By Cormac Gilligan, UPS Global Head – Health and Safety. Cormac has over 28 years of global Environment, Health and Safety experience and extensive international and cross-cultural EHS programme development in a variety of industries.
We are busy hiring more than 125,000 seasonal workers to help us deliver Christmas for our customers. And there is a lot more to it than recruiting.
Seasonal workers come from all over – all ages, backgrounds and skill levels. To ensure they are prepared for the physical and fast-paced nature of our work requires world-class health and safety training.
Our commitment to safety has led to our best auto results in 10 years and best injury results in five. It is a responsibility we take seriously, and it starts the moment a new UPSer joins our team. Here is how we make it happen:
- The first thing that happens after an employee is hired is they come to an orientation where safety is at the centre. We teach everything from lifting parcels properly to using three points of contact to get in and out of our vehicles.
- Our helpers and seasonal drivers also receive targeted, customised and modular training right from their phones with job-specific, on-demand trainings.
- Our top-notch full-time drivers mentor their helpers to help keep them focused, visible and safe throughout the day.
- We have nearly 3,200 safety committees around the world presenting regular safety tips, sharing lessons learned and encouraging wellness activities. These teams do demos on topics such as stretching, understanding the body’s power zone and preventing dog bites (we even maintain a database that maps where potentially dangerous dogs are).
- We use data to guide our efforts, we do safety observations and emphasise job preparation. We even use weather forecasts and weather apps to determine our focus for that particular day. For example, our safety committees might do a demo on walking like a penguin (yes, just like it sounds – shuffling your feet with short steps) if wintry conditions are present to avoid slips and falls.
- We also have what we call the Being Habits, a program focused on mental fitness, nutrition, sleep and hydration.
There is a lot that goes into being the industry leader during the Christmas season – and our health and safety training is at the top of the list.
We are hiring, too. Come join our team and see for yourself.