Hire and Rental News - August 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS hanges to these Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws mean any party in the chain who has influence over the transport activity is responsible for safety on the road. The HRIA featured presentations from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (HVNR) during HIRE18 in Brisbane at the end of May to detail the changes to come into effect and how members should prepare. According to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, in practical terms, this primary duty represents an obligation to eliminate or minimise potential harm or loss (risk) by doing all that is reasonably practicable to ensure safety. As a party in the supply chain, the best way to do this is to have safety management systems and controls in place, such as business practices, training, procedures and review processes that: • identify, assess, evaluate, and control risk; • manage compliance with speed, fatigue, mass, dimension, loading and vehicle standards requirements through identified best practice; • involve regular reporting, including to executive officers; • document or record actions taken to manage safety. The specific party's responsibility for a transport activity will depend on the role the party performs or is required to perform and the party’s ability to control, eliminate or minimise the risk. The NVHR website tells us the Law recognises: “a person may have more than one duty because of the role the person performs or is required to perform” and “Each party in the Chain of Responsibility for a heavy vehicle must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of the party’s transport activities relating to the vehicle.” Each party must: • eliminate or minimise risks related to transport activities; in FOCUS Changes to Chain of Responsibility – New Primary Duty laws in 2018 On 1 October 2018, the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will be amended so every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities. • ensure their conduct does not directly or indirectly cause or encourage the driver of the heavy vehicle to breach the Law or exceed a speed limit; • Also, the party should not cause or encourage another person, including another party in the CoR, to breach the Law. Who is responsible? Under the HVNL, the following people are considered parties in the CoR for a heavy vehicle: • if the vehicle’s driver is an employed driver – an employer of the driver; • if the vehicle’s driver is self-employed – a prime contractor for the driver; • an operator of the vehicle; • a scheduler for the vehicle; • a consignor of any goods in the vehicle; • a consignee of goods in the vehicle; • a packer of any goods in the vehicle; • a loading manager for any goods in the vehicle; • a loader of any goods in the vehicle; • an unloader of any goods in the vehicle. Penalties apply New Primary Duty Penalties in the CoR legislation can be as high as $300,000 for an individual and up to $3m for a corporation. Penalties include: • Category 3 – breaches safety duty; • $50,000 Individual; $500,000 Corporation; • Category 2 – risk of death/injury; • $150,000 Individual; $1.5m Corporation; • Category 1 – recklessness; • 5 years imprisonment, $300,000 Individual; • $3m Corporation. According to Jason Stewart, who led the NVHR presentation at HIRE18, ‘reasonably practicable’ means something that is, or was at the time, reasonably able to be done to ensure health and safety, while taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters including: • the likelihood of the risk occurring; • the degree of harm; • what the person knows about the risk; • ways to remove or reduce the risk & whether they are feasible; • cost of modifying proportional to risk. The NHVR is holding information sessions across Australia to help build the capability to identify risks associated with business’ transport activities and understand how safety management systems can assist in managing that risk and comply with obligations under the HVNL. A video recording of one of the info sessions as well as copies of the presentations delivered can be viewed online at: www.nhvr.gov.au The three takeaways from the NVHR presentations are: • Chain of Responsibility Laws will change for the road transport industry and supply chain in 2018 to focus on safety; • CoR Parties will need to proactively manage the risks involved in their transport operations; • installing safety systems to reduce risks. Safety Management Systems According to the NVHR, a Safety Management System (SMS) is a systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organisational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. It should aim to manage safety risks and ensure the safety of a business’s transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable. When implemented into a business, an SMS will help continuously improve the safety of operations and assist in meeting responsibilities under the HVNL. The framework should cover four major components: 20 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • AUGUST 2018 C