ChemAlert keeps V/Line on the right track

Overview

V/Line Corporation is Australia’s largest regional public transport operator, undertaking millions of train and coach passenger trips annually. Every week, the company operates more than 2000 train services between Melbourne and a number of other towns and cities.

V/Line’s operations required the use of a wide and varied range of chemicals, many of them out in the field along its expansive network.

Previously V/Line has been using a manual system for its chemical safety management system. The organisation wanted to upgrade to a digital system that would provide efficiency and accuracy, ensuring better compliance, safety and risk management, and be more easily available to its dispersed team.

The Challenge

V/Line’s range of chemical products including weld kits for railway tracks, disinfectants, detergents, battery protectors, greasers, brake fluids, chemical cleaners, paints, anti-seize lubrication, sunscreens, line markings and switch plate sprays.

Prior to ChemAlert, V/Line had been using a simplified Excel spreadsheet to list the chemicals used. However this system was unable to record or process what chemicals were ones were being used when. With no online system, the requisite Safety Data Sheets had to be printed, with no easy way to identify updates from manufacturers. The excel and paper-based system could not easily be accessed by the wider employee base.

The Solution

V/Line chose ChemAlert as its preferred chemical safety management system and moved quickly to install the system across their operational network.

ChemAlert meant the use of chemicals, including where and when, would be digitised, and linked to information around the best practice use of the chemical, and safety directions in the case of any incidents. The necessary SDS would also be contained within the system and be automatically updated as new information became available.

V/Line would also be able to upload any SDS’s required that were not in the system, and with an easy-to-use app, ChemAlert could be accessed by staff in the field, ensuing better chemical safety management. making roll-out to staff, backed by the training offered by RMT.

ChemAlert also came backed with RMT’s installation service, training and ongoing support.

“The chemical knowledge we get thorough ChemAlert is vital should an incident occur. It means the manager and team involved can instantly utilise ChemAlert to understand what dangers are posed by the specific chemicals involved, and what precautions and actions to take.”  – Carolyn Ford, HSE Business Partner Programs, V/Line Corporation.

Outcomes

• V/Line has a complete inventory and understanding of all the chemicals it uses, enabling the organisation to replace high-risk chemicals with substitutes that carry lower risk.
• Increased awareness of risks of each chemicals has improved safety planning and responses should there be an incident.
  Internal uptake of ChemAlert was fast due to the easy-to-use interface
• The ChemAlert app means V-Line’s field workers can easily access information around chemical products used.