How does your Fatigue Management processes stack up? Running the risk of a costly court case?

A recent court ruling saw VicRoads win the largest Chain of Responsibility fatigue case to date with a trucking company from Gippsland fined $95,000.

As reported in the latest edition of the Logistics Magazine, VicRoads spent six months investigating this case and found that the company was allowing its drivers to exceed safe working hours and possessed false driving records.

Don Hogben, Director for Vehicle Management and Safety, said that “the outcome of this investigation sends a clear message that if heavy vehicle operators do not comply with the Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue laws, they will be caught and prosecuted.”

The Australian Transport Council reports that, "Australia has the highest proportion of single heavy vehicle fatal crashes compared with five other OECD nations". The majority of these incidents are likely to be associated with fatigue.

While VicRoads advises that driving while tired amounts to around 20% of all road deaths, making it one of the biggest killers on Australian roads and as dangerous as drink driving.

In an effort to combat this trend, the Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue reform was introduced back in September 2008, and aims to ensure heavy vehicle drivers are not behind the wheel for long stretches and are getting adequate rest between shifts.

This legislation now holds all parties within the ‘Chain of Responsibility’ liable for any breaches of the legislation.

Workplace fatigue is not isolated to the transport and logistics industry. At Mitrefinch we understand that not matter what sector you operate in fatigue can significantly affect a worker’s ability to operate effectively, with side effects including reduced performance and productivity, and greater potential for workplace accidents.

For the past 30 years our Time and Attendance system has been assisting organisations with effective fatigue management, enabling them to proactively monitor staff work and break hours.

Mitrefinch Time and Attendance enables employees to clock in/out or on/off jobs via wall mounted devices at the depot, head office or manufacturing plant, or via the Internet and mobile or wireless devices for remote staff. This attendance data is recorded and Supervisors and HR are sent an alert when an employee is approaching their work hour limit, enabling them to adjust rosters and shifts accordingly.

The Mitrefinch system supports current workplace legislation and modern awards, as well as any organisation-specific work rules, and can easily accommodate any new legislative changes. This ensures that your staff are only permitted to work if they satisfy all the associated rules, providing you with ‘peace of mind’ that they are alert to perform their duties in a safe manner.

In addition, by automating annual reporting and maintaining a complete audit trail, Mitrefinch Time and Attendance arms you with all the information needed in the unfortunate event of legal action.

Ask yourself, how does your fatigue management plan stack up? If you haven't got the processes in place maybe it's time you took a look at a system that will help safeguard your business.

Contact Mitrefinch on 1300 884 831 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au to find out more.