Workplace health, safety and wellbeing for Refrigerated Transport Providers: night runs and cold docks
Reefer crews drive at night, work in and out of cold stores and are often alone with a failing unit. Their health and safety depends on routines set long before the first call at 2 am.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy workplace health, safety and wellbeing matters in refrigerated transport providers
Refrigerated work puts a driver through sleep loss, long sitting, sudden swings between warm yard and sub-zero store, and time away from home. Helpers lift cartons in cold air with little protective clothing. None of this is unusual for the trade, which is why it goes unmentioned until a near miss or an absence.
A fleet owner cannot remove night driving. What can be set is how runs are planned, what a driver does when tired, what clothing and rest are provided at cold stores, and what to do when a unit fails in a lonely spot. Ask a qualified professional which safety duties apply to your fleet.
How to set it up
1. Ask crews what worries them
Sit with drivers and helpers from two routes and ask about tiredness, cold exposure and lonely breakdowns. Write the list in their own words and rank it together.
2. Plan night runs with rest in mind
Check how many back-to-back night runs the same driver gets, and spread them where the route allows. Dispatch should see the rest gap before it assigns the next trip.
3. Set a tired-driver rule
Write what a driver should do when drowsy, who he calls, and how the halt is treated for pay. A rule that punishes the stop teaches drivers to hide it.
4. Equip people for the cold dock
Agree which protective clothing is issued to helpers and loaders, how often it is replaced and where warm breaks are taken. Record issue against names.
5. Rehearse the breakdown call
Once a quarter, run a short drill by phone: unit alarm, who gets called, what is photographed, when the customer hears. See HR process consulting for turning the drill into a routine.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Count the night runs given to each driver last month and see who carries most of them.
- Ask helpers whether they have what they need to work inside the cold store, and write down the answers.
- Check the last three breakdown reports for how long it took to reach someone with authority.
- Look at sickness absence by crew and route to see where a pattern might be building.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach workplace health, safety and wellbeing in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Spread night runs, show dispatch the rest gap and let drivers stop without penalty. Some trips will be delayed, but a delay costs less than an accident or a spoiled load.
Name one person per shift who has authority to decide on a replacement unit or customer call, and give drivers that number on the breakdown card. A decision-maker beats a switchboard.
Yes. Cold, lifting and odd hours affect them as much as drivers. Give them proper clothing, breaks and a person to talk to, and record who raised what.