Safety Management System

It’s here! The 2024 TruckSafe safety management systems (SMS) will officially be released on 01 November 2024.

With the release of the 2024 TruckSafe SMSs the way TruckSafe operates will improve:

Introduction of a SVOD membership tier

TruckSafe will introduce an owner-driver membership tier, specifically aimed at owner-drivers who have no employees with control or influence on a transport task.

A new website

A brand new TruckSafe website will be launched that will compliment the recently activated Learning SMS website, providing members with a large range of resources to assist them with creating, implementing, and maintaining their CoR SMS.

New business rules and codes of conduct

The current business rules and code of conduct will be replaced with an updated version catering for the SMSs and a new audit process. The 2019 Standards code of conduct has been replaced with a code for the 2024 TS SMS, one for the 2024 SVOD SMS, and a code of conduct for auditors.

A new audit process

With the new SMSs TruckSafe will be implementing a brand-new audit process. The aim of the new process is to provide members with a choice of the auditor they would like to use for their TruckSafe audit. Not only that, auditing will be completed using a digital experience with members able to self-assess in between audits to provide confidence their systems are working as they should.

Why choose a TruckSafe SMS?

Under a Safety Management System (SMS) the safety of personnel, community, infrastructure and facilities is the primary responsibility of staff and management. It is enshrined in the policy and culture of an organisation and becomes a way of life where it is the first consideration in any action or function either undertaken or anticipated. When conducted effectively and efficiently it has numerous and sustainable benefits including, but not limited to, the following:

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Safety Management Systems have been proven to provide a safer work environment for employees, customers, contractors and the public by embedding a safety culture into the business

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provides an effective and demonstrable management of safety duty obligations under the HVNL and various WHS legislation

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ensures resources are allocated to the most critical areas that have an impact on safety

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informed decision making and increased efficiency through reduced duplication and business integration

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reduces costs associated with incidents and accidents including lost work hours, legal fees, insurance premiums, damage and repairs

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assists in ensuring that an organisation will be in a defensible position should an incident occur by being able to demonstrate a commitment to managing risks and safety

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being an employer of choice and a preferred supplier to customers.

From a broader TruckSafe perspective the implementation of a Safety Management System as the framework for members, positions TruckSafe, as it was when first established in 1996, at the forefront of the heavy vehicle safety agenda.

TruckSafe recognises the essential contribution that safety management systems have made to safety critical transport industries in Australia and around the world including aviation, rail and maritime. It is firmly of the belief that a modern heavy vehicle industry (and its regulators) must transition to safety management systems to achieve discernible and sustainable improvements in safety. TruckSafe and the Australian Trucking Association will again lead this agenda. TruckSafe members have always demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the highest safety standards and the most modern risk and evidence-based methodologies. They will again set the benchmark for safety in the heavy vehicle industry and associated supply chain.

With the heavy vehicle compliance landscape moving towards a risk-based approach, TruckSafe will continue to remain ahead of the curve by being ready for these regulatory changes if they occur.

TruckSafe will be the first industry-led scheme to offer a fully fledged safety management system. Not only that, but in another industry first TruckSafe will also be offering a single vehicle owner-driver SMS. The Single Vehicle Owner-Driver SMS has been built just for owners who drive their own vehicle, have no other vehicles, and have no employees that have control or influence on a transport task.

The full sized SMS will have the ability to compliment an organisation’s pre-existing WHS policies, procedures, and processes. Please note that the TruckSafe SMS is not a replacement for a WHS scheme.

And for the single vehicle owner-drivers their requirements will be far less onerous while still assisting with satisfying their CoR obligations. Both TruckSafe SMS’s are based on continual improvement through assessing risk rather than a snapshot of compliance at a single point in time.

As with previous versions of TruckSafe we will provide the resources you need. In fact there will be much more resources, including a whole new website devoted to providing detailed information on the various parts of both TruckSafe SMS’s.

The new TruckSafe Safety Management System will replace the current standards and will continue to exceed the requirements of the Master Code and HVNL, helping to provide a layer of certainty that you are ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ satisfying your legal obligations under Chain of Responsibility laws.

For more information on TruckSafe’s move to a Safety Management System please contact us.