2 min read

Chain of responsibility – what you can do

By Joanna Weekes

As discussed in Wednesday’s Health & Safety Bulletin, the chain of responsibility plays an important role in ensuring that all parties in the road transport supply chain:

  • are aware of their obligations under road transport legislation; and
  • understand how their actions can affect road transport worker safety.

And today we will look at the actual chain of responsibility and the obligations laid out for each party in the road transport industry.

Below you will find an outline of the obligations that each party in the road transport supply chain has:

Manager

The person who operates or manages the business that is dispatching the goods must ensure that:

  • drivers’ activities, e.g. work and rest times, are recorded and that those records are kept;
  • rosters are planned to ensure that drivers do not exceed the permitted number of driving hours;
  • vehicle speed limiters are working;
  • loads do not exceed dimension or mass limits; and
  • loads are properly restrained.

Employer

A person who engages someone to drive a heavy vehicle must take all reasonable steps to ensure that their business practices do not cause the driver to drive:

  • in breach of work and rest requirements;
  • in breach of speed requirements; or
  • while fatigued.

Scheduler

The person who schedules the transportation must ensure that the schedule allows the driver to:

  • stay within the speed limit;
  • keep within the permitted number of driving hours; and
  • have minimum rest periods.

Loading manager

The person who loads goods into a vehicle must ensure that the vehicle’s load:

  • remains within dimension or mass limits; and
  • is stable and not able to move or fall.

Packer

The person who packs goods into a vehicle must:

  • document the loads and make sure that the documentation is accurate; and
  • ensure any goods packed in freight containers are within the container’s gross weight or safety approval rating.

Dispatcher

The person who dispatches goods for delivery must ensure that the delivery will not require the driver to:

  • inappropriately secure the load;
  • transport goods that exceed vehicle dimension or mass limits;
  • exceed the permitted number of driving hours;
  • fail to have minimum rest periods; or
  • exceed speed limits.

Driver

A driver of a heavy vehicle must:

  • ensure that the vehicle remains within the dimension or mass limits;
  • ensure the load is properly restrained;
  • ensure all required equipment is appropriately fitted to the vehicle;
  • take the required rest breaks;
  • observe driving hours regulations and speed limits; and
  • drive safely and responsibly.

Receiver

The person who is responsible for ordering or accepting the delivery must ensure that the delivery will not require the driver to:

  • inappropriately secure the load;
  • transport goods that exceed vehicle dimension or mass limits;
  • exceed permitted driving hours;
  • fail to have minimum rest periods; or
  • exceed speed limits.

What you can do

Of course, each of the obligations listed above in the chain of command can be drilled down and discussed at length in terms of the methods you might use to achieve these goals. When considering health and safety legislation there are a number of ways you can reduce the risk and comply with your obligations.

For example, to reduce the risk of shift work (a common occurrence for road transport workers since services are in demand after hours and up to 24 hours a day), of which there are

  • many, on your workers you can:
  • make sure that a shift schedule is created with shift length and frequency in mind;
  • manage overtime hours carefully;
  • schedule sufficient shift breaks;
  • consider implementing a fatigue management plan;
  • train your workers in work/life balance and living a healthy life, e.g. sleeping cycles, diet and nutrition, social life;
  • monitor and supervise shift workers appropriately; and
  • put shift handover procedures in place to ensure adequate communication between those finishing a shift and those beginning a shift.

Remember, if you subscribe to the Health & Safety Handbook, you can refer to the recently released chapter Road Transport Worker Safety for more information about obligations towards road transport workers and what you can do to reduce the health and safety risks for your workers.

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