Nigeria’s downstream sector is still heavily dependent on Road transportation of petroleum products to consumers across the nation.
According to PPMC, more than 1, 200 trucks laden with petroleum products are dispatched daily to fuel stations nationwide. Total Nigeria Plc identified that the dangers posed by Truck Drivers to other Road users and the environment were largely due to: level of Safety awareness amongst drivers, lack of adherence to safety rules, learning from experiences and condition of vehicles used for transportation.
To this end, Total Nigeria Plc embarked on Truck Drivers’ Initiatives which is aimed at education of the Drivers and certification of trucks to be fit for purpose thus improving professionalism and reducing accidents on our roads. “As the Truck Driver cannot be separated from the truck he/she drives, hence in considering driver initiatives, we need to also put in perspective the truck, its trip (driver/truck in motion) and the organization of the parts”, stated the Company.
Truck Driver Training School and Inspection Center involves 3-day Biennial Training and assessment. Training is translated in local languages, drivers are issued “Driver’s Safety Pocket book” after training
Easy to understand Driver manual is given to each driver, driver point system is deployed to train drivers as may be required such as classroom Teaching, Training Practical, behind the wheel assessment, simulator Training and driver Eye Test.
Annual Driver Competition
Driver’s performance are evaluated every year and winners are selected at Territorial level (North, East and West) with rewarded with cash and gift items. One National winner is rewarded with cash and gift item and events are organized for the award ceremony
Annual Safety Poster Campaign is held across Total, NNPC and Private depots in the country to discuss safety topics with driver SafeDriver Campaign.
Transport incidents (videos and presentations) from other affiliates are discussed with drivers for learning.
So also truck Inspection is conducted twice a year, it consists of visual checks and Machine testing and trucks that fail are prohibited from loading.
On Truck Maintenance, transporters keep a documented maintenance plan for its vehicles. Every vehicle (tractor, truck, semi-trailer and trailer) has a maintenance logbook recording all technical operations carried out on it.
Safe Load is a process used to check that before loading and before assigning any trips, the truck/Driver pair can be used. If a truck/driver fails, the truck is rejected and will not be loaded. A checklist is used for this purpose. The Trip has involves
Board Computer and Cameras
Trucks are equipped with OBCs using GPS and GPRS technologies, enabling monitoring and reviewing of driver behavior.
This also involve the use of OBC enables TNPLC and Transporter to make sure that Drivers respect speed limits, authorized driving hours (in particular, no night driving), rest and driving times.
Trucks are also equipped with on-board cameras that captures the inside of the cab and the road ahead of the truck.
Pre-trip counselling
Drivers are informed of the main permanent and temporary dangers before starting a trip using DRG.
Drivers are counselled based on the OBC report of their previous trip.
Road Risk Analysis (Driver Route Guide-DRG: Road risk assessment done for routes used by our drivers.
A 2-page DRG document showing the route distance, black spots, resting spots and time of travel was developed from the assessment.
Organisation
Audit: Continuous Improvement
In order to ensure continuous improvement, there are different audits at different levels. SMT (Transport Management System) is business line audit protocol on the organization of transportation in TNPLC by the group. ICT (Inspection of Conformity Transporters) is an inspection audit on the transporters done by the Group. It checks Driver, Vehicle, Trip and HSEQ Management and SMS (Safety Management System) is an audit protocol on the transporter done by TNPLC.
Transporters
At Total, In-house training of drivers is mandatory, annual Medical check of drivers is mandatory, regular tool-box talks with drivers, feedback from drivers after each trip, enforce pre-trip truck inspection and reward for good driver behaviour
Emergency Preparedness
An emergency plan is implemented for transportation. It specifies the actions to be taken to help if necessary, with the management of incidents.
Drivers are trained on how to act and what to do in every emergency, whether it is safety or security related.
Social Impact or expected result
The Initiative has succeeded in improving defensive driving skills, reduction of Road accidents caused by Driver behaviour and Truck breakdown. Handling of Dangerous goods during Transportation
Public enlightenment on Road safety topics and those of Government regulatory agencies (Campaigns)
Interaction with Stakeholders
Giving insight into the engagement, the Executive General Manager, Total Country Services, Bunmi Popoola-Mordi , noted that one of the areas that the company had been contributing enormously in the country was in the area of road safety and there was need to not only highlight the contributions but to inform and galvanise stakeholders in order to get feedback for continuous improvement.
Speaking on the Truck Drivers Initiative, the GM, HSEQ, Muhyideen Nuradeen, maintained that while the company was in the business of making profit, it was more interested in saving lives; making the roads as safe as possible and making sure drivers return safely to their families and loved ones at the end of each business day, adding that its Stakeholders are Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN and National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO.
Outcomes
Technical inspections & audits of trucks used to transport petroleum products (Annual) at Approved Inspection centers including Total’s Inspection center in Ibadan. Implement Safe-to-load checks at all loading depot (Each time a truck must access the depot), improve Braking system of Petroleum Product Trucks and systematically implement United Nations Convention Agreements on Road and Rail Transport Operational Safety Guidelines. The school is recognized by FRSC and MOMAN. The center is used for third party driver training and truck inspection, 20 Lafarge truck drivers were trained June 2015, Driver training is every two years and biannual Total Truck audit started 2018. The Initiative has succeeded in improving defensive driving skills, reduction of Road accidents caused by Driver behaviour and Truck breakdown. So it has greatly improved road safety and activities of the Total Truck Drivers.
