Chain Of Responsibility

Any time you or your business sends or receives goods using a heavy vehicle, you become part of the supply chain. All parties that have control or influence over the transport task are responsible for complying with the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) Liable roles include loading manager, consignee, operator, consignor, scheduler, packer, loader, employer, executive officer, and prime contract. A person may be a party in the supply chain in more than one way and legal liability can apply to their actions, inactions and demands. It’s also important to know the responsibilities of other parties in the chain so that you can raise risks and point out the associated liabilities to parties who may be acting unsafely and prevent accidents from happening, rather than having to prove liability down the track when things go wrong. Common breaches include:

• Setting schedules with unrealistic timeframes.
• Failing to weigh, measure or secure loads.
• Failing to assess driver fitness for duty.

Everyone in the supply chain has a responsibility to ensure the job is done efficiently, effectively and most importantly safely. Most importantly – As a driver, if you feel you are not up to the task and/or something is unsafe – it is OK to say no. Reference and more information https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/chain-of-responsibility/roles-and-responsibilities https://www.nhvr.gov.au/files/201703-0484-cor-check-list.pdf  

Executive Producer: Stephen McCarthy. Operations/Producer: Sarah McCarthy Screen Writer: Jessica Ferrari

Produced by Whiteline Television Canberra with support from the NHVR heavy vehicle safety initiative.