Chain of Responsibility (CoR)
Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) and outlined in the Master Code, make every party in the supply chain responsible for their role in supply chain safety.
All parties in the supply chain may be held liable for on-road breaches of mass, dimension, load restraint, speed, fatigue and vehicle roadworthiness, to the extent that they perform any task or part of a task relating to those key areas, regardless of whether they own or operate a heavy vehicle (weighing 4.5 tonnes and above).
In addition, businesses can still be in breach of the laws simply by failing to have in place business practices aimed at addressing CoR risks as part of their transport activities – without the need for an on-road incident to have actually occurred.
How many of these roles apply to your business and where does your role fit in with CoR?
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Employer - A person who employs a driver of a heavy vehicle.
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Consignee - The named receiver of goods after their completion of road transport.
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Prime Contractor - A person responsible for engaging a driver of a heavy vehicle by contract.
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Packer - A person engaged in the process of packaging goods for a heavy vehicle load.
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Operator - A person responsible for controlling or directing the use of a heavy vehicle.
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Loading Manager - A person who supervises loading or unloading or manages the premises where this occurs.
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Scheduler - A person who plans the transport of goods or schedules the work and rest times of a driver.
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Loader and Unloader - A person engaged in the process of loading or unloading a heavy vehicle.
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Consignor - The named sender of goods by road transport.
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Driver - The driver will no longer bear sole responsibility for any legislative breaches.
Each party must be able to demonstrate that they have considered the risks associated with these areas and have taken the necessary steps to identify and control them.
The legislation allows regulators to investigate and prosecute all parties along the entire supply chain.
Penalties and fines have been changed in line with the new primary duty.
Category 1 (Recklessness)
$ 300, 000 - Individual
$ 3 Million - Corporation
Category 2 (Risk of death / injury)
$ 150, 000 - Individual
$ 1.5 Million - Corporation
Category 3 (Breeches of safety duty)
$ 50, 000 - Individual
$ 500, 000 - Corporation
How can you comply with your Chain of Responsibility Obligations?
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, policies & procedures, training and review processes that:
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identify, assess, evaluate, and control risk,
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manage compliance with speed, fatigue, mass, dimension, loading and vehicle standards requirements through identified best practice
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ensure that parties engaged by your business or organisation such as subcontractors, are also compliant and monitoring of their level of compliance is in place
How Lojix can assist your business comply with CoR:
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Conduct an independent gap analysis of your business to determine the level of compliance with CoR and Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
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Provide a comprehensive audit report identifying level of compliance & recommendations on how you can meet your Chain of Responsibility obligations in each area.
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Areas audited:
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Business Practices
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Operating Policies & Procedures
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Risk Management
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Staff Training
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Contract/Subcontractor Management
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Speed
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Fatigue
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Mass, Dimension & Loading
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Vehicle Standards
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Chain of Responsibility documentation including policies, procedures & risk assessments
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Conduct audits of subcontractors currently engaged by your business or as part of a pre-engagement assessment, identifying areas of exposure and ensure due diligence has been carried out on their level of compliance. (See our subcontractor management service for more details)