Tideway investing in innovative training for HGV drivers working on London’s super sewer

Tideway, the company building London’s super sewer, is investing in innovative, immersive safety training for HGV drivers working on the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a major infrastructure project that will prevent millions of tonnes of untreated sewage from entering the River Thames.

Every single person who works on the Tideway project from office-based staff, through to site workers, goes through an immersive, multimedia health and safety training day called EPIC (Employer Project Induction Centre). This has now been adapted for Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers to specifically address the challenges they face on London’s busy roads.

More than 150 employees, contractors’ drivers and stakeholders have attended the course since it started running in January this year.

Steve Hails, Tideway’s Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, said: “Keeping everyone working on the project safe is a fundamental philosophy at Tideway.

“One accident at any point during the project would be one too many. This applies at all our constructions sites, offices and along London’s roads. That’s why we launched this innovative driver safety workshop specifically aimed at HGV drivers who will be working on the project.

“While Tideway is committed to transporting over 90 per cent of materials by river and reducing the number of road vehicle journeys needed to build London’s new super sewer, 140,000 HGV trips will be made during the construction period. That’s why it’s important that we place a serious focus on ensuring the safety of all road users during the lifetime of the project.”

EPIC was developed by Active Training Team Ltd for Tideway and is accredited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) purposes.

Dermot Kerrigan, Active Training Team Ltd co-director, said: “We are hugely grateful to Tideway for having the vision to run with our concept. The hope is that this innovative, immersive approach to training will be a game changer for construction and related industries in the years to come.”

Tideway has also invested in new low entry cab vehicles which reduce the risk to vulnerable road users, particularly cyclists, and has been working with the Corporation of London and the City of London Police to inform cyclists of the dangers of getting too close to HGVs.