THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

September 2007

The problem is: How to comply?

Part 1

This fuel tanker landed in a river bed after having driven off the bridge. Had the driver received sufficient training relevant to the operation?

In line with FleetWatch 's intention to cover the Transportation of Dangerous Goods more comprehensively, Hentie van Jaarsveldt, FleetWatch's correspondent on Dangerous Goods, takes a close look at the Operational Requirements for Road Vehicles as contained in SANS 10231-2006 and raises some questions on some of the finer points. Due to the detailed nature of the subject, this article will be presented in two parts with Part 1 here dealing with the responsibilities of the Consignor and the Operator and Part 2 - in our next edition - covering the responsibilities of the driver and the consignee as well as vehicle inspections and maintenance.

In the July issue of FleetWatch, Keith McMurray drew a comprehensive picture of the present state of confusion regarding the standard, SANS 10231-2006. We will not delve further into the details of and reasons for the confusion as McMurray covered these quite comprehensively. Let's rather, therefore, highlight some of the intricacies and obscurities that the document imposes on the Dangerous Goods transportation operation.

Some of the requirements of the standard appear quite simple but spending a little thought on them, raises a few questions to which answers cannot be easily found.

Let us agree on one thing at the outset. The present issue of the standard (SANS 10231-2006) is law. The 2003 version of this document is no longer available from STANSA and industry has been informed on a number of occasions that the withdrawal notice issued by NDOT late in 2006 could, in fact, not withdraw a National standard which had already been published. As McMurray also stated, nothing has been heard from NDoT since, despite a number of requests to clarify the matter.

There are three main areas of responsibility contained in the standard, those of:

• Loading the vehicle which is stated to be the responsibility of the consignor,

• Driving of the vehicle stated as the responsibility of the operator and driver and

• Off-loading of the vehicle stated as the responsibility of the consignee.

The standard also states that written agreements to cover loading, transportation and off-loading may be concluded by the responsible parties to confirm accepted duties and responsibilities. This should be a must that no Dangerous Goods transportation arrangement can operate without, taking into account the possible consequences.

Let us view a few of the requirements contained under each area of responsibility and raise some questions regarding these requirements (with reference to the relevant item numbers in the standard).

The Consignor

4.1.c: The consignor is required to ensure that the vehicle displays a dangerous goods operator card.

The consignor thus has a duty to inspect the vehicle prior to loading for this item and has all the right to refuse loading if it is not present.

One would have thought that the responsibilities of the consignor would have been an ideal avenue to ensure that the vehicle is inspected prior to entry to load for road - and load worthiness. Or at least to have a written agreement in place whereby the operator certifies that the vehicle is suitable for the operation and complies with the applicable standards. Maybe this can be covered under the next item.

4.1 d: The consignor is responsible to ensure that loading takes place by a qualified person trained in the relevant procedures and under supervision of a Dangerous Goods loading supervisor.

If the driver is trained in the loading procedures, he can load but still needs a supervisor. It needs to be clarified if the driver can be his own supervisor as the standard presently makes no explicit allowance for this.

Further in the standard (4.3.3), the loading supervisor is tasked with "ensuring that the vehicle is suitable for its current purpose, clean and fit to load". If the intention here is for the loading supervisor (whose placement is part of the responsibilities of the consignor) to determine whether the vehicle is of the correct specification and is roadworthy, then the consignors need to ensure that the correctly skilled persons are in these positions.

The loading supervisor is further responsible to "ensure that the correct quantity is loaded and complies with the relevant national legislation (see annex A)". Annex A, for instance, includes reference to the National Road Traffic Act. Does this mean that the loading supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is not overloaded and that the load distribution is correct? The consignors need to start taking measures to ensure that this happens!

TANKER UNSUITABLE Using the wrong tanker for a product... could the load supervisor have deter mined if the tanker was suitable? Is he responsible?

The operator

4.2.4.d : "....shall ensure...that the driver...has been trained in terms of 4.3.1."

The latter paragraph states that the driver has "received comprehensive theoretical and practical training relevant to the type of vehicle and to the Dangerous Goods which will be assigned to him, including training in the procedures specific to the cargo, for example, flammable liquid or toxic corrosive liquid. Such training shall be in accordance with the standards approved by the relevant government department. The operator shall ensure that the driver undergoes annual training, conducted by an accredited training provider."

This is self-explanatory but leaves the issue open to many questions. How many drivers are trained fully - as stated - not only on how to drive the truck but also on the documentation and placards? What are the standards and who are the accredited training providers?

4.2.5. "The operator shall, on being informed of an incident involving one of his vehicles covered by this standard, ensure that the emergency services and the police have been informed. If any injury, fire, explosion or spillage has occurred, the operator shall prepare an incident report in accordance with Annex D and submit it to the relevant government department within 30 days of the incident."

How often does this happen? Things here are further complicated by the definition of an incident, being "unplanned event during the transport or storage of Dangerous Goods which includes incidents such as leakage, spillage, fire or other unplanned events". Does an unplanned event include a breakdown?

4.2.6 "If a vehicle is involved in an incident in which there is the risk of damage to its cargo containment, the operator shall submit the vehicle for inspection in accordance with the requirements of SANS 1518, where applicable, and for compliance with SANS 10047, before putting the vehicle back into service for the transport of Dangerous Goods".

This means that the vehicle needs to be inspected and re-certified in accordance with SANS 1518-2005 (which is ADR 2007) and needs to undergo a roadworthiness inspection after such an incident. Even if the tank required no repair!

There are numerous other direct responsibilities for the operator to attend to but these are contained in sections dealing with the driver and vehicle inspections and maintenance.

TRAINING  A driver coupling a loading arm. Has the loading operator been trained and is a loading supervisor present?

So....

It can be seen that the standard needs to be taken seriously as non-compliance can have enormous consequences with regards to insurance, civil claims and public liability. However, with such confusion reigning regarding the law - and given some of the very "grey" and all-encompassing requirements of the standard - the problem is just how to comply.

More about the responsibilities of the driver and the consignee and vehicle inspections in Part 2 which will be featured in next month's edition.