Transport and Deliveries

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that HY fulfils its responsibilities to ensure the safety of transport, deliveries, and loading/unloading activities.

Responsibilities

HY Project Team

• Discuss processes for ensuring safe procurement, delivery, and handling of materials at the Pre-Award meeting with Subcontractors
• Ensure scheduling of activities and construction programs do not impose undue pressure on parties of supply chains to breach their obligations
• Ensure delivery activities are assessed as part of the Project HSE Risk Assessment
• Ensure delivery activities are coordinated and any project-specific transport/delivery requirements are communicated to workers
• Ensure that SWMS are in place where required

Subcontractor Management/Supervisors

• Ensure their duties as parties in the Chain of Responsibility (COR) under the HVNL are fulfilled
• Ensure their processes and work instructions do not directly or indirectly impose undue pressure on parties of supply chains to breach their obligations
• Ensure workers and personnel involved in delivery, loading, and unloading activities are signed onto relevant SWMS

Loader/Unloader

Loader responsibilities include ensuring a vehicle’s load:

• Does not exceed vehicle mass or dimension limits
• Does not cause the vehicle to exceed mass limits
• Is placed in a way so it does not become unstable, move, or fall off the vehicle.

Unloader responsibilities include:

• Ensuring the vehicle and its load have been assessed for potential hazards, and controls implemented, if necessary, prior to conducting unloading activities
• Delays in unloading are prevented
• Plant and equipment used to unload materials are suitable for the unloading activities

Hazard Identification Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC)

All risks associated with receiving and unloading deliveries and loading materials to be transported off site are to be included in the project risk register. The following should be considered when identifying controls:

• Schedules and delivery windows
• Designated loading/unloading areas and vehicle standby areas
• Loading/Unloading Exclusion Zones (LUEZ) or Driver Safe Zones
• Plant and equipment used in loading/unloading activities
• Project site layout
• Potential hazards of load restraint
• Vehicle suitability and roadworthiness
• Facilities available to drivers to prevent fatigue

Control measures should include but is not limited to:

• Checking if any freight has moved in transit
• Checking all load restraint devices in place
• Assessing if any freight could move or become unstable if the load restraint devices are removed
• Ensuring the delivery vehicle is correctly positioned and level

If any of the above risks are identified, then further controls need to be developed.

Project Specific Processes

Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS)

SWMS are to be in place where the method of unloading is considered HRW and/or where the subcontractor/receiver is using their own equipment to load/unload. Consideration should also be given to the material being unloaded when developing SWMS, for example;

• Concrete pipes or elements
• PVC or FRC pipes that are stacked more than 1 high
• Structural steel
• Precast panels
• Formwork tables

The receiving Subcontractor’s representative is to ensure that workers involved with delivery, loading, and unloading activities are familiar with any SWMS relevant to the work being undertaken in accordance with the Safe Work Method Statement procedure.

Site Establishment

When establishing the site, consideration of safe delivery activities must be considered. This includes considering the following:

• Transport routes into and out of site
• Designated loading/unloading areas
• Driver Safe Zones

The above are to be marked on the Site Layout Plan.

Driver Safe Zones are to be in the line of sight of the Loader and in areas not impacted by loading/unloading activities. Established Driver Safe Zones are to be identified with signage and delineated where appropriate. Placement of the Driver Safe Zone should be, where possible, under cover or in a shaded area.

Traffic management must be established as per the Traffic Management procedure.

Delivery Drivers

Delivery Drivers that may be exposed to construction activities/areas must complete a Delivery Driver Induction. HY’s preference is to use HammerTech for driver inductions through the Driver Induction module, or drivers that attend site regularly can be fully inducted as registered personnel. If a paper/offline driver induction is used on the project, records are to be uploaded into the Registers module. HammerTech Project Administrators are responsible for updating project-specific delivery information in their site induction.

Upon completion of the Delivery Driver Induction, the driver will receive a Delivery Driver Induction Identifier (i.e. sticker, number etc) which is to be displayed when on that site.

Drivers are to comply with site rules, speed limits and internal road signage, traffic control, minimum PPE requirements, and any instructions from HY representatives when on site.

Delivery Drivers must have:

• Applicable class vehicle licence
• High Risk Work Licence as applicable (i.e. if operating a Vehicle Loading Crane)
• White Card/General Construction Induction Card (or recognised Interstate equivalent) if they are using plant to load/unload material

Drivers do not need a White Card if they are not involved in the loading/unloading of materials. Additionally, if they are escorted and supervised by an inducted worker, or remain within the designated Driver Safe Zone, a White Card is not mandatory.

Note: Delivery vehicles not entering the construction area (i.e. courier deliveries to the site office) do not need to undergo a Delivery Driver Induction.

Licence Types

• LR (Light Rigid) – Rigid vehicles with a GVM of more than 4.5 tonnes, but not more than 8 tonnes. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes.
• MR (Medium Rigid)- Rigid vehicles with 2 axles and a GVM of more than 8 tonnes. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes.
• HR (Heavy Rigid -Rigid vehicle with 3 or more axles and a GVM of more than 8 tonnes. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes.
• HC (Heavy Combination) – Heavy combination vehicles, such as a prime mover towing a semi-trailer, or rigid vehicles towing a trailer with a GVM of more than 9 tonnes.
• MC (Multi Combination) – Multi combination vehicles such as road trains and B-doubles.

Delivery Vehicles

Delivery vehicles are to be in a roadworthy condition and fit for purpose for the load they are transporting. This means the vehicle is to be suitable for transporting the type of load, its mass, dimension, configuration, and have the appropriate structure and equipment for required restraints.

HY will record and report any observations of unsafe or defective heavy vehicle.  This includes obvious and readily observable faults or defects such as balding tyres and damaged equipment or components.  

Vehicle Loading Cranes (VLCs)

Vehicles being unloaded using VLCs (i.e., vehicle fitted with a Hiab crane) require the relevant Plant Safety Verification checklist to be completed

Operators of VLCs, and doggers involved in VLC unloading activities must have the appropriate competencies per the below:

Tri-Axle Tip Over Axle (TOA) Tippers

Tri-Axle TOA semi tippers are a tip trailer whereby the trailer hinges directly from the rear axle and is not contained within the chassis of the trailer allowing the front two axles to leave the ground when unloading.

Planning and Scheduling

Transport and delivery activities are to be planned to allow sufficient time for drivers to achieve timeframes without breaching speed limits or exceeding their workable hours, and for vehicles to be safely loaded/unloaded whilst on site.

The Bookings module in HammerTech is Hansen Yuncken’s preferred method for scheduling deliveries to site. Project teams are to consult with the State/Regional HSE Manager to use alternative options to schedule bookings if using HammerTech is not feasible.

Wherever possible, bookings are to be made at least 24 hours in advance. Unscheduled arrivals may be accepted or rejected at the discretion of the project team, per their rights of refusal.

Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Project Team for expected arrivals where it is not feasible to make a scheduled booking; for example, concrete trucks, multiple semis removing material or fill, pump trucks etc. These are to be managed by the receiving party as the Consignee in the Chain of Responsibility and must be arranged with the Site Manager in advance.

Booking cut off times for the project may be set by the Project Team within in HammerTech to manage delivery scheduling – these cut off times are visible to registered project personnel within HammerTech.

Loading and Unloading

Loading/unloading areas and Delivery Driver Safe Zones are to be delineated from people/plant and be set up as a Loading/Unloading Exclusion Zone (LUEZ) where appropriate.

Loading and unloading must not be delayed as this may impact other deliveries, site activities, or impose on the driver’s workable hours. This includes:

• Adhering to scheduled pick-up and delivery windows and taking steps to advise operators and drivers in advance if delays occur
• Ensuring that equipment and personnel required for loading and unloading are available in a timely fashion

The Work at Height procedure and the Cranes and Lifting procedure must also be complied with when loading and unloading vehicles.

A Load Restraint Risk Assessment may be used prior to unloading to provide a higher level of certainty if those involved in loading/unloading activities feel there is something different, difficult, or dangerous about the task.

The Load Restraint Risk Assessment is accessed via the Registers module in HammerTech.

Right Of Refusal

HY has the right to refuse deliveries to site that are unexpected or unscheduled, however efforts should be made to accommodate the delivery if the means of unloading are available.

Where HY is the loader, or where a vehicle is being loaded on site, HY has a right to refuse/prevent loading if any of the following are identified:

• The vehicle is deemed to be unsafe or not roadworthy
• The vehicle is inappropriate for the mass/dimensions/type of the load
• The appropriate restraints are not available
• The number of restraints needed to secure the load safely are not available
• The driver appears to be fatigued
• Any other factor that causes HY or the loader to believe the load cannot be transported safely

In any case, the above should be addressed, notified to the Site Manager in the first instance, and remedied appropriately to ensure the vehicle can be loaded or leave site (unloaded) safely.

Plant Setup Permit

A Plant Setup Permit shall be completed if the delivery vehicle is to use outriggers for loading/unloading purposes. All plant requiring the use of outriggers shall use solid timber bearers placed under each outrigger.

Plant Setup Permits are to be managed in accordance with the Works Permits procedure.

Reporting

HY has a duty to report breaches of the HVNL, significant near miss incidents relating to fatigue, hazards, and incidents.  Possible parties to report to may be:

• The driver’s employer
• The transport company
• State road/transport regulators
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
• Police

Hazards

Identified hazards should be reported to the appropriate party depending on the hazard or severity of the hazard. Hazard examples can include:

Any hazards should initially be reported to the Site Manager. Depending on the nature of the hazard, it may be documented and recorded for evidence and reported to external parties.

Once a hazard has been reported, the responsible party has a duty to assess it and take appropriate corrective action.

INCIDENTS & NEAR MISSES

Incidents and near misses shall be reported and documented per the Incident Management Procedure.

Appropriate parties should be notified of the incident/near miss i.e. transport companies, employers of drivers etc so that their own incident reporting process can be followed.

Notifiable incidents per the WHS Act must be reported to the State WHS Regulator.

Definitions and Abbreviations

Heavy vehicle – vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) or Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) of 4.5t or over.

Load (of a vehicle or in a vehicle):

• all the goods, passengers, drivers and other persons in the vehicle; and
• all fuel, water, lubricants and readily removable equipment carried in the vehicle and required for its normal use; and
• personal items used by the vehicle’s driver or someone else necessary for the normal use of the vehicle; and
• anything that is normally removed from the vehicle when not in use

CoR – Chain of Responsibility

HVNL – Heavy Vehicle National Law

VLC – Vehicle Loading Crane

References

• Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) 2012
• Registered Industry Code of Practice (RICP) 2018
• NTC Load Restraint Guideline 2018
• Loading, Unloading Exclusion Zones Guidelines (2010)

Associated Documents

• HYer Standard – Transport and Deliveries
• Quick Guide – Chain of Responsibility
• Quick Guide – Load Restraint
• Quick Guide – Loading/Unloading
• WHS Management Plan
• Project Traffic Management Plan
• Cranes and Lifting procedure
• Traffic Management procedure
• Work at Height procedure