Case Study
Travis Perkins Achieves 51% Reduction in Manual Handling Injuries
UK's largest builders' merchant transforms warehouse safety with real-time coaching technology
Key Results
About Travis Perkins
Travis Perkins is the UK's largest distributor of building materials, operating over 1,200 branches across the country. With a workforce handling heavy building materials daily—from timber and bricks to plumbing supplies and tools—the company has long prioritized workplace safety.
The physical demands of the building materials trade mean employees regularly lift, carry, and maneuver heavy items throughout their shifts. This makes manual handling injury prevention a critical business priority.
The Challenge
Despite comprehensive safety training programs and ergonomic guidelines, Travis Perkins faced ongoing challenges with manual handling injuries:
- Heavy materials handling: Daily work involves lifting and moving building materials weighing up to 25kg repeatedly throughout shifts
- Varied work environments: Employees work in diverse settings from warehouses to outdoor yards, each with unique ergonomic challenges
- Training retention: Traditional classroom training wasn't translating into consistent safe practices during actual work
- Injury costs: Manual handling injuries were the leading cause of lost time incidents, impacting both employee wellbeing and operational costs
- Measurement gaps: Difficulty quantifying the effectiveness of safety interventions and identifying high-risk behaviors before injuries occurred
The SoterCoach Solution
Travis Perkins implemented SoterCoach across multiple distribution centers and high-volume branches, focusing on roles with the highest manual handling demands.
Implementation Strategy
1. Targeted Rollout
Began with warehouse and yard teams handling the heaviest materials, then expanded to customer service and delivery roles
2. Employee Buy-In
Emphasized personal safety benefits and positioned technology as a coaching tool, not a monitoring device
3. Manager Enablement
Trained branch managers to use analytics for coaching conversations and recognizing improvement
4. Integration with Existing Programs
Connected SoterCoach data with existing safety management systems and incident reporting
How It Works
Employees wear a small, lightweight device clipped to their clothing that monitors body movements throughout their shift. When the device detects high-risk movements—such as excessive bending, twisting, or reaching—it provides gentle vibration feedback, prompting the worker to adjust their technique in real-time.
Managers access aggregated, anonymized data through a dashboard that highlights trends, identifies areas needing additional support, and tracks improvement over time.
Measurable Impact
Within 18 months of implementation, Travis Perkins achieved significant improvements across safety and operational metrics:
Significant decrease in reportable manual handling incidents across participating sites
Substantial improvement in bending and twisting movements during material handling
Combined savings from reduced injuries, workers' compensation, and lost time
High adoption rate with employees reporting increased awareness of safe techniques
Employee Perspectives
"I've been lifting heavy materials for 15 years, and I thought I knew all the right techniques. SoterCoach showed me I was still making risky movements without realizing it. The gentle vibration reminds me to adjust before I hurt myself. It's like having a personal safety coach with me all day."
"The data from SoterCoach has transformed how we approach safety conversations. Instead of generic reminders, we can have specific discussions about the movements that matter most. The team appreciates the objective feedback, and we've seen real behavior change."
"SoterCoach has delivered results beyond our expectations. The reduction in manual handling injuries has been significant, but equally important is the cultural shift we've seen. Our teams are more engaged with safety, and that's creating lasting change across the business."
Building a Safer Future
The success of SoterCoach at Travis Perkins has led to broader organizational changes:
- Expanded deployment: Rolling out to additional branches based on strong results from initial sites
- New employee onboarding: Integrating SoterCoach into training programs for new hires in manual handling roles
- Process improvements: Using movement data to redesign workflows and reduce ergonomic risks at the source
- Supplier engagement: Sharing insights with suppliers to improve packaging and material handling design
- Industry leadership: Positioning Travis Perkins as a safety innovator in the building materials sector
The combination of technology-driven coaching and cultural commitment to safety has created sustainable improvements that continue to benefit both employees and the business.
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