Posties Dodge More Than 200 Hazards Daily

According to the latest safety data collected by Australia Post, over 81,000 hazards were logged by posties in the past 12 months.

That’s a staggering average of more than 200 per day.

The data, tracked and logged by posties on their handheld devices, shows that dogs remain the number one logged hazard encountered, with low-hanging branches and obstructive trees posing another high safety risk.

Some of the more unusual hazards noted included magpie and other bird attacks, insect nests in letterboxes and roped-off driveways.

New South Wales had the highest number of logged hazards throughout the year, with over 20,000, followed by Victoria with almost 19,000.

The top five logged hazards encountered by posties across the country in the past year include:

• Unrestrained or aggressive dogs;
• Low-hanging branches, obstructive trees/bushes;
• Surface conditions such as cracked footpaths and uneven surfaces;
• Letterbox conditions including sharp, jagged or rusted edges; and
• Blind driveways and obstructive cars.

Australia Post rolled out the digital hazard tool 12 months ago in a bid to help reduce incidents and injury to posties.

The hazard tool, provided to every postie, enables them to digitally log a hazard immediately after encountering it.

When the original postie, or another one, approaches a pre-logged location they will receive a warning notification on their device, allowing them to avoid the hazard or take extra care.

Australia Post Executive General Manager Network Operations Rod Barnes highlighted that posties just want to be able to complete their deliveries safely, without hitting their heads on low-hanging branches, navigating badly cracked footpaths or having to avoid aggressive dogs.

“The nature of the job requires our posties to be out and about every day so anything we can do to help keep our team safe and reduce risk is important,” Mr Barnes said.

“This national hazard database allows us to track hazards consistently and accurately, ultimately reducing the risk for our team members.

“Once a hazard is logged in the system we take the necessary steps to try and resolve it for our team.

“This might include engaging local council for issues such as badly cracked pavements or writing to the customer to fix the issue in the case of unrestrained dogs.

“The safety of our team is our number one priority and if they cannot do their job safely then we may be unable to deliver until the hazard is fixed.”

In addition to the hazard tool, Australia Post uses telematics, including video footage and sensors, across its delivery fleet to help reduce serious accidents as its delivery team takes to the streets each day.

• Topics:

• The Workplace