Heavy Construction Equipment: Repair, Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Heavy Haulage Transport: Ensuring Fatigue Management Through Driver's Work Diary

1 September 2015 by Clifton Barnes

When transporting heavy haulage across Australia through a company like SC Heinrich & Co Pty Ltd, you're resting a lot of confidence on the driver responsible for moving your load to transport your equipment and cargo in an efficient and secure manner. Because of this, it's important to do some digging on who the driver responsible for your load will be, and whether they are responsible with fatigue management. Ensuring proper fatigue management is possible by taking a look at the driver's work diary.

What Is A Driver's Work Diary?

All heavy truck drivers are legally obligated to keep a work diary, which will give you a good idea regarding their work habits. The work diaries should include the day-to-day operations of each driver, so you can get a better idea regarding whether the driver has been diligent in managing driver fatigue. Work diaries can be purchased from Transport and Main Roads' customer service centers, some regional police stations and Queensland Government Agent Program offices.

What Is Driver Fatigue?

Driver fatigue is related to the driver's reduced ability to safely drive the heavy haulage transport truck as a result of being physically or mentally exhausted. Keep in mind that driving a heavy truck can be quite tedious work. In fact, 20% of all fatal road accidents involve driver fatigue. Because of this, you want to hire a driver only if they have shown that they can manage driver fatigue properly in their work diaries.

What Is Recorded In the Work Diaries?

The work diaries should clearly state when the drivers operated the trucks. You should take a look at the specific times that the drivers took off for resting and also add up the amount of hours that the drivers worked. Depending on whether the drivers are practicing basic fatigue management or advanced fatigue management, they are allowed to work different amount of hours. Drivers practicing basic fatigue management are allowed to work up to 14 hours in a 24-hour period.

The work diaries should also state the odometer of the vehicle recorded at each pit stop and the location of the pit stop. From this information, you can calculate the average speed of the driving and also confirm whether the drivers did indeed rest.

Conclusion

With the high value of the load and cargo being transported and the safety concerns related to driver fatigue, it's in your best interest to review each driver's work diary before deciding whether or not he or she is reliable. 

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