Document to guide COR obligations; applicable in court
A new set of national standards and procedures, developed by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and the Australian Logistics Council (ALC), has been approved by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to help industry participants meet Chain of Responsibility (COR) obligations and drive better safety outcomes.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says the Industry Master Code of Practice is comprised of four chapters to identify risks and control measures for key areas of speed; fatigue; vehicle standards; and mass, dimension and loading.
It was facilitated from a $433,000 investment through the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).
“The code incorporates technical standards and other guidance material such as the load restraint guide and provides examples of risk controls, while making it clear that adopters must develop and adhere to business practices unique to their operations,” Petroccitto says.
The NHVR also recently unveiled the National Compliance and Enforcement Policy. Read more, here
The code was welcomed by federal transport minister Michael McCormack, who says the code provides directions and guidelines for operators to follow to improve safety outcomes and help meet obligations under the national Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
“Australia’s heavy vehicle industry is taking a voluntary lead to further boost safety by developing this Master Code which establishes national standards to manage heavy vehicle compliance,” McCormack says.
“The NHVR has assessed this Code against its guidelines and approved it for industry-wide adoption.
“The Master Code is the culmination of almost 15 months of work beginning at a workshop attended by 20 industry leaders in August last year.
“[It] will provide the guidance and examples to assist supply chain parties and executive officers in managing their safety duty and due diligence obligations.
ATA CEO Ben Maguire says the Master Code can also be used as evidence of what is known about risks and control methods associated with HVNL compliance.
“The court can use the same document to determine what was reasonably practicable in a given circumstance,” Maguire says.
“The code was developed by the industry itself through extensive consultation and I particularly want to thank our project manager, Peter Elliot, for his exceptional work on this vital safety initiative.”
ATA’s safety accreditation system, TruckSafe, is now in the process of building the master code into its standards to ensure accredited members are compliant with the new truck safety laws that came into effect in October 2018.
Auditing services
The ALC also confirmed it will be offering an auditing service to its members and their supply chain partners in 2019.
The ALC Master Code Auditing Service (AMCAS) will permit industry participants to test their compliance with the Master Code.
“AMCAS will operate in a manner similar to the auditing service that has historically been provided by ALC in respect of the now superseded Retail Logistics Master Code (RLSC) and National Logistics Master Code (NLSC), which were used very effectively by organisations of all sizes to drive better safety in their heavy vehicle operations,” ALC interim CEO Lachlan Benson
“ALC’s decision to deliver AMCAS in 2019 is another demonstration of our commitment to delivering enhanced supply chain safety – and to ensuring a safer environment for all road users.”
The master code can be found here.