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RFS OPG - Heavy Plant

Operational Protocol

Scope

This Operational Protocol provides a framework for the use and engagement of Heavy Plant by the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and applies to all Heavy Plant under the control of the RFS during emergency and non-emergency operations. This also applies to RFS owned and operated equipment (excluding bulk water appliances).

This Operational Protocol does not:

prevent local/public authorities and occupier/owners of land from fulfilling their duties under the Rural Fires Act 1997;
preclude the use of Heavy Plant supplied on a “without remuneration or reward” basis; or
interrupt the provision of assistance to neighbours during emergencies.

Fundamental Protocols underpin the actions of all RFS members and must be adhered to at all times. They outline the Principles of being an RFS member and provide guidance on conduct to support the safety and wellbeing of members.

Protocol

Operational Objectives

Heavy Plant plays an important role in emergency management during the prevention, response and recovery from fire, flood, storm, biosecurity incidents and other emergencies. The use of Heavy Plant will be clearly justified by operational requirements, used responsibly and solely for achieving incident objectives during emergency operations, or to complete approved non-emergency work.

Prior to making a decision to use Heavy Plant, consider:

whether the proposed Heavy Plant strategy will achieve its operational objectives;
the suitability of Heavy Plant for the intended tasks;
available alternative strategies, particularly with respect to the environmental impacts associated with the use of Heavy Plant;
the mitigation of risks posed by the use of the Heavy Plant;
the localised proximity of Heavy Plant to an incident or task;
justification for expenditure; and
compliance with the provisions of the Conditions of Agreement in an ethical, professional, and lawful manner, ensuring there is no real or perceived conflict of interest.

Heavy Plant operations are conducted in accordance with the minimal impact suppression guidelines in BFCC Policy 2/2006 Management of Bush Fire Operations.

Where Heavy Plant is used for fire suppression activities on public lands the management of Heavy Plant by the RFS is conducted in consultation and co-operation with other agencies, in particular the National Park & Wildlife Service NSW (NPWS) and the Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW).

Supervision

Heavy Plant requires adequate supervision, and the level of supervision will be commensurate with the risk. Risk increases:

with the presence of environmental hazards, e.g. fire;
with the number of Heavy Plant requiring supervision, and the area over which supervision needs to occur;
with the scale of Heavy Plant engagements and the complexity of each task; and
proportional to the level of operator experience.

Responsibility for ensuring adequate supervision rests with:

the Incident Controller (IC) during engagements for fire and other emergencies; or
the District Manager (DM), or a designated Project Manager, during non-emergency engagements.

Supervision during emergency engagements will be undertaken by:

the IC, or designated Field Officer; or
a Heavy Plant Supervisor (HPS) when three (3) or more Heavy Plant are tasked for a fire incident; and
a Plant Operations Manager (POM) within the Incident Management Team (IMT) when five (5) or more Heavy Plant are tasked for a fire incident.

Field Support and Mutual Support

Heavy Plant operators may require a ‘field support’ person and equipment to assist with transport, mechanical repairs and other issues that may arise during a deployment.

For fire work, a firefighting appliance must be assigned to accompany the Heavy Plant; for the purpose of protecting the operator, field support and the equipment should fire conditions escalate, or equipment causes a fire. Mutual support should include:

One (1) firefighting appliance for each Heavy Plant for tasks where there is any risk of being impacted by fire; or
One (1) firefighting appliance per up to five (5) Heavy Plant for tasks where there is negligible risk of being impacted by fire, such as during Make Safe works.

The above is the minimum requirement. Additional resources need to be considered where vast distances or local conditions require additional mutual support.

Special Considerations

Heavy Plant Engagement

Approved Heavy Plant suppliers are engaged using RFS procurement systems.

Emergency Response (Fire Work)

ARENA-HP is used to engage and task Heavy Plant suppliers for all fire related work. Refer to ARENA-HP “How to” Guide on OneRFS and ARENA-HP training in FUEL. If ARENA-HP is offline, the ARENA-HP Manual Engagement form may be used. Once ARENA-HP access is restored, the engagement details must be entered in ARENA-HP

Non-Emergency Operations

Coupa is used to engage Heavy Plant suppliers for other non-emergency work. Arena-HP can be used to identify appropriate suppliers. Prices for this type of work must be agreed upon with suppliers before providing a purchase order.

In all cases, Heavy Plant must be inspected and deemed suitable for tasking prior to commencing work. Before leaving an incident, Heavy Plant must be inspected to ensure it is clean and any damage noted. Refer to Roles and Responsibilities in the table below.

Engagement and Tasking through ARENA-HP

Engagement and tasking for emergency response (fire work) must be undertaken by a person nominated by the DM or IC, refer to Roles and Responsibilities in the table below, and will be on the following basis:

For immediate engagement and tasking, the most appropriate Heavy Plant closest to the incident.
For a subsequent tasking, or other planned operation, the most cost effective suitable Heavy Plant within a 100km search radius (to be extended where no suitable plant is found).

Approval of Heavy Plant Engagement and Tasking through ARENA-HP

The incident must be in ICON for tasking to be approved.
All Heavy Plant engagement for emergency response and recovery (fire work) must be approved in accordance with the ARENA-HP Approval Authority and Financial Delegation information outlined in the Roles and Responsibilities table below. Also summarised in Appendix One.
For all other non-emergency operations, approvals must be completed in accordance with NSW RFS Policy P4.1.1 Financial Delegations.

Engagement and Tasking Off-Contract

Engagement and tasking of Heavy Plant suppliers or a piece of equipment that is ‘off-contract’ may only be done in urgent circumstances, limited to the first 24 hours. The expectation is that a pre-existing ARENA-HP supplier will be tasked for any fire work beyond the first 24 hours. Tasking is to be completed by utilising ARENA-HP and is completed through the “Off-Contract” function after excluding any available supplier or plant for valid reasons.

For Heavy Plant off-contract ARENA-HP taskings, the responsible DM/IC must ensure risks are assessed and mitigation applied. Refer to the Risk Management information below.

The DM/IC must be satisfied that the critical requirement to engage a Heavy Plant supplier under these circumstances is balanced against the risk of delaying the engagement of Heavy Plant.

Approval of an Off-Contract ARENA-HP Tasking

Approval of an off-contract ARENA-HP tasking for emergency response (fire work), is on the following basis:

the use of Heavy Plant is considered immediately critical by the DM/IC;
a suitable Heavy Plant supplier or piece of plant in ARENA-HP is not available within an appropriate response time frame to meet operational objectives and this can be supported with evidence in ARENA-HP;
the Heavy Plant supplier or plant satisfies standards outlined in the Factsheet: Standards for Heavy Plant, Factsheet: Safety for Heavy Plant Operators, and Factsheet: Heavy Plant Operator PPC/E;
the DM/IC is notified of, and approves the decision; and
the SDOO approves the tasking in Arena-HP prior to plant being engaged.

The approvers must ensure:

all risks and hazards have been considered and mitigations applied; and
tasking is for a maximum of 24 hours.

The DDOO, Operations Officer or POM will ensure that a Heavy Plant supplier is sourced through ARENA-HP to replace the supplier engaged off-contract as soon as possible during a task, and not exceeding 24 hours.

If engaging a Heavy Plant supplier who is not in ARENA-HP, opportunity should be taken to encourage the supplier to register in ARENA-HP as a supplier for future engagements.

If approving the tasking of Heavy Plant off ARENA-HP, all risks and hazards must be considered and mitigated, and the value is within delegation.

Other Emergency Management Engagement and Tasking

Tasking for other emergency management operations will be done through Coupa after locating a suitable Heavy Plant supplier in ARENA-HP. These taskings will generally have a lower risk profile and there is usually the opportunity to negotiate a lower cost for the work.

Risk Management

The use of Heavy Plant in operations does not occur without associated risk. Risks may include; risks to the safety of the plant operator, their machinery, crews working in proximity to the plant, members of the public, and environmental impact.

Everyone involved in heavy plant operations is responsible for ensuring, as far as reasonably practicable, the safety of any activity relating to that operation, including consideration of fatigue management guidelines.

Each party must do their best to eliminate risk to the public and not directly or indirectly cause any other party involved to contravene legislation, regulations, or relevant rules.

Refer to the Heavy Plant page on OneRFS for further information on identified risks and their control measures.

Environmental Considerations

Environmental considerations include:

soil and erosion protection measures, including but not limited to, basic drainage features, to all work conducted on fire trails and construction of control lines and drainage features to a new fire trail;
the protection of trees, including those that are culturally significant to Aboriginal people (for example scared trees, and carved trees), trees with historic significance and carvings (for example Explorer trees or Surveyor trees), and significant trees (such as trees identified with the National Trust Register or Council);
construction and/or breaking up windrows;
crossing fence lines in a manner that allows later repair; and
activities consistent with BFCC Policy 2/2006 Management of Bush Fire Operations.

Make Safe

Every incident must have a Make Safe plan. For Class 3 fires a Make Safe plan will be developed prior to section 44 (s44) revocation, in liaison with the Manager Emergency Management, and recommended by the IC for approval by the Deputy Commissioners.

Any Heavy Plant tasking related to bush fire suppression has the potential to become Make Safe work. For Class 3 incidents the management of the tasking depends on the phase of the incident:

If before the revocation of a s44 declaration, Make Safe tasks are managed by the IMT.
If after the revocation of an s44 declaration, outstanding Make Safe tasks will be managed by DM/Land Manager.

Roles and Responsibilities

The following table outlines roles and responsibilities, financial delegation, and training requirements. Financial delegation is per incident (regardless of the number of taskings/plant appliances), and completed in accordance with NSW RFS Policy P4.1.1 Financial Delegations.

Position/Role	Responsibilities	Approval Authority and Financial Delegation for Emergency Response and Recovery	Heavy Plant Qualifications
Heavy Plant Suppliers and Operators	Refer to NSW RFS Heavy Plant Services Conditions of Agreement. Must adhere to Factsheet: Standards for Heavy Plant, Factsheet: Safety for Heavy Plant Operators, and Factsheet: Heavy Plant Operator PPC/E.
Field Commanders (includes Class 1 ICs, Sector Leaders, and Divisional Commanders) or Field Officer in the absence of above.	Responsible for the safe, efficient, and effective use of Heavy Plant under their chain of command on the incident ground. Including: - requesting Heavy Plant through the chain of command; - arrival and departure inspections of Heavy Plant; - ensuring plant is suitable, fit for purpose and clean prior to commencing and competing shift; - tasking Heavy Plant suppliers and monitoring their progress and effectiveness within scope; and - ensuring the logistical and welfare needs of Heavy Plant suppliers are met.	Nil.
Heavy Plant Supervisor (HPS)	Responsible at the tactical level for supervising the tasking, deployment, and safe operation of Heavy Plant in the field. HPS reports to the field commander responsible for task to be undertaken i.e. Sector Commander, Divisional Commander, or in a smaller Class 1 incident, to the Operations Officer or IC. In the absence of an appointed HPS, the applicable Field Commander assumes these responsibilities. IMP 3.05.05.01 Role Statement - Heavy Plant Supervisor	Nil.	Competent in Heavy Plant Supervisor (HPS) or hold equivalent experience.
Plant Operations Manager (POM) Previously known as Heavy Plant Manager (HPM)	Situated within the IMT and responsible for: - liaising with the HPS; - setting priorities and tasks for Heavy Plant and major equipment deployed at an incident; - planning, engaging, and ending engagements; - requesting and tasking Heavy Plant, including amending a tasking; and - ensuring timely and accurate reporting (in consultation with the HPS) of workplace injury/illness/exposure, and reporting of WHS near miss or property damage regarding any such incident in the field involving Heavy Plant. The POM reports to the Operations Officer. IMP 3.05.05 Role Statement - Plant Operations Manager	Nil.	Competent in Plant Operations Manager (POM) or equivalent expertise. Current in the use of ARENA-HP.
District Duty Operations Officer (DDOO)	During a Class 1 or 2 incident, or a level not deemed to warrant the appointment of a POM, DDOO or Operations Officer may fulfil the role of POM. OMP 3.01.13 Role Statement – District Duty Operations Officer	Nil.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
District Manager (DM)	Prior to the start of the Bush Fire Danger Period, the DM will ensure that Heavy Plant resourcing requirements have been reviewed in line with OMP 2.01 State Operations Coordination, Operational Readiness and Alert Level Status and their Bush Fire Management Committee Plan of Operations. In collaboration with the Area Capability Manager, the DM is responsible for: - identifying and supporting the development of HPS and POM, where there is a recognised gap for qualified and experienced personnel in these roles; and - working with local Heavy Plant suppliers to support their engagement through ARENA-HP.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1 or Class 2 incidents, up to $20,000. Note: If the DM is not available, neighbouring DMs, Area Commanders and Area Capability Managers can approve on their behalf with existing Arena-HP configurations.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
Area Capability Manager	In collaboration with the DMs. Area Capability Managers are responsible for: - identifying and supporting the development of HPS and POM, where there is a recognised gap for qualified and experienced personnel in these roles; and - reviewing the adequacy of Heavy Plant coverage across their area command, and work with DMs to address any coverage shortfalls.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1 or Class 2 incidents, up to $20,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
Area Commander	Responsible for: - approval of Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1 and Class 2 incidents where there is no alternate approver to the DM.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1 or Class 2 incidents, up to $20,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
Incident Controller (IC)	Responsible for: - Heavy Plant suppliers on the incident ground, - all other personnel in their chain of command, - ensuring engagement and use of Heavy Plant is undertaken in line with this Protocol, - the appointment of a suitably qualified POM to the IMT; and - the appointment of a suitably qualified HPS to the field. When Control is delegated to a Deputy Incident Controller (DIC), the DIC has the same delegation and responsibility listed above.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 3 (s44) incidents, up to $20,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training (Class 3 only).
State Duty Operations Officer (SDOO)	Responsible for: - approving Heavy Plant taskings in line with this Protocol, up to the prescribed financial delegation.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 (s44) incidents, up to $50,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
State Operations Controller (SOC)	Responsible for: - approving Heavy Plant taskings in line with this Protocol, up to the prescribed financial delegation; and - maintaining situational awareness of current and emerging circumstances effecting approval of Heavy Plant.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 (s44) incidents, up to $250,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
Director of State Operations	Responsible for: - approving Heavy Plant taskings in line with this Protocol, up to the prescribed financial delegation; and - maintaining situational awareness of current and emerging circumstances effecting approval of Heavy Plant.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 (s44) incidents, up to $500,000.	Completed ARENA-HP training.
Deputy Commissioners	Responsible for: - approving Heavy Plant taskings in line with this Protocol, up to the prescribed financial delegation; and - maintaining situational awareness of current and emerging circumstances effecting approval of Heavy Plant.	Heavy Plant taskings for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 (s44) incidents.

Related Information

Appendices

Appendix One – Heavy Plant Approvals

Table 1 describes the roles responsible for tasking approval in various circumstances. Financial delegation is per incident (regardless of the number of taskings/plant appliances), and completed in accordance with NSW RFS Policy P4.1.1 Financial Delegations.

Heavy Plant Approvals

*If the District Manager is not available, neighbouring District Managers can approve on their behalf with existing Arena HP configurations.

Content Owner: Heavy Plant
Date Approved: 04 Nov 2024
Review Required: 04 Nov 2027
Version: 1.1

If you have any questions or feedback on Operational Doctrine, please email Ops.Performance@rfs.nsw.gov.au.