Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 392 i Australasian Transport News (ATN)

It is with a certain sense of bemusement that Forward Vision surveys some of the commentary around the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s call for a considered response to Chain of Responsibility (COR) risks. Bemusement but not surprise. And that goes for the behaviour that sparked the call as well. It looks awfully like a “what did we think would happen” development, not that there is all that much high ground to be had from this direction. Though, at the start of the year, we foreshadowed the subject being raised, we failed to foresee the reaction, but there is a horrible logic at work on a couple of levels. What, indeed, did we think might happen as the warnings and rhetoric kept ratcheting up? ATN was part of that mechanism in…

Wettenhalls recently completed the acquisition of Allied Transport Services, citing a desire for further expansion into construction and infrastructure sectors, with its new business arm named Wettenhalls Heavy Haulage and Specialised Services. The purchase of the Geelong-based transport company added machinery, over-dimensional and heavy haulage services to its portfolio. With operations in Geelong, and an operating reach from Warrnambool along Australia’s east coast to Townsville, Wettenhalls was looking to expand its offering in the Victorian construction market, Wettenhalls CEO Mike Lean noted after the purchase was finalised in February. “Wettenhalls has been building its exposure to the construction sector since 2014 and we’ve been looking for opportunities to expand our service offerings in the broader infrastructure market,” Lean says. “In Allied Transport Services we found an extremely well-run and professional…

South Australian workplace regulator WorkSafe SA has clarified the process involved in investigating road incidents following Transport Workers Union (TWU) calls to treat fatal truck crashes as workplace deaths. After a double truck-driver fatality in a head-on collision on the Augusta Highway over Easter, the TWU reiterated its demands when SA Police noted that it was exploring driver fatigue as a possible cause for the crash. “In most cases this [fatigue] is a direct result from pressure at the top of transport supply chain,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine says. “A truck driver’s workplace is on the road. When the worst happens, we must look beyond the debris and ask the important questions: was this driver fatigued or under pressure to meet a deadline?” The TWU notes that standard crash…

THE WA DEPARTMENT OF MINES, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) has confirmed it is looking into the circumstances of recent collisions involving autonomous trucks at mining sites in the state. The most recent incident involved two autonomous trucks colliding at BHP’s Jimblebar mine “due to a traction event caused by a fast-moving weather system”, while in February, two driverless dump trucks at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek iron ore mine in the Pilbara also crashed. “BHP reported the incident and advised DMIRS that an unloaded autonomous truck had lost traction and slid into the path of a loaded autonomous truck as the weather system moved through the area,” DMIRS director mines safety Andrew Chaplyn tells ATN. “At the time of the impact, the unloaded truck was travelling at approximately 14km/h and the…

A REPORT HAS been released outlining the duties and laws that govern firms, organisations and individuals who use vehicles for work purposes on the road networks of Australia or New Zealand. Vehicles as a Workplace – Work Health & Safety Guide was published in collaboration with Australian state and territory workplace health and safety (WHS) and road safety authorities, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and other key stakeholders. It provides practical risk management for a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) – which can include an individual or corporate entity – who use vehicles on public roads for work and outlines the process for dealing with road traffic hazards in line with WHS legislation and road traffic safety principles. It aims to target road fatalities among Australian workers and…

Australia’s road transport industry performs “quite poorly” in managing sleep and fatigue, a new parliamentary report finds. Bedtime Reading: Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia estimates that four in 10 Australians struggle to get adequate sleep, a problem that costs the economy $26.2 billion annually and is estimated to have contributed to 3,017 deaths in Australia in 2016-17 alone. Fatigue is a well-documented concern in road transport, as a sequence of recent efforts to tackle the issue highlight, but Melius Consulting director Dr Ian Dunican still rates the sector as performing “quite poorly” in this space, the report notes. The reports quotes the statistic that 38 per cent of Australian truck drivers have experienced obstructive sleep apnoea (OPA) and “fatigue in the industry [has] been associated with increases in…

AMID THE POSITIVE trend on many major heavy-duty truck accidents in National Truck Accident Research Centre’s (NTARC’s) 2019 Major Accident Investigation Report, its suicide-by-truck (SBT) figures were a cause of deep unease. The issue has been raised at industry gatherings recently in relation to figures highlighted by Toll Group general manager road transport safety and compliance Dr Sarah Jones, who was at ATA’s Perth conference. Jones’ research put the SBT rate impacting her company at 14–20 per cent but NTARC’s reports that the general experience may be up to double those figures. A criteria was developed which identified whether suicide was: • strongly indicated – typically by a note or explicit statement • indicated – meeting the civil burden of proof – “on the balance of probability” • counter-indicated –…

AUSTRALIA IS WELL placed to capitalise on transport’s ‘technology revolution’ but risks a decline in living standards should it fail to keep up with advancements, a report released today by the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (AATE) says. Shifting Gears – Preparing for a Transport Revolution concludes Australia is well positioned to be a leader in a global shift to “clean, safe, efficient transport” using low and zero-emission vehicles (LEVs), connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs), high-frequency mass transit and intelligent transport systems. The report identifies three key challenges for the transport sector – lower emissions, health, and efficient movement of people and freight – and provides a blueprint for transport planning to 2030 for an incoming Federal Government. To make the shift, the report suggests: • a national target to…

Sometimes, like missing the forest for the trees, it’s too easy to get hung up with the complexity of technology and miss the simple expediency it can provide. Add to this another saying – prevention is better than cure – and you have the rails on which a Queensland truck driver safety trial is being built. The aspect ATN was introduced to in March is part of the two-year Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports (HVSAP) project flagged in December, focused on fatigue. It is centred on SmartCap technology, and is a coalescing of pleasingly Australian insight, intelligence and compassion on several levels. Born of a need to head off a nasty spike in trucking fatalities around the port in 2017 and driven by the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) and the…

Lampson International started as a small trucking outfit in the Unites States in 1946, and has since expanded to Canada and Australia, specialising in over-dimensional haulage and the engineering services required to facilitate such moves. It says it can transport up to 4,000 tonnes on either rubber-tyred vehicles, cranes or its own manufactured crawler transporters. Lampson’s Australian branch has operated since 1990, with its 1995 acquisition of Megalift as a wholly owned subsidiary providing it with a heavy ‘on-road’ transportation arm. Its depots now include Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Newcastle, Gladstone, Karratha and Port Pirie, servicing sectors such as mining, energy and power, petrochemical, infrastructure and construction.…

Are you up to date with the latest Chain of Responsibility (COR) requirements? TruckSafe is, and we can help you get up to speed too. TruckSafe is a world-class business and risk management system that aims to improve the safety and professionalism of trucking operators nationwide. In a recent report into heavy vehicle accreditation schemes by Peter Medlock, TruckSafe was identified as a comprehensive and robust scheme, and was praised for its best-practice systems. The Australian Government set up the review after the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) lodged a formal complaint to the Commonwealth Treasury about the competitive neutrality breaches involved in the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme. It is government policy that members of schemes like TruckSafe should get the same regulator benefits as those in government schemes –…

Focused on bolstering what the business does best, Booktopia chief executive Tony Nash wasn’t too spooked about the arrival of US retailing giant Amazon. With an established presence in Australia, Booktopia reached $80 million revenue in 2016 – the year Amazon came to our shores. It expects that figure to grow to $130 million this year. With over 200 staff, $10 million worth of automation and $13 million worth of software, Booktopia has $6 million worth of stock across 150,000 of titles at its 13,000 square-metre facility at Lidcombe in Sydney. Booktopia’s sales have skyrocketed because Amazon has shifted its focus from books, Nash explains. “Three per cent of their revenue is books now,” Nash says. “It used to be 100 per cent when it started but it’s now three…

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has recently released an article “Extra COR pressure not required under law”. The crux of the Chain of Responsibility (COR) article is that many heavy vehicle operators are facing pressure from larger customers to disclose a wide range of operational and compliance documentation (e.g. details of drivers, safety systems and work diaries). “This level of information is not required by a customer or primary contractor under the COR laws,” explains NHVR. “It’s the transport operator’s responsibility to manage their own operations. “Customers are entitled to rely upon the fact that their transport operators have systems and procedures in place to manage their own safety responsibilities.” To say that the article has generated debate and consternation is an understatement! The reaction highlights that there is…

THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATOR (NHVR) is seeking to head off unintended developments related to recent Chain of Responsibility (COR) reforms, an issue that is also of concern to state industry bodies. The NHVR has warned heavy vehicle operators to be aware of their responsibilities under the changed COR laws after several reports of unnecessary pressure to disclose additional information from larger customers beyond that required under the current provisions. “For example, we have been contacted by a number of operators after they were asked to provide details of their drivers, safety systems and work diaries by a customer claiming they were required to be provided under COR laws,” NHVR safety standards and assurance executive director Geoff Casey. “Operators are required to meet their safety duty requirements under the recent…

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) reports that transport company Mainfreight Distribution Pty Ltd has been fined $4,000 for allegedly failing to carry the required safety equipment while transporting dangerous goods in Mayfield West last year. The NSW EPA issued Mainfreight a penalty notice following an inspection of a vehicle load, on December 10, which included 16 drums of xylene, a flammable liquid used in industrial applications. It was alleged the truck was not equipped with the required safety equipment, including fire extinguisher, chemically resistant gloves, eye wash kit and correct torch. EPA notes Mainfreight had been prosecuted twice for dangerous goods transportation offences in recent years, but has “committed to implementing revised procedures and systems to ensure future compliance”. “It’s essential trucks carrying dangerous goods are equipped with the…

The National Road Transport Organisation (NatRoad) has added weight to recent appeals to increase the maximum width for heavy vehicles in Australia. The industry organisation calls for the limit to be increased to 2.55 metres – and 2.6m for refrigerated vehicles – and that governments grant general access to vehicles with these widths. NatRoad argues the current limits are an impediment to reducing the age and increasing the safety of Australia’s truck fleet. It quotes statistics that, to meet current Australian regulations, heavy vehicles must be 50 to 100mm (2-4 per cent) less in width than vehicles in other major markets, costing manufacturers up to $15-30 million per year to redesign their vehicles, which can reduce the availability of safer, cleaner models entering the local market. NatRoad also notes that…

AFTER YEARS of battling ever-increasing stevedore infrastructure surcharge hikes, container trucking interests have gained some traction on issue with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). With federal options limited and state governments offering slow or no action, surcharge opponents have found power in one of their arguments – unfair contract terms. “DP World Australia, Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) agreed, after the ACCC’s intervention, to remove or amend terms in their standard form contracts that the ACCC considered were likely to be considered ‘unfair’ within the meaning of the Australian Consumer Law,” the ACCC says. “DP World and Hutchison had contract terms that allowed a stevedore to unilaterally vary terms in the agreements without notice, including fees paid by the land transport operators. “DP World…

KINGS TRANSPORT GROUP has promoted Barry Thompson to the position of CEO. Within Kings, Thompson has previously held the positions of executive general manager of contract logistics and most recently COO for the Australian & New Zealand business. “The Board of the Kings Transport Group are delighted with this appointment and are confident that Barry is well positioned to further drive the success of the business as it continues its journey of transformation,” Kings founder Mike Shannon says. This appointment follows the resignation of Tony Mellick from the Kings Transport Group CEO role. AHG taps England as chair for acquisition battle With battle joined for its independence, Automotive Holdings Group (AHG) has turned to experienced director Richard England as chair to see it through. England has 25 years as a…

The Heavy Vehicle Safety Around Ports Project in Queensland is making progress, with anti-fatigue technology testing leading into a driver health initiative and speed monitoring. The project, which broke cover in December, is being driven by the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) and the Port of Brisbane and involves about 60 drivers from six port-focused trucking companies. The roots of the project spring from a pair of fatal port-related trucking accidents four years ago, action to combat which eventually led to a $302,000 in funding under the NHVR’s 2018-19 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative Fund, supported by the federal government. The accidents occurred when the port was linked by single carriageway road. Port of Brisbane COO Peter Keyte notes that the port agreed to accelerate upgrade Port Drive to dual carriageway in…

It has to be faced, our industry has a poor safety record. Transport, postal and warehousing is rated the second most dangerous industry to be working in and records the worst numbers of accidents and fatalities, 54 deaths in 2017 – an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year – and 8,330 serious injuries. “Anyone working in or around vehicles is most at risk,” says Graham Cooke, insights manager at finder.com.au, the organisation that compiled these statistics. The biggest safety challenges for transport and warehousing operators are training and complacency. I think that you need to go back to why workplace health and safety became such a big issue in the first place, which was because businesses didn’t operate safely. As a result, a lot of workplaces have…

Toll Group has explained the measures it takes to ensure rates pay and safety standards throughout its supply chain after the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) noted some of its members had raised concerns over requests for information from Toll to its subcontractors. The QTA tells ATN that it was liaising with concerned parties and was not in a position to comment further. Following enquiries from ATN, Toll says the actions are in line with its enterprise agreement, which was signed with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) in 2017. “Toll has a registered enterprise agreement with the TWU to cover transport workers across Australia including subcontractors. “As would be expected, this enterprise agreement contains provisions to ensure employees and subcontractors are paid appropriate rates of pay and meet all safety requirements.…

Automotive Holding Group (AHG) has urged shareholder patience in response to a takeover bid by major shareholder and rival AP Eagers (APE). In its eventual response to the April 5 bid it points out the offer is at a discount to the ‘implied’ market value of the shares. “The offer remains highly conditional and you will not receive any AP Eagers shares while these conditions remain outstanding,” AHG warns in a letter from acting chairman John Groppoli. “If you accept the offer, you will not be able to sell your AHG shares on market.” The hunted company has employed accountancy KPMG for the battle. A ‘target’s statement’ was expected to be despatched to AHG shareholders as ATN went to press. “The target’s statement will contain, among other things, the Board’s…

New South Wales, the country’s pivotal state for freight transport, has revealed its new departmental approach to the industry. With Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to be subsumed into Transport for NSW from July 1, senior transport and roads minister Andrew Constance will have overall responsibility, supported by Paul Toole on related regional issues. Its top bureaucrat, transport secretary Rodd Staples, reveals that new divisions will be established and the Freight, Strategy and Planning Division and as part of it, the Freight Industry Branch, will be integrated into this new model or structure. More detail on that process will be revealed “in due course”, the department says. However, there are no changes to the NSW Port Authority, Office of Transport Safety Investigation and the NSW Point to Point Transport Commission.…

THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Commission (NTC) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity (Alertness CRC) have released the results of what is hailed as a ‘world first’ study into heavy vehicle driver fatigue. The two-year scientific study evaluated alertness monitoring technology and the impacts of work shifts on driver alertness. It analysed shift start time, the number of consecutive shifts, shift length, shift rotation, rest breaks and their likely impact on driver drowsiness and fatigue. According to Alertness CRC ‘theme leader’ Associate Professor Mark Howard, the research involved a study of more than 300 heavy vehicle driver shifts both in-vehicle and in a laboratory, as well as 150,000 samples of retrospective data. “We found that slow eye and eyelid movements, longer blink duration and prolonged eye closure are…

Fresh from its manufacturing subsidiary launching the Rexx mining haulage truck, Bis Industries’ on-road haulage division has undertaken a fleet enhancement with 26 new Scania A-doubles delivered for its Whitehaven Coal Gunnedah operations. The prime mover fleet rejuvenation was mooted in November 2018 upon sealing a three-year haulage contract extension for Whitehaven Coal’s Tarrawonga and Rocglen mines in New South Wales. Bis notes the bespoke haulage solution provides greater payload capacity while reducing the number of prime movers, “delivering cost efficiencies and benefits to its customer”, including reducing emissions and contributing to improved local road safety. “[It] provides benefits for the community, including a reduction in one-way trips by 36 per cent (48,000 fewer vehicle movements on the road),” the company says. Bis has serviced the Gunnedah operations since February…

A recent collaboration between Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) and Road Freight NSW has seen talks gain traction on empty container park logistics, the proponents report. Stakeholders met with Qube Logistics and with DP World Logistics (DPWL) to discuss the operations of the two largest empty container depots in Sydney – Qube/MCS Cooks River and DPWL Parks 1 & 2, Port Botany. CTAA director Neil Chambers observes that “the costs of empty container management in Sydney have been increasing and chain efficiencies have been lacklustre for a range of reasons”. The meetings discussed topics including empty container management capacity in Sydney, depot opening hours, truck arrival patterns and working together to approach individual shipping lines which are still not providing electronic data interchange. “We were really pleased with the candid…

Transport Certification Australia (TCA) has announced the appointment of Stuart Ballingall as its new executive general manager (EGM). TCA hails Ballingall’s 20 years’ experience in the automotive and transport sectors, where he was most recently director of future vehicles and transport innovation at Transport for Victoria. Ballingall will help TCA provide assurance to governments, industry sectors and end-users in the use of telematics and related intelligent technologies. “In a period of national and international transport reform... we need someone of Stuart’s proven experience in delivering complex technical programs,” Austroads CEO Nick Koukoulas says.…

Nat Road has developed a number of policies that aim for improved freight efficiencies, reduced emissions and less heavy vehicle road trauma. One of those policies is reducing the age of the Australian truck fleet by promoting the purchase of new heavy vehicles. That is the key to achieving these goals. NatRoad has promoted with Australian state and territory governments research which shows that replacing taxes on insurance and motor vehicle registrations with a broad-based property tax could make Australians up to $1.5 billion a year better off. In this context, stamp duty should be abolished as it is an inefficient tax as well as being antiquated and out-of-step with a modern revenue system. Heavy vehicles are already too expensive in this country and adding another 3 per cent to…

Engine: Three-litre, six-cylinder diesel V6 Max power: 190kW @ 3,400rpm Max torque: 550Nm @ 1,400–3,200rpm Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic Breaks: Front and rear ventilated disc brakes with twin piston calipers Front suspension: Double wishbone with coil springs Rear suspension: Multi-link with variable rate coil springs Wheel spec: 7.5” x 19” alloy Payload: 1,034kg (Progressive) /1,010kg (Power) Towing capacity: 3,500kg GVM: 3,250kg Ground clearance: 222mm Fuel tank capacity: 80 litres Test fuel use: 8.8L/100km combined, 10L/100km urban, 8.1L/100km extra urban Wading depth: 600mm…