Beyond compliance: How high-performing businesses use CoRsafe to improve their operations
Compliance with Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) is essential for any business with a role to play in the supply chain. But the most effective systems aren’t designed simply to avoid penalties. They’re structured to consistently deliver value through operational control, workforce safety, product quality and shared accountability.
“Your obligations under Chain of Responsibility (CoR) legislation are important, but they’re only the starting point,” says Adam Gibson, Transport Research Manager at CoRsafe. “A well-designed system should meet those obligations by default, and focus instead on delivering consistent performance.”
In his view, compliance should be the byproduct of a well-run business; not the primary goal. “You shouldn’t have to be legally compelled to try to be good at what you do,” he says. “If you’re operating at the right level, compliance becomes a byproduct. Your focus is on safety, efficiency, quality and resilience – and the systems that support the right outcomes.”
Here’s what high-performing businesses do differently – and how they use CoRsafe to ensure:
Safety systems are grounded in real-world behaviour
Inefficient practices are uncovered and replaced with smarter ones
Product integrity is protected through visibility and accountability
Supply chains are structured to adapt quickly and keep control under pressure
Safety
Successful businesses know safety doesn’t start and end with the manual. It’s realised through what people do every day on the ground. Policies and procedures matter, but their impact depends on how well expectations are communicated, understood and put into practice.
“For me, one of the most powerful things is to compare ‘work as imagined’ with ‘work as done’,” Adam says. “Grab your documentation – how the system’s meant to work – then head down to the floor and see what’s really happening. If there’s a gap, your system’s not in control.”
That disconnect is more common than you might think. In some cases, frontline workers are unaware of the policies meant to guide their tasks. In others, procedures are so vague or disconnected from daily operations that they don’t influence behaviour at all.
“Structured inspections and consistent reporting, like the kind supported by CoRsafe, help surface those gaps and show where things need to improve,” Adam says.
Effective safety systems create a clear link between risk and responsibility, making sure the person who bears the risk can get information to the person with the authority to act. That responsiveness reduces the likelihood of injury, environmental harm and prosecution, while building trust across operations.
Efficiency
Efficient operations are built for the real world. They eliminate friction, align teams, and give people the tools to deliver consistently, even when conditions change.
Adam describes a large food manufacturer where outbound logistics staff, focused purely on product, routinely palletised freight by SKU instead of destination. That meant when a multi-stop B-double run reached the first site, the driver had to unpack half the trailer just to reach the correct cartons, then re-pack the remaining freight before moving on.
“They didn’t think about it in terms of the work someone else had to do to unpack that,” Adam says. “They’d have to pull pallets out, get to the right one, then repack everything – wasting time, risking damage, blowing out turnaround times.”
And poor palletising is just one part of the problem. When sites are poorly laid out or expectations aren’t communicated clearly – for instance, if trucks regularly enter via the wrong gate, or reverse into docks unsafely – the result isn’t just ‘non-compliance’. It’s bottlenecks, shutdowns, and time and money down the drain.
“A site that’s in chaos isn’t going to be cost efficient,” Adam says. “It’s not delivering value for money.”
Clear, consistent expectations make a measurable difference. Tools like CoRsafe can help teams define how sites and deliveries should operate, and track whether those expectations are being followed – from load restraint and site entry to turnaround times and risk controls. That visibility supports smarter, more consistent decisions across sites and contractors.
“Efficiency doesn’t just happen,” Adam says. “You need to set expectations, check if they’re being met, and show you’ve acted when they’re not. You could try managing that with memos and corkboards, but CoRsafe gives you a smarter, scalable way to do it.”
Quality
Product integrity matters in every sector, whether you’re distributing perishables, pharmaceuticals, electronics or retail goods. Maintaining that integrity means more than just avoiding damage; it’s about consistent handling, hygiene, traceability and the confidence your customers have in your ability to deliver.
“If delivery reliability breaks down, store managers start compensating by holding excess stock,” Adam says. “That puts pressure on cashflow and increases spoilage risk. These aren’t merely compliance problems – they’re commercial problems.”
Protecting product quality requires clear expectations, consistent processes and accountability at every step, from how items are packaged and handled, to how hygiene and traceability requirements are met. Digital inspection tools and site-level checks can help teams stay aligned on what’s needed, while providing a record of what’s been done, where and by whom.
“Getting your products to customers in the right condition should be your obsession,” Adam says. “You can be the world’s best furniture manufacturer, but if your product can’t get out of your factory, you’re a museum, not a manufacturer.”
Resilience
Resilient supply chains don’t leave things to chance. They’re structured to identify problems early, adapt quickly and maintain control, even when conditions shift.
That kind of responsiveness depends on good information flow. When workers spot an issue – a near miss, a site hazard, a breakdown in loading or packaging – it needs to reach the person with the authority to act. Without that connection, problems fester.
“If there’s no way for information to flow between the person who bears the pain and the person who has the authority,” Adam says, “then the issue doesn’t get resolved in any sort of healthy way.”
Site inspections, digital reports and compliance checks should feed into a centralised system, with a clear trail of what’s been flagged, what’s been done and where attention is still needed. This enables proactive decisions, not reactive damage control.
It also reinforces trust in how your supply chain performs under pressure. “With CoRsafe, we want consignors to be able to look at their supply chain and know with certainty that it's delivering for their business needs, that it's delivering social licence, and that it's delivering a good return on investment,” Adam says.
Raising the bar
High-performing businesses don’t define success by compliance alone. They want confidence that their systems are doing what they’re meant to do – managing risk, supporting performance, and improving over time.
Businesses need the tools to measure how systems are tracking, identify gaps, and take action. That means clearer expectations, more consistent delivery, and better conversations with frontline teams, executives, partners and regulators.
“Don’t think of platforms like CoRsafe as tools to just barely keep you and your managing director out of prison,” Adam says. “Think of this as a suite of tools to support excellence across your supply chain.”
Because when you can see that your systems are performing – and you can prove it – you’re not simply staying out of trouble. You’re setting the standard.
© 2025 Logistics Safety Solutions Pty Ltd (LSS) ABN 25 134 417 379. General information only. LSS bears no responsibility, and shall not be held liable, for any loss, damage or injury arising directly or indirectly from your use of or reliance on the information in this article.