Lynn Crump

Said the following about Hi 5 Safety Team:

“Early in 2022, a working group of frontline colleagues met in Leeds to discuss how, as a business, we could actively generate more meaningful and focused conversations on safety. The intent was to create a simple and easy to follow process that would facilitate genuine conversations on a daily basis. The working group was initiated to prevent a top down management approach and in an effort to generate authentic ideas that would be more relevant to those working in operational and office environments alike.

Ideas for the programme were generated with Jason Anchor in mind, a public speaker who has dedicated his life to raising the importance of having focused and pragmatic conversations on safety. In his early 20s, Jason suffered serious life changing injuries after falling from height, leaving him permanently in a wheelchair. His story serves as a powerful reminder that it’s the small actions that we do every day that can make the biggest difference to preventing harm.

As a result the Hi 5 Programme was created – consisting of five basic questions, all serving as a prompt to stop and think before starting a task or activity. The programme can be led by anyone, regardless of role and is as much applicable to maintaining safety at home as it is in the workplaces.

Five questions to discuss before starting a task:

1. Are you fit for work? Are you OK / How are you

2. What’s the job? What are you doing / how are you getting on

3. Have you got everything you need? Skills / equipment / supplies / people

4. Is it safe to continue? Any concerns

5. How can we improve / do better?

The five questions outlined are intended to be asked in an informal conversational manner and likely fit with conversations that most people have on a daily basis. We don’t ask employees to record the conversation and we don’t track the process as a KPI. Traditional behavioral based safety programmes are often criticised for being ‘tick box exercises’ and KPI driven. The Hi 5 programme is a different approach focused on engagement and culture, with the safety and wellbeing of every employee, visitor and contractor at the centre.

The programme was launched at our Leeds facility in March 2022 with the help of Jason Anchor and Louise Ward, Freightliners Safety & Sustainability Director who came to speak at the event. Since then Hi 5 has been rolled out across all of our locations, supported by local site managers. Each manager was empowered and encouraged to add their own approach to implementation and to think about the best way to engage their local teams. Hi 5 has been a huge success and is something that you can see across all locations and mentioned frequently by both business leaders and frontline colleagues.

Since launch, we have seen a significant reduction in accidents and improvements in safety culture across the organisation. The latest results from an internal survey mirror these results with overwhelming support from the wider business.

We look forward to the continued success of the programme and the ongoing positive growth of Freightliners safety culture, promoting zero harm for everyone, everyday.“