Harvest Mass Management Scheme

With the onset of the 2020 harvest season, Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Services thought it would be timely to provide a refresher on the Harvest Mass Management Scheme (HMMS).

What is the Harvest Mass Management Scheme?

The HMMS comes into effect between 1 October and the last day of February each year to assist the grain industry with managing the difficulties experienced when loading grain in a paddock. While this is not a concessional loading scheme, with Transport Operators expected to load to statutory mass limits, we acknowledge that there are limited weighing facilities in paddocks and variations in grain densities. As such, the HMMS allows a vehicle to exceed a statutory mass requirement by up to 10 per cent, to a maximum of 10 tonnes on the gross mass, subject to the conditions specified in the HMMS Business Rules. Once delivered and weighed at the Grain Receiver, the loads should be adjusted accordingly for the next delivery, which eliminates overloading and works toward achieving fully compliant loading practices for the remainder of the harvest season.

How to participate in the Scheme

To participate in the HMMS, Transport Operators are required to register with each participating Grain Receiver that they deliver to during the harvest period. This must be completed prior to any load being accepted by that Grain Receiver. An application to register a vehicle for use under the HMMS can be obtained and submitted directly to the participating Grain Receiver where deliveries will be made. A written agreement must also be signed stating that the transport operator will abide by the HMMS Business Rules and any additional rules the participating Grain Receiver may have in place to ensure they meet their obligations under the scheme.

What roads can I access?

Transport Operators and farmers operating in the scheme need to ensure the roads they intend to use are approved for the particular RAV combination being used. Road ratings and approvals are available on the Main Roads RAV Mapping Tool. If additional roads are required, the Transport Operator or farmer can apply for a road to be added to the relevant RAV network via the standard RAV route assessment application process. For further information on this, or to obtain an application form, please visit the Access Requirements in WA page on the Main Roads website.

It should be noted however, that a Transport Operator cannot participate in the HMMS if they are operating under the Accredited Mass Management Scheme (AMMS) and their loading controls are relevant to the loading site they are transporting grain from.

RAV Mapping Tool Enhancements

Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Services is pleased to announce that a number of enhancements have been made to the Restricted Access Vehicle (RAV) Mapping Tool.

The RAV network groups now include Road Train with Long Trailers Networks, Import/Export Containerised Cargo Networks, Platform Trailer Relocation Networks and Oversize Divisible Products Networks. Provision for PBS Networks and Concessional Livestock Networks has also been included, with datasets for these networks to be finalised in the near future.

In addition, the restricted structures lists, previously only available in a PDF document format, are now available as new layers, which will enable operators to more easily locate these particular structures. These lists include the Class 1 RAV Over Mass Restricted Structures, Agricultural Machines Restricted Structures, 2 and 4 Axle Special Purpose Vehicles Restricted Structures, All Terrain Special Purpose Vehicles Restricted Structures, Heavy Lift Tow Truck Restricted Structures and Block Truck Restricted Structures.

Other new features include information on drive over structure locations, drive under structure locations and heights, ability to search via structure number and commonly used over width routes. The enhanced RAV Mapping Tool provides the transport industry the ability to quickly access network information and the associated conditions. Updates to the RAV Mapping Tool, RAV Network Tables and Restricted Structures Lists will continue to be available for viewing every Wednesday. To access the RAV Mapping Tool look for the quick link at www.mainroads.wa.gov. au/heavy-vehicles/

Further Information

The HMMS Business Rules define the requirements which apply to each party involved in the scheme and can be found on the Harvest Mass Management Scheme page on the Main Roads website.

For more information please call Main Roads Heavy Vehicle Services Helpdesk on 138 486 or visit www.mainroads.wa.gov.au