Risk Controls

Build, Link, and Prove Your Safety Controls

Risk controls are the backbone of your Safety Management System. Hubfleet's Risk Controls Library lets you create controls — using our built-in controls library as a starting guide — then link them to the policies, procedures, and training that support them — and then connect real-world incidents, hazards, and NCRs to prove whether those controls are actually working.

Preventive Linking | Reactive Evidence | Effectiveness Tracking | Audit-Ready

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Create controls using built-in templates as guides

Link preventive and reactive items

Prove control effectiveness at audit

Why Operators Choose Hubfleet for Risk Controls

Full traceability from policy through to real-world outcomes

Preventive links to policies, procedures, training, and planned hazards

Reactive links to incidents, field hazards, and NCRs

Effectiveness evidence that proves controls are working

The missing link between your safety documentation and real-world outcomes

The Problem: Controls Exist on Paper but Can't Be Proven

Most operators have safety controls documented somewhere — but they can't demonstrate those controls are implemented, monitored, or effective.

Auditors under HVNL reforms don't just ask "Do you have controls?" They ask "Are your controls Present, Suitable, Operating, and Effective?" That last word — Effective — is the hardest to prove. It requires evidence that controls are actually preventing the risks they were designed for.

Without a Controls Library

Controls scattered across Word docs, spreadsheets, and safety plans

No connection between a control and the policy that mandates it

No way to see if a control has ever been tested by a real incident

Auditors ask for evidence and you're piecing it together manually

Same incidents keep recurring because nobody tracks if controls failed

With Hubfleet's Controls Library

Every control in one searchable, categorised library

Preventive links show how controls are supported

Reactive links show whether controls are working

Complete traceability from policy through to real-world evidence

Control failures are visible and drive improvement

Create and Manage Controls

Your Central Controls Register

Create controls from scratch or use our built-in controls library as a starting guide — each control is stored in a single, searchable library. Each control is categorised and structured for easy retrieval and linking.

For Each Control, You Can Define:

Control name and description
Safety category (Fatigue, Maintenance, Mass & Dimension, Safety)
Control type based on the hierarchy of controls (Elimination, Substitution, Engineering, Administrative, PPE)
Control status — Draft, Active, or Archived
Review frequency — Quarterly, Semi-annually, or Annually
Effectiveness rating — updated over time based on linked evidence

Organised and Searchable:

Filter by safety category, control type, or implementation status. Find the right control quickly when assessing a new hazard or investigating an incident.

Preventive Linking: How Controls Are Supported

Link the Things That Make Controls Work

Preventive links connect a control to the items that mandate, implement, and support it. This is the planning side of your SMS — the proactive measures you've put in place before anything goes wrong.

Policies

Blue refresh icon with two circular arrows forming a loop.

Mandate the Control

Link the policy that requires this control to exist. For example, your Fatigue Management Policy mandates a "Pre-shift fitness for duty assessment" control. This shows auditors that controls aren't ad-hoc — they're driven by documented policy.

Procedures

Implement the Control

Link the procedure that describes how to carry out the control. The fitness for duty assessment control links to the "Driver Fitness for Duty Procedure" that describes what questions are asked and what happens if a driver reports unfit. This proves the control isn't just a name on paper — there's a documented process behind it.

Training Types

Build Competency

Link the training required to carry out the control effectively. Drivers need fatigue awareness training to properly self-assess fitness for duty. Supervisors need training on reviewing and responding to unfit declarations. This connects controls to your competency framework.

Planned Hazards

Identified in Risk Planning

Link hazards that were identified proactively during risk planning — before any incident occurred. This shows auditors you identified the risk, designed a control for it, and supported it with policy, procedure, and training.

Reactive Linking: Evidence That Controls Are Working (or Not)

Connect Real-World Events to Your Controls

Reactive links connect real-world safety events back to the controls that were supposed to prevent them. This is the evidence side of your SMS — the proof that your preventive measures are actually working.

Incidents → Did the Control Prevent Harm?

When an incident occurs, link it to the relevant control. If the control was in place and the incident still happened, that's evidence the control may need strengthening. If incidents in a category are decreasing over time, that's evidence the control is effective.

Field-Reported Hazards

Reactive Hazards

When drivers or staff report hazards from the field, link them to relevant controls. A pattern of reported hazards in a controlled area suggests the control may not be fully effective. Decreasing hazard reports in that area over time suggests it is.

Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs)

Breaches Despite Controls

NCRs represent breaches of regulations, policies, or procedures. Linking NCRs to controls shows where compliance failures are occurring despite preventive measures. This drives targeted improvement.

The Context That Proves Effectiveness:

Reactive links give you the evidence to assess whether a control is working. A control with strong preventive links (policy, procedure, training) and a low or declining count of reactive links (incidents, hazards, NCRs) tells a clear story. You review the linked events, assess the pattern, and update the effectiveness rating accordingly. That's exactly the kind of evidence-based judgement NHVR auditors want to see.

The Complete Evidence Chain

From Policy to Proof — In One View

The power of Hubfleet's controls library is the complete traceability it creates:

Policy (mandates the control)

Control (the measure itself)

Procedure (implements it)

Training (builds competency)

Planned Hazards (proactive identification)

Incidents (did it prevent harm?)

Field Hazards (are risks still emerging?)

NCRs (are breaches occurring?)

This two-way chain connects your documentation to real-world outcomes. Auditors can follow the thread from any direction — start at a policy and trace down to incidents, or start at an incident and trace back up to the policy that should have prevented it.

PSOE Audit Evidence

Proving "Effective" — The Hardest PSOE Rating

Under HVNL reforms, NHVR auditors assess your SMS using the PSOE framework: Present, Suitable, Operating, Effective. Most operators can show the first three. The controls library helps you prove all four:

Present

Controls are documented in the library with descriptions, categories, and types. Evidence: the controls library itself.

Suitable

Controls are linked to relevant policies and procedures, matched to identified hazards, and appropriate for your operations. Evidence: preventive links.

Operating

Controls have active implementation status, are linked to real incidents and hazards, and have scheduled reviews completed. Evidence: reactive links and review history.

Effective

Reactive link counts show how many incidents, hazards, and NCRs are connected to each control — giving you the context to assess whether controls are working. Update effectiveness ratings based on what the evidence tells you. Evidence: reactive link counts and manual effectiveness ratings informed by real data.

This is the evidence chain that most SMS platforms can't provide. Spreadsheets and standalone incident systems can't connect controls to policies and to real-world outcomes in a single view. See how this fits into your broader fleet operations on our For Fleet Managers page.

Example: "Pre-Start Vehicle Inspection Program" Control

Control Type: Administrative | Safety Category: Maintenance

Effectiveness Rating:

Updated based on the linked-event evidence trail above - 2 incidents in 6 months (down from 5), 1 NCR closed with no recurrence, 1 field hazard that drove a maintenance interval change

Integration with Risk Management

The controls library doesn't stand alone — it's a core component of Hubfleet's broader Risk Management system.

Risk Register: Controls linked to risk assessments appear in the unified risk register, showing which risks have active controls and which don't
Hazard Workflow: When a new hazard is identified, search the controls library and link relevant controls — or create a new one if no control exists
Incident Investigation: During investigation, identify which controls were in place and whether they failed — linking the incident to the control for effectiveness tracking
NCR Workflow: Link NCRs to the controls that should have prevented the breach — driving corrective action and control improvement
Corrective Actions: When a control is found to be ineffective, corrective actions are created and tracked through to closure

Related Features:

Risk Management system.

Unified risk register, risk assessment, and hazard management

Non-Conformance Reporting (NCR)

Track compliance breaches and link to controls

Fit for Duty

Driver fitness checks as an administrative control

Safety Management System

Complete SMS platform covering all 5 outcome areas

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