As the key priority for reducing risk of injury among our employees, Polyus is committed to improving our corporate transport safety.
Polyus has established its five key priorities for reducing key risks based on incident statistics. Internal assessments have shown that the use of vehicles and heavy quarry machinery is one of the most significant operational risks affecting the safety of our business and, consequently, Polyus places particular focus on addressing this issue in particular.
Over the past five years, injury rates at Polyus have fallen by an average of 15-25% year on year; in 2019, the number of road traffic accidents fell by 15%, and the Automotive Accident Rate (AARk) fell by 22% from 2018, to 0.28. The number of accidents considered as having a high hazard potential, such as vehicles carrying dangerous goods and passengers over long distances, decreased by 28% from 2018. In 2019, there were no fatal traffic incidents at Polyus’ operations.
This was achieved as a result of a number of safety improvement initiatives, including the standardisation of our travel management systems, notably Trip Management Dispatch safety.
The primary goal of our Trip Management Dispatch Service is to establish a decision-making process among drivers, taking into account various safety factors. The project was originally piloted as dispatch services monitoring at Kuranakh in 2018, and a priority for Polyus in 2019 was the approval and launch of the Trip Management Dispatch service pilot project at our Logistics division.
Our Trip Management Dispatch services includes the approval of safe transport routes, training our drivers under our «Defensive Driving» programme and installing vehicular monitoring systems, which are then used by our dispatchers to monitor the drivers’ progress in real time, paying particular attention to the efficiency and safety levels of driving. Additional measures include the introduction of personal driver ID cards and the development of a monitoring system to reward our employees based on their driving quality.
In 2019, all passenger and freight vehicles at Polyus Stroy and Polyus Logistics were fitted with rear-view cameras, and information campaigns to promote the wearing of safety belts and increase awareness against vehicles overturning were developed and implemented in all control units.
Polyus also extends driving safety training for all our contractors ahead of their joining a project, providing them with the opportunity to study in our corporate training programmes, and to practice at our training ground.
The primary safety measures we take to prevent driving accidents include:
- Warning of vehicle overload (monitoring and updating loading plans for warehouse vehicles);
- Monitoring drivers’ work and rest routines (introduction of monitoring systems, a ban on continuous driving without taking breaks or leaving for a new trip without taking a break);
- Change of vehicle traffic schedules at night to allow for increased rest time on the route;
- Reduced nighttime traffic;
- Preparation and implementation of measures for vehicle management in the winter.
Additional measures implemented at Polyus Logistics in 2019 include:
- Monitoring passenger traffic on-line using the dispatch service;
- Assessing drivers’ rest conditions; assessing the need to switch drivers;
- Updating driver selection and hiring criteria;
- Training drivers in defensive driving, with a specialized programme for passenger transport;
- Introducing a rewards system for passenger vehicle drivers, aimed at improving driving quality;
- Communicating with the state and road services departments to ensure roads are kept in good condition.