Novadata's Managing Director Su Winch said:
"Driver wellbeing is boosted by employers investing in training! Creating a culture that is healthy and has people's wellbeing at its heart is essential for logistics and passenger transport businesses because so many of those employees work alone for much of their working week."
Novadata is one of the UK's leading transport training providers, delivering in-person training including Driver CPC, Operator Licence Awareness Training (OLAT) and Transport Manager CPC. Su Winch believes the 'softer' training courses like Driver CPC First Aid and Driver CPC Driver Wellbeing, including Drugs and Alcohol, are as important as the more obvious CPC Drivers' Hours Laws & Tachographs or Driving Standards & Road Safety courses, because they all fulfil driver compliance and they all empower drivers to be better at their job.
Driver CPC First Aid
Driver CPC First Aid, which is the Emergency First Aid in the Workplace course for Drivers, gives up-to-date first aid training to empower drivers of all ages and experience. Having the knowledge and training to understand what to do in an emergency is both a practical and useful way of upskilling your drivers, which in turn supports their mental health. Its learning outcomes are to:
- Understand the role and responsibilities of a first aider
- Be able to assess an emergency situation safely
- Be able to provide first aid to an unresponsive casualty (using a manikin for CPR training)
- Be able to provide first aid to a casualty who is choking
- Be able to provide first aid to a casualty with external bleeding
- Know how to provide first aid to a casualty who is in shock
- Know how to provide first aid to a casualty who has minor injuries
Su explains:
"Anecdotally, we hear about the stresses and challenges drivers experience on the road. They are often first on the scene of RTAs and can feel helpless and unequipped to support those with injuries or serious conditions before the Emergency Services arrive. This can be remedied by ensuring you include Driver's CPC First Aid as part of your training programme. Empowering your drivers creates a culture that is open, safe, and promotes learning as an asset, not a burden."
Driver CPC Driver Wellbeing
Another pertinent course to aiding driver wellbeing is Driver CPC Driver Wellbeing itself. It aims to offer guidance on a range of health and welfare issues that can potentially impact driving. By showing the negative effects of poor diet, lack of sleep, alcohol and drug use on people's ability to drive, and by promoting and providing drivers with better lifestyle choices, this helps improve overall road safety. Its learning outcomes include:
- Awareness of both employer/employee legal requirements of the HSAW 1974, with an overview of HSE document INDG382 (Driving at Work) (published April 2014)
- Awareness of corporate manslaughter
- A better understanding of fatigue, sleep, diet, BMI, drugs, alcohol
Su said:
"The Driver Wellbeing courses examine how Health and Safety law applies to work activities on the road as much as any other work activities. It demonstrates how effective management of work-related road safety helps reduce risk, no matter what size your company or organisation might be. Finally, it supports outcomes that include fewer injuries to drivers, reduced risk of work-related ill health, and reduced stress, and improved morale and productivity. By actively promoting these kinds of courses in the workplace, employers are already making a choice to put driver wellbeing and good mental health at the forefront of their business.
"We see drivers come away from the Driver Wellbeing and Driver First Aid courses with a fresh spring in their step and a renewed sense of determination about their mindset and capabilities."
Novadata's enviable reputation within the road transport industry has been forged through providing expert transport training, a range of tailored products, and specialist tachograph and audit services to help transport businesses thrive. This threefold approach also supports compliance within an increasingly complex legal framework, helping managers and drivers to protect their Operator Licences and safeguard their livelihoods and businesses.
