ATA Safety Summit 2008

'Safety is Good Business'

Advancing Industry Safety has always been at the top of the ATA's priority list and for the first time this year the ATA Safety Summit will be incorporated into the Australian Trucking Convention program.

With the need for behavioural change across the sector, the summit will focus on 'changing cultures' - that of community, regulators, supply chain and industry. It will see a panel of industry experts discuss and debate approaches required by the industry to save lives.

Why hold a summit?

• Substantial challenges on the safety front with the growing freight task causing increased exposure risks with rising truck numbers and truck kilometres travelled.
• The need for the industry to take the lead so as to ensure that the industry implements effective and practical safety measures that appropriately respond to the safety challenges.
• The need to identify and document actions to advance more operators from mere compliance to safety for viability driven outcomes.
• Substantial progress in implementing the chain of responsibility.
• The roll-out of significant reforms including PBS, IAP and fatigue.
• The trickle down effect of progressive implementation and on-going development of NTC’s national enforcement and compliance strategies.
• The impending review of safety strategies by Governments and consequent new work programs.
• COAG's renewed interest in the transport reform process.

What will be the key themes?

Key messages underpinning the sessions will be:

• Safety is a shared responsibility
• The need for productivity growth to be delivered with improved safety
• Safety for productivity and compliance, with compliance ahead of enforcement.
• Moving the industry beyond compliance to a safety culture
• Regulators as facilitators
• Safety and compliance assurance as a tool for improved productivity
• A 'whole of supply chain' approach to safety.
• Safety as a precursor to business viability.

The summit will represent an opportunity to reflect upon reform achievements already accomplished in safety and compliance.

It will be a chance to collectively focus on future improvements that will be required to make our industry safer.