Dangerous Goods Safety MattersSelf-audit guide for prime contractors

September 2014

Selt-audit guide for prime contractor – DANGEROUS GOODS SAFETY M

ATTERS

2

IntroductionPrime contractors have multiple responsibilities to ensure that dangerous goods are transported safely. This self-audit tool is a good starting point to evaluate your transport system.

Why is self-auditing important?Ensuring occupational safety within your consignment and transport operations for dangerous goods is a primary responsibility of prime contractors. Self-auditing is a “health check” for your business that should enable you to identify gaps and take effective corrective actions.

Using this self-audit toolThe sections of this self-audit align with Department of Mines and Petroleum’s Six Pillars of Dangerous Goods Transport strategy. They address a selection of regulations concerning prime contractors.

Where deficiencies are identified by a prime contractor, it is recommended that they are rectified internally in your quality management system.

You should familiarise yourself with the applicable regulations and codes.

Legislation• Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004

• Dangerous Goods Safety (Road and Rail Transport of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007

GuidanceAvailable from the National Transport Commission www.ntc.gov.au

• Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG 7.3)

• Load Restraint Guide (LRG)

Available from Standards Australia, www.standards.org.au

• HB 76 Dangerous goods initial emergency response guide

• AS 1678 Emergency procedure guide – Transport

Scope of auditThis tool applies to the transport of packaged dangerous goods, not road tanker operations. Use the self-audit if transporting:

• packages less than 500 kg (or litres) capacity (e.g. 200 L drums, 25 L pails, 25 kg bags, cylinders, batteries)

• placardable units (e.g. IBCs, pressure drums, manifold cylinder packs, portable tanks).

Audit sections• Instruction and training

• Packaging

• Segregation

• Restraint

• Safety equipment and vehicle safety

• Placarding

• Transport documentation

Verification activitiesVerification is important to ensure compliance with the Dangerous Goods Safety (Road and Rail Transport of Non-explosives) Regulations 2007.

Some things you can do as part of the verification process are listed below.

• Staff interview – drivers, trainers, loaders, schedulers, maintenance

• Packaging suitability

• Vehicle loading arrangement

• Vehicle inspection (e.g. gates, twist locks, dunnage, straps)

• Maintenance practice

• Placarding practice

• Consignment system review – use

– Australian Standards HB 76 and AS 1678

– transport document

– consignment notes, bill of lading, retained for three months

Self-

audi

t gui

de fo

r prim

e co

ntra

ctor

– D

ANGE

ROUS

GOO

DS S

AFET

Y M

ATTE

RS

3

No.

Requ

irem

ents

of D

G tr

ansp

ort r

egul

atio

nsAu

dit q

uest

ions

Adeq

uate

? (Y

/N)

Corr

ectiv

e ac

tions

Inst

ruct

ion

and

trai

ning

[r. 1

4]

1.A

pers

on m

ust n

ot m

anag

e, c

ontro

l or s

uper

vise

a ta

sk u

nles

s th

e pe

rson

has

rece

ived

inst

ruct

ion

and

trai

ning

to e

nabl

e hi

m o

r he

r to

man

age,

con

trol o

r sup

ervis

e an

othe

r per

son

to p

erfo

rm

the

task

saf

ely

and

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

ese

regu

latio

ns.

• W

hat m

anag

emen

t sys

tem

is in

pla

ce fo

r del

iverin

g tra

inin

g?

• W

hat t

rain

ing

and

asse

ssm

ent p

rogr

am is

use

d?

• Is

the

train

ing

cour

se d

elive

red

by a

com

pete

nt p

erso

n w

ith

rele

vant

indu

stry

bac

kgro

und?

• W

hat t

rain

ing

qual

ifica

tions

do

the

train

ers

hold

?

• Ar

e st

aff c

ompe

tenc

ies

reco

rded

in a

trai

ning

mat

rix o

n a

live

data

base

or s

prea

dshe

et?

2.A

pers

on w

ho is

resp

onsi

ble

for m

anag

emen

t or c

ontro

l of a

task

m

ust n

ot e

mpl

oy, e

ngag

e or

per

mit

anot

her p

erso

n to

per

form

the

task

if th

e ot

her p

erso

n —

(a)

has

not r

ecei

ved,

or i

s no

t rec

eivin

g, a

ppro

pria

te in

stru

ctio

n an

d tra

inin

g to

ens

ure

that

he

or s

he is

abl

e to

per

form

the

task

saf

ely

and

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

ese

regu

latio

ns; o

r

(b)

is n

ot a

ppro

pria

tely

sup

ervi

sed

in p

erfo

rmin

g th

e ta

sk to

en

sure

that

he

or s

he is

abl

e to

per

form

the

task

saf

ely

and

in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith th

ese

regu

latio

ns.

Does

the

train

ing

cove

r com

pete

ncie

s fo

r eac

h of

thes

e el

emen

ts?

• pa

ckin

g, la

bellin

g an

d m

arki

ng o

f dan

gero

us g

oods

• co

nsig

ning

dan

gero

us g

oods

• lo

adin

g da

nger

ous

good

s

• un

load

ing

dang

erou

s go

ods

• ha

ndlin

g fu

mig

ated

car

go tr

ansp

ort u

nits

• m

arki

ng a

nd la

bellin

g pa

ckag

es a

nd o

verp

acks

• pl

acar

ding

pla

card

load

s

• pr

epar

ing

trans

port

docu

men

tatio

n

• m

aint

aini

ng v

ehic

les

and

equi

pmen

t use

d in

the

trans

port

of

dang

erou

s go

ods

• dr

iving

a v

ehic

le tr

ansp

ortin

g da

nger

ous

good

s

• be

ing

the

cons

igne

e of

dan

gero

us g

oods

• fo

llow

ing

appr

opria

te p

roce

dure

s in

acc

orda

nce

with

re

gula

tions

in a

dan

gero

us s

ituat

ion

Selt-audit guide for prime contractor – DANGEROUS GOODS SAFETY M

ATTERS

4

No.

Requ

irem

ents

of D

G tr

ansp

ort r

egul

atio

nsAu

dit q

uest

ions

Adeq

uate

? (Y

/N)

Corr

ectiv

e ac

tions

Pack

agin

g -

gene

ral [

r. 66

] and

oth

er [r

. 74]

3.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t not

tran

spor

t dan

gero

us g

oods

in a

ny

gene

ral p

acka

ging

if th

e pr

ime

cont

ract

or k

now

s, o

r oug

ht

reas

onab

ly to

kno

w, th

at th

e pa

ckag

ing

is d

amag

ed o

r def

ectiv

e to

the

exte

nt th

at it

is n

ot s

afe

to u

se to

tran

spor

t the

goo

ds.

A pr

ime

cont

ract

or m

ust n

ot tr

ansp

ort d

ange

rous

goo

ds in

any

ot

her p

acka

ging

pro

vided

by

any

othe

r per

son

if th

e pr

ime

cont

ract

or k

now

s, o

r oug

ht re

ason

ably

to k

now,

that

—

(a)

the

pack

agin

g is

uns

uita

ble

for t

he tr

ansp

ort o

f the

goo

ds;

or

(b)

(b) t

he g

oods

hav

e no

t bee

n pa

cked

in th

e pa

ckag

ing

in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith a

ny re

leva

nt p

rovis

ion

of th

e AD

G Co

de P

art

4.

• Ar

e co

nsig

ned

pack

ages

che

cked

to c

onfir

m U

N ap

prov

al?

• Ho

w is

def

ectiv

e or

leak

ing

pack

agin

g id

entifi

ed?

• W

hat s

yste

m is

in p

lace

to h

andl

e an

d sa

fely

deal

with

de

fect

ive o

r lea

king

pac

kagi

ng?

• W

hat e

viden

ce is

nee

ded

to a

ccep

t pla

card

able

uni

ts,

porta

ble

tank

s, M

EGCs

and

frei

ght c

onta

iner

s as

sui

tabl

e fo

r tra

nspo

rt?

• Ho

w a

re d

efec

tive

cont

aine

rs id

entifi

ed a

nd h

andl

ed?

Segr

egat

ion

[r. 1

34]

4.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t not

use

a ro

ad v

ehic

le to

tran

spor

t da

nger

ous

good

s if

the

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

kno

ws,

or o

ught

re

ason

ably

to k

now,

that

—

(a)

the

vehi

cle

is, i

n th

e sa

me

jour

ney,

trans

porti

ng in

com

patib

le

good

s; a

nd

(b)

the

dang

erou

s go

ods

are

not s

egre

gate

d fro

m th

e in

com

patib

le g

oods

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

e AD

G Co

de P

art 9

.

• Is

ther

e a

syst

em in

pla

ce to

pre

vent

inco

mpa

tible

load

s be

ing

cons

olid

ated

?

• Ho

w a

re in

com

patib

le g

oods

man

aged

whe

n re

ceive

d fro

m

mul

tiple

con

sign

ors?

• Ho

w d

o yo

u de

al w

ith a

cus

tom

er’s

con

solid

ated

shi

pmen

t th

at c

onta

ins

inco

mpa

tible

goo

ds?

• Ho

w a

re lo

ads

in a

mul

ti-tra

iler c

ombi

natio

n ac

cept

ed a

s be

ing

com

patib

le?

• Ho

w a

re p

acka

ged

load

s se

greg

ated

?

• Ho

w a

re p

laca

rdab

le u

nits

seg

rega

ted?

• Ar

e fre

ight

con

tain

ers,

sui

tabl

e Ty

pe I

segr

egat

ion

devic

es o

r ap

prov

ed T

ype

II se

greg

atio

n de

vices

use

d?

• Do

veh

icle

load

ing

proc

edur

es s

peci

fy a

ppro

pria

te u

se o

f se

greg

atio

n de

vices

?

Self-

audi

t gui

de fo

r prim

e co

ntra

ctor

– D

ANGE

ROUS

GOO

DS S

AFET

Y M

ATTE

RS

5

No.

Requ

irem

ents

of D

G tr

ansp

ort r

egul

atio

nsAu

dit q

uest

ions

Adeq

uate

? (Y

/N)

Corr

ectiv

e ac

tions

Rest

rain

t [r.

128]

5.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t not

tran

spor

t in

or o

n a

vehi

cle

a lo

ad

that

con

tain

s da

nger

ous

good

s an

d th

at is

a p

laca

rd lo

ad if

the

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

kno

ws,

or o

ught

reas

onab

ly to

kno

w, th

at th

e go

ods

or th

eir p

acka

ging

hav

e no

t bee

n st

owed

or l

oade

d, o

r are

no

t res

trai

ned,

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

e AD

G Co

de C

hapt

er 8

.1.

A pr

ime

cont

ract

or m

ust n

ot tr

ansp

ort d

ange

rous

goo

ds in

or o

n a

carg

o tr

ansp

ort u

nit i

f the

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

kno

ws,

or o

ught

re

ason

ably

to k

now,

that

the

good

s or

thei

r pac

kagi

ng a

re n

ot

rest

rain

ed in

acc

orda

nce

with

the

ADG

Code

Cha

pter

8.2

.

• W

hat s

yste

m e

nsur

es th

at re

stra

int o

f pac

kage

s an

d ca

rgo

trans

port

units

is a

ppro

pria

te?

• W

hat p

roce

dure

s en

sure

pla

card

able

uni

ts a

re re

stra

ined

ap

prop

riate

ly?

• W

hat p

roce

dure

s en

sure

car

go tr

ansp

ort u

nits

are

rest

rain

ed

appr

opria

tely?

• Ho

w a

re s

tow

age

and

rest

rain

t prin

cipl

es fr

om th

e Lo

ad

Rest

rain

t Gui

de e

nfor

ced?

• Ar

e su

itabl

y ra

ted

rest

rain

t equ

ipm

ent a

nd d

unna

ge a

vaila

ble

for s

elec

tion

by lo

ader

s an

d dr

ivers

?

• Ho

w is

sui

tabl

y ra

ted

rest

rain

t equ

ipm

ent i

nspe

cted

and

m

aint

aine

d?

• W

hat l

oad

rest

rain

t tra

inin

g is

pro

vided

to lo

ader

s an

d dr

ivers

?

• Is

the

train

ing

deliv

ered

by

a co

mpe

tent

per

son

with

rele

vant

in

dust

ry b

ackg

roun

d?

Safe

ty e

quip

men

t [r.

164]

and

veh

icle

saf

ety

[r. 1

19]

6.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t not

use

a ro

ad v

ehic

le to

tran

spor

t a

plac

ard

load

if th

e ro

ad v

ehic

le is

not

equ

ippe

d w

ith

(a)

fire

extin

guis

hers

(FFE

) and

por

tabl

e w

arni

ng d

evic

es th

at

com

ply

with

the

ADG

Code

Par

t 12;

and

(b)

any

othe

r equ

ipm

ent r

equi

red

unde

r tha

t Par

t.

FFE

mus

t be

insp

ecte

d or

test

ed in

acc

orda

nce

with

the

ADG

Code

Par

t 12

and

AS 1

851

Rout

ine

serv

ice

of fi

re p

rote

ctio

n sy

stem

s an

d eq

uipm

ent

A pr

ime

cont

ract

or m

ust n

ot u

se a

veh

icle

to tr

ansp

ort d

ange

rous

go

ods

if th

e ve

hicl

e or

its

equi

pmen

t doe

s no

t com

ply

with

the

ADG

Code

Cha

pter

s 4.

4 an

d 6.

9.

• W

hat s

yste

m is

use

d to

sel

ect,

mai

ntai

n &

serv

ice

FFE?

• Ho

w is

per

sona

l pro

tect

ive e

quip

men

t (PP

E) s

elec

ted

for h

igh

haza

rd d

ange

rous

goo

ds (e

.g. t

oxic

gas

es, C

lass

8, C

lass

6.

1)?

• Ar

e dr

ivers

allo

cate

d an

indi

vidua

l PPE

kit

bag?

• Ho

w a

re d

river

s de

emed

com

pete

nt in

PPE

and

FFE

use

?

• Is

the

load

sch

edul

er ta

sked

to e

nsur

e ad

equa

te p

rovis

ion

of

safe

ty e

quip

men

t and

PPE

?

• W

hat s

yste

m m

anag

es p

reve

ntat

ive m

aint

enan

ce fo

r veh

icle

s an

d eq

uipm

ent?

• Ho

w a

re v

ehic

le d

efec

ts o

r equ

ipm

ent f

aults

form

ally

repo

rted

by d

river

s or

load

ers?

• Is

the

syst

em fo

r prio

rity

rank

ing

and

timel

y re

pair

of v

ehic

le

defe

cts

adeq

uate

ly m

anag

ed?

Selt-audit guide for prime contractor – DANGEROUS GOODS SAFETY M

ATTERS

6

No.

Requ

irem

ents

of D

G tr

ansp

ort r

egul

atio

nsAu

dit q

uest

ions

Adeq

uate

? (Y

/N)

Corr

ectiv

e ac

tions

Plac

ardi

ng [r

r. 10

9, 1

14]

7.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t not

tran

spor

t goo

ds in

a p

acka

ge if

the

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

kno

ws,

or o

ught

reas

onab

ly to

kno

w, th

at —

(a)

the

good

s ar

e da

nger

ous

good

s; a

nd

(b)

the

pack

age

is n

ot a

ppro

pria

tely

mar

ked

or th

e lo

ad is

not

ap

prop

riate

ly p

laca

rded

.

A pr

ime

cont

ract

or m

ust n

ot tr

ansp

ort d

ange

rous

goo

ds in

a

pack

age

if th

e pr

ime

cont

ract

or k

now

s, o

r oug

ht re

ason

ably

to

know

, tha

t a m

arki

ng o

r lab

el o

n th

e pa

ckag

e ab

out i

ts c

onte

nts

or p

laca

rdin

g of

the

load

is fa

lse

or m

isle

adin

g in

a m

ater

ial

parti

cula

r.

• Do

you

che

ck th

e la

bellin

g of

pac

kage

s an

d ov

erpa

cks

agai

nst t

he c

onsi

gnor

’s p

aper

wor

k?

• Ho

w d

o yo

u en

sure

that

ove

rpac

ks (e

.g. p

acka

ges

on a

sh

rink-

wra

pped

pal

let)

are

corre

ctly

labe

lled?

• W

hat p

roce

dure

is in

pla

ce fo

r pla

card

ing

vehi

cles

tra

nspo

rting

a lo

ad o

f pac

kage

s an

d IB

Cs?

• Ho

w a

re m

ulti-

traile

r com

bina

tions

of m

ixed

clas

ses

of

pack

ages

and

IBCs

han

dled

?

• Do

you

che

ck th

e ac

cura

cy a

nd le

gibi

lity

of e

mer

genc

y in

form

atio

n pa

nels

for p

laca

rdab

le u

nits

?

• W

hat p

roce

dure

ens

ures

veh

icle

s ar

e co

rrect

ly pl

acar

ded

for

trans

porti

ng p

laca

rdab

le u

nits

?

• Ho

w is

pla

card

ing

of m

ulti-

load

s of

IBCs

and

por

tabl

e ta

nks

man

aged

?

• Ar

e ve

hicl

es e

quip

ped

with

mat

eria

ls to

ena

ble

a dr

iver t

o cr

eate

or a

men

d pl

acar

ds d

urin

g a

jour

ney?

Self-

audi

t gui

de fo

r prim

e co

ntra

ctor

– D

ANGE

ROUS

GOO

DS S

AFET

Y M

ATTE

RS

7

No.

Requ

irem

ents

of D

G tr

ansp

ort r

egul

atio

nsAu

dit q

uest

ions

Adeq

uate

? (Y

/N)

Corr

ectiv

e ac

tions

Docu

men

tatio

n [r

r. 15

2, 1

58]

8.A

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t ens

ure

that

a p

erso

n do

es n

ot d

rive

a ro

ad v

ehic

le u

sed

by th

e pr

ime

cont

ract

or to

tran

spor

t dan

gero

us

good

s if

—

(a)

the

pers

on h

as n

ot b

een

give

n tr

ansp

ort d

ocum

enta

tion

that

com

plie

s w

ith th

e AD

G Co

de C

hapt

er 1

.1 fo

r the

goo

ds;

and

(b)

the

docu

men

tatio

n is

not

read

ily a

ble

to b

e lo

cate

d in

the

vehi

cle

in a

ccor

danc

e w

ith th

e AD

G Co

de C

hapt

er 1

1.1.

A pr

ime

cont

ract

or m

ust n

ot u

se a

road

veh

icle

to tr

ansp

ort a

pl

acar

d lo

ad if

—

(a)

the

road

veh

icle

is n

ot e

quip

ped

with

an

emer

genc

y in

form

atio

n ho

lder

that

com

plie

s w

ith th

e AD

G Co

de

Chap

ter 1

1.2;

or

(b)

the

requ

ired

emer

genc

y in

form

atio

n is

not

in th

e ho

lder

.

The

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

mus

t ret

ain

the

docu

men

t, or

a c

opy

of

the

docu

men

t, fo

r at l

east

3 m

onth

s af

ter t

he tr

ansp

ort o

f the

da

nger

ous

good

s by

the

prim

e co

ntra

ctor

fini

shes

.

• W

hat c

onsi

gnm

ent s

yste

m is

in p

lace

for g

ener

atin

g an

d co

nsol

idat

ing

trans

port

docu

men

tatio

n?

• Do

es y

our c

ompa

ny tr

ansp

ort d

ocum

ent t

empl

ate

satis

fy th

e AD

G Co

de c

riter

ia?

• Do

es th

e co

nsig

nmen

t sys

tem

man

age

–lim

ited

quan

tity?

–re

tail

dist

ribut

ion?

–em

pty

cont

aine

rs?

• W

hat a

re th

e pr

oces

ses,

requ

irem

ents

and

lim

its fo

r ret

ail

dist

ribut

ion

load

s?

• Ho

w a

re m

ultip

le c

onsi

gnm

ents

for a

sin

gle

vehi

cle

load

m

anag

ed?

• Do

es th

e tra

nspo

rt do

cum

enta

tion

clea

rly id

entif

y w

hich

da

nger

ous

good

is o

n w

hich

trai

ler?

• W

hat s

yste

m is

use

d to

pro

vide

emer

genc

y in

form

atio

n w

ith

each

load

?

• W

hat c

heck

ing

ensu

res

rele

vant

em

erge

ncy

proc

edur

e gu

ides

ar

e re

ceive

d fro

m c

onsi

gnor

s?

• Ho

w a

re th

e em

erge

ncy

info

rmat

ion

hold

ers

arra

nged

in th

e ve

hicl

e ca

bin?

• Do

es y

our c

onsi

gnm

ent s

yste

m re

tain

a c

opy

of th

e tra

nspo

rt do

cum

ents

issu

ed fo

r eac

h tri

p?

• Ca

n tra

nspo

rt do

cum

ents

be

retri

eved

from

you

r sys

tem

?

Selt-audit guide for prime contractor – DANGEROUS GOODS SAFETY M

ATTERS

8

Audi

t sum

mar

ySe

lf-au

dit d

one

Issu

e id

entifi

edAc

tion

to b

e ta

ken

Impl

emen

tatio

n

Resp

onsi

ble

pers

onDa

teIte

m N

o.Co

rrec

tive

actio

nRe

spon

sibl

e pe

rson

Date

Resp

onsi

ble

pers

onSi

gnat

ure

Date

Self-

audi

t gui

de fo

r prim

e co

ntra

ctor

– D

ANGE

ROUS

GOO

DS S

AFET

Y M

ATTE

RS

9

Self-

audi

t don

eIs

sue

iden

tified

Actio

n to

be

take

nIm

plem

enta

tion

Resp

onsi

ble

pers

onDa

teIte

m N

o.Co

rrec

tive

actio

nRe

spon

sibl

e pe

rson

Date

Resp

onsi

ble

pers

onSi

gnat

ure

Date

RS

DA

ug14

_878

Department of Mines and Petroleum 100 Plain Street EAST PERTH WA 6004

Resources Safety Division Telephone: + 61 8 9358 8002 NRS: 13 36 77 Facsimile: + 61 8 9358 8000 Email: ResourcesSafety@dmp.wa.gov.au Website: www.dmp.wa.gov.au/ResourcesSafety