Safety culture essential for a sustainable supply chain

Future sustainability of the sometimes fragile global supply chain must revolve around a fundamental safety culture throughout all operators and organizations involved, determines International freight and cargo handling insurer TT Club.

“The importance of culture within an organization, particularly where safety is concerned cannot be underestimated,” says TT’s Logistics Risk Manager Josh Finch. “Safety is everybody’s responsibility and everybody has a voice in safety matters. A strong safety culture will positively impact safety performance.”
In an increasingly risk-intensive global supply environment, a greater emphasis on safety will help avoid critical incidents such as fire, cargo damage, and vessel loss, which further exacerbate shortages, congestion, and human suffering. This message pervades the loss prevention work of TT and is exemplified in a wide variety of studies and reports published in the insurer’s latest review of current and ongoing risk trends – A Year in Focus*.

TT’s view of an pervasive safety culture is represented by a number of contributions in this publication. Analysis of its own claims data and detailed research into a range of risks across the supply chain results in reports on and advisable actions to mitigate invasive pest in freight containers and increased cyber security risk as ports automate; increased customs documentation errors and clandestine immigration threats; help from drone technology and the dangers of plastic micro pellet spillages. Attention to a broad spectrum of hazards is essential in developing the all important safety culture.

“TT has recently witnessed a renewed focus and commitment towards loss prevention activities, with additional emphasis placed on the Club’s mission statement to make the industry safer, more secure and more sustainable,” comments Loss Prevention Managing Director Mike Yarwood. “Greater safety goes hand-in-hand with enhanced security and consequently sustainability. TT’s mutual ethos demands that we guide those we insure – and indeed the wider industry – in all aspects of risk through the container transport and global logistics supply chain. Via our latest Year in Focus we aim to add to the large cannon of knowledge and guidance.”