Safety Knights

Maybe communicate to the delivery driver management team?

This is a good question. When going through your PPE assessment what hazards were the truck drivers exposed to that determined they needed to wear the PPE?

A couple questions:

How are you managing those contractors, do they have their own EHS person within the organization?
Do they have their own supervisor that you work with?
Do you have some sort of contractor safety induction with them?

WE restricted the "over the road drivers" to the "Shipping Dock or Receiving Dock!" We were a national defense contractor and had to restrict access to the manufacturing process. We also had a strong corporate edict on proprietorship and intellectual property as well. We also had restrictions on US Citizenship and the like. I have been out of the HR game for a while but the term started with an "I". Our Supply Chain Department made a practice of making sure all the trucking firms understood our requirements! Our Shipping Dock had direct access to bathrooms and the Lunchroom without entering the plant.

If on the very rare occasion they had to enter the plant they had to go up to the Main Guest Entrance and gain entry as any other visitor to our plant. They were issued PPE and an employee had to be with them at all times, unless they were approved contractors, which was another process!

Speaking of process, how you handle truck drivers should be in your Visitor Policy and possibly your Contractor Management (MOC) Policy! I would recommend that drivers only have access to the Docks. I would have the Supply Chain and Logistics people in your organization assist you. I have had more than one truck driver banned from visiting our building!

Can you give them a "truckers lounge" and not let them anywhere else?

If they are a regular supplier and there are options, tell the vendor management that their personnel need to follow your site rules or you will go with another driver or different vendor. I have prohibited certain drivers to come on my sites; this really screws up the vendor's scheduling and they tighten ship quickly. Granted, we had a gate and security booth, so no one got to the dock without us knowing, making restricted access much easier.

For any contractors (mostly construction), we give a fair warning to personnel directly and repeat offenders get booted from the site and badge access revoked. Severe violations are immediate revocations (fall protection, LOTO, electrical, etc.).

Difficult to enforce. Truck drivers have their own contracts, labor agreements, and union rules. Also you can have several different drivers from the same carrier, so even if you educate one driver, you may not see him/her again. As long as he/she stays with/in their truck he/she doesn't have an obligation to follow your PPE rules. You can, however, enforce your "on site" requirements if the driver leaves his truck and enters other areas of the facility or construction site. Several of the larger carriers will voluntarily comply it you notify them in advance. If you request the vendor shipping the load to add PPE requirement on the BOL, you'll have a much higher compliance and easier time enforcing. Hopes this helps.

As a retired safety engineer, I have found that safety reviews are a valuable tool for enforcing PPE policies on non-employees, particularly those who are transient like truck drivers. To promote compliance with PPE policies, it is essential to communicate the importance of PPE, provide adequate PPE training, and designate a specific area for PPE at the entrance of the facility. In some cases, working with the non-employee's employer and imposing penalties for non-compliance may be necessary. Frequent safety evaluations can help find weaknesses in safety procedures and increase adherence to PPE regulations. In the end, putting safety first and stressing the value of PPE to everyone accessing the facility is essential for developing a safe working environment.