Novadata: invest in Driver CPC to boost drivers’ wellbeing
Su Winch of Novadata
Novadata has explained how employers can help improve their drivers’ wellbeing through investment 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,” said Novadata managing director Su Winch.
The company is among 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 equally as important as the more obvious CPC Drivers’ Hours Laws & Tachographs or Driving Standards & Road Safety courses, because they all fulfil driver compliance and empower drivers to be better at their job.
The Driver CPC First Aid, which focuses on emergency first aid in the workplace, provides up-to-date training for 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, says Novadata, which in turn supports their mental health.
Learning outcomes are each covered, step by step, with practical and classroom activities – including understanding the role and responsibilities of a first aider, being able to assess an emergency situation safely, and being able to provide first aid to an unresponsive casualty, which includes the use of a manikin for CPR training.
Drivers will also learn how to provide first aid to casualties who are choking, have external bleeding, are in shock or who have minor injuries.
“Anecdotally, we hear about the stresses and challenges drivers experience on the road,” said Su.
“They are often first on the scene of road traffic accidents 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 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.”
Meanwhile, the Driver CPC Driver Wellbeing course aims to offer guidance on a range of health and welfare issues that can potentially impact driving. It offers practical advice about diet, fatigue, alcohol and drugs. The course outlines the negative effects of poor diet, lack of sleep, alcohol and drug use on people’s ability to drive, and promotes better lifestyle choices, the objective being to improve overall road safety.
The learning outcomes include awareness of both employer/employee legal requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, with an overview of Health & Safety Executive document INDG382 (Driving at Work) published April 2014; awareness of corporate manslaughter; and a better understanding of fatigue, sleep, diet, body mass index, drugs and alcohol.
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, 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,” said Su.
“Drivers must regularly complete 35 hours of Driver CPC within five years anyway. Promoting these kinds of course, and others, as beneficial and desirable, rather than merely another tick box exercise, creates a positive and healthy approach to training in your 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.”
While Novadata can and does offer online training, in Su’s view, in-person training is far more beneficial for drivers.
“Our training courses are friendly and bring in drivers with all kinds of backgrounds,” she said.
“Having the opportunity to share their experiences with drivers from other parts of the country who often face similar challenges, is valuable and adds to the training experience. Drivers often work alone and this gives them a chance to share their own stories outside the workplace with like-minded people who really understand what it’s like out on the road. In-person training is another positive way to support your drivers’ wellbeing.”
In addition to its transport training offering, Novadata provides a range of tailored products and specialist tachograph and audit services. This threefold approach also supports compliance within an increasingly complex legal framework, it says, helping managers and drivers to protect their operator licences and safeguard their livelihoods and businesses.
