • Managerial involvement
  • Internal quality auditors to ensure that the course is properly implemented

This training programme is the 38th resolution of the SafetyFirst@Heppner programme, and it is one of its keystones.

The benefits of this training programme specifically designed for field managers:

  • Make delivery more effective (speaking techniques, tempo…)
  • Meet the needs of the field: safety issues, handling of complex management situations…

Animated short: The Safety Minute

“That’s happened in our branches”

Distributed monthly in five countries and available in four languages (French, English, German and Dutch), “The Safety Minute” is based on real-life incidents and accidents that have occurred in the branches, and analyses the facts, their consequences, and the best practices to be adopted, with supporting diagrams, to ensure that employees are safe in their work. It is accompanied by a quiz that can be easily accessed by QR code.

Focus on the Safety First programme in the South-East Region

The South-East Region has defined a safety objective: “Protection of employees against occupational accidents and diseases”
To meet this goal, the teams have performed the following:

  • A study of the Occupational Medicine data sheets for the 6 branches, a presentation of the challenges and a reminder of the procedures
  • An audit of the South-East branches from May to June 2023 (face-to-face)
  • Definition of an action plan, grading the actions’ priority from 1 to 3, with an implementation schedule until the end of 2024 and quarterly progress reviews with each branch.

This programme is bearing fruit, as the South-East region has more than halved its accident rate (8.6 in 2023) and halved the number of workplace accidents.

Lilian Gaste,  South-East Region Director, Heppner

“We are proud to have deployed the SafetyFirst@Heppner approach in the South-East region, implementing a project aimed at reducing Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases. We have drawn up a programme which includes an audit and an action plan.”