Improving resilience in waste transport

Accidents may happen as well in well-controlled work environments where safety aspects are carefully considered as in work environment where continuous changes pose a challenge for everyday operations. Waste transfers are an example of work where unpredictable events occur once in a while and the workers need to make quick decisions how to operate in order to perform all work in the given timetable.

Improving resilience in waste transport is essential when successfully managing operations regardless of changes and disruptions which are faced during working days. This study aims in increasing knowledge about how to react while facing unforeseen changes in waste transportation work. In continuously changing work and working environment it is necessary to be prepared for unforeseen changes and disruptions.

This study focuses the preparedness of workers and organizations in waste transportation to the possible unwanted events and about the ability to maintain the preparedness. Being prepared for disruptions and changes helps reacting and continuing working without causing any extra delays and this preparedness increases safety, health and wellbeing of workers, which also improves the profitability of the company. When workers are able to react already for weak signals which may cause unwanted events in their work, this improves their ability in concentrating their actual task which improves their health, safety and empowering, as well as ability of continuing their operations regardless of the outcomes of unwanted events.

The study will be performed in co-operation with two waste transportation organizations. The study consists of three different phases: 1) present state analysis which will be performed by analyzing data of unwanted events, and observation and interviews, and 2) questionnaire and interviews which will focus on waste transport workers’ reaction for sudden changes and outcomes, and 3) further developing a tool for workplaces. The tool aims to increase the ability of identifying possible future threats by noticing weak signals for unwanted events.

The purpose of this study is to improve resilience in waste transports. The aim is to find distractions and weak signals which can be assumed to influence in unwanted events for waste transportation workers and work processes. This project focuses on study questions, such as:

• finding what are the weak signals of unwanted events and distractions in waste transport

• what is the preparedness to act in disruptions in order to maintain the capability to finish the job

The objective is to perform present state analysis to find out how different weak signals are noticed and how distractions are reacted as individual and organizational level. After present state analysis the objective is to develop the ability to react after facing weak signals. This is a way to improve workers health, safety and level of empowerment.

The resilience in participating waste transportation companies will be increased. The focus on reacting on disruptions and finding the weak signals for unwanted events will improve health and safety and this way it will also increase the productivity of the participating companies.

The method for identifying weak signals and communicating about different ways to react against disruptions will offer a new way to react proactively. Disseminating the method and study results will increase the awareness about the resilience thinking in other branch of businesses as well.

The study will be performed in co-operation with two Finnish waste transportation companies: Lassila & Tikanoja and HFT Network and a waste transport company in Spain. This study includes three phases:

1. Present state analysis which will be performed in three sub-phases:

   1. Literature review, which focuses on previous studies about observing weak signals and reacting on distractios. Also previous studies about waste transport workers’ safety and health will be under focus.

   2. Analysing the data of unwanted events during the last three years in both co-operation companies. This information provides necessary information about the problems waste transportation workers face and it will be necessary information for the phase 1 c.

   3. Observation and interviews: Researcher participates in 10 working days in waste transportation work of both co-operation companies (20 days in total). During these days the researcher observes the distractions and how the worker reacts on them. Interviews of the workers are performed while observing. Interviews of management are performed individually in order to get management aspect as well. This is the basis of creating common understanding for reacting weak signals.

2. Questionnaire will be developed and executed in three sub-phases:

   1. In the basis of the information gathered in present state analysis a questionnaire will be developed. The questionnaire helps in estimating the waste transport workers’ behaviour and operation in distraction situations.

   2. Gathering the information via the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be filled by participating companies’ waste transport workers.

   3. Analyzing the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be analyzed by researchers of this study.

3. Creating a method for workplaces will be performed in two sub-phases:

   1. Further developing a tool: The information gathered from phases 1 and 2, a method for identifying distractions and weak signals will be developed. We will further develop the interview questions that were used in “Ennakoiva ja joustava turvallisuuden johtaminen. Resilienssi Suomessa” (translation: Proactive and resilient safety management. Resilience in Finland. Available at: http://www.vtt.fi/inf/julkaisut/muut/2009/VTT-R-09394-09.pdf) study. The development of the method will lead to a tool that will be able to be utilised in workplaces for identifying the weak signals and for helping to develop the way how to react on distractions.

   2. Testing the method. The developed method will be tested in companies participating in this study and improvements will be made in the basis of the experiences from the testing.

Dissemination and promotion of the results will consist of four levels:

1. Final reports to the two participating companies. The confidential final reports will consist of the results of present state analysis, questionnaire results and method developing. Suggestions for developing the waste transport work will be included in the final reports.

2. Public final reports for funding organizations will be produced according to the policy of funding organizations.

3. Popular publications: The developed method will be published in FIOH websites. The results will be reported to professional journals in Finland. Trade union information channel will also be used in dissemination of study results.

4. Scientific reporting will be performed by writing an article to a scientific journal.