After a two-year hiatus, 2022 saw the return of the sixth the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) Utilities Forum kindly hosted in Melbourne by APA Group.

The 2022 forum was attended by 15 utility organisations from electrical, gas, telecommunications and water sectors, and expert input into the two-day event came from Australian Automobile Association, IAG, Monash University Accident Research Centre and Transport Accident Commission.

The Utilities Forum is an industry specific forum which has continuously evolved year-on-year based on feedback from the forum partners since its formation in 2015.  The structure of the forum is informed by the analysis and identification of themes and risks from members fleet data. The data is collected via a template and online survey prior to the event.  The forum itself takes place under Chatham House Rules allowing for frank, open, and trusted discussions among peers around performance, issues, and risk management approaches.

The forum creates dynamic and free-flowing conversations, guided by the analysis of the aggregated member data. What is unique with the forum, is the ability for partners to provide their first-hand experiences as case studies which others can build upon.

The forum included four core components:

  1. Attending partners pre-completed a template which allows benchmarking between attendees of their risks, performance, operational safety management systems and development progress;
  2. Identification of trends amongst partners that have occurred over the duration of the forums which are discussed;
  3. Guest speakers provide presentations on relevant topics; and
  4. A workshop session is held the day before focusing on a key risk and mitigation solutions for the sector.

Within these core components the key sessions for 2022 included:

  • Ice Breaker session – TAC’s Passive Alcohol Driver Detection System fitted to a RAV4; and road safety corporate social responsibility;
  • Pre-Covid and Post-Covid insights on fleets and workplace road safety;
  • Vehicle selection and what is fit-for-purpose for utilities;
  • Telematics, implementation, application, and monitoring systems;
  • New world the utility sector is operating in – CGU;
  • Understanding key risk exposure compared to other sectors;
  • Understanding driver fatigue, innovative research, and emerging technologies.

To read more, download the PDF below.