Chain of Responsibility Training

BusinessBasics is pleased to announce we can now support new and existing clients who require CoR compliance Gap Analysis, consulting and training.

Benefits of a Chain of Responsibility Management System

Chain of responsibility compliance is critical for any business who has a role in the supply chain. Legislation changes in 2018 have tightened regulations in the industry, putting more responsibility in the hands of management to ensure compliance with these laws.

There are plenty of benefits to implementing a chain of responsibility management system – see a few examples below:

Can be incorporated easily into an existing Work Health & Safety (WHS) management system;
Helps demonstrate WHS compliance with regulatory requirements;
Provides systems for ensuring any changes or updates to current processes are considered and any corresponding risks/opportunities are assessed prior to implementation;
Protects the health, safety and welfare of workers;
Provides managers with a means of supporting their workers;
Demonstrates an organisation has the ability to engage with their customers and suppliers on their specific requirements to ensure on-going compliance;
Provides the mechanisms for determining continuing suitability of the management system (internal audits, reviews and evaluations and analysis processes).

Chain of Responsibility is an actionable way to prove your businesses dedicated to the safety of your employees, and the general public. Any business who plays a part in the supply chain needs to ensure they are CoR compliant to avoid fines and possible legal action.

What is CoR?

A set of laws that are aimed at ensuring everyone in the supply chain shares responsibility for ensuring the breaches of the HVNL do not occur. Applicable to heavy vehicles over 4.5tonne gross vehicle mass (GVM).

The CoR laws ‘mean that any party in the chain who has influence over the transport activity is responsible for safety on the road’.
[National Heavy Vehicle Regulation]

The parties in the Chain of Responsibility for a heavy vehicle are:

an employer of a driver
a prime contractor for the driver – if the vehicle’s driver is self-employed
an operator of the vehicle
a scheduler for the vehicle
a loading manager for any goods in the vehicle
a loader and/or unloader of a vehicle
a consignor of any goods for transport by the vehicle
a consignee of any goods in the vehicle
a loader and/or unloader of any goods in the vehicle.

When does CoR apply?

Some examples include:

when a party has control or influence over a transport activity and fails to manage, so far as reasonably practicable, the risk it creates when a party’s business practices cause or encourage the driver of a heavy vehicle to exceed the speed limits
when a party’s business practices cause or encourage the driver of a heavy vehicle to breach mass, dimension, or loading requirements
where instructions, actions or demands to parties in the supply chain cause or contribute to an offence under the HVNL.

This includes any direction, requirement or demand that is given directly or indirectly to a driver of a heavy vehicle or a party in the chain of responsibility that has an impact on compliance, for example:

a consignor or consignee has unrealistic contractual arrangements which causes or encourages the driver to exceed regulated driving hours or drive whilst fatigued
a schedulers business practices, requests or demands, cause or encourage the driver to exceed the speed limit.
Contracts that cause or encourage a driver of a heavy vehicle or a party in the chain of responsibility to break the law are illegal.
In a prosecution, the courts may consider the actions of each party in the supply chain. This includes what measures each party had in place to ensure safe practices and prevent breaches of the HVNL occurring. Prosecution will need to demonstrate to the court that a party in the chain of responsibility did not do all that was reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of the party’s transport activities.

How can BusinessBasics help with CoR compliance?

Gap Analysis

BusinessBasics can help your business with a gap analysis to identify which areas of your business are not yet compliant with the new CoR laws.

Consulting

Our experienced consultants can assist with all types of CoR consulting – from strategy and implementation to full development of your CoR documentation and systems.

Training

BusinessBasics can provide internal training to businesses whose staff require upskilling in the area of the chain of responsibility.

To book in a training session at your business, get in touch with Karen from BusinessBasics today.
Karen Fairman – Sales & Operations Manager
Ph 0488 071 751 or
E: karen@businessbasics.com.au