33 / 60
Head office:
Melbourne
Consultants:
Sydney
•
Brisbane
•
Perth
•
Kyabram
T:
03 9866 4559
E:
enquiries@edxppsr.com.au
W:
www.edxppsr.com.au
EDX is your “one stop shop” for PPSR
PPSR Software
• Registration
• Maintenance
• Search
• File processing
• Reporting
PPSA Services
• Consultancy
• Project Planning
• Enforcement Advice
• Outsourced Registry Management
Need help managing Personal Property Securities for your business?
AUGUST 2012 | ACCESS
in
ACTION | 33
ACCESS in ACTION
By Phil Middleton
EWPA Training Director
I received this email last
week from WorkCover:
WorkCover has been
receiving numerous enquiries
relating to whether persons
are required to hold the
appropriate High Risk Work
Licence when loading plant
onto or unloading plant
from, a vehicle or equipment
used to move the plant.
WorkCover wishes to
confirm a licence is required
when moving plant on and
off vehicles. The email goes on to quote
WHS regulation 2011 part 4.5 clause 82.
Up to the introduction of the new WHS
regulation, transporters of high risk plant
were not required to have the appropriate
high risk licence (HRL).
General principles (sections 13-17)
The WHS Act outlines the general health
and safety duties of PCBUs, officers of
companies, unincorporated associations,
government departments and public
authorities (including local governments),
workers and other people at a workplace.
These general duties require the duty
holder to ensure health and safety, so far
as is reasonably practicable, by eliminating
risks to health and safety. If this is not
possible, risks must be minimised so far as is
reasonably practicable.
Duty holders, when it comes to
transporting plant ask yourself the question,
what are you doing to ensure the health
and safety, so far as reasonably practicable
for you and other workers, and does
the requirement of transporters having
a HRL satisfy the
responsibilities
bestowed upon the
duty holders?
In my opinion the
answer would be a
firm no.
I will use the
example of an EWP
HRL because it is very
specific with the type
of EWP. To explain,
a transport operator
would require a
HRL to load and
unload boom types
11 metres and over
however the transporter would not need an
HRL if he was loading or unloading boom
types under 11 metres or scissor type lifts of
any height.
Does the HRL provide adequate training
for loading, unloading and transporting of
plant? Once again the answer is no.
When it comes to the hire industry,
transport has been seen as a necessary evil
and must be conducted at the cheapest
possible price. Training is short (if any) and
most of the drivers’ experience is self-taught
on the job. It’s not uncommon to hear
comments about transport accidents such
as: “It was the drivers’ fault!” “Dumb truck
driver, he should have known better!”
These throwaway lines blaming the truck
driver are not acceptable. It‘s the industry
that needs to take a long hard look at
itself. It’s the employers that lower the bar
when it comes to minimum knowledge
and experience required to get the job or
become a contractor.
For example, does your company have set
criteria for engaging contract transporters?
Transporting plant - new requirements
Does your company have a training
program for its company drivers?
If the answer is no then you should
urgently consider one or both.
The fact is transporters are having
accidents, some fatal, and it is the industry
as a whole that’s at fault. It’s the industry
that has down played the expertise required
to be a transporter in the hire industry.
The EWPA has a transport training unit
within the Yellow Card program which is
a must for any transporter within the hire
industry.
The EWPA also has a book ‘EWP load
restraint guide’ and an interactive transport
video on the website.
The book aligns itself to the training
program but it also includes operating
methods and procedures which can be a
useful tool for management to develop
company operational procedures.
An example of a modern day
transporter’s skillset could consist of, but
not be limited to:
• Appropriate driver’s licence with a driving
record reflecting safe driving practice
• Construction induction (white card)
• Appropriate high risk licences
• All units of the Yellow Card, including
transport
• Company operational procedure
induction
• Any other relevant site inductions eg:
Railcorp RISI card
Refresher training could consist of:
• Online traffic rules, driver questionnaire
• EWPA interactive transport video
• EWPA interactive EWP video
All of these results are printable and free,
they also contribute to the ongoing training
required as part of the duty holder’s WHS
responsibilities.
HR