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Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Heavy Vehicle Compliance Officer

Ever wondered about the challenges faced by the unsung heroes of the transportation industry - the heavy vehicle compliance officers? In this exclusive behind-the-scenes journey, we shed light on a day in the life of these dedicated professionals, exploring the intricate challenges they encounter and how cutting-edge compliance software plays a pivotal role in easing their workload.

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Empowering Heavy Vehicle Drivers: The Importance of Ongoing Training and Support

In the realm of heavy vehicle operations, drivers play a pivotal role as the backbone of transportation networks across Australia. However, with this critical role comes a significant responsibility, as driving heavy vehicles ranks among the most dangerous jobs in the country. As such, it is imperative to prioritise ongoing training, support, and empowerment for drivers to ensure their safety and compliance with the Heavy Vehicle National Law and road rules.

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Navigating Compliance Evolution: From Chain of Responsibility to a Safety-Centric Approach

In the ever-evolving landscape of heavy vehicle regulation, the transition from the traditional "Chain of Responsibility" (CoR) model to the contemporary safety-centric approach has marked a paradigm shift. The 2018 amendments to the heavy vehicle national law brought forth a fundamental change in compliance dynamics, replacing the stringent CoR obligations with a primary duty to ensure safety. Despite this shift, apprehensions still linger within the transport industry, particularly among operators who perceive a risk-averse stance towards driver breaches as the epitome of compliance.

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News Archive

Jun 8, 2023

Fatigue, Fatigue, Fatigue

Heavy vehicle driver fatigue is getting a lot of attention at the moment with “work diary” blitz’s at enforcement Heavy Vehicle Safety Stations (HVSS) and individual driver’s being given bigger and bigger fines. A quick review of the NHVR’s Court Outcomes page shows a lot of recent fines for drivers breaching their work / rest option requirements. In one example, from a court ruling on 5 May 2023 a heavy vehicle was intercepted on the Hume Highway at Marulan and the authorised officers while inspecting the driver’s work diary identified two breaches within a 24-hour period. The driver under standard hours had worked for a total of 19.5 hours and had only rested for 1.5 hours, even though the driver was aware that they were only allowed to work up to 12 hours in any 24-hour period.

May 25, 2023

NHVAS CML + HML Mass Management Automation

High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV) which include PBS vehicles with a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) in excess of 68.5t and quad-axle semi-trailers in excess of 46.0t GCM will require Smart On-Board Mass (OBM) to operate in Victoria by 30 June 2023. Other jurisdictions will be mandating Smart OBM with Telematics Monitoring Application (TMA) tracking in the near future.

May 25, 2023

In this together - building safety culture

Heavy vehicle drivers have a significant role to play in ensuring that the road network is safe for all road users. Often the responsibility that driver's bear is overlooked even by the drivers themselves. For transport operators the decisions made by the drivers are the last line of defence between a safe and compliant operation and a dangerous and non compliant one. Safety culture is about being proactive and is very different from the compliance culture many businesses opt for.

May 12, 2023

The Brisbane Truck Show

This year's Brisbane Truck Show begins next week and we look forward to seeing you there. Amongst other things while at the show we will be keen to catch up with the 40+ telematics companies displaying their products. Having this many providers at one show highlights the increasingly important role that technology is playing in the transport industry.

May 11, 2023

Fatigue Management - Getting the basics right

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has prosecuted a logging company and its Director based in Tasmania, following pleas of guilty to serious offences under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). An extensive investigation by the NHVR revealed ongoing fatigue breaches by the company. Over a 12-month period, the company had 251 fatigue-related breaches which were undetected by the company and Director.

Apr 27, 2023

Dog trailer coupling maintenance - A timely reminder

Earlier this month Work Safe Victoria successfully won an appeal to increase a fine for a heavy vehicle mechanical workshop from $210,000 to $350,000 following a fatal truck crash that claimed three lives in 2014. A WorkSafe investigation found the tow-eye coupling that connected the prime mover and trailer was excessively worn and had failed under load. At the time of the incident it had been used for more than three years and 350,000 kilometres.

Apr 20, 2023

What if we train them and they leave? What if you don’t and they stay??

Driver competency is one of those issues that many of our customers have questions about, some of the questions include:How much training / assessment should we do?When do we need to do it?Do we need refresher training?We see at one end of the spectrum some businesses simply hand over the keys to a new driver. At the other end they employ dedicated driver trainers and have multi week induction and “buddy up” periods. Which are then followed by a verification of competency (VoC) assessment before the drivers are allowed to drive / work by themselves.

Apr 13, 2023

NHVR Case Learnings - April 2023

The NHVR has released a case learnings document on offenses under the Heavy Vehicle National Law following a Supreme court decision involving an owner operator of a towing company this month. The NHVR lodged an appeal against a Magistrates decision on the legal meaning of the term ‘reckless’. The case learnings document includes guidance for industry on how to meet your primary duty obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

Apr 6, 2023

Zero-base your HVNL compliance

Zero-base means to work without reference to a base figure or to previous practice. This means that one works according to present needs only, as opposed to a percentage increase or decrease of previous figures or because that is what we have always done. How does zero-base apply to HVNL Compliance? We use this term often with our customers as they are mostly established businesses with standardised processes, systems and practices / routines that have organically grown overtime or simply passed from one person to the next as “the way we do business”.

Apr 6, 2023

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has released the Regulatory Advice: Heavy vehicle safety technology and telematics. This advice basically describes the reason behind Unavin Software Platform development - Transport Compliance Infrastructure.

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