Safety is an essential requirement in fuel distribution. But how do you take something as critical as safe driving and make it engaging, motivational, and even fun?
NWF Fuels may have cracked this challenge with their new Safety Cup initiative, launched as part of the company’s ongoing culture campaign, IT combines safety incentives with an exciting racing-themed competition. Margaret Major spoke with the team behind this innovative safety and recognition project, to understand more about how it works, and what it means for drivers, customers and the company.
Q: How did the idea for the Safety Cup come about?
Luke Armitage, Operations Director:
We wanted to strengthen our health and safety culture while recognising our drivers for great performance and the idea of a “Driver of the Year” competition stood out in which we celebrate our best performing drivers over a 12-month period. Rewarding them with an exciting racetrack experience, followed by an evening meal with drinks and overnight stay, they will have the opportunity to spend time with some of our key supply partners. We also record improvements monthly with prizes presented to recognise excellence and keep the momentum going.
Andy Dobson, Marketing and Communications Executive:
Alan Greenhalgh, our Fleet Manager, and I were tasked with creating a competition that celebrates and incentivises safe driving. The poetic irony of drivers who spend their working days striving to be as cautious as possible being given the chance to put restraint to one side and speed around a racetrack appealed greatly. It also allowed us to have fun with the marketing elements, creating videos and leaderboard-style “pole position” updates – just like you see in motorsports.
Alan developed metrics from thousands of delivery routes to generate scores for each driver, which are updated and shared monthly. These scores became integral to our drivers’ “Toolbox Talks,” where they can monitor progress and discuss improvements.
FON readers will know how much we love a powerful acronym at NWF, and we created ‘FOCUS’ to ensure safety remained central amidst the excitement of the competition.
F Follow best practice for our safety and culture
O Outline incidents promptly and accurately
C Care for customers’ property like it’s your own home
U Use your mirrors and be cautious when reversing
S Slow-moving, blame-worthy collisions are our most common (and usually avoidable) incidents
Q: How does the competition work?
Alan Greenhalgh, Fleet Manager:
It’s built on clear data, tracking monthly safety metrics to highlight improvements and commitment to safety. This transparency ensures drivers see how their actions directly affect their scores. Each month, we run the safety metrics to identify top performers – those showing the most improvement by taking positive steps to address safety issues and leading the commitment to change – as well as leading the competition!
Andy:
We designed it to stay motivational for all drivers, not just those in the top rankings, so we also celebrate the ‘best overtakes’ – those who see the greatest increase in their monthly rank – with interim rewards. While this ensures everyone has a reason to stay engaged, the competition is actually surprisingly close, with very little separating drivers in pole positions from those at the back of the pack.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve with this initiative?
Luke:
The primary goal is to embed safety into our company culture, while also boosting driver engagement. The competition to be the best drives great conversations around the continued commitment to safety.
Alan:
For me it’s ultimately about safety and about doing the right thing. With support from our business, drivers, and suppliers, we want to instil the belief that nothing is so urgent it can’t be done safely.
Andy:
Aside from promoting a strong safety culture across the business, this initiative encourages connection and teamwork among drivers. With dozens of depots across England and Wales, drivers often work independently, but the Safety Cup provides an opportunity to break barriers (metaphorically of course!) and engage with one another.
As a dedicated drivers’ competition, it fosters camaraderie, friendly competition, and a sense of unity between regions and depots – strengthening the bond across our team.
Q: How is the rollout progressing?
Luke:
It’s fully rolled out, and drivers were eager to see the first updates, published on November 20th. I’m excited to start recognising their achievements.
Andy:
The leaderboard has been shared, and the competition is tight! Each quarter, updates are printed and posted at depots, highlighting team and depot leaders.
Q: What role do your sponsors play?
Andy:
We’re fortunate to have amazing supplier partners like Novuna Vehicle Solutions, TouchStar Technologies, MechTronic Ltd, and AddSecure Smart Transport. Alan reached out to them to gauge interest, and their enthusiasm was fantastic. They supply hardware and software for our trucks and are now part of the competition, enjoying the racing experience and providing a little extra ‘motor-vation’.
Gordon Hyland is the Sales Director for one of the competition sponsors, TouchStar Technologies and commented: The Safety Cup is a great initiative to celebrate the best drivers in the NWF Fuel Fleet. As long-standing partners, we’re delighted to support this effort and look forward to the track day – let’s see if we can give them a run for their money!
Another sponsor is MechTronic, and Managing Director Brad Wilkie, said:
Recognising employees for going above and beyond, even without being asked or expected to do so, is a value we share with NWF Fuels. It’s exciting to partner with them on this excellent initiative and to support their commitment to safety and performance.
Q: We have to give the last word to those at the heart of the initiative. What’s been the response from the drivers and the wider company?
William Everington, Regional Transport Manager (South West) is hugely enthusiastic about the competition: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the business to reward our drivers and celebrate safe behaviours.
The collaboration and work to put this competition together has been tremendous, providing an extraordinary opportunity for our drivers to be recognised for their positive impact on the health and safety culture throughout the business.
The idea of a race car experience is perfect for the driver team at Darch Oil – only recently they thoroughly enjoyed a Saturday afternoon of highly competitive go karting. The opportunity to take this a step further in a full-size vehicle is a huge incentive to drive good behaviours in the workplace.
Not only will it be brilliant to bring our driver team from around the business together for a shared experience, but having our key suppliers involved is also an outstanding opportunity to build relationships for feedback and future collaboration.
Pete Rich, a tanker driver from Darch Oil’s Yeovil depot who organised the team’s karting event also welcomed the Safety Cup: “The competition is a fantastic idea. It gives us something to aim for and has me paying extra attention to manoeuvring and overall safety.”
This focus on even small marginal gains is clearly having an impact with Pete currently one of the drivers in a top position.
The NWF Fuels Safety Cup is a great example of businesses turning critical initiatives into engaging opportunities. By blending safety culture with creativity and collaboration, NWF Fuels is incentivising excellence while fostering camaraderie.
In an industry where it is paramount, putting safety at the heart of the competition, means that everyone is a winner!
Photos provided by NWF
