Chain of Responsibility Policy

Purpose. This policy sets out how the business meets its primary duty under the Heavy Vehicle National Law to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of its transport activities.

1.Purpose

Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law every party in the supply chain, including consignors, packers, loaders, schedulers, operators and drivers, shares responsibility for preventing breaches of mass, dimension, load restraint, speed and fatigue requirements. This policy applies those duties to Corridor's roles and to the customers and contractors it works with.

2.Our duties as a party in the chain

Corridor acts as a loader, packer, scheduler, operator and, for some customers, a consignor. The business must not make demands, offer incentives or set delivery windows that require a driver to speed, exceed work hours or drive while fatigued. Every delivery schedule will be checked against realistic travel times and the driver's available hours before it is issued.

3.Mass, dimension and load restraint

Loaders must confirm the gross and axle mass of a load against the vehicle's rated capacity before it leaves the dock, using the weighbridge or the declared pallet weights on the consignment note. Loads must be restrained in line with the Load Restraint Guide and the load restraint procedure. Drivers must refuse a load they believe is over mass or inadequately restrained and record the refusal in the consignment record.

• Check declared weights against the vehicle rating
• Use rated straps, chains and gates as specified
• Record the restraint method on the pre-departure checklist
• Report any customer pressure to overload

4.Speed and fatigue

Drivers must comply with speed limits and with the work and rest hours recorded in their work diary. Allocators must not schedule a run that cannot be completed within the driver's remaining hours. The fatigue management policy sets out the limits and the fitness for duty checks that apply.

5.Customers and contractors

Customers will be advised in writing of Corridor's Chain of Responsibility expectations when they open an account, including realistic delivery windows and accurate weight declarations. Subcontracted carriers must hold a current Chain of Responsibility statement, and Corridor will audit at least two subcontractors every year.

6.Reporting and records

Any request that would require a breach, any load refused, and any breach discovered will be reported in the incident register as a Chain of Responsibility event. Records of schedules, work diaries, weighbridge dockets and load checks will be kept for at least three years.