Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 389 i Australasian Transport News (ATN)

One of the myriad imponderables that our American cousins tease us with is why a person in charge of a “tractor trailer” is called a “truck driver” when we all know a “truck” is just an outsized ute over there. Cue endless discussion around the barbie or camp fire. Had it not been for such a discussion, this writer would never have known that Henry Ford had called utes “Kangaroo Chasers” when Louis Bandt, one of South Australia’s finest, took a couple of them over to Detroit in 1933. This column has observed before that US developments have a propensity to arrive here after a few years and it was with this in mind that a glance over “what’s goin’ on” seemed a reasonable move, as there’s been a bit…

The uptake of heavy vehicle fatigue-monitoring technology is gathering pace and acceptance within the industry, with the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) throwing its support behind initiatives to study and refine the technology aimed at reducing the risk of road incidents. While the organisation notes the exact data is not conclusive at this stage, it acknowledges current estimates that show 8–20 per cent of all crashes are fatigue-related. “Part of the NatRoad vision for zero road deaths is for there to be rapid deployment and accelerated uptake of proven vehicle safety technologies and innovation,” it says. “Accordingly, NatRoad is supportive of technology that assists to alert drivers when they are fatigued or may become fatigued. “NatRoad is therefore supportive of work underway at present using different fatigue metrics and other…

Intelligent transport and logistics workers with multiple skills and flexibility are in high demand as the Australian economy continues to perform well. That is the core message from recruitment firm Hays in its latest Hotspots of Skills in Demand report for the first half of the calendar year. Employers are looking for candidates with “a strong knowledge of systems and processes and a history of reducing costs, achieving demanding KPIs and diverse experience. “Employers also want candidates with a wide technical skill set who they can utilise to their full potential.” Top of the list are transport allocators, especially in eastern states but also heavy-duty truck drivers. “Within the transport industry, strained transport networks in Sydney and Melbourne will continue to fuel demand for transport allocators,” Hays analysts state. “With…

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW is underway into the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to consider ways to make improvements that can boost national road safety and productivity delivery. Federal transport minister Michael McCormack welcomed the review investigating potential changes to enhance road safety and productivity outcomes. McCormack says the Transport and Infrastructure Council of federal, state and territory ministers recently approved the review’s terms of reference, submitted by the National Transport Commission (NTC). “The NTC’s terms of reference reflect the widely held view that the HVNL, in its current form, falls short of being truly national and is overly prescriptive and complicated,” McCormack says. “It is now widely accepted that while the first iteration of the HVNL in 2012 was an improvement on the previous multi-jurisdictional situation, it now needs to…

ANOTHER LARGE BRICK has been reinforced in the legal wall built to protect people at risk in facility loading areas. The District Court of Western Australia has declined an appeal by Osborne Park Commercial Pty Ltd, trading as Harvey Norman Commercial Osborne Park, over a 2015 incident where the driver of a semi-trailer backed into a customer waiting for goods to be loaded into his car in a warehouse access way. The firm, described as “Harvey Norman” in the judgement but “Osborne Park Pty Ltd” in the case name, was a franchisee of Harvey Norman Holdings (HNH). The judgement in the case, Miloradovic v Osborne Park Pty Ltd, is salient to all large retail operations where commercial vehicle loading and unloading mixes with facility customer pick-up functions. The truck driver…

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has issued a notice to importers of goods subject to biosecurity control to comply with its directions following the prosecution of a Queensland transport company. In a case heard at the Brisbane District Court, a Brisbane-based business and its director were fined a total of $120,000 for biosecurity breaches associated with the transport and storage of imported uncooked pig meat in 2014 and 2015. The company was ordered to pay $100,000, while the director was hit with a $20,000 penalty and placed on a three-year good behaviour bond. The company was required to transport the imported containers directly to an approved arrangement site or to the processing facility of the importer, to ensure effective biosecurity control was maintained. Pig meat can carry foot…

DP World has announced that it has acquired an additional stake in DP World Australia (DPWA) from Gateway Infrastructure Investments and other financial investors. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval but would value DPWA at about $1.4 billion. Private equity firm Corsair Infrastructure Partners (CIP), manager of Gateway, will continue to hold a stake in DPWA through other managed funds. As recently as December, reports stated DP World, the original parent of DPWA, had been looking to move back to at least 51 per cent control of DPWA from 25 per cent, spending at least $250 million buying back shares it sold in 2010. DPWA is expected to be earnings neutral in the first full year of ownership, DP World says. Glen Hilton will take the helm of DPWA,…

On 7 May 2018, the then Minister for the Environment and Energy, the Hon Josh Frydenberg, announced a review of Australia’s fuel security. NatRoad supports an examination of how fuel is supplied and used in Australia, including the country’s resilience to withstand disruptions from both overseas and in Australia. Supplies of diesel fuel are the lifeblood of the road transport industry. The review was to be completed by end 2018 but no results of the inquiry have been made publicly available. This step should be fast-tracked. The review will contribute to a broader consideration of energy security across liquid fuel, electricity and gas supplies in the National Energy Security Assessment by mid-2019. The National Energy Security Assessment will also consider energy security issues related to liquid fuel such as the…

The publishing house formerly known as Fairfax continues to print The Age and so its readers continue to see a front page snippet section calledOddspot. ATN humblyoffers a couple of stories that surfaced during what newspapers call the “silly season” that could have made it there. One was Volvo’s inspired bit of marketing silliness in offering the FH as its Australian of the Year contender. In other countries, that might have inflamed nationalists but they’re a humourless bunch and we enjoyed the chutzpah. The other was the explosives truck at the bottom of a WA mine’s sinkhole – a bit of an OMG moment. But it seems the silly season continued into February with this stuck pressure vessel that, at time of writing, threatened to see the M1 northbound off-ramp…

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY QUEENSLAND (WHSQ) is raising awareness of its safe immobilising of heavy vehicles and trailers campaign, flagging the issuing of improvement notices following related inspections. The campaign began in 2017 and WHSQ flags that it is ongoing, with more inspections to come this year. At the start of the campaign, it noted: “Between 2012 and 2016, there were 23 fatalities and other incidents in Queensland where a worker was crushed or hit by a heavy vehicle or trailer because it was not immobilised correctly.” The organisation continues to seek to identify the causes of unsafe immobilisation and provide businesses with resources on how to manage these risks and to ensure compliance. “Inspectors visited over 400 workplaces during this campaign, identifying that either the vehicles braking system wasn’t…

WorkSafe Victoria reports it is investigating the death of a truck driver who was collecting a hire rubbish skip bin at a workplace in Kew. The 55-year-old died on the scene after being struck by his own truck. WorkSafe notes he had left the cabin of his vehicle when it moved and struck him before crashing through a side fence and into a garage on an adjoining property. Police will prepare a report for the Coroner as WorkSafe investigates the incident. The New South Wales Resources Regulator also reports criminal proceedings are in progress against Richard Wayne Simmons, whose trucking company RW & LM Simmons employed a driver killed at Rix’s Creek Mine near Singleton, NSW, in 2016. The 53-year-old was fatally injured when he was struck by the steel…

Heavy vehicle rest areas (HVRAs) – in particular, their placement, design and amenities – have long been a bone of contention for drivers on Australian roads. In a welcome move, peak road transport and traffic organisation Austroads, with the assistance of industry consultation, has released guidelines to help road managers assess the need and prioritisation for HVRAs, and plan for and design HVRAs as part of their planning activities. The Guidelines for the Provision of Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Facilities includes: • an outline of the different types of HVRAs available for road managers to implement to cater for the heavy vehicle driver’s rest needs • guidance on how to assess the need and prioritisation of HVRAs • the principles of good HVRA design. The successful operation of HVRAs depends…

With the live export trade remaining a vexed issue, leading to heightened concerns for transporters, little has gone their way in what has become public relations war with animal activists. Now negative headlines directed to the trade’s critics and Western Australia’s Livestock and Rural Transport Association (LRTAWA) have supported its ability to prosecute. Revelations that animal activists offered cash inducements to workers on live export vessels to provide visions of sick and dying animals, if accurate, highlight the lack of integrity some of these groups have, according to new LRTAWA president Andy Jacob. “There have been many suggestions over the years that money has changed hands in return for damaging footage and it is disappointing the authorities have not followed the claims up and exposed them if they were proved,”…

Conflict between the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) shows no signs of abating, with a dispute about approaches to safety spilling over into criticisms of how the peak trucking association – of which the union is a member – is conducting its election voting process. Most recently, the TWU denounced what it perceived to be a lack of information and publicity from the ATA ahead of its general council elections, claiming this is potentially catching willing participants off guard over the holiday period and reducing the number of voters. The TWU notes that despite the first online election of 2017, which should have had the effect of simplifying the voting process and increasing participation, registrations were actually lower than the previous election in 2015, with…

Worksafe Victoria reports that Patrick Stevedores has been convicted and fined $475,000 for a 10-year-old case involving workers who were threatened for raising safety concerns. Patrick Stevedores Holdings Pty Ltd (PSH) was sentenced in relation to six counts of engaging in discriminatory conduct contrary to section 76 of the OHS Act. The fines were issued after a County Court jury had returned verdicts of guilty on six of seven counts on the indictment on December 3. Section 76 “prohibits discrimination by an employer against an employee or prospective employee on grounds that relate to health and safety”. The court heard four employees were threatened by PSH’s Westernport port manager on March 11 and 12, 2009, after they raised health and safety concerns about the proposed use of a forklift to…

PROPERTY EXPERT ROMILLY MADEW will be the new boss of Infrastructure Australia (AI). Acting chief executive Anna Chau will remain in the position until Madew takes it up in April. Chau then resumes her role as executive director of project advisory to lead IA’s ongoing project assessment work. The federal planning organisation describes Madew as the driving force behind Australia’s sustainable building movement, having has led the Green Building Council of Australia since 2006. “She is recognised around the world as a leader in the property and construction industry, and is an experienced CEO with expertise in strategy, governance and policy development,” AI chair Julieanne Alroe says.…

Due to the tenure of the business, Murphy’s has a strong understanding of both Sugar Australia and its customer requirements. The relationship it has with Murphy’s is to build on this knowledge and work together to deliver on Sugar Australia’s Customer Value Proposition. Murphy’s customers require both value and a seamless service where they put in their order with Sugar Australia and they receive the product on the day and time they requested. Over this journey, Murphy’s and Sugar Australia have worked together to deliver solutions that create value and meet customers’ and industry’s changing requirements. Murphy’s and Sugar Australia are located across the road from one another in Yarraville, and they have grown and evolved together as technologies and business practices changed. Over the course of the 150 years,…

There is a particular group of costing pricing schemes that, if calculated properly and applied to your operations, can be highly beneficial so you don’t go broke. In this the sixth instalment in a series of logistic pricing schemes, we will examine “the Big Four A’s” of the operations pricing world. These are: 1. Activity-based costing 2. Attributable costing 3. Avoidable costing 4. Allocated pricing “Knowing your costs is the basis for any effective, or even efficient, pricing scheme.” FIRSTLY KNOW YOUR COSTS Knowing your costs is the basis for any effective, or even efficient, pricing scheme. Sounds so simple, yet surprisingly many operators make mistakes and underestimate their full costs. Well, I have been a believer in a logistics world look at the activities that are attributable to an…

Engine: Petrol V6 with DOHC and alloy block and heads Capacity: 3.6L Max power: 230kW @ 6,800rpm Max torque: 373Nm @ 4,000rpm Gearbox: 8L438 speed automatic 4X4 System: Part-time 4x4 with 2WD, auto 4x4, locked 4x4 high range, locked 4x4 low range. Driver selectable locking differentials front and rear Construction: Four-door cab and cargo tub on ladder frame chassis Front suspension: IFS with coil springs and DSSV shocks Rear suspension: Live axle with leaf springs and DSSV shocks Wheel and tyre: 17 x 8” alloys with 31-inch a/t tyres Kerb weight: 2,160kg GVM: 2,722kg Payload: 500kg Towing capacity: 2,267kg Fuel tank capacity: 80 litres ADR fuel consumption: N/A On-test fuel consumption: 16.6L/100km…

With the north Queensland floods declared a disaster situation at the beginning of February, the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) reminded transport employers of their obligations to employees during emergencies. With major roads such as Bruce Highway impassable in places, employers unable to continue operating as a result of natural disaster must still determine employee entitlements during the closure. “This may include offering the choice of taking accrued paid leave, or in some cases, standing employees down,” QTA says. For example, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) provides a default right for an employer to stand down employees for a certain period “when an employee cannot usefully be employed during a period of time because of a stoppage of work for any cause for which the employer cannot reasonably be held…

Volvo Trucks Australia made an audacious Australian of the Year claim ahead of Australia Day celebrations. Pointing to Australia’s reliance on road transport and the growing freight task, coupled with its Australian manufacturing presence, Volvo outlines further why the Volvo FH was a “front-runner to take the top prize”. The list includes: • The FH has been built to thrive in local conditions and has recently celebrated its 25th anniversary of being made in Australia • Volvo Group Australia’s Wacol facility not only remains in operation, but has become Australia’s largest vehicle manufacturing powerhouse, providing local jobs since 1972 with more than 46,475 Volvo trucks rolling off the production line up to December 2018 • All Volvo FH and FM models produced at Volvo Group Australia’s Wacol factory are certified…

THE AUSTRALIAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION (ATA), which “represents 50,000 businesses and 211,500 people in the Australian trucking industry” – most of whom are affected by the standard of truck rest stops on a daily basis – has welcomed Austroads’ guidelines that aim to address a number of key driver concerns. The research report, Guidelines for the Provision of Heavy Vehicle Rest Area (HVRA) Facilities, was developed in response to calls for updated standards and will assist in the planning, design and prioritisation of truck rest areas. The ATA thanked Austroads for “listening to concerns and recommendations raised in consultations during the guideline drafting process” but now puts the onus on road managers to ensure the recommendations are implemented. “The ATA pushed hard for a number of changes and are pleased to…

One of first items on new Australian Logistics Council (ALC) CEO Kirk Coningham’s agenda has been to take the Master Industry Code of Practice on the road, lobbying state governments on how heavy vehicle safety can be improved through government procurement practices. ALC contacted minsters with responsibility for procurement around Australia late last year, when the Master Code was launched, to highlight its availability and explain how governments could consider building compliance with the Master Code into procurement arrangements as a way of providing leadership on heavy vehicle safety. Coningham was most recently in Adelaide with state treasurer Rob Lucas. “ALC is proactively engaging with all state and territory governments, highlighting how the ALC/ ATA Master Code for heavy vehicle safety can help them comply with their safety obligations,” Coningham…

AUTOMOTIVE AND TRUCK INDUSTRY STALWART SAM (TAKASHI) SUDA has assumed the role of Hino Australia president and COO. The experienced Suda takes the post after more than three decades of international experience, and has had previous corporate exposure in the Australian industry. “We are delighted to welcome Sam to the Hino Australia team – he joins us at a particularly exciting time for the business with our all-new street smart 500 Series Standard Cab now available in dealerships,” Hino Australia Chairman and CEO Steve Lotter says. “With a career that spans 36 years at Hino and its parent company Toyota, including senior management roles in Australia and America, Sam is well positioned to join the Hino Australia leadership team.”…

The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) has announced Kirk Coningham OAM as its new CEO. He takes over from Lachlan Benson, who was the organisation’s interim CEO since July 2018. Coningham was most recently the director of the Urban Development Institute of Australia and before that headed the Master Builders Association of the ACT. According to the ALC, he has also occupied senior positions with Leighton Holdings, the Australian Medical Association and the Murray Darling Basin Commission, has served as a diplomat, been a captain in the Australian Army, held senior media roles within government and has worked as a journalist. Kirk received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his work with the crisis taskforce following the Bali bombings in October 2002.…

Business is changing fast, and the Australian trucking industry is determined to stay ahead of this constant “white-water”. Issues facing industry aren’t the same as they were 20 years ago and operators must change to keep up with technological, social and political disruption. To address these challenges, our industry is investing in a new generation of leaders. Proudly partnering with Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific, the Australian Trucking Association has delivered a program that nurtures the development of Australia’s transport industry leaders: the 2019 Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum. The career-defining professional development program was delivered to 14 people representing Daimler, ATA member associations and the ATA’s safety accreditation scheme, TruckSafe. The 2019 leaders come from a range of backgrounds and roles including business analytics, driver training,…

In a recent decision, the Federal Court has determined that where an employer engages in what is considered “adverse action” because of the manifestation of a disability, rather than because of the disability itself, it has breached Section 351 of the Fair Work Act (the Act) Under section 351 of the Act, employers are not allowed to take “adverse action”, for example, terminating one’s employment, against employees (or a prospective employee), on the grounds of someone’s, race, sex, colour, age or physical/mental disability. The question which generally arises in such matter is whether the “adverse action” was taken because of one or more of the characteristics described above. Dealing with employees with mental disabilities has made it increasingly difficult for employers as claims have risen due to situations where employers…

Our US trip took us to the SEMA show where Chevrolet Performance announced a range of ZR2 suspension components based on the Multimatic dampeners would be available to purchase to racers and builders for off-road use. The performance kit was developed by Hall Racing whose driver Chad Hall piloted a Colorado ZR2 equipped with these components throughout 2017 and 2018 racing seasons completing every mile of every race in the “Best in the Desert” series. Hall Racing also used the Colorado ZR2 to pre-run the Baja 1000 race. The race kit includes long travel; DSSV shocks for front and rear, matching front coil springs and rear leafs, high angle upper control arms with special ball joints, hydraulic bump stops, tie rod sleeves for extra strength, tougher steel drive shafts and…