CHAIN OF RESPONSIBILITY POLICY
‘Drive Safe – Arrive Safe”
Purpose: Premier Metals Pty Ltd is committed to enforce compliance with the national Chain of Responsibility Legislation, by taking all reasonable, practicable measures to provide training of staff, and engage only those Transport Contractors who demonstrate through appropriate work practices, and proven policy documentation, compliance with CoR legislation.
This policy applies to all owners, managers, employees, contractors, and visitors, of Premier Metals and/or any of its affiliated companies, that have responsibility for, or involvement in, activities that fall within the scope of Australian road transport laws. This includes roles within logistics supply chain, and support roles, and extends to ALL suppliers to Premier Metals including its customers.
Policy: The Chain of Responsibility Policy is relevant for all areas of Premier Metals logistics and transports, particularly in the areas of transport operations, and warehousing and transport operations.
- Mass & Dimension Limits – Ensuring that all vehicles leave our sites within their mass carrying constraints, and that the mass is distributed appropriately across the loading deck or container with respect to axle weight limits, and safe (shipped) load mass distribution, and that the load is within dimension limits
- Load Restraint – Ensuring that when vehicles and containers are loaded, cargo/load is adequately secured for safe road or ocean transport; and in the case of goods receiving, that loads are carefully checked for load restraint compliance and safe unitised condition before handling, to ensure the safety of unload personnel and operations staff generally.
- Driver Fatigue – Ensuring that drivers are well rested and provided adequate time to take scheduled rest breaks and ensuring that sub-contractors have in place fatigue management policy and strategies that comply with driver fatigue legislation of hazards and ensuring all reasonable measures are taken towards effective minimization of any foreseeable risks to health and safety.
- Speed Limits – Ensure that drivers and staff do not exceed or breeches of road speed limits, including the site limit speed are not breeched or contribute to unsafe work practices.
Vehicle Compliance
Premier Metals ensures operating vehicles, and those of our partner carriers are fully compliant. It is therefore a requirement at Premier Metals that any heavy vehicle(s), (defined as a vehicle that has a Gross Vehicle Mass – GVM of more than 4.5 tonnes), has the following information verified prior to engagement of work
- Vehicle is registered
- Vehicle is insured.
- Vehicle is fit for purpose on general presentation and inspection.
- Vehicle GVM.
- Appropriate load restraints in place prior to loading.
Driver Compliance
Premier Metals ensures that any driver engaged to do work on its behalf, have the following information verified prior to commencement, and that it is maintained for the duration of any such engagement:
- Appropriate class and current Australian Heavy Vehicle Driver’s License.
Fatigue Management
Premier Metals takes all reasonable steps to ensure all parties in the supply chain with which it is directly involved, identify risks associated with fatigue, and that they are minimised and controlled, or wherever possible eliminated through good management and workplace practices. Compliance and enforced management of this policy requires:
- Drivers are educated in road transport fatigue management rules and regulations.
- Drivers take statutory rest breaks when required, and that those rest breaks are included in trip planning by schedulers.
- Contractors have documented fatigue management and training strategies in place in their organisations, and that these are maintained.
Mass & Dimension Limits
Premier Metals takes all reasonable steps ensure that loads direct from its sites, and external loads comply with axle mass limits, and comply with statutory legislation governing mass limits on Australian roads in all states of Australia. The policy requires that:
- All consignment documentation declares accurate cargo weight and dimensions
- For drivers transporting shipping containers, a container weight (and over-dimensional)
- All consignment notes are signed before departure by drivers to ensure they are aware of the
mass and dimensions of the cargo load they are undertaking.
- Drivers shall NEVER be pressured to transport a load they do not feel is compliant in mass or
dimension.
- All equipment for the restraint of mass limit loads is compliant to Australian standards and
free of wear or damage that may compromise is effective purpose of use.
Speed Limit Management
Premier Metals takes all reasonable steps ensure that all its employee and contractor drivers (of any road vehicle) do not breach Australian road speed limits. This Policy requires that:
- It is expected that licenced drivers do not need education on Australian road speed limit compliance, and therefore breaches of speed limits resulting in fines, will be the responsibility of the driver, and if the offense is severe, the driver will be terminated immediately.
Load Restraint
Premier Metals ensures that all loads undertaken are restrained safely and in accordance with load restraint guidelines, and legislation in all states for Australia. This Policy requires that:
- All loads departing and arriving Premier Metals sites are restrained safely
- The type of load restraint may differ, however where possible Premier Metals will select vehicles
and contractors who operate universally preferred load restraint systems.
- All load restraint systems are inspected regularly
BREACHING THE POLICY
Premier Metals has set in place a responsible, reasonable, and achievable CoR policy, which aims to care for the safety, lives, and wellbeing, of all our employees, contractors, and those in the community, and the environment. Compliance to the policy by managers, employees, and contractors are a critical pursuit of the Freight. By breaching the policy Premier Metals may take the following actions subject to breach type.
- Re Educating of employees and contractors for determined knowledge gaps, or unexpected events, or accidental non-conformance.
- Termination of employment for clear breaches of this CoR policy or related legislation.
- Immediate termination of employees or contractors for negligent or deliberate non conformance
to this CoR policy or related legislation.
- Legal action against employees or contractors for severe breaches of this CoR policy or related
legislation in any State of Australia, which results in injury, loss of life or cargo, cargo and or property damage, environmental harm, or community disruption.
