Section 1: Introduction
The Professional Recovery Operators Safety Executive (PROSE) has been formed by key stakeholders and partners in the recovery and rescue arenas coming together and forming an alliance to promote and enhance safety of recovery and rescue personnel at roadside emergencies. It’s two main initial priorities are to:
Further endorse NHSS17/17B as the minimum standard for any roadside operator to work on any part of the strategic road network, and to promote NHSS17/17B as the minimum standard. It also recognises the NTDA REACT standard.
To improve and enhance safety standards for all attending personnel.
Strategic professionals from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), National Highways, the Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR), the National Tyre Distribution Association (NTDA) and the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) as well as some key industry experts have joined forces to ensure that all relevant issues which impact on roadside safety are acted upon for the benefit of improved safety, ensuring that information is shared, promoted and championed with relevant agencies.
PROSE are delighted to share our new Business Plan which sets out our goals and vision for this group for the next three years.
Ian Greenman – Chairman of PROSE
Section 2: Our Vision
The overriding aim and objective of PROSE is to ensure safety and industry standards are adhered to and prioritised to meet the ever-changing needs of society and technology. Regular meetings and acknowledgment of the industry needs are paramount and through the representatives and their respective organisations, expertise, knowledge and above all professionalism will undoubtedly be on hand to inform, recommend and promote safety standards across the whole industry.
As and when circumstances dictate, additional expertise will be sought and if necessary seconded or added to the group to ensure it represents and reflects the needs of the industry.
Strategic objectives and a mission statement have been created and these will be reviewed annually to ensure they remain current and relevant.
The profile and branding of PROSE has been recognised and formally showcased within respective platforms and a website is currently being developed to ensure that an appropriate portal and database can be accessed to share and promote the work of the group.
Initial priorities for the group will be industry guidance and documentation around electrical vehicles and e-scooters. Engagement and liaison will be sought with the Home Office and Department for Transport along with other key and relevant stakeholders to ensure that PROSE is a voice and represents the recovery and rescue arena. The aim of PROSE is to act as the link to governmental departments, including the Home Office and the Department for Transport, along with all other appropriate departments as necessary and as required. PROSE looks to be that platform that can be approached from workers and government to inform, cascade and link.
The group will meet on a quarterly basis going forward but due to the immediate appetite to make progress, these will be bi-monthly meetings initially.
The group very much looks forward to working towards all aspects of safety standards and making improvements across the industry where required.
If anyone has any immediate concerns they wish to share or inform the group please make contact with the PROSE Chairman – Ian Greenman on igreenman@ukro.org
Section 3: Mission Statement
Essential to progress and indeed success for this group going forward is engagement and acknowledgement as well as recognition within the recovery and rescue industry and the wider roads sector, including Police, Fire & Rescue, Ambulance, Highway Authorities and the Department for Transport.
Formation and composition have been critical in recognising who needs to be part of PROSE to ensure industry representation. As the group now moves forward and starts to make a positive difference and change to improve safety, it is vital that a mission statement is created to reflect why PROSE exists, its overall goal and the aim of its purpose within the recovery and rescue environment.
‘Positively Driving Roadside Safety’
PROSE welcomes and encourages all personnel who operate and participate within such an environment to contribute and contact PROSE at every opportunity where they believe that safety needs to be enhanced, developed or improved upon along with any positive action they recommend.
Section 4: Strategic Objectives
As in any Business Plan it is important to have strategic objectives and the specific actions that we plan to ensure they are delivered.
Our Strategic Objectives:
- Set out the adoption, endorsement and promotion of the sector scheme (NHS17/17B) as the rescue and recovery minimum standard;
- Ensure that the highest safety standards remain at the forefront of the agenda by providing the opportunity to discuss current and emerging issues that may affect NHSS17/17B standards;
- The role of this executive of experts extends to, but is not limited to, exploring best practice from each of their unique viewpoints and identifying potential solutions;
- To provide an expert, joined up, high level communication mechanism when any dialogue or consultation with government agencies such as DfT, HSE, or any other agency requires expert knowledge about vehicle rescue and recovery, in order to raise and maintain safety standards on the road network.
- To be proactive in ensuring the standards remain current through generational changes / challenges, by utilising the Executive’s expertise to highlight potential concerns regarding a safety standard or understand the trends where an additional safety standard may be required, examples as follows:
- Data sharing and info sharing around the strategic road network and the Key Route Network;
- Progressive changes/challenges with EV and hybrid vehicles;
- The introduction of hydrogen vehicles;
- The imminent roll out of driverless vehicles;
- Net Zero challenges when considering all the above;
- Understanding & knowledge that as long as individuals are getting injured then continual improvement will be sought to reduce and mitigate.
Section 5: Performance Management
The Chairman and the Safety Executive are responsible for ensuring that performance against strategic objectives is being achieved to the required level. The attainment of key milestones and progress will be fundamental to the performance management regime. The Chairman will consider the outcomes from the respective decisions made by the Group.
Risk Management:
A risk register for key identified associated risks is being developed and will be maintained by the Safety Executive. This will be monitored and reviewed annually at quarterly meetings.
Legal Responsibilities:
Recovery and Rescue activities take place in an environment that has inherent risks. Legal responsibilities, including our role in the health and safety of workers and those of the public we protect are taken very seriously. Legal advice is accessed consistently and specialised where required. The health and safety of all our members is something we take extremely seriously and we regularly review and assess hazards, quantify risks and agree control measures when required.
Section 6: Creative Content & Social Media Channel Strategy
We deliver insight-driven, engaging multimedia content to amplify PROSE’s value to Vehicle Recovery Operators’ (VRO) lives, communities, the environment and the economy – raising the reputation of PROSE and demonstrating how the group keeps VRO’s safe.
We fulfil our purpose with:
- Value-driven content – Development and delivery of compelling, human stories, based on the good work PROSE does – safer journeys for VRO’s and customers – We achieve this through focusing storytelling, event and scheme content on PROSE’s social value and environmental sustainability work.
- Proactive, insight-driven storytelling – Developing proactive content, informed by insights, to pre-emptively define the narrative for e.g., seasonal recovery issues such education around the safety features – aligned with the Safer Roads campaign. Working collaboratively cross-functionally, we shape the conversations around key issues concerning PROSE’s initiatives.
- Harnessed social media – By aligning and establishing consistency across our social media channels, setting measurable objectives, and targeted storytelling, we’ll increase the reach of our messaging, engaging new audiences, building communities with the goal of nurturing a positive perception of PROSE, based on trust and meaningful engagement.
- Impactful safety content – Enhancing collaboration, creativity and planning for consistent and efficient delivery.
Insight:
- Insights drive everything we do, from helping decide which topics to focus content on, to the assets we use, when to post content, which formats to exploit and success measurement. The objective with insights is to eliminate superficial decision-making based on assumption, instead analysing real-time data to identify trends and in turn enable fact-based decision-making. We’ll continue to use our current suite of tools, with the support of colleagues in National Highways Reputation & Evaluation, and customer teams. This approach doesn’t exist yet, we will take the following steps to enable this capability:
- Establish a working group of internal experts to develop the operating model, define the data sets, surveys and dashboards required to support the application of data-based insight to optimise channel engagement.
- Embed a culture of reliance on data to win conversations, and make informed decisions.
