Australia Post: safety first in the leadup to peak

Australia Post prepares for peak, it is once again calling on Australians to keep an eye out for its posties on the roads, while also revealing the cutting edge technology that’s helping keep its processing teams and delivery drivers safe. 

With online shopping surging through the pandemic,  Australia Post expects a record-breaking Christmas and is using telematics, with data and video from devices installed in thousands of eDVs (electric delivery vehicles), motorcycles, vans and trucks to help identify hazards, educate drivers and reduce risks on the road. 

As well as video footage, sensors help provide further safety analysis while vehicles also have a duress button which pinpoints the location of the driver in order to provide assistance in the case of an emergency or serious incident. 

Australia Post Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director Paul Graham said that while any technological advancement in safety was welcomed there was always a role for people to play in keeping posties safe, by ensuring their dogs are secured on their properties and by looking out for Australia Post eDVs, motorcycles and bikes in their neighbourhood. 

“We want all of our people arriving home safely at the end of their day,” Mr Graham said.  

“We’ve learned a lot about what our people face out on the roads thanks to this technology, it’s going to be crucial in reducing serious incidents which is why we’re rolling it out widely across our fleet.   

“While we’re doing everything we can to keep our people safe, we’d urge Australians to also keep an eye out for their local postie, because they’ll be out their delivering more than ever as we ramp up to Christmas.” 

Telematics systems are being installed across all of Australia Post’s fleet of eDVs, motorcycles and other vehicles.     

And in Australia Post’s facilities, leading-edge local Smart Badge technology is being introduced to help manage COVID-19 contract tracing and social distancing requirements, making identification of close contacts faster and more accurate.  

More than 10,000 of Australia Post’s people have been forced to isolate during the pandemic. This wearable technology which provides instant contact tracing, social distancing alerts and real-time data to manage site capacity will be vital in helping keep as many Australia Post’s people as possible processing and delivering for Christmas.