Posted by Hubfleet
Maintaining compliance with fatigue management regulations requires continuous monitoring, assessment, and improvement. NHVR Fatigue Management Standard 5 focuses on internal reviews, ensuring that transport operators regularly evaluate their fatigue management systems (FMS) to identify areas for enhancement and prevent non-compliance. However, conducting thorough internal audits, documenting findings, and implementing corrective actions can be resource-intensive and complex, especially for businesses relying on manual processes. This guide explores how to meet Standard 5 effectively and how Hubfleet’s automated compliance tools simplify internal reviews and reporting.
The Standard
Standard 5 emphasises the importance of regular internal reviews to assess compliance with NHVAS standards, identify areas for improvement, and implement necessary corrective actions.
How to Meet the Standard
- Regular audits: Conduct audits to assess compliance with fatigue management standards.
- Corrective actions: Develop and implement corrective actions for identified non-compliance or improvement opportunities.
- Documentation and reporting: Thoroughly document internal reviews, audit findings, corrective actions, and outcomes.
Challenges in Meeting the Standard
Here are some of the main challenges businesses face when trying to meet NHVR Standard 5:
- Ensuring independence and competence of reviewers: Standard 5 stipulates that internal reviews should be undertaken by competent persons not responsible for the activity being reviewed, whenever practical. This can be challenging for smaller businesses where there may be limited staff who are both competent in the FMS and independent of the activities being reviewed. Finding personnel who are both knowledgeable and unbiased can be difficult.
- Establishing a robust system for identifying and correcting non-compliance: A key aspect of Standard 5 is having documented procedures to monitor, identify, report, investigate and record non-compliances and take the necessary corrective action to prevent further occurrences. This can be difficult for businesses if they lack a robust system for tracking and managing non-conformances, and may also lack a systematic process to take corrective action.
- Lack of real-time data and insights: Many transport businesses, particularly smaller operators, rely on traditional paper-based systems, which can be inefficient and error-prone. These systems fail to provide the real-time insights needed for effective risk management, making it hard to identify and address potential issues promptly.
- Inconsistent policy implementation: Simply having policies and procedures in place does not guarantee real-world compliance. Ensuring that policies are translated into practices requires continuous training and communication, which can be difficult to maintain consistently. Without this, internal reviews may fail to identify discrepancies between policy and practice.
- Maintaining accurate records: Accurate record keeping is a key component of the internal review process. Businesses must keep records of drivers’ work and rest times and regularly review these to ensure they comply with legal and operational limits. Maintaining these records, as well as documenting training and other activities, can be a challenge if a business lacks an efficient system.
- Time and resource constraints: Conducting internal reviews can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially for smaller businesses. It requires a dedicated effort to gather information, analyse data, document findings, and implement corrective actions. Businesses may struggle to allocate the necessary time and resources to meet the requirements of Standard 5.
- Quarterly compliance statements: Standard 5 requires that a quarterly compliance statement be produced, accepted, and signed by a responsible person. This statement must list key outcomes of the module, such as the number of drivers operating under the accreditation, new drivers inducted, work and rest hour records reviewed, and fatigue-related incidents. Generating this report and ensuring all data is accurate can be a challenge without a robust system in place.
- Investigating incidents: Businesses need documented procedures to investigate incidents to determine whether fatigue was a contributing factor. This requires a systematic approach to collecting data, interviewing drivers and other staff and making a determination. Lack of such a system may lead to a failure to identify non-compliances.
- Keeping up to date: It is crucial to stay current with the latest regulations. Businesses need to consult the NHVR’s official documentation or contact the NHVR directly for the most up-to-date information. They must also ensure that documents and procedures are regularly updated and that original documents are kept for a minimum of three years for external audit purposes.
How Hubfleet Helps
Here’s a breakdown of how Hubfleet supports operators in meeting Standard 5
- Automated audits and real-time reporting: Hubfleet’s EWD app automates the audit process, enabling fleet managers to schedule and conduct audits efficiently. The platform also provides real-time reporting and analytics, which offer actionable insights into compliance levels, audit findings, and corrective actions. This helps businesses identify areas for improvement and track their compliance status effectively.
- Centralised record keeping: Hubfleet provides a central location for storing and accessing all driver work diaries, training records, and incident reports. This centralised system makes audits easier and ensures all necessary information is readily available for review.
- Identification and management of non-compliance: Hubfleet helps businesses to monitor, identify, report, and investigate non-compliances and take necessary corrective actions. The system flags potential fatigue breaches before they become problems, and the Fatigue Report offers a detailed analysis of driver activity and fatigue compliance, highlighting potential fatigue breaches in driver records.
- Non-conformance reports (NCRs): Hubfleet facilitates the creation and management of Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs). When a potential breach is identified, a fleet manager can issue an NCR to a driver or another fleet manager, set a due date, indicate the severity of the breach, specify required actions, and attach supporting documents. The system allows for a response from the assigned person, and if the NCR was issued in error, it can be closed immediately. The number of NCRs issued to a driver, including open NCRs, is tracked in the fatigue report.
- Quarterly compliance statements: Hubfleet can automatically generate a Quarterly Compliance Statement. This statement includes information about the number of drivers operating under the accreditation, new drivers inducted during the quarter, work and rest hour records reviewed, compliant and non-compliant work and rest hour records, driver medicals (current and expired), fatigue-related incidents, and notices received for breaching fatigue regulations. This feature helps businesses meet the requirement to produce and sign off on a quarterly compliance statement.
- Document management: Hubfleet helps manage documentation of audit reports, corrective action plans, and compliance documentation ensuring easy access and retrieval during regulatory inspections. The platform also allows for recording changes to documents and procedures.
- Investigation of incidents: Hubfleet helps to investigate incidents to determine whether fatigue was a contributing factor. The system captures details about incidents and allows managers to track and analyse these events.
- Continuous monitoring: Hubfleet enables the continuous monitoring of compliance status, alerting fleet managers to potential issues or deviations from NHVAS standards. This proactive approach allows for timely intervention and corrective action.
- Review of driver work and rest times: Hubfleet facilitates the review of drivers’ work and rest times, ensuring compliance with operating limits. The platform helps in monitoring work and rest hours, and drivers are given flexibility to alter trip schedules within limits to maximise rest opportunities. The system helps ensure that schedules and rosters are planned within legal limits.
- Integration of systems: By offering a centralised digital system, Hubfleet helps to reduce the risk of non-compliance due to human error or incomplete records and helps to address issues with communication between drivers and management. This leads to safer operations and improved efficiency.
By leveraging Hubfleet, operators can streamline their internal review processes, enhance their ability to identify and address non-compliances, and ensure they are meeting the requirements of NHVR Standard 5, as well as automating the generation of a quarterly compliance statement.
Streamline Your Internal Reviews & Stay Ahead of Compliance
Meeting NHVR Standard 5 isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about building a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and proactive risk management. Regular audits, real-time data tracking, and automated compliance reports ensure that businesses can stay ahead of regulatory requirements while improving operational efficiency.
With Hubfleet, internal reviews become seamless, automated, and hassle-free. From real-time reporting and NCR management to quarterly compliance statements and incident tracking, our platform helps you maintain full visibility and control over your fatigue management system. Sign up for a free trial or contact the Hubfleet team to see how our system can help you meet NHVR Standard 5 effortlessly.
