What is a Journey Management Plan?
A Journey Management Plan (JMP) is a strategic risk management system that treats the vehicle as a workplace. It systematically identifies hazards associated with work-related travel—such as fatigue, route complexity, weather, and communication gaps—and implements controls to eliminate or minimise those risks before the driver starts the journey.
Why Journey Management Matters
Vehicle incidents remain a leading cause of workplace death globally. In Australia, vehicle incidents accounted for 42% of worker fatalities in 2023, claiming 84 lives. Safe Work Australia data reveals that machinery operators and drivers have a fatality rate six times higher than the national average. In the United States, transportation incidents account for approximately 39% of all occupational fatalities.
A Journey Management Plan addresses this risk directly. It is not merely a navigation aid or logistical schedule—it is a formal safety control measure that shifts responsibility for road safety from the individual driver to the organisation. The plan ensures that if an incident occurs, the organisation knows exactly where the driver is and can initiate an immediate emergency response.
For many workers, driving is the most dangerous thing they do. Journey management bridges the gap between the controlled safety of the workplace and the uncontrolled danger of the public road.
Legal and Regulatory Framework
Journey Management Plans are not optional for many organisations—they are a legal requirement under workplace health and safety legislation. While traffic laws regulate behaviour on public roads, WHS laws regulate the activity of driving for work.
In Australia, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 places a primary duty of care on Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) to ensure worker health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. This duty extends to the vehicle as a workplace. Regulation 48 of the Model WHS Regulations specifically requires employers to manage the risks of remote or isolated work and provide a system of effective communication.
This means if a worker travels into an area without mobile coverage, the employer must provide an alternative communication method such as a satellite phone or GPS tracker. A Journey Management Plan documents precisely how this communication will be maintained and what happens if contact is lost.
In high-risk industries like mining, oil and gas, and utilities, a JMP is often mandatory as a "permit to work" for travel exceeding specific thresholds—typically trips over 400 kilometres or into remote areas. The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers Report 365 sets the global standard, mandating JMPs for any trip exceeding 4.5 hours or in high-risk environments.
WorkSafeKit's GPS tracking ensures you always know where your workers are, with automatic alerts if they deviate from planned routes or miss check-ins.
When Is a Journey Management Plan Required?
Not every trip requires a formal Journey Management Plan. Organisations establish triggers to escalate routine travel to managed travel based on risk factors. Understanding these triggers helps determine when the additional planning and oversight is necessary.
Industry best practice identifies several common triggers. Distance-based triggers typically activate for journeys exceeding 150 kilometres one way or 400 kilometres return, as fatigue onset becomes a significant risk factor. Duration-based triggers engage when driving time exceeds 2.5 to 4.5 hours, recognising that cognitive decline and physical fatigue increase accident probability.
Environmental factors also trigger the need for a JMP. Remote or isolated areas where medical assistance or communication infrastructure is limited require formal journey management under Regulation 48. Unsealed roads, off-road conditions, or snow and ice change vehicle handling dynamics and increase the risk of bogging or rollover.
Time-of-day considerations matter significantly. Night driving from dusk to dawn reduces visibility and increases wildlife strike incidents—particularly relevant for Australian operations where kangaroo strikes pose a serious hazard. Some organisations also trigger JMPs based on driver experience, vehicle type, or the presence of hazardous materials.
How Journey Management Plans Work
A Journey Management Plan operates through a lifecycle process: assess, plan, authorise, monitor, and close. Each stage serves a specific safety function and builds upon the previous step.
Assessment and Planning
The process begins with a fundamental question: is this journey necessary? The most effective risk control is elimination—using video conferencing, email, or remote telemetry instead of a site visit reduces exposure to road risk to zero. If the journey cannot be eliminated, the next step considers substitution, such as using commercial air travel plus car hire instead of long-distance driving.
Once the journey is confirmed necessary, the planning phase captures critical information. Driver competency verification ensures the person is licenced and fit for duty, with checks for fatigue, drugs, and alcohol. Vehicle readiness assessment includes pre-start checks of tyres, fluids, and emergency equipment. Route analysis identifies "black spots," rest areas, and mobile coverage gaps.
The communication protocol forms the backbone of the safety system. This designates a nominated contact person who will monitor the journey and establishes the check-in schedule—typically upon departure, at regular intervals during travel, and upon arrival. Most importantly, it defines the emergency response plan and what triggers a search.
The Missed Check-In Protocol
This escalation protocol represents the most critical safety mechanism in journey management. When a driver fails to check in at the scheduled time, a clock starts ticking with defined response stages.
At the scheduled check-in time with no contact, the alert phase begins. Within 15 minutes, the journey manager attempts contact through all available channels—phone calls, SMS, and satellite phone if equipped. If there is still no response at 30 minutes, the alarm phase activates. The journey manager contacts the destination or accommodation, checks vehicle tracking system location if available, and notifies supervisors.
At 60 minutes with no contact, the emergency phase initiates. Search and rescue procedures deploy, nearby assets are contacted, and emergency services are notified. This graduated response ensures that if a crash occurs in a remote area, the "golden hour" for medical treatment is not lost to delayed discovery.
Key Components of an Effective JMP
A robust Journey Management Plan template—whether paper-based or digital—must capture specific information to support safety and emergency response. The level of detail should match the risk profile of the journey.
| Component | Key Information Required |
|---|---|
| Journey Details | Purpose, departure and destination locations, estimated departure and arrival times, total distance and expected duration |
| Driver Information | Name, contact number, licence verification, fitness for duty declaration, recent rest and fatigue status |
| Vehicle Details | Registration, make and model, pre-start inspection completed, fuel level, safety rating, equipped emergency supplies |
| Route Planning | Primary route and alternatives, identified hazards (black spots, unsealed sections, water crossings), rest stop locations, areas with no mobile coverage |
| Communication | Journey manager name and contact, check-in schedule and methods, backup communication devices, escalation timeframes |
| Emergency Contacts | Local emergency services, roadside assistance, nearest medical facilities, company emergency response team |
For remote journeys, additional requirements include emergency survival equipment—water, food, thermal blankets, and emergency beacons (EPIRB or PLB). Vehicles should also carry specific recovery equipment if travelling on unsealed roads, such as a snatch strap, shackles, and a shovel.
Replace paper forms with mobile JMPs that guide workers through risk assessment, automate check-ins, and trigger alerts when something goes wrong.
Hierarchy of Controls in Journey Management
The most effective Journey Management Plans apply the hierarchy of controls framework to transport risk, rather than relying solely on driver skill and personal protective equipment.
Elimination sits at the top of the hierarchy. Before approving any journey, organisations should ask whether the trip can be avoided entirely through virtual meetings, remote diagnostics, or data access. This removes the hazard completely.
Substitution replaces high-risk travel with lower-risk alternatives. This might mean using commercial air travel instead of driving 800 kilometres, or deploying a bus service for crew transport instead of multiple individual vehicles on drive-in-drive-out (DIDO) operations.
Engineering controls isolate the worker from the hazard through vehicle technology and systems. In-Vehicle Monitoring Systems (IVMS) provide GPS telematics that track location, speed, and harsh braking events. Advanced systems include rollover detection sensors that automatically alert the monitoring centre if the vehicle rolls, even if the driver is unconscious. Many organisations now mandate five-star ANCAP safety-rated vehicles equipped with Lane Keep Assist and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB).
Administrative controls change the way work is organised. The Journey Management Plan itself is an administrative control. Others include fatigue policies that cap driving hours at 10 hours per day, mandatory rest break schedules, and standard operating procedures for high-risk activities like changing tyres or recovering bogged vehicles.
Personal protective equipment represents the last line of defence. Seatbelts are the single most effective life-saving device in a crash and must be worn at all times. For remote travel, survival kits containing water, emergency rations, and thermal blankets protect workers who may need to wait hours or days for rescue.
Technology and Modern Journey Management
Digital systems have transformed journey management from a paper-based compliance exercise into an active safety tool that provides real-time oversight and intervention capability.
Modern journey management applications combine the JMP form, navigation aid, and communication device into a single ecosystem accessible via smartphone or tablet. Workers can complete journey plans in minutes, with the system automatically assessing risk based on distance, route conditions, and weather forecasts.
GPS tracking provides continuous location visibility, allowing journey managers to monitor multiple workers simultaneously. Geofencing technology can automatically register arrival at a destination, reducing the burden of manual check-ins. If a vehicle stops unexpectedly in a remote area, the system can send an automatic alert to the monitoring team.
Advanced systems integrate with weather services to provide dynamic risk updates. If severe weather develops along a planned route after the journey has commenced, the system alerts both the driver and journey manager, enabling route changes or safe harbour decisions.
Predictive analytics use historical data to identify high-risk patterns. Systems can flag journeys scheduled during statistically dangerous times—such as Friday afternoons when fatigue is elevated—and prompt additional controls. Some platforms provide in-cab audio feedback to correct risky behaviour before an incident occurs, alerting drivers to speed violations or harsh braking.
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
Despite the clear safety benefits, organisations often encounter resistance when implementing journey management systems. Understanding these challenges and addressing them proactively improves adoption and compliance.
Workers frequently perceive journey management as surveillance or unnecessary bureaucracy. The key to overcoming this resistance is communication. Focus on the "why" rather than the "what"—explain that the system exists to send help if they are injured, not to catch them speeding. Share the missed check-in protocol and emphasise that it could save their life.
The check-in burden represents another common complaint. Manual check-ins via phone calls are prone to human error—drivers forget, and managers get distracted by other duties. The solution lies in automation. Modern apps allow one-tap check-ins, and geofencing can automatically register arrival at known locations. This maintains the safety benefit while reducing the administrative load.
Connectivity gaps pose a genuine technical challenge, particularly in Australia where vast areas lack cellular coverage. Hybrid technology devices that switch automatically between cellular and satellite networks provide the answer. Workers should also carry emergency beacons (EPIRB or PLB) as an independent communication backup that functions anywhere on the planet.
Industry-Specific Applications
Different industries face unique journey management challenges and have developed specialised approaches to address their specific risk profiles.
Mining and resources operations deal primarily with fatigue management for DIDO workers. Strict limits on post-shift driving, mandatory rest breaks, and IVMS rollover detection are standard controls. Many mining companies prohibit any driving in the first hour after a 12-hour shift to allow workers to transition from work mode to driving mode.
Utilities workers servicing linear assets like power lines and water pipes require geofencing of work zones and "man down" alerts for workers who leave vehicles to inspect infrastructure. The combination of roadside work and electrical hazards creates unique risks that journey management systems must address.
Sales and service teams covering urban and regional territories face different challenges. The focus shifts to distraction management (mobile phone use) and urban traffic hazards rather than survival equipment. However, the check-in protocols remain equally important—a salesperson injured in a car park accident still needs timely assistance.
Logistics and trucking operations must comply with Chain of Responsibility legislation, which holds all parties in the supply chain legally accountable for safety breaches. Journey management in this sector focuses on scheduling systems that prevent drivers from speeding to meet unrealistic delivery deadlines, and ensuring proper load restraint before departure.
References and Further Reading
- Safe Work Australia (2023). Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2023. Retrieved from safeworkaustralia.gov.au
- Safe Work Australia (2018). Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment and Facilities. Retrieved from safeworkaustralia.gov.au
- International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (2020). Report 365-19: Land Transportation Safety Recommended Practice – Journey Management. Retrieved from iogp.org
- WorkSafe New Zealand (2017). Vehicles and Mobile Plant: Traffic Management Guidelines. Retrieved from worksafe.govt.nz
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a trip plan and a Journey Management Plan?
A trip plan is a logistical tool that focuses on navigation—which route to take, where to turn, estimated travel time. A Journey Management Plan is a risk management tool that assesses hazards like fatigue, weather, and communication gaps, then mandates specific controls such as check-in schedules and satellite phones. A JMP asks "what if something goes wrong?" while a trip plan asks "how do I get there?"
Do I need a Journey Management Plan for city driving?
Generally, formal JMPs are triggered by non-routine or high-risk travel such as long distances or remote areas. Routine city driving is usually covered by standard safe driving policies. However, if city driving involves hazardous materials, extreme hours that create fatigue risk, or operation in specific high-risk zones, your organisation's policy may still require a JMP. Always check your company's specific triggers and requirements.
How often should drivers check in during remote journeys?
Industry best practice for remote travel typically requires check-ins upon departure, upon arrival, and at intervals of every two hours during the drive. In extremely high-risk or hazardous environments, this may increase to hourly check-ins. This frequency ensures that if a crash occurs, the search area is limited to a specific radius based on the last known contact, significantly reducing response time and improving rescue outcomes.