News Archive

How We Uphold the Chain of Responsibility

28/07/2016
At Silk Contract Logistics, our number one focus is safety. Without dedicated safety procedures, our gears would not turn, our employees would feel unsafe and we would not have a happy, welcoming workplace culture. We always want employees to return home to their families after a job well done. Safety in the industrial workplace does not come organically, though. It’s important that structures and procedures are in place to promote safety at every step of the supply chain. Some might think that proper safety procedures begin in the warehouse, where the action is. On first glance, the warehouse is more imminently dangerous than the admin offices – after all, the possibility of falling objects and forklifts causes more unease than anything. When you dig a little deeper though, safety is everywhere, from the senior management down. At Silk, we always promote this “chain of responsibility” way of thinking, which makes safety the responsibility of everyone in the supply chain. And we think this is a much fairer way of doing things that helps everyone.

Top-down approach

The most important promotion of safety comes from our senior management team. At every opportunity, safety should be infused into the company culture; it should never be a second thought. Every morning, our staff participate in small team meetings that set the tone for the day. At these meetings, the leader will always stress safe work practices and get staff enthused about their upcoming tasks. We know that these meetings make such a difference and we can see it in the way staff approach their jobs. Without the top-down approach to safety, our warehouse staff would not feel as inspired to take up the reins themselves. When they see the team of directors doing it, though, they’re much more inclined to follow suit.

Publishing our efforts

At Silk Contract Logistics, we pride ourselves on our approach to top-down safety management. Every quarter, we publish a magazine for all internal stakeholders. The purpose of our in-house publication is to keep everyone on the same page, so to speak, and inform everyone from the management team down of our practices. Keeping our people informed about data and procedures – and share the reason behind our decisions – means they’re likely to follow suit.

Stringent procedures

Our risk and governance team is passionate about safe practices. After all, it’s what they’re here for. Working together, they develop protocols and systems that are rolled out across the company. No matter which stage of the supply chain your order is in – whether it’s being handled at the dock or picked and packed in the warehouse, each of our people follows the rules indubitably. BACK TO NEWS