OVERALL

The Plan/Do/Check/Act model (sometimes called the Deming circle) is a four-step management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of a process.  It is a common health and safety modelling tool and one that is ideally suited to manage work-related road safety. Its use is also encouraged by HSENI.

PLAN

Start by outlining the objectives and processes necessary to deliver the results you want to achieve. This will form your driving at work policy. It can be stand alone or sit within your wider health and safety policy.

Senior management must be committed to implementing road safety in the organisation. Next identify the roles and responsibilities of those who will create and manage the actions that your policy demands. It is important to ensure these individuals have enough authority to influence outcomes.

Decide how you will measure outcomes.

DO

In simple terms you now implement the plan by creating the systems, executing the processes, and collecting the relevant data to allow you to carry out the next two steps.

Begin by assessing the risks to driving at work.

Creating adequate systems is an important aspect of this cycle and they will drive your processes.

Involving your drivers in the decision making process is critical to successful implementation and will assist greatly as you communicate the message organisation wide.

CHECK

Study your actual results. This may throw up deviations from your plan. These can be things like more training is needed, there are more people driving than you thought, all accidents/near misses are not being reported etc.

This phase will allow you to see how successful your road safety policy is.

ACT

The data gained in the previous phase will allow you to make informed decisions about your policy and implement changes where necessary.

Remember the Plan/Do/Check/Act process is continuous and the more cycles you do the more improvements you should see.