New toolkit for managing and reporting collisions

A construction industry-led initiative set up to protect vulnerable road users, has launched a new toolkit to help improve road safety in construction logistic operations; the CLOCS Toolkit: Managing collision reporting and analysis

The toolkit helps transport managers manage, report and analyse road traffic collisions in a consistent way, with the aim of understanding road risks and collision trends enabling managers to better manage risk and share lessons learned.

The toolkit provides guidance on what to do following a collision, from actions the driver should take at the scene, through to investigating the incident and acting on lessons learned.

It meets the reporting and analysis requirements of the CLOCS Standard, a set of requirements for construction logistic operators and construction clients to manage work-related road risk in their operations.

In all, 55 organisations have already signed up to the standard, and become CLOCS Champions, including large and small construction firms, vehicle operators, borough councils and road safety organisations.

The toolkit can be used independently to establish or update a company’s collision reporting policy and practice, but is also designed to be used in conjunction with the CLOCS Manager collision reporting tool; a free-to-use online database which allows fleet managers to capture, log, report, analyse and investigate collisions and identify lessons learned.

As well as keeping an accurate log of all the elements of an incident for both investigation and insurance purposes, CLOCS Manager can be used as a learning resource to better understand road risk before an incident occurs.

Companies filling in collision reports are given the option of adding learning notes to their entry, which can then be accessed as anonymised data by other users.

In addition, the CLOCS Manager system can be used to meet the FORS (Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme) requirements for recording, investigating and analysing collisions.

From October 3, 2014, operators meeting the revised FORS silver standard will also be compliant with the CLOCS Standard.

Towergate Insurance CLOCS Champion Jo Grosvenor said: “Having the policies in place to avoid collisions in the first place and properly recording and learning from them should the worst happen is absolutely essential for reducing incidents and protecting more vulnerable road users.

“But for smaller companies in particular, often with no dedicated HR or health and safety resource, implementing a collision reporting analysis procedure from scratch can seem like an insurmountable task.

“In line with the CLOCS standard this toolkit will give the operator – large or small – everything needed to get a policy in place which benefits the company in a number of ways, from demonstrating a commitment to road safety when trying to win larger contracts, to having the accurate information needed to make an insurance claim.”