The recent HVNL amendments mandate that operators wishing to participate in the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme must have an effective and written SMS that complies with the Safety Management System Standard, and this SMS forms the basis of both General Safety Accreditation and Alternate Compliance Accreditation.
The NHVR says “An SMS should be proportionate to the size, nature, risk and complexity of the organisation, and aligned with broader business objectives.”
Given the heavy vehicle industry is dominated by small operators and owner-drivers, what will this mean in practice? Will small businesses be squeezed out due to complex administration and the potential cost of getting professional advice to navigate it all? Does an entire written SMS even improve safety? How will they be used to determine compliance and when enforcement action is taken – think officer due diligence and establishing non-conformance using hindsight reasoning. Finally, could this be the first step to mandatory operator accreditation to align the NHVR with other transport safety regulators?”
Join me, Denise Zumpe from COR Comply and Sam Dekker from Mills Oakley to unpack what is required, how audits will be conducted and what the amendment means for the heavy vehicle industry in practice.
Click Here to book.