CARTAGE OBLIGATIONS SUMMARISED

There are a wide number of compliance requirements in meeting your obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2007, Road Safety Act 1986 and Owner Drivers & Forestry Contractors Act 2005 when engaging cartage contractors. SARAH ANDREW investigates these.

CARTAGE is an integral component in the supply of construction materials to Victorians. Without it, construction materials would be unsaleable. With it, complex management systems are required to ensure materials are delivered safely and on time.

This article has been developed using the support document recently prepared by the CMPA and will be available from the CMPA in the coming weeks.

It broadly covers these management systems and provides tools to utilise onsite. It provides this in a general form applicable to all construction material transporters irrespective of vehicle configuration.

This publication is titled, ‘Compliance requirements for cartage of construction materials’ and will be mailed directly to all CMPA Members. In addition, the finished document will be available on the CMPA’s website and hardcopies from the CMPA’s office.

CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY

In 2005, VicRoads introduced new provisions to the Road Safety Act 1986 meaning that the Chain of Responsibility also applies to mass and dimension limits, and load restraint requirements.

The Chain of Responsibility means that anybody (not just the driver) who has control in a transport operation can be held responsible for breaches of road laws and may be made legally liable.

In other words, if you use road transport as part of your business, you share responsibility for ensuring breaches of road laws do not occur.

So if a breach of road transport law occurs due to your action, inaction or demands, you may be legally accountable.

Put simply this means:

Control = Responsibility = Legal Liability

All parties involved in the transport process have obligations under this system, from the person commissioning the order, the person loading or otherwise supplying the order, to the person receiving the order.

More information on this issue is available within the CMPA’s document or alternatively from VicRoads.

NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE ACCREDITATION SCHEME

The National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) assists heavy vehicle operators to comply with three areas: mass management, maintenance management and fatigue management.

Mass Management

Mass management accreditation encourages heavy vehicle operators to take more responsibility for loading their trucks correctly and ensuring that their trucks are not overloaded.

Accreditation allows operators to operate at Concessional Mass Limits (CML) which are generally 5% higher than the General Mass Limits (GML) (subject to several limitations). It also gives operators preferential treatment from enforcement agencies.

Maintenance Management

Maintenance management accreditation helps you manage your business more efficiently. You will have clear procedures to ensure your vehicles are correctly maintained and the risk of penalty for faulty vehicles or equipment will be reduced, leading to improved road safety. Better maintenance means fewer breakdowns and fewer unachieved delivery deadlines.

Fatigue Management

Employers and customers will be held accountable for dangerous work schedules and long truck queues, which are major causes of fatigue.

The new laws apply to trucks and buses with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of over 12 tonnes or a combination, if the total is over 12 tonnes.

There are three different methods by which a site can ensure compliance, that off er different levels of complexity in return of allowable hours.

CMPA Support Tools

In recognition of the above mentioned and other obligations that sites need to ensure compliance to, the CMPA has developed a number of tools which should assist in your site achieving compliance.

These include:

Owner Drivers Transport Contract: This is a template contract that clearly articulates the agreement between the cartage contractor and the construction material processing business engaging their services. All variable aspects of this agreement are contained to the schedules at the end of the document to ensure it is easy to use.

On Road Tip Truck Pre Start and End Day Safety Checklist: The checklist is to be used as a preventative measure to ensure all required areas of on road vehicles are checked before, during and at the end of production or daily operation.

Cement Agitator Pre Start and End Day Safety Checklist: This was developed at the request of Members who highlighted the differing maintenance requirements between cement agitators and on road tip trucks and hence the need for separate checklists.

On Road Truck Pickup & Delivery Checklist: This document has been developed to review the actual site to ensure a load can be delivered safely and to customer expectations.

These support tools are readily available from the CMPA – simply contact the office for further details.

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