{"id":1926,"date":"2022-05-30T16:36:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T06:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartedriver.com\/?p=1926"},"modified":"2022-05-31T09:08:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T23:08:14","slug":"chain-of-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartedriver.com\/chain-of-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Chain of Responsibility (CoR)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chain of Responsibility is a part of the HVNL (heavy vehicle national legislation) which holds every party in the heavy vehicle supply chain accountable for safe business practices. It is less about on-road driver offences and more about ensuring off-road parties are held accountable for their actions (or inactions) which may result in driver breaches on the road. It is a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n

CoR is all about changing the behaviour of off-road parties to relieve pressure put on drivers. When you look at most on-road offences, they can usually be traced back to the pressure put upon drivers by others in the supply chain. For example, a scheduler may be setting driver schedules which are unrealistic and unattainable, which may cause the driver to speed or engage in dangerous activities. In this case, the scheduler should be held accountable for breaching CoR requirements.<\/p>\n

In chain of responsibility, every person in your business who participates in the process of heavy vehicle transport, from an executive to a consignor, is held accountable for performing their role safely and doing as much as they can to minimise and manage risk. Every person who has influence over transport activity is considered to be responsible for safety on the road.<\/p>\n

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Who is Part of the Chain of Responsibility? CoR Parties Explained.<\/h2>\n

More than half of the CoR functions are related to people and organisations that do not own or operate a heavy vehicle. If you are confused about whether your business is part of the CoR, you only have to identify whether it either sends or receives goods via a heavy vehicle. If the answer is yes, your business is part of the chain of responsibility.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that driving a heavy vehicle is not one of the CoR functions. However, when the driver is undertaking other functions, such as loading or unloading a heavy vehicle, then the driver and their employer are CoR parties. This is because CoR parties are not based on job titles or job descriptions, but by the functions that are performed, as you\u2019ll see below.<\/p>\n

There are ten functions that the NHVR has identified to decide who is a chain of responsibility party.<\/p>\n

1. You Employ Someone Who Drives a Heavy Vehicle
\n<\/strong>You may not drive the heavy vehicle, but you have hired and are responsible for managing an employee who does.<\/p>\n

2. You Contract Someone to Drive a Heavy Vehicle as a Service
\n<\/strong>You are a prime contractor if you engage someone to drive a heavy vehicle under contract for services.<\/p>\n

3. You Direct the Control and Use of a Heavy Vehicle
\n<\/strong>Operators have influence over how and when goods are dispatched and delivered.<\/p>\n

4. You Schedule Goods, Passengers or Drivers
\n<\/strong>Schedulers are responsible for the scheduling of goods or passengers via heavy vehicle, or the scheduling of driver work and rest hours.<\/p>\n

5. You are the Sender of Goods via Heavy Vehicle Transportation
\n<\/strong>Consignors are those in a business who are in charge of dispatching items from a warehouse to their destination.<\/p>\n

6. You are the Receiver of Goods via Heavy Vehicle Transportation
\n<\/strong>Consignees are those in a business who receive inwards goods delivered by heavy vehicles.<\/p>\n

7. You Assemble or Pack Goods to be Delivered by Heavy Vehicle
\n<\/strong>Packers work in warehouses or workshops to pack and fulfil orders.<\/p>\n

8. You Manage a Premises Where at Least Five Heavy Vehicles are Loaded or Unloaded Each Day
\n<\/strong>Loading managers have a wide range of responsibilities to ensure heavy vehicles are loaded and unloaded in a safe and productive manner.<\/p>\n

9. You Load Goods into a Heavy Vehicle
\n<\/strong>Loaders are the ones who pack heavy vehicles with goods in order to transport them to their destination.<\/p>\n

10. You Unload Goods from a Heavy Vehicle
\n<\/strong>Unloaders are those who work to unload goods from heavy vehicles at their destination.<\/p>\n

CoR Primary Duty<\/h2>\n

You may have heard the term primary duty<\/em> used when talking about chain of responsibility. The NHVR identifies primary duty as \u2018the obligation to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the safety of your transport activities<\/em>.\u2019 In a nutshell, primary duty refers to your responsibility to do everything possible to minimise risks and hazards that may arise from your transport activities.<\/p>\n

Primary duty applies to all parties in the chain of responsibility. It requires the party to eliminate or minimise the risk of the transport activities they influence or control, so far as is reasonably practicable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Things You Must Do Under Primary Duty<\/h3>\n

When it comes to transport activities within your business, you must do the following:<\/p>\n