Big Rigs 19 August 2022

FRIDAY, August 19, 2022 ONLINE www.bigrigs.com.au EMAIL info@bigrigs.com.au NEXT-GEN MAN RANGE TAKES ON EURO RIVALS DOWN UNDER: PAGES 14-16 READYRUMBLETO BIG WIN PagesTRUCKIESFOR4-5 BONUS LIFT-OUT MEGATRANS2022SHOWGUIDEPAGES25-32

HINO Motor Sales Australia (HMSA) has suspended im ports, orders and deliveries to local dealers of the models im pacted by an engine emissions investigation.Inabrief statement re leased earlier this month, the distributor of Hino vehicles in Australia said it was awaiting the outcome of Hino Motors engagement with the author ities in Japan. A detailed report has iden tified misconduct in relation to Japanese emissions certifica tion tests that have been relied on for the sale of a number of engine variants in Hino 500 Series Standard Cab FC, FD and FE medium-duty trucks and Hino Poncho buses sold in Australia.Themisconduct concern ing engine certification does not affect the drivability of the affected vehicles and rais es no vehicle safety concerns, stressed Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota.“HMSA is committed to working with dealers and cus tomers about these issues and engaging with the relevant authorities in Australia,” the statement added. It is unclear how this an nouncement will impact Hi no’s order books and sales, or how long the freeze will last. HMSA told Big Rigs that it sells about 120-130 500 Se ries Standard Cab trucks per month, and about 30 Poncho buses“Weannually.havesuspended new orders and deliveries of affect ed vehicles to dealers while Hino in Japan works through this issue with the regulator,” HMSA added in an emailed response to follow-up ques tions.The badge has been enjoy ing another big year in the me dium-dutyAccordingsector.to the latest Truck Industry Council fig ures, sales of Hino trucks in Australia account for 31.3 per cent of the category in 2022, buoyed by 172 units moved in JulyYear-to-date,alone. Hino had sold 1426 units, second only to Isu zu on 2014, and well clear of third-placed Fuso with 757.

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CONTRIBUTORS Tassie Truckin: Jon Wallis, 0412 797 513 Truckin in the Tropics: Alf Wilson, 0408 009 301 Brent Davison; Graham Harsant; David Vile; David Meredith; Joel Helmes Big Rigs National Road Transport Newspaper is published by News Corp Australia. Big Rigs is the largest circulated fortnightly truck publication in Australia with 26,023* copies per fortnight. *12 month average, publisher’s claim November 2018

2 NEWS FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

EDITOR James Graham: (07) 3817 james.graham@bigrigs.com.au1722

MANAGER Peter Hockings (07) 3817 1818/0410 334 peter.hockings@bigrigs.com.au371

The Special Investigation Committee probe was com missioned by Hino in March 2022, following Hino iden tifying past misconduct in relation to its applications for certification concerning the emissions and fuel economy performance of its engine for the Japanese market. In the 17-pages of investi gation results, Hino said it had notified the relevant ministries and agencies of its findings, together with the key mea sures that it plans to take.

MEDIA SALES CONSULTANT Marie O’Reilly: (07) 3817 marie.oreilly@bigrigs.com.au1755

BOOKINGS & COPY SUPPORT Katharine Causer: (07) 3817 1711 bookings@bigrigs.com.au

The campaign has also had success in Dubbo and the surrounding region – an important intersection of key freight routes. Lobbying efforts from the ATA and members saw council reopen several rest area facilities within the township. “The support we have seen for the campaign and truck drivers has been energising. Australia has really backed the trucking industry and is recognising the important role it plays in our daily lives,” Mr Maguire said. Through its membership of ACCI, the ATA worked with Safe Work Australia to make sure its cleaning and hygiene guidance for the trucking industry and its customers was on target. “The original Safe Work Australia information was either too vague or was aimed at health care workers,” Mr Maguire said. “As a result of our input, there is now excellent guidance material available for road freight operators on the Safe Work Australia website.”

FACILITIES NOW OPEN: Thanks to the campaign and the push from Big Rigs and the ATA, Transport for NSW is fixing the facilities as soon as possible. Picture: ATA

NHVAS customers have been using the benefits of the NHVR Portal since last November and most have now made the transition to the digital NHVRplatform.safety standards and assurance manager (accreditation) Darrin Rasmussen said there were significant benefits to submitting of applications through the portal, including reducing data re-entry and providing greater customer visibility of accreditation modules and case tracking activities.He said the NHVR Portal provided operators with the ability to manage all their NHVAS records, including submitting an application, managing account information, reviewing application status, reviewing driver and vehicle lists and tracking audit associated responsibilities. From Wednesday, July 1, 2020, all NHVAS applications and transaction will be required to be lodged via the NHVR Portal, rather than by email.If you are an existing NHVR Portal user or have an Access, Registration or Vehicle Standards account, the NHVR Portal administrators on the account have not changed. Any additional Accreditation contacts can be added to the account with “user submitter”Ifpermissions.youneedany assistance call the NHVR Portal Help Centre on 1300 696 487.

ATA keeps drivers moving TOGETHER with Big Rigs, the ATA has been pressing businesses and rest areas to keep their facilities open to support the truck drivers who are keeping Australia moving as we face the COVID-19 epidemic and recovery“Australia’sprocess.

The automaker said the committee had found evi dence of falsification stretch ing back to at least October 2003, as opposed to the pre viously disclosed timeframe of around 2016. The transportation minis try, which revoked the truck maker’s certification of the af fected engines in March, said it would conduct an on-site investigation of the company Hino has recalled close to 47,000 vehicles made be tween April 2017 and March this year, and Hino said an additional 20,900 would be recalled.

New NHVR Portal changes are here

Hino suspends deliveries and orders after emissions probe Cnr Mayne Road and Campbell St, Bowen Hills, QLD 4006 Phone: 1300 877 017 Fax: (07) 3220 6364 Email: info@bigrigs.com.au Web: bigrigs.com.au Accounts: Phone 1300 130 590, Fax (07) 5456 6955 Subscriptions: 1300 877 017 Classifieds: 13 11 13 Circulation and distribution queries: 1300 361 retailer@newsregionalmedia.com.au604

truck drivers are working hard to deliver the food, medicine and essential goods we need to get through this epidemic, but unfortunately we heard of truck stops, roadhouses and businesses that were shutting off their facilities to drivers,” ATA CEO Ben MaguireMrsaid.Maguire said the ATA’s first call out was Pacific National, who had banned truck drivers from its toilets, changerooms and kitchens.“Within hours of our team pressing the matter, Pacific National reversed the decision and reopened their amenities. This quick and positive response demonstrated an understanding of the important role truck drivers play in their supply chain,” Mr Maguire said. During a trip down the Hume Highway in the ATA’s SafeT360 truck in early May, Mr Maguire saw the impact of the facility closures“Whenfirst-hand.stopping at the Partridge VC rest area, I was astonished to see a Transport for NSW sign posting that the toilet facilities were not being serviced,” Mr Maguire“Followingsaid. the visit, we pressed Transport for NSW on the matter, who quickly saw the error of their ways and advised that the issue would be promptly addressed.“We are now pleased to report that these rest area facilities are once again open and being serviced.”

NHVR PORTAL: There are huge benefits to using the portal. Contributed

Picture:

REPORTER Kate Dodd: (07) 3817 kate.dodd@bigrigs.com.au1754

“Hino considers that the background to this incident is its management’s failure to sufficiently engage with the frontline workforce, creating an environment and mech anism prioritising meeting schedules and numerical goals overdue processes,” the state ment“Hinosaid. will implement comprehensive measures to ensure that these issues will never recur in the future. Hino will return to its fundamental principle as a commercial ve hicle manufacturer and carry out company-wide rebuilding efforts to regain the trust of its stakeholders.“Hinodeeply apologises again for causing a significant inconvenience to its customers and other stakeholders.”

Address: 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Phone: 03 9690 8766 Email: editor@bigrigs.com.au Web: bigrigs.com.au Accounts: 03 9690 8766 Subscriptions: 03 9690 8766 Classifieds: 0403 626 353 Circulation and distribution queries: 03 9690 info@bigrigs.com.au8766 EDITOR James Graham: 0478 546 james.graham@primecreative.com.au462 REPORTER Danielle danielle.gullaci@primecreative.com.auGullaci GENERAL MANAGER Peter Hockings: 0410 334 peter.hockings@primecreative.com.au371 CLIENT SUCCESS Katharine Causer: 0423 055 com.aukatharine.causer@primecreative.787 CONTRIBUTORS Truckin in the Topics/Spy on the Road: Alf Wilson, 0408 009 301 Brent Davison; David Vile; David Meredith; Mike Williams; Jon Wallis Big Rigs National Road Transport Newspaper is published by Prime Creative Media. It is the largest circulated fortnightly truck publication in Australia with 26,023* copies per fortnight. *12 month average, publisher’s claim November 2018 CONTACT US Hino sells about 120-130 500 Series Standard Cab trucks per month in Australia. 02 NEWS FRIDAY JUNE 12 2020 BIGRIGS.COM.AU IBRE01Z01MA - V1 CONTACT US Address:

MEDIA SALES CONSULTANT Michael Kidd (07) 3817 1804/ 0439 130 michael.kidd@bigrigs.com.au416

NSW is the fifth Australian jurisdiction where the NHVR directly delivers heavy vehicle regulatory services. over

DHL Supply Chain Australia has now finalised the acqui sition of the Glen Cameron Group, following an agree ment announced last month to acquire 100 per cent of the business.DHL Supply Chain CEO Australia and New Zealand, Steve Thompsett, confirmed the news yesterday, “I am pleased to confirm that the ac quisition of the Glen Cameron Group is now complete. This milestone signals a new chap ter of growth in the Australian transport industry,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting out and about to meet the wider Cameron team and to get to know the operations. Thank you to Glen and his team for the strong founda tion they have built over the last five decades.” The Glen Cameron Group had built its business up to a fleet of 1000 trucks and trail ers, and over 820 employees. Glen Cameron Group founder, Glen Cameron said, “Since founding the Glen Cameron Group 47 years ago and over the last five de cades we have built a suc cessful, diverse, and resilient business. What began as one eight-tonne truck in 1975 has evolved to be one of Australia’s largest transport and logistic business. Together with DHL, we can take our business to the nextFollowinglevel.” the finalisation of the agreement, Cameron added, “Proud to be part of DHL Supply Chain and want to thank all at Cameron for the great work friendship, and commitment. We have built a tremendous business that will now be turbo-charged for the next“Thankschapter.also to Steve and the DHL team for their ef forts to bring our businesses together.Looking forward to see what we can achieve collective ly. Exciting times ahead.”

The NHVR will contin ue to deliver services in NSW from more than 200 existing Heavy Vehicle Inspection Sta tions, safety stations and onroad enforcement sites across NSW.Transport for NSW Dep uty Secretary of Safety, Envi ronment and Regulation Tara McCarthy said NSW would continue to provide a number of other important heavy ve hicle services, including licens ing, registration and tow truck investigations and compliance. “The transition of Transport for NSW staff to the NHVR will help carry a high safety standard across at the national level and is an important step in the national reform pro gram,” McCarthy said. “Heavy vehicle safety and productivity is vital for Aus tralia’s economy and delivering consistent and borderless reg ulation of heavy vehicles will also improve consistency for operators.”RoadFreight NSW CEO Simon O’Hara welcomed the move and looked forward to working closely with the NHVR across NSW. “It’s important that the in dustry and regulator have di rect and respectful discussions to overcome the challenges facing heavy vehicle operations across NSW,” O’Hara said. “This is an important step forward for the heavy vehicle industry and we look forward to the productivity and safe ty benefits of having a single regulator for the heavy vehicle industry across NSW. “I would also like to ac knowledge the work over many years of NSW DMR, RTA and RMS.”Petroccitto added the NHVR had been working closely with the NSW Gov ernment on this transition over the past six months and will be working with industry to en sure the transition is as seamless as possible.“Thisis an ongoing journey to build a single, consistent na tional regulator for the heavy vehicle industry,” he said. The NHVR was established in 2013 as a statutory authority to administer the Heavy Vehi cle National Law, which applies in all Australia’s states and terri tories except the Northern Ter ritory and Western Australia. For more details on the tran sition visit us/national-services-transition.nhvr.gov.au/about-

DHL Supply Chain CEO Australia and New Zealand, Steve Thompsett, and Glen Cameron.

Regulator takes

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TRUCKIES across NSW will now see a National Heavy Ve hicle Regulator (NHVR) logo and new uniforms for heavy vehicle services and compliance officers.NHVR CEO Sal Petroccit to said the transition of heavy vehicle services from Transport for NSW to the regulator on August 1 was an important step toward delivering nationally consistent compliance for all heavy vehicle operators travel ling within and through NSW. NSW is now the fifth Aus tralian jurisdiction – after South Australia, Victoria, Tas mania and the ACT – where the NHVR directly delivers heavy vehicle regulatory ser vices.“I’m also pleased to wel come 310 Transport for NSW staff who will continue to serve and support the heavy vehicle industry,” said Petroccitto. “While drivers will see a new uniform and badge from today, they will receive the same services and support, and have to meet the same safety re quirements as they have in the past.”

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UNWAVERING truckies’ campaigner Wes Walker has a clear message for Queensland’s transport bosses – he’s not backing down from the long fight for a permanent toilet and shower block at the Gat tonThepads. tireless 58-year-old disability pensioner has been through an emotional roller coaster of late in his 14-month tussle with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR).OnSaturday, August 6, he turned up at the busy decou pling facility to find two por taloos on site. But the celebrations proved short-lived when just two days later Toowoomba equipment hire company Quipco ar rived to remove them under the threat of a $56,000 fine$28,000 for each unit – if they didn’t.Turns out it wasn’t TMR who had finally seen the light, but a big-hearted truckie who was paying for their hireage out of his own pocket. TMR even put the squeeze on Quip co for the truckie’s name but they refused to budge. “We are aware of porta ble toilets being placed at the Gatton Heavy Vehicle De coupling Facility. They will be removed, as they were placed without our permission,” said a TMR spokesperson in an emailed statement to Big Rigs. A gutted Walker told Big Rigs from the pads that he was totally “devastated” by the news.“They wanted us to dis close who the hirer was, and we refused to,” added Quip co operations manager Troy Goodwin in the same call. Goodwin lives nearby and had even committed to reg ularly servicing the toilets on his way past. “I’m devastated too – I was all for it,” he said. “There was no chance of spillage; they’re a self-con tainedAddedunit.”Walker: “What do we have to do to get per mission? It was costing them (TMR)“Whatnothing.doIhave to do? I’ve tried hard and hard. Bless their hearts who did do it [hire the toilets].“People who carry this country are treated like sec ond-class citizens. It has to stop.”Then, just as we were going to print with this issue, some common sense prevailed. WA Labor Senator Glenn Sterle called Big Rigs to let us know he’d briefed state trans port minister Mark Bailey on the issues for truckies at the site and Bailey promptly authorised the return of the toilets forthwith, at TMR’s expense. “Their department is now contacting the portaloo com pany to tell them to bring them back,” said Sterle. “I appreciate Minister Bai ley’s assistant here. It’s a great result for those who have to use the Gatton pads and com mon sense has prevailed. Con gratulations Minister Bailey, A jubilant Walker was on site to welcome the toilets back. Senator Glenn Sterle and Wes Walker are celebrating a great result for truckies at Gatton.

BY JAMES GRAHAM

Rollercoaster ride for Wes at Gatton

NEWS 5BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 thank you for that.” Sterle agreed that the in dustry has to continue to lob by to get some long-term rest area facilities at the site for truckies.Hevisited the facility in July while at the Nation al Road Freighters Associ ation conference in nearby Toowoomba and was appalled at the lack of facilities. “It’s a bloody disgrace,” said Sterle at the time. “I can’t believe that in this day and age we can build a road train assembly area, an hour and a half out of Brisbane, and think that our drivers are going to come out there to hook up, put it all together and then have no access to a toilet or a shower.”Sterle said the decoupling facility is a classic example of one that has been designed by someone who has “no idea” about what it should be and has failed to consult adequate ly withSterle,industry.however, said the ultimate decision on wheth er a portion of the $80m set aside in Labor’s first budget in government will be used for the toilets would be left to the committee of truckies Labor is tasking with overseeing the spend.Walker, meanwhile, was “over the moon” after a call from Sterle to inform him of the U-turn on the portaloos. “We’re not the lone rangers anymore. We’ve got everyone coming on board and upping them for the rent,” said Walk er. Walker said he’s also pre pared to pursue a legal fight with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) over the lack of toilets on a workplace, if a permanent solution isn’t found. “I probably should have done that right from the start, but I didn’t think this battle would be so hard,” he said “It’s not over until the fat lady sings. I’m getting a price now on a proper facility that is still“Twotransportable.showers, two toilets, a urinal and two hand-basins. Walk up three steps because you’ve got the two holding tanks“It’sunderneath.uptousto get it pow ered into that power box right where we want it.” Walker said the latest news showed what you can achieve if you stick at it. He’s also now considering organising a crowdfunding site to assist with the associ ated costs he’s incurred so far from his own pocket. “Anyone’s welcome to give me fuel vouchers. It has cost me money, apart from stress, driving backwards and for wards.”

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THE National Road Trans port Association (NatRoad) has asked a national meeting of Australian transport min isters to restart the stalled Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) reform process by taking up a series of rel atively quick and practical actions.NatRoad CEO Warren Clark addressed the Infra structure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (ITMM) in Melbourne earlier this month and told them that the history of HVNL reform is “one of glacial pace and epic navel gazing”. Clark said NatRoad also broadly supports the rec ommendations of the Ken Kanofski review because most are focused on chang es that are achievable in the nearAtterm.deadline for this issue the report by the former RMS CEO was still to be made public, but ministers were briefed by Kanofski, and also heard presentations from the Australian Truck ing Association (ATA), the Australian Logistics Coun cil (ALC), the National Transport Commission (NTC) and Australian Lo cal Government Association (ALGA).“Over the past four years, those charged with driving reform have lost sight of first principles and ignored easy wins to the point that they have lost industry confi dence,” Clark added. “HVNL reform must be about improving access for heavy vehicles and thus boosting national produc tivity.“HVNL should enhance safety through sensible, ev idence-based changes to fa tigue rules that scrap petty, prescriptive offences. “If they are agreed to by all jurisdictions, the Kanofs ki review’s recommendations represent a sensible consen sus position from which to keep moving forward.”

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Clark told the ministers road transport needed a na tional approach to access, us ing technology to map road freight“Operatorsroutes. should be able to lodge a notice of intention to use roads and bridges that have been pre-approved for specific classes of heavy vehi cles,” he “Reformingadded. fatigue and enforcement will send the right message that improv ing safety and increasing productivity are urgent.”

Stop stalling and restart the HVNL process: NatRoad

When moving Heavy Loads comfort equals Safety.

Clark said the current fa tigue rules deter drivers from remaining in the industry and act against voluntary uptake of electronic work diaries.“Nobody is defending drivers who deliberately break laws intended to stop dangerous or irresponsible behaviour,” Clark said. “The overriding principle here must be that punish ment is in proportion to risk and petty offences like mak ing a spelling mistake in a work diary should be subject to a formal warning system.”

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According to the subse quent communique, min isters have agreed to release Kanofski’s report, and to progress a package of prop ositions that will “improve safety and productivity in the heavy vehicle sector.” “Ministers resolved to consider further advice from officials on the best mech anism to efficiently deliv er this package of reforms across all jurisdictions,” the statement added. ALC CEO Dr Hermi one Parsons welcomed the recommendations of the Kanofski review and noted that industry participants wanted to see tangible prog ress on the HVNL. “We acknowledge the critical importance of get ting the review of HVNL right and ensuring that those developing the new law are engaged with those the law impacts,” said Parsons.

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LATEST sales figures from the Truck Industry Council (TIC) continue to rewrite the record Althoughbooks.historically a sluggish month for sales, July picked up where June left off, once again raising the bar to set fresh figures. All truck sectors, heavy-, medium- and light-duty, posted gains over July 2021 sales, as has been the case all year.A total of 3494 heavy vehicles were sold this July, surpassing the previous best July mark of July 2018, when 3344 trucks and vans were moved.Sales were comfortably ahead of July last year by 6 per cent, that is an increase of 198 vehicles for the month. Total heavy vehicle sales yearto-date are running 5 per cent above last year (1165 vehicles) and 4.4 per cent (1067 Vehicles) above the re cord year of 2018, at the end of July.TIC CEO Tony McMul quarter three and the back half of the year.” said Mc Mullan.“July is typically a slow month for truck sales, com ing off strong sales that we witness at financial year end everyTheJune.”‘heavies’ were again up in July, continuing a pos tive year-long trend with a total of 1067 trucks deliv ered, up 4.5 per cent, or 46 trucks, on July 2021. Year-to-date the results are even more encouraging, with heavy sales tracking up 17.2 per cent over those of the same period in 2021. In terms of actual truck numbers, the sales gap is now 1172 more heavy trucks sold year-to-date than in 2021. Perennial sector leader Kenworth once again stole the show in July with 209 units, pushing it out to a year-to-date (YTD) total of 1629, good enough for a 20.4 per cent market share of theAftercategory.wrestling the sec totals with Volvo on 1170 and Isuzu 1133. Scania consolidated its hold on fourth spot with another triple-digit month (100) to sit on 583 YTD. Mercedes-Benz also en joyed a big July with 82 sales, the fifth best total for the month, and is now just 72 shy of UD Trucks for a place in the YTD-top five. In the medium category, TIC reports that sales have been very consistent thus far in 2022, with the month of July being another steady, double-digit percentage in crease over the July 2021 result.Intotal 593 medium-du ty trucks were delivered, up a solid 11 per cent over July 2021 sales (59 Year-to-datetrucks).thepicture is slightly stronger when com pared to 2021, with 4554 medium trucks delivered to the end of July 2022. That represents an 11.9 per cent increase over 2021, and amounts to 483 more medi Sales for July kicked up somewhat, over the trend seen so far this year. ‘Little truck’ sales were up over those of the correspond ing month last year by 14.6 quite at that rate, though still in the double percentage fig ures.Sales are up 10.2 per cent over the same period to the end of July last year, that to the sales of Year-to-date2021.the tally is down over last year by 30.8 per cent. This amounts to 1312 less van sales to the end of July 2022 verses the record month of

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Good luck filling the seats left vacant by disgruntled drivers BEEN in the industry for 32 years, 30 driving B-doubles and road trains. I love what I do and be cause of that, I do it well. I know my job and have learnt a fair whack of the compliance that comes with it and take pride in doing it well. But there comes a time when you’ve got to just say No more! I still love it and it kills me to walk away. But as many have said here, ‘When you “HAVE to” and I mean, “HAVE to” defend yourself against fines, accusa tions and sheer infringement searching from the same very organisation that declares is protecting you, you got to wonder where you stand amongst it. We’re Not criminals, no matter how much you press it to theWe’republic.Not speed demons, hell-bent on breaking every lawWepossible.don’tgo out of our way to cause accidents. You think a car accident is traumatic!! Experience it in a heavy vehi cle and the consequences that follow.We don’t do it because we have to. Nobody today would get behind a wheel of a truck for what we get paid nowadays, not to mention the hours expected from us. We get fined for doing over a 144-hour fortnight BUT, a bit of paper allows us to do a 168-hour fortnight. You’re good to go son!! So, you can’t get drivers to stay, you can’t get experienced people to now do more for less, but you expect us to be grateful for a job that treats us like second-rate citizens? The government sticks their head in the ground be cause it’s too hard for them to make truck driving an appren ticeship.However, in saying that, how could you pay someone junior lower than the rate we’re currently still on? When a general facto ry worker can earn a better hourly rate, or the person on a forklift loading trucks get paid more than the truck driver is getting paid to deliver it hun dreds of kilometres away. So, you can’t get drivers to fill the positions experienced drivers are leaving? Have you seen the drivers of today’s transport industry and the way in which it’s go ing?The very drivers that I’m to call mates and co-workers, the very ones that barely speak English, let alone would pull over to help someone stuck on the side of the road. Good luck with that. Jay FacebookDiesel JAMES GRAHAM

You expect us to be grateful for a job that treats us like secondrate citizens?

GOOD on you Wes Walker. Truckies all over Australia owe you a beer, or two. While most paid advocates were nowhere to be seen during the long fight to have toilets installed at the Gat ton pads in Queensland, Walk er soldiered tirelessly on. What’s more, Walker isn’t even a truckie himself, just a passionate supporter who has bottomless drive and resolve. If only those in power had similar traits. Yes, we know the site wasn’t originally conceived to be as popular as it’s become, and there were supposed to be alternative facilities in the area. But truckies have been getting short-changed here for months, while those who should have known better simply look the other way, or dish up woeful excuses.Truckies once again not get ting the respect they deserve. Maybe Walker’s win at Gatton will help change all that.

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“There are too many peo ple who will come in under you, but fuel prices might sort this out,” he said. Jim Prentice, president of the Australian Pilot Vehicle Drivers Association (APV DA), said the industry tried for harmonisation and unity a few years back. “The federal government came up with a quarter million dollars, and they seconded a couple of people, one from Western Australia, one from the Australian Capital Terri tory and they went around and got everybody on side, all the state transport ministers signed off, took it back to the federal government. “In their wisdom, they handed it to the NHVR who said it’s not a priority, we haven’t got the money and through the whole lot in the bin.“In saying that, a good percentage of the pilots who operate, don’t treat it as their own personal business, and they tend to take the easy path and they work through agents. “It all stems back to the people not really advertising their ability to do the busi ness, or thinking that they’re going to make a lot of mon ey coming to be a pilot when they have no transport back ground.”Prentice estimates there are about 10,000 pilots operating today across Australia with the predominate number in NSW where the entry rules are relatively lax. “New South Wales, like South Australia, has no formal training, and has no level of accreditation.“Icanhave a 75-year-old person who has never had any to do with transport his life and decide that he’s going to add to his pension. He puts a sign on top of his roof, two lights, a radio, and he’s right to go in NSW and South Australia.”Prentice says he regularly fields calls and requests for the association to do more about improving pay rates. But that would contravene non-for-profit organisation rules and risk a censure from the ACCC, he said. “What I tend to say to peo ple is that you go and target transport companies and try and get your rates to a sustain able level,” said Prentice. “We have a spreadsheet that we offer to new members, or up and coming people that don’t understand quite how much it costs to run a vehicle, and that gives them some idea as to what it costs and then they can work at whether the rates that they’re being offered is viable or non-viable. Prentice said the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has approached the association with the promise of help. “But it never eventuates be cause they can’t see the num bers, or can’t get enough num bers to join the union to make it worth their while lobbying for Prenticeus.” concedes there is a lot of contention as to how existing rates for pilots are de rived.“There’s a lot of pressure being put on pilots by major transport companies to dictate Pilots are calling for more recognition for the essential service they provide on heavy haulage jobs right around Australia.

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BY JAMES GRAHAM THEY have a heavy bur den of responsibility on their shoulders every time an over size, overmass load is moved aroundManyAustralia.areeven made to feel like a quasi-occupational health and safety officer, such are the obligations that invari ably land their way. But you wouldn’t know it from the size of their take home pay, according to dis gruntled veteran pilot Ray Platt.“We’re the bottom feeders of the transport industry, and we’re treated like that,” said Platt, who is rallying industry support for a fair day’s pay for heavy vehicle truck pilots in the face of ever-increasing op erating“Theycosts.think of us at the last minute, and only put us on because they have to.” To illustrate his point, he says that if he gets a mechanic out to service the trucks that he runs himself from his Peak Hill, NSW, depot, he’ll be billed $180 per hour, and $2 per km in each direction. Yet, when Platt fires up the trusty Hilux to safely guide some of the most expensive equipment transportable on our highways, he’d be lucky to get $2 per kilometre just to go oneForgetway. an hourly rate, or indeed any other associated expenses being met by the cli ent, it all comes out of Platt’s meagre one-way rate, over as much as 400,000km each year.Platt says at the very least pilots should be paid $2.50 per kilometre, both ways. If something doesn’t change soon, he fears for the future of the sector. “It’s downright dangerous out there now; we are techni cally safety officers on those loads.”Standards are eroded by a myriad of different laws for pilots from state-to-state, and without an award to adhere to, Platt says undercutting is rife, exacerbated by a wave of inexperienced students and pensioners entering the sector in recent times.

pilots are at the bottom of the food chain. Photo: RideRite Pilot Services VICTORIA (03)DERRIMUT83316128 NSW WETHERILL PARK (02) 9757 4944 QLD (07)SALISBURY32751011 krueger.com.au/careersCONTACTUSTODAY GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT CULTURE, GREAT OUTCOMES We are seeking motivated and experienced people to fill the following roles at our sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Roles available in day and afternoon shift. • Boilermakers and Welders • Spray Painters • Mechanics / Technicians • Forklift Operators/Store person • Assemblers Apprentices and trainees in the above roles also welcome in our award winning apprentice program. We are also seeking motivated and experienced people to fill the following roles: • Senior Purchasing Buyer based in Truganina, VIC • Business Development Manager NSW – Parts and Service • Spare Parts Interpreter based in Truganina Expressions of interest for roles may be sent to recruitment_@krueger.com.au JOB OPPORTUNITIES

• A need for industry standards that ensure job secu rity and a fairer day at work. David Bilsborough, boss at Brisbane-based RideRite Pilot Services, agreed that some thing needs to Bilsboroughchange.runsfour of his cars with his staff drivers but also uses sub-contractors all around Australia. “We should be getting more than what we’re getting. We are the bottom of the food chain.”

APVDA president Jim Prentice. David Bilsborough says

• Exploitation by some of the agencies in the in dustry.• Varying regulations across different borders.

• Pay rates that are not reflective of the time on the road and the hours they work.

“I know a lot of the bigger companies are charging out pilots at $2.40-$2.50 a kilo metre and the pilots are strug gling to get paid $1.70-$1.80 a kilometre.Bilsborough believes many transport companies are using the difference to offset their ownHecosts.said you only have to compare what police get paid for their escort work, when more often than not, they’re doing a lot less than what the pilots are asked to do on the same“Somejob. police cars are along for the ride and police are get ting $1.20 per kilometre, plus $130 per hour, and that’s from base-to-base,” he said.

Bilsborough said there needs to be a similar system in place for pilots to compensate for down time. “If we all stick together at the same price transport com panies will have no option. They need us as much as we need them,” he said. “But unfortunately, I’m still hearing of sole operator pilots, and some of the [book ing] agents, their pilots aren’t the best in the industry, and they’re just doing cheap rates to keep the wheels turning, and it’s the same with trans port“Somecompanies.willonly have the pilot there to make the job legal. They don’t care what the pilot’s like as long as he’s got his lights on and his sign up, and those transport com panies are the ones who will want to pay the pilot $1.40 a kilometre and probably charge the pilots out at $2.40 a kilo metre.”At62, Platt isn’t sure how much longer he can put up with the struggle for recogni tion.“I know blokes out there who can’t afford to feed them selves, yet they are still going to work on $1.50 per kilome tre and can’t afford to put fuel in,” said Platt, a former vicechair of the national pilots’ association.“At$1.70 per kilometre, you’re barely covering costs let alone superannuation and making a living wage. “I’ll be honest with you, if my wife wasn’t working, we’d be starving.“Wehave to be getting $2.50 a kilometre to make us viable. I just tell people now, ‘You pay the rate, or I just don’t go’.”

NEWS 11BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 to you what they’re going to pay you,” he said. “I try and encourage my members, and the people who are attached to our Facebook page to make themselves aware that they are a small business on their own, and they need to have a schedule of rates. “Don’t just accept the phone call, and somebody says, ‘I’ve got a job to go from there. You’re right to go?’ And then they get on the job and they find out they’re only get ting paid so much and then they“Iwhinge.”saydo your due dili gence first, and ask how much and how long it’s going to be before you get paid because that’s a lot of the gripes and a lot a lot of times, agents don’t pay for 60 to 90 days. “The cash flow then be comes a real issue and people are waiting, going hand to mouth all the time.” Prentice says some pilots are charging a fuel levy to off set rising diesel costs, but a lot of agents won’t wear it because they’re frightened of losing the clientele.“The transport company understands that it costs you money for fuel. You need to go and talk to the people. You can’t just sit there and expect somebody to ring you up and give you the best rates if you haven’tPrenticenegotiated.”saidthe majori ty of agents who are “doing the right thing” and paying around $1.60 per kilome tre, but concedes that figure should be more like $1.88$1.90 in the current climate. “I don’t think there is a magic answer, simply because the transport industry over the past decade or so has become disjointed.”WApilot Michael Dean, 69, is convinced that joining the TWU is the key for his colleagues to get a fairer deal, but it’s been an uphill battle so far.He tried to rally support a couple of years ago, but many of those who were initially in terested had a change of heart, fearing they would be black listed.“Ido have some sympathy for the agents because they are controlled by the big compa nies and they can’t do any thing to get offside with them in any way,” said Dean, a re tired police officer, and former president of the WA police union.Dean said a lack of mem bers is holding the union back from doing more for pilots, such as an enterprise bargain ing agreement. “I think joining the union is the only way things will change, by the union advocat ing for Withoutpilots. some change soon, Dean fears for the in dustry’s future in WA where they’re already having trouble getting enough pilots. “I think it will damage the industry unless it’s properly organised and properly run, and by the industry I mean the mining and trucking in dustry.”Ajoint statement from the TWU branch secretar ies Richard Olsen (NSW/ QLD), Mike McNess (Vic/ Tas), Ian Smith (SA/NT), and Tim Dawson (WA) said that across Australia, TWU branches have supported heavy haulage escort pilots and continue to do so. The union said that it un derstands that heavy haulage escort pilots in today’s indus try face a range of issues, not limited to and including:

If you or someone you know needs support, you can speak to an OzHelp support officer on 1300 694 357 (9am –5pm, Mon- Fri), access 24/7 support by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyondblue on 1300 22 4636, or MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

BY JAMES GRAHAM GEELONG truckie Kevin Reggardo used to be the life and soul of most parties. He loved his V8 Super cars, NRL, and his dream job driving for a local civil construction company. He was your “typical, macho, Aussie truck driving man,” said wife of 35 years, SueThenBickerton.everything changed in a horrifying moment one night in 2018 in Geelong when a pedestrian deliber ately walked into the path of hisNowtruck.64, Reggardo has not returned to a truck cab since that fateful day and doubts he ever will be due to the post-traumatic stress disorder he now suffers. “My life has been abso lute shit, I’m just a mess re ally and have trouble talking about it,” said Reggardo, who had been driving trucks on and off since he was 15. Bickerton picks up the conversation, as she so often does.“The man who walked out of the house that morn ing is not the man who came home,” said Bickerton of the Reggardo she lives with today.“We’ve had to live a total ly different relationship; I’ve had to live with a totally dif ferent“I’veperson.hadto get used to a new person that looks like my partner and sounds like my partner, but is not my partner.“Hehas outbursts, he suf fers anxiety, he can’t express himself, he’s too scared to make decisions. It’s a whole variety of Reggardothings.”and Bickerton have only decided to share their heartbreaking story now in the hope that it will help others affected by simi lar They’vetragedies.joined forces with another Victorian truckie Ian Medley, who also had his life turned upside down by a pedestrian fatality while he was driving, in a bid to close what their lawyer Tom Bur goyne, principal at Fortitude Legal, says is a loophole. Medley and Reggardo have accessed limited Work Cover compensation under the Victorian WorkCover no-fault scheme, but are un able to seek damages for the pain and suffering they have experienced.Underthe current legisla tion there is no legal avenue for them when a pedestrian is involved.Burgoyne said the law could be changed to al low the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to act as the nominal defendant for damage and pay the claim in the absence of an insurer to claimThisagainst.iscurrently the case when an unregistered mo torist with no insurer to claim against deliberately drives into a Reggardo,truck.Bickerton and Medley all say they wouldn’t want others to go through the added financial stresses they’re now under as a result. Bickerton has had to come out of retirement and take on several part-time jobs to make ends meet around caring for Reggardo. “The lifestyle I had be come accustomed to was no longer there,” she explained. “It’s not as if we had steak every night and dine all the time. But it was just, you know, being able to afford the little things in life that we enjoy. I didn’t want to be living on nothing for the rest of our Medleylife.”and wife Darlene have also had to make finan cial sacrifices as a result of the 2014 incident in which a pedestrian deliberately stood in the middle of the road during his usual nightly run carting general freight from Melbourne to Ballarat. The biggest one being the sale of their dream house in Ballarat to move to cheaper property in Portland. “You could see the money just wasn’t going to be there and the wife had to give up her job to be at home to look after me,” said Medley, now 56.“Because I was on per manent nightshift they’d cut my shift allowance off and all other entitlements off and then they get to your base wage, then they cut that down to 80 per cent of that as well, so I’ve just lost so much.“Portland is a lot slower town, so it was better for my mental health. I couldn’t go out. I still can’t. It just freaks me“Myout. wife said to say that she’d she lost her husband that night [of the incident]. Nothing was ever the same again. You don’t enjoy any thing anymore. “I couldn’t even have my grandkids come over for a while. They’d run around, and that just sets me right off.”Medley still struggles to get a good night’s sleep. “I only get to sleep 3-4 hours a night and then have restless nightmares and dreams, and wake up in sweats.”Like Reggardo and Bick erton, Medley is taking com fort from knowing he now has the chance to help others by sharing his story. “This loophole has to be closed. You think you should be covered by insurance. You pay a lot of money for registration for trucks, yet something like that happens through no fault of your own and you’ve just got to suffer with Burgoyneit.” said public support has been “massive” in his campaign for change, and is also buoyed by the recent endorsement of the Victorian Transport Associ ation.He’s still waiting for feed back from the office of state road safety minister Ben Carroll. Big Rigs has also asked for comment. “I think most Australians would expect that when you’re using the road, and particularly if you’re using the road in the course of your employment, that when something goes wrong, and you’re blameless, we expect that you would be able to re cover damages, as you would in any other situation for your pain and suffering, and future loss of earnings,” said Burgoyne.“Some of these people never return to work, and you just don’t hear from them, and that’s why it’s so important that my clients, Kevin Reggardo and Ian Medley, have said, ‘This isn’t about us, we’re just trying to help others’, and they put their hands up.”

Kevin Reggardo and Sue Bickerton share their story in the hope of helping others.

Truckies fight for fairer compensation after tragedy

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IT’S a been a long time com ing, but importer and distribu tor Penske Australia and MAN Truck and Bus are confident it’ll be worth the wait for Aus tralianTwotruckies.yearsafter the hand brakes were applied by Covid, the much-lauded MAN truck generation (TG) officially launched Down Under to media, dealers and VIPs at the RACQ Mobility Centre at Mt Cotton in Brisbane earlier this month.Driver comfort and safety are clearly top of mind for the German engineers across the first newly developed truck generation in two decades, the TGL/M (local and vocation al), TGS (local and intrastate), and TGX (long haul) ranges. As MAN’s Australasian managing director Thom as Hemmerich was keen to stress at the launch, hours of research and consultation with truckies were the cornerstones for many of the upgrades. “It’s about the drivers, which is the most important thing from my point of view. Drivers are the most valuable asset in the industry and driver fit is crucial,” said Hemmer ich.“I’m really hoping you can confirm what we think and what the feedback is from our European customers, because over the last two years since the truck launched, MAN has grown its market share and sales volume considerably against the competitors and the drivers’ feedback is really excellent.“I’mconvinced the Austra lian drivers will say the same because I think it’s the ulti mate working place they can have. It’s a very demanding and exhausting job so we need to do our utmost as a producer of trucks to create this ultimate working place for them.” Craig Lee, general manager of on-highway at Penske Aus tralia, is confident that the new MAN range gives Penske the arsenal to more than double its market share that it currently enjoys in Australia over the next 18-24 months. MAN celebrated its best year in more than a decade in 2021, finishing just shy of 400 truck sales, and has picked up where it left off in 2022. At the end of July, MAN had sold 227 trucks across the mediumand heavy-duty sectors which is 0.9 per cent of the total truck“Wemarket.aregoing to actively take it to our competitors Ken worth, Scania, Volvo and Mer cedes with this new truck,” Lee told media at the launch. “We are very confident that our existing customers will see the benefit and value in this truck. But more importantly than that, we’re very confident that new customers will see the brand and benefit from those features and benefits we are bringing to the market. “We are expressly confident in the performance and the delivery of the product. We’ve seen exceptional results out of Europe and worked closely very with MAN to ensure that those results are repeatable here in “We’veAustralia.invested heavily in our dealer development and dealer network and we’re con fident we are able to give our customers a product that will give them economical, reliable and effective transport solu tions.”Randall Seymore, executive vice president of global com mercial vehicles and power systems at Penske Automotive Group, the holding company of Penske Australia, who was Brisbane-based but is now back at the US head office, also returned for the launch. “It’s going to be a game-changer,” said Seymore of the new MAN truck gen eration.“It’s very powerful to hear first-hand how we can contin ue to partner with customers to support their operations.”

answer media questions at the range launch at Mt

Continued page 16 The covers come off the first newly-developed MAN truck generation in two decades. There’s a new MAN in town Reduce maintenance costs Quick and reliable results Lower your Total Cost of Ownership How it works Register your equipment with FleetguardMap™ Order your free sample kit Send in your sample Receive your results and recommendations from the FleetguardMAP™ lab Register for the FLEETGUARDMAP™ WEBINAR on 18TH AUGUST 2022 via the QR code https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/south-pacific/webinaror FleetguardMAP™ Coolant Analysis Program Helps you avoid expensive engine failures. www.fleetguard.com.au Covers come off the first generation of new trucks in 20 years from the award-winning German manufacturer. The swivelling passenger seat is a stand-out feature in the new MAN range. [l-r]

The launch here focused on four key pillars – ‘excellent driver fit’, ‘great efficiency and economy’, ‘optimised uptime’ and ‘strong partner’. Driver fit This is where much of the changes have taken place from the earlier iterations of the MAN, many of them focused on improving driver retention. From the large door that opens 89-degrees, to the easy inclined stepping, with the large heavy-duty footholds that scrape mud off the shoes as you go, MAN has thought of itEvenall. before you make it into the lumbar supported, and heated seat, there’s a fea ture in the lower door that highlights just how much MAN has listened to drivers’ needs – a panel with switches activating hazard lights, spot lights, or the PTO. As MAN’s product manag er Sergio Carboni notes in his presentation, the other thing you notice is the quality of the fit and finish in the cab. There’s also the SmartSelect control module, the first fea ture of its kind we’re told that allows you to toggle through all the menus and go through all the innovations that this truck brings. It also has the longest bed in the class, over 2.1m long in the TGX range, and also boasts a co-driver’s seat that both rotates and folds down to create a handy table. “There is more storage compartments in his truck than you’ll find in a IKEA su perstore,” adds Carboni. “And along with that you’ve got this really great fridge. It’s all about driver fatigue management.” Carboni said another great feature for drivers is MAN’s safety“Oncell.asevere frontal impact, the whole cab moves rear wards, up to 750mm, ensur ing the integrity is kept with the doors so the driver and the passenger, and/or essential ser vices can get in and out of the vehicle in a safe manner. This also complements the driver’s side airbag as well. “So, there’s an argument that says along with the emer gency brake assist, adaptive cruise control and all the other standard features, you could argue that the MAN is prob ably the safest truck going around today.” Randall Seymore, Thomas Hemmerich, Craig Lee and Sergio Carboni Cotton.

14 COVER STORY FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

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The effortless entry and exit features of the new design clearly have drivers top of mind. The buttons in the door give drivers unprecedented control before they’ve even climbed behind the wheel. The user-friendly and ergonomically-optimal cabin environment sets a new standard.The new TGS is easy to drive and does all the heavy lifting for you.

Strong partner As you’d expect with such an extensive new range, MAN is leaving no stone unturned to minimise the total cost of ownership, offering a fully cus tomisable warranty and main tenance and repair package to suit operators’ specific needs. A 24/7 roadside assist pack age is now standard, as is a five year/1 million-kilometre war ranty on the driveline in the TGX“Also,range.with the introduc tion of TG3, we now have a telematics solution backed by the factory with MAN Op ti-Connect,” added Sergio Carboni.“Asyou know, the truck purchase is only the start of the relationship. We continue to support our dealers, custom ers, and drivers with our driver training programs through our ProfiDrive. We really find it extremely important that the investment continues to be profitable for our customers.” It’s all about the adopting a ‘cradle to grave’ approach, MAN’s national service man ager Dean Hodder tells us. “That’s what we’re aim ing for, to get the partnership with the customer so when he comes out of buying the vehi cle, all he knows is us.” Hodder says this approach also pays off for the customer at the end of ownership with higher resale value from vehi cles with a proven maintenance record under a dealership con tract. Watch out for an upcoming issue of Big Rigs in 2022 when we do an on-highway test drive of the new MAN truck generation.

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Effortless driving with intuitive controls

From page 14 Efficiency and economy It all starts with the integrated driveline, along with a host of improved aerodynamic im provements to the design, says Carboni.With the MAN TipMat ic gearbox, there’s some key functions like load, and slope detection, idle speed driving in heavy traffic, smart-shifting to keep the shift patterns as effi cient as possible and efficient role when there’s an opportu nity to almost shut down the engine and transmission to get the maximum in regards to fuelCarboniconsumption.alsosays the MAN medium and heavy-duty truck product range has probably now got the broadest range of engines in the marketplace, from 250hp DO8 to the 640hp D38 Euro 6e engine in the TGX range. “All this rides on air suspen sion that is firm but also able to absorb those rough condi tions that are in some regional parts of Australia. And with the improved aerodynamics, we certainly have got the pack age to deliver our results that we’re looking for in the next few years. And just get your pencils ready for this one, our 15-litre engine has got the class leading engine brake in Austra lia, a whopping 840hp engine brake, in metrics that’s 630kW. That’s something like around 20 per cent more than our competition out there today.”

Optimised uptime Fleet sales manager Kevin Co pelin jumps in the passenger seat as Big Rigs gets a firsthand look at just how effortless it is to drive the TGS loaded to over 30 tonnes gross combi nation, with just three or four flicks of a button. With few rivals in terms of tare weight, this truck is known amongst Copelin’s sales team as the ‘Universal Soldier’, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a popular and versatile urban primeFormover.one,it’s whisper quiet – just 65dB with the windows up, making it arguably the qui etest on the market – and dead easy to drive with its intuitive dash and all the controls with in handy reach. You just select Drive in the TipMatic 12-speed transmis sion on the right-hand wand, and away you go. “If you can think about all the nice features that European cars have got, in terms of those drive assist systems, these have got them,” adds Copelin. Copelin’s role today is to show us how the modern and intuitive cabins, complement ed by the fully integrated tech, delivers optimised uptime. A prime example, says Co pelin, is the MAN BrakeMatic electronic brake management system which is always active and automatically synchronis es use of the different vehicle brakeThesystems.lesswear-and-tear on the brake pads means less time in the workshop, he adds. BrakeMatic also does all the heavy lifting for the driv er as they descend a hill, as we experienced first-hand at Mt Cotton.Aswe negotiated the hills at Mt Cotton, the truck took all the stress out of the equation. When we got to the top, we took the foot off the brake and the truck ‘managed’ itself all the way down at 25km/h. Copelin also demonstrated the handy cruise control ele ments of the new MAN: adap tive, normal and speed limiter. If you have your ‘adaptive’ set at 100km/h, then hit a town with a 50km/h limit, to stop you creeping up over that, which is easy to do after doing 100km/h for so long, all you do is set the ‘speed limiter’ with one press of the button on the left-hand side of the steering wheel.“Then when get to other side, and want to go again, hit resume, and bang, you’re back up to “Then100. when you want to descend a hill, you just press the brake pedal, slow the truck down. When you get to the bottom, press resume and you’re back at 100 again. “So really you can control the truck with three or four buttons. You can basically get yourself on the highway, through towns, down hills. It’s really intuitive, and nice to drive.”

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It could be regarded as somewhat of a familiar story as to how Andrew James became involved in transport, and in his case it has evolved into running a three-truck opera tion working out of Benalla in north-eastRunningVictoria.under the banner of Jamesy’s Transport, James had his two Kenworths and Freightliner Argosy at the truck show which was held as part of the Australian Super Truck Nationals at Winton Motor Raceway just outside Benalla in July. The two cabovers in the fleet, a Kenworth K200 Aero dyne and a Freightliner Argosy are primarily deployed across rural Victoria and southern NSW and just over the border into SA carting treated pine poles. His pride and joy, a 1997 Kenworth T950, has been in recent times running from Benalla to Melbourne twice a day hauling precast concrete segments as part of the CBD underground rail project. Jamesy’s Transport had its origins some years back when James was part of the local Bridgestone Tyre Centre in Benalla.“We had the contract to maintain the forklifts at the local D & R Henderson saw mill, so we used a fella with a big old twin steer UD tilt tray for carting the forklifts in and out of the workshop,” recount ed James.“When he decided to sell up I bought the truck off him, he was also doing work for AH plant hire which changed over to Coates Hire. Doing more work for them I need ed a float, so I bought a Ken worth W Model and widening drop deck. When Coates shut down, I went on interstate and then into the pine post work, so I pretty much got out of the tyre game and stayed with the trucks.”Needing to upgrade the W-Model about 15 years ago, James bought the T950 off Dave Larsen who was at Adtrans truck centre at the time, with the truck proving to be a good investment in the years“Thesince.T950 was a Martins livestock truck from up at Scone in NSW. It was painted up in these colours and it has now clocked up 3.3 million kilometres. It is on its third motor. We put a N14 crate motor in it and it has done 500,000km on that and we work it 6 days a week with a B-double on the concrete seg ment work,” he explained. The Argosy was purchased along with the contract work hauling the pine posts, while the K200 was purchased two years ago also through Dave Larsen, and whilst they are older trucks, they are still do ing a solid job working across a wide area picking up the posts and dropping off direct on farm and to rural merchandise stores.“We run them on rotation, one goes to Mt Gambier on the pine poles each week, so the drivers are only away 2 nights and then they run local rest of the week. From Benalla we cover up to Griffith in the Riverina and out to Swan Hill, down to Bendigo and Cold stream and Mansfield. We are not doing real big miles, the trucks only average 2500km a week and the drivers love it as they are not away for nights on end and share it around,” he said.With one of his drivers also a mechanic, all three trucks are kept in sound running or der and despite having a Ken worth-Cummins preference he reckoned that the Detroit pow ered Freightliner has also been a solid truck. With an eye to the future, he reckoned another cabover Kenworth would fit the bill, if the price is right. “They are good trucks though, we look after them and keep them maintained. The plan is we want anoth er K200 with a flat roof. This one with the Aerodyne roof is a bit of a pain on the pine work, the lower roof is more practical, but with secondhand trucks at the minute, some of the prices they are making are ridiculous.”Boththe cabovers run as singles whilst the T950 is dedicated to hauling the tun nel segments with a B-double and runs two trips to the Mel bourne CBD each day with a round trip of about 400 kilo metres from the concrete plant on the outskirts of Benalla. “We are usually up around 68 tonnes so it’s working, but there’s only three decent hills between here and Melbourne. We then run home empty - it’s not hard work, generally it’s an 8 hour round trip,” he said. One thing is for certainthe T950 will not be departing the fleet anytime soon if James has any say in the matter, giv ing a firm nod to his 25-yearold Kenworth with the distinc tive purple paint work. “I have been up to Darwin, over to Perth and all over Aus tralia in it. The 950 is part of the family, it’s a good truck to drive and she’s in good nick so it’s not going anywhere - she’s the pride of the fleet!”

Pride of the Fleet: Andrew James’ 1997 T950 takes a parade lap of the Winton Motor Raceway. It’s part of the family: Andrew James and his trusty T950.

“WELL, I am a mechanic by trade, and I have two uncles that were in trucks, so I guess there always has been a bit of diesel in the blood.”

18 FEATURE FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU BY DAVID VILE

Diesel runs through blood

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The K200 is the most recent addition to the Jamesy’s Transport fleet.

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Highway Lights

Best Freightliner

20 EVENTS FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Transport

Other major winners Best Japanese – Toplift Crane Track (James) Best International/Iveco –Richmond Waste (Josh) Best European – Midcoast (Phil)

Best Ford/Stirling – Nightin gale (Connor) Best –(Jason) – Paul John ston (Peter)

AFTER being forced to cancel for the previous two years due to Covid, the 2022 North Coast Petroleum Ca sino Truck Show bounced back in spectacular fashion earlier this month. Official truck registra tions were 312, however, when combining sponsors’ trucks and exhibiters’, an estimated 370 trucks were parked in and around the Casino CBD, according to organisers.Morethan 8000 peo ple flocked to the event to marvel at the wide array of vehicles on display with the general feedback being that this year’s show ranks as one of Australia’s Formalitiesbest.started at 10am with the legendary Highway Lights truck pa rade, before judging for 60 trophies, sponsored by The Tyre Factory, got underway. The prestigious Tiny Lollback Rig of the Show honours, with $1000 in prizemoney, went to Jon Fleming from MFT Haul age, while the Brown & Hurley Best Fleet Series prize of $800 was won by Freds Transport.

Peterbilt

Best Western Star – Nightin gale (Jimmy) Best Kenworth – Imeson Best Mack – Mactrans Best(Faadhi)Heavy Recovery – Any where Truck Machinery Best(Laurie)Heavy Haulage – Roaln son Heavy Haulage (Camer Beston) Livestock Truck – CMT Best(Peter)Log Truck – Gordons Best Tipper – MJS (Mitch) Best Car Carrier – Statewide Car Carrier (Kevin) Best Tanker – Monaro Fel Best(Sash)General Freight – Cor betts (Gavin) Best Refrigerated Carrier –Shoobridge (Ryley) Best Specialised – Grahams Best Rigid – Sullivans (Sere Bestna) Tilt Tray – Ballina Two Trucks (Dylan) Best Service Vehicle – Amped Up Truck Electrical (Bran don) Best Cabover – GrainTrans Best Bonneted – Taylors Holding (Kerry) Best Custom Truck – All American Custom Chrome Best Custom Paint – Andrew Hickey Transport Best Traditional Paint – Daw sons Haulage (Graeme) Best Mural – Mactrans Best(Faadhi)Lines and Scrolls – Freds Transport (Joshua) Best Engine Bay – Trevor BestSmithNovelty Truck – Truckin Stainless (Michael) Best Local Truck – Gava Freight Service (Mal) Top Five Elite Series • Gary Richards • Dawsons Haulage • SRV • Freds Freight • ForGraintransthecomplete list of win ners and placegetters, visit the webiste com.au/results.casinotruckshow. Casino show pays big dividends The event attracted crowds of over 8000 people. Rig of the Show went to Jon Fleming at MFT Haulage. Nightingales from Jimboomba won the Best Western Star category.

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Based in Brisbane, Thornton works in Port Hedland, doing four weeks on and two weeks off.

A truck driver for the past 12 years, Rachel Thornton, 50, says she can now tick another item off the bucket list. Based in Brisbane, she works for Rivet Mining Ser vices doing FIFO (fly-in, flyout) work in Port Hedland, pulling quad road train side tippers of up to 195 tonnes. “I love and enjoy every thing about my job – work ing with awesome colleagues and really just getting the job done. I’d been contemplating coming over here for a long time. It’s just a beautiful place, the weather is always pictur esque, and the sunsets and sunrises are some of the most mind-blowing colours I’ve ever seen,” explained Thornton. “I’ve reached my goal. This is where I wanted to be by the time I turned 50 – over here in WA, operating quads.” She’s been in her current job for about 18 months, cart ing iron ore between the mines and the ports. Deliveries are usually around a 1000km round trip, completed in 1112 Herhours.work schedule is four weeks on and two weeks off. But if there are shortages, she’ll often stay back and help out where she Thoughcan.with being a FIFO worker, Covid-enforced bor der restrictions did add an ex tra level of complexity. “The border was hard. I was here for six months at one point and couldn’t really go back home, otherwise it was too hard to come back in with the border closures – so to not be in that predicament, I just stayed here and worked,” said Thornton. “I have worked in isolated places, but never did FIFO be fore this job. I had heard a lot of stories about how daunting the work can be, but I haven’t felt like that at all. “I love the freedom – I am doing what I love and just be ing me. I’ve done other driv ing work too, like B-doubles up and down the east coast, I’ve done tautliners and flat tops, I’ve worked in warehous es, and it’s all great work, but I got sick of doing the same thing all the time. Interstate was a bit different, that was good and I liked it, but there were so many tired drivers on the road and I had a few close calls, so I decided to start do ing FIFO work. You just get to a point where you have to make a decision. I didn’t want to be doing local and interstate anymore.”Thornton says she’s always had an interest in trucks, sparked during her time work ing as a jillaroo during her teenage years. “With that I did a lot of study and stuff about where, why and how the truck ing industry became the way it was – starting with wagons through to trucks. I found out my grandfather and my great grandfather were both drovers down at Condamine in NSW. From there, my father worked in the mines, so that added to my interest too and then it all went from there.”

Truckin’ In The Outback

SUPPORTEDPROUDLY BY WHERE TRANSPORT DOES BUSINESS

Born in Townsville, Thorn ton travelled a lot with her family growing up, including living in Alice Springs for 14 years and stints living in Rockhampton, Emerald and Brisbane.Though she had driven trucks on farms for several years, it wasn’t until 2014 that Thornton decided to pursue truck driving as a serious ca reer. By 2015, she had secured her MC licence – and says she’s never looked back.

She drives quad road train side tippers for Rivet Mining Services.

Rachel Thornton got into FIFO work about 18 months ago and says she loves the work.

AT just 24 years of age, third generation truckie Robert Hull already knows the Tan ami like the back of his hand – after all, this unforgiving stretch is where he spends the majority of his time behind theHewheel.works for Alice Springs based outfit A&F Transport and has been there for close to four years now. He started out in the yard for a couple of years, proving himself and showing his worth, before gradually working his way up to triple road train work. A&F Transport runs a fleet of 11 trucks, 10 of which are Macks. It’s a mixture of late and earlier models, the oldest of which is a 1994 Mack CLR. “My father is a truck driv er. He works for ABC Trans port in Alice Springs. We were originally from Quorn in South Australia but the fami ly came here in 2003 for dad’s work. My grandfather on my mother’s side was a truck driv er too,” Hull explained. “As a little kid I used to go out in the truck with my fa ther. I’d go with him on week ends when he carted fuel to the oil rigs. When I’m in the truck, I sometimes look back at those times and remember some of the things he taught me as a child and think, ‘oh yeah, that’s a good idea, I might do this like that’. “My old man put me be hind the wheel at a young age. When I was about 12, he started teaching me to drive in a Kenworth T650.” When Hull finished school, he knew that truck driving was what he wanted to pursue – after all it was already in the blood. He got his truck licence at 19 and progressed to his MC shortly after. “A&F Transport has been really good to me and really supportive in catering to what you what you want to do,” HullTheseadded.days, he drives a 1997 Mack Titan, carting triples of general freight or ce ment powder to the Granites Mine, which is situated in the Tanami Desert in the NT. “It’s about 645km each way. Depending on how bad the road is, on a good day it can take 10 hours, but on a bad day it could take 15-16 hours. The last 70km out to the mine gets pretty badly cor rugated sometimes,” he said. Recently it was announced that a contract had been awarded to seal 150 kilome tres of the Tanami Road, with works to start on the first 60 kilometre section. “I’m just on the Tanami turn-off now. About 250km of the trip is dirt. Some days it can be absolutely terrible, other days if it’s been graded regularly, it’s just as good as bitumen,” said Hull. Speaking of the Tanami sealing upgrades, he added, “I’ve seen that preparation works are now starting on the Tanami. Once that’s com plete, it’ll shave a few hours off theThoughtrip.” travelling the outback can be lonely, Hull says he loves being away from the big city. “You might not see someone for a couple of hundred kilometres, but I en joy that alone time. You get to see some amazing country while travelling the Tanami RoadAndtoo.”Hull plans on follow ing his chosen career path for a long time yet. He offers some advice for young people want ing to break into the industry. “If you do want to drive trucks and find that people won’t give you a go, just do what you have to and try to work your way up. Whether it’s washing trucks, changing tyres, kicking around in the dirt, do whatev er you need to do to get your foot in the door.”

Robert Hull

22 DRIVER PROFILES FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Rachel Thornton

Robert Hull drives a 1997 Mack Titan for A&F Transport.

The third generation truckie carts triples of general freight or cement powder to the Granites Mine.

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I am delighted to wel come everyone to MEGA TRANS2022. The last two years has been a testing pe riod for all of us, profession ally and personally, as we’ve endured a global pandemic – trying enough in itself – as well as the myriad disrup tions that have followed in its wake. Many people who would never before have considered the role of sup ply chain in their lives have realised how indispensable it is to the functioning of our modernAlmostsocieties.everything that we use in our everyday lives is wrapped up in a web of logistical complexity – from food supplies to auto parts to essential vaccines. So, given our present circumstances, what better time to reimagine the supply chain?This is what MEGA TRANS2022 is all about. At Prime Creative Media we are dedicated to growing individuals, organisations, andAndindustries.aseveryone knows, you can only grow bigger, better, and more resilient by facing up to challenges, re flecting on them, and think ing creatively about how best to respond in the moment and in the future. So many of the attend ees at this year’s conference – whether spectators or par ticipants – have taken the pandemic head on, realising that disruptions have provid ed not only great challenges, but great ductivity.efficiencies,linecustomers.wellbeingthetomerhowOpportunitiesopportunities.tore-thinktomeetandexceedcusdemands.Opportunitiestoimprovehealth,safety,andgeneralofourworkersandOpportunitiestostreamprocesses,maximiseandboostproMEGATRANS2022providestheperfectplatformforourindustrytocometogether,takestock,andreimaginethesupplychain.Asoneofthefirsttrade shows in the post-Covid re covery phase, it will play a pivotal role in re-establishing face-to-face relationships, fostering connections be tween businesses and people, and showcasing the innova tive ideas and solutions that will not only propel our in dustry forward – but the so ciety which relies on it, too. While there are too many fascinating topics to list them all here, you can rest assured that MEGATRANS2022 will spotlight the latest in ar tificial intelligence, robotics, automated racking, telemat ics and route optimisation, warehouse automation, in telligent fleet systems, block chain, Internet of Things, big data, advanced analytics – and much else besides. I would like also to take this opportunity to thank our primary partners and spon sors – the Victorian State Government Department of Transport, the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Re gional Development, Com munications and the Arts, Loscam, Dematic, MTData and e2open – without whose support this marvellous event would not be possible.

Navigating Our Port Futures, released in July, re quires a Landside Access Plan (LAP) for each commercial port. Each LAP will identify how major commodities are being moved to and from each port and identify those specific issues causing con gestion and delays. This includes improving access for more productive heavy vehicles between the port and key customers, in cluding a 20-year forecast of how cargo volumes will be accommodated and trans ported.Navigating Our Port Fu tures also acknowledges the need for the freight industry to accommodate Victoria’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this, Victo ria has begun investing in hydrogen research and pro duction and a refuelling net work.The state’s framework is based on the use of elec tric-powered freight vehi cles up to around 16-tonne GVM, with hydrogen per forming a more dominant role in powering larger and long-haul vehicles. As global supply chains remained disrupted in the wake of the pan-demic, the Victorian Government is fo cussed heavily on improving landside access to ports and across the state so goods can get to where they need to go.

WELCOME MESSAGE JOHN MURPHY CEO Prime Creative Media KEYNOTE SPEAKER MELISSA HORNE Minister for Ports and Freight

VICTORIA is taking big strides in meeting the chal lenge of a rapidly growing freightFreighttask.volumes are ex pected to more than dou ble in the next two decades, demanding a new approach to the way freight moves around the state. Getting more freight on rail is a key aim of Victoria’s 2018 freight plan Delivering the Goods, which mapped a way to move more freight by rail and reduce the state’s heavy reliance on the road network.Nowin its fourth year of implementation, Delivering the Goods has seen strong investment in the region al rail freight network and further progress in develop ing short-haul rail to move containers between the Port of Melbourne and metropol itanTheareas.Port Rail Shuttle Network is made up of in termodal terminals in Altona in the city’s west, Somerton in the north and Dandenong South in the south-east, as well as new tracks at the Port of Melbourne that can ac commodate 600-metre-long shuttle trains. On its anticipated open ing next year, the Port Rail Shuttle is expected to shift between 10 and 20 per cent of the Port of Melbourne’s container throughput, a fig ure expected to grow to near ly 30 per cent by 2050. The Port Rail Shuttle will also reduce truck numbers in the inner city, remove con gestion around the port and give industry a more cost-ef fective way to get product to market.Delivering the Goods also recognises that road trans port will continue to be the dominant mode of freight delivery, and the sole mode for the last kilometre. That’s why Victoria has been at the forefront of re forms that have boosted heavy vehicle productivity like in-principle approval of Performance Based Stan dards (PBS) vehicles and the use of reference designs and pre-approved networks to simplify the process of get ting a permit. As well as expanding ac cess to the existing road net work, Victoria is also adding capacity.Thirty-six kilometres of new lanes were recently add ed on the Monash and Princ es Freeways in Melbourne’s south-east.TheMonash Freeway accommodates more than 40 per cent of all commer cial movements across Mel bourne and as freight jour neys continue to grow, the Monash Freeway Upgrade will help freight remain com petitive by delivering travel time savings to key freight destinations.Twofurther road proj ects are underway as part of Victoria’s Big Build that will completely revolutionise the way freight moves around Melbourne. Due for completion in 2025, the West Gate Tunnel Project will deliver the road freight industry an alterna tive to the West Gate Bridge as well as direct access to Swanson Dock at the Port of Melbourne for combinations like A-doubles operating at 85.5 tonnes and B-triples operating at 91 tonnes. Also revolutionising the movement of freight into and around the Melbourne metropolitan area is North East Link, which will con nect the M80 Ring Road with an upgraded Eastern Freeway, fixing the missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network.Thelack of a direct link between the north and south-east of Melbourne has been a brake on the produc tivity of the freight industry, and the completion of the Ring Road has long been high on the industry’s wish list.To help streamline road access to the Port of Mel bourne, Victoria has intro duced the Voluntary Port Performance Model. It establishes clear proto cols for the stevedores at the Port of Melbourne to notify of price increases or the in troduction of any new landside charges, and an expla nation of price increases and the timing of price changes. It includes sets of per formance indicators on the Port of Melbourne which are consistent, measurable and meaningful to the road freight industry. A key aim of Victoria’s recently released commer cial ports strategy has been to boost the efficiency of the landside interface at Victo ria’s four commercial ports.

Reimagining

Delivering the Goods recognises that road transport will continue to be the dominant mode of freight delivery.

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Victoria offers solutions to the growing freight task supply chains

THE Victorian Government Industry Breakfast will take place on day one of the event, with Minister for Ports and Freight, Melissa Horne, pre senting the keynote address. Horne has held the Ports and Freight portfolio since 2018 and has been respon sible for implementing key reforms contained in the Vic torian Freight Plan. Following her opening keynote speech, Horne will join a panel discus sion to answer questions about current state government proj ects centred around the freight and logistics industry in Vic toria. Panellists will include: Peter Anderson CEO at Victorian Transport Association (VTA) Anderson has had a lifelong career working in the business of freight movement, holding the role of chief executive of ficer of the VTA since 2014 – representing over 800 trans port and logistics operators in Victoria, with a focus on enhancing the productivity, safety, workforce development and sustainability of the in dustry through leadership and advocacy.

Natalie Reiter Deputy Secretary of Policy, Precincts and Innovation at the Department of Transport Reiter has had a diverse career including senior executive roles in private consulting as well as local and state government. In her current role, she leads the strategy underpinning the cre ation of Melbourne’s transport precincts. a hot Keynote: The state of International Trade 11.40am-12pm Case Study:Ex porters well placed to connect to international supply chains, but what about importers? Australia’s International Supply Chain System – Does it work? 12pm-1pm Panel Session: Col laboration to Streamline the Import/Export Supply Chain 1pm-2pm Break 2pm-2.05 Moderator Intro duction 2.05pm-2.35pm Keynote: Transformational Changes, The Ideal Supply Chain 2.35pm-3.35pm

topic GJ Drivelines •TAILSHAFTINDUSTRIALHEAVYSomertonVEHICLE,ANDAUTOMOTIVESPECIALIST•TailshaftrepairsandmanufacturingDigitalbalancing•Hugerangeinstock • Same day turnaround • Drive in drive out service available (03) 9305 www.gjdrivelines.com.ausales@gjdrivelines2.com7261 794 Cooper St Somerton, Victoria 3062 Cloud-Based onforManagementJobSoftwareBusinessestheMoveConnect&simplifyyourdispatchoperationsGainreal-timevisibilityofalljobsAutomateemail&SMSalertsManagehealth&safetyrequirementsImprovefleetefficiencywithrouteoptimizationIntegratewithotherbusinesstoolsDriveprofitability Visit vworkapp.com to get started >>>>>>> Event Program Wednesday, August 24: Re-Imagining the Global Supply Chain 7am-9am Victorian Govern ment Ministerial Breakfast 9am-9.15am Moderator Intro duction 9.15am-9.45am Keynote: The Years in Review 9.45am-10.45am Panel Ses sion: Global supply chain chal lenges – Short term effects and long term implications 10.45am-11.15am Break 11.15am11.20am Moderator Introduction 11.20am-11.40am

State of industry

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Caryn Anderson Executive general manager for Port Growth and Plan ning at Port of Melbourne Anderson leads the coordi nation of the Port’s growth strategies and supporting ac tivities including infrastruc ture planning, major projects, concession and interface man agement and supply chain integration. She has over 20 years of experience in the Aus tralian and international ports, shipping and logistics sector.

Praveen Reddy Executive director at Freight Victoria Since joining Freight Victoria in 2020, Reddy has overseen expanded access to Victoria’s heavy vehicle network, un dertaken a complete review of the Victorian ports system and chairs the Heavy Vehicle Consultative Group.

Paul Scurrah Managing director and chief executive officer of Pacific National Scurrah has over 25 years’ se nior experience in transport, logistics, travel and aviation. Before joining Pacific Nation al, he was the CEO of Vir gin Australia from 2019 and DP World from 2013. Prior to this he held roles as chief marketing and commercial of ficer at Aurizon and CEO of Queensland Rail.

Panel Session: Business Solutions to Create the Ideal Supply Chain 3.35pm-3.40pm Closing Re marks Thursday, August 25: The Rise Of E-Commerce 9am-9.15am Moderator Intro duction 9.15am-9.45am Keynote: The Rise of E-Commerce – By the Numbers 9.45am-10.45am Panel Ses sion: How has Covid affected the retail landscape and where do you see e-commerce landing in future consumer spending habits 10.45am-11.15am Break 11.15am-11.20am Moderator Introduction 11.20am-11.40am Keynote: Online Shopping in Australia: Preparing for Cyber Sales and Beyond 11.40am-12pm Case Study: Set Up/Scale Up 12pm-1pm Panel Session: Con sumer Trends 1pm-2pm Break 2pm-2.05pm Moderator Intro duction 2.05pm-2.35pm Keynote –Barriers to E-Commerce 2.35pm-3.35pm Panel Session: Improvement and Solutions 3.35pm-3.40pm Closing Re 6.30pm-latemarks Mercury Awards and Bulk Handling Awards Gala Dinner Friday, August 26: Sustainability and Safety in the Supply Chain 9am-9.15am Moderator Intro duction 9.15am-9.40am Keynote: Sustainability and the Supply Chain 9.40am-10am Case Study: To wards 2050 10am-11am Panel Session: The Role of Different Sectors 11am-11.30am Break 11.30am-11.55am Keynote: Safety in Transport 11.55am-12.55pm Panel Ses sion: Safety Innovations 12.55pm-1pm Closing Re marks 1pm -2pm Break Peter Anderson, CEO at Victorian Transport Association.

28 MEGATRANS2022 FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU THE MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE AUGUST 24-26 | TICKETS: MEGATRANS.COM.AU Entry / Exit Door 8 Loscam Lounge Breakfastarea TelematicsLounge1000100310061009 11061109 150315061509 2011 32091512 151315141511 1317 13221320 1323 1420 1522 1325 1325 201620232021 22212216 2321 2317 2421 3021 30183016 30093011 2416 2317 2218 23161517 152015181519 15231521 1315 1418141614171316 14191415 220022032206 2306 240824062407 25062507 30063007 31063107 320632073208330833062207 2308 2300 3000 3302 3203310324032303 30033005 3301330433031500 1600160211031200 1204120310041007101010141012 1118111311121115 121312181212121510201018101310171019 1120 Seating area Seminar theatre 1 1311 141213061312 1406 1309 140014091300 2000200320042005200721032100 3421 MEGATRANS2022 aims to showcase every step of the logistics and multimodal freight process. Come visit Big Rigs: STAND2300 MEGATRANS2022

MEGATRANS2022 29BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 THE MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE AUGUST 24-26 | TICKETS: MEGATRANS.COM.AU A-Safe Australia 2506 Ahrens Group 3021 AI Drive 2003 Allotra 3009 ANC DISTRIBUTION Australia 1106 ANHUI EIKTO Battery Co. 1215 ANL & CMA CGM 2004 Australian Border Force 2000 Australian Border Force 2100 Australian Sweeper Company 3206 Austyre 2021 Automation Systems & Controls 3003 AXIS Supply Chain 3011 Bailey Ladders 1520 BaxtersMTQ 2315 Bestrane Group 2206 BHD Storage Solutions 2007 Big Rigs 2300 Biogone – Biodegradable Packing Materials 1417 BlackBox Control 1320 Bustle Technology 1418 Carmate Electronics 3308 Cascade Australia 1409 Cincom Systems of Australia 3306 Cipherlab Co. Ltd 2308 Collective Intelligence Group 1309 Colliers 2016 Combilift 2203 Conquest Equipment 2416 Cotewell – Line Marking 3302 Damon Australia 3000 Datanet Asia Pacific 1600 Deals on Wheels 2300 Dematic 1419 Direct Mail Corporation 3006 Diverseco 2403 Drivalink 1014 DriveRisk 1512 DSE Transport 1117 E2open 1509 Eonmetall Group Bhd 2200 Federal Batteries 2316 Findex 1602 Fischer Plastic Products Pty Ltd. 1213 Flinders Port Holdings 2103 Foton Mobility Distribution 1420 Fully Loaded 2300 Gaprie 3208 Gilbarco Australia 3107 Global Trailer 2300 Guardian 1400 Hangcha Equipment Australia 2207 Haulmax Tyres 1523 Holmwood Highgate 3209 Hubfleet 1320 INFOCOMM SOFTWARE 1204 Insignia 3203 Integral Insurance Services 1007 KAB Seating 1517 KOBOT SYSTEMS 3005 Kynection 1212 Lavender Panels 1519 Linkt 1112 Leopard Systems 1412 LoadSMART Weighing Systems 1315 Loscam Australia 2408 M2M One 1006 MachShip 3103 Mclardy Mcshane 1518 McNaughtans 1511 Merit Manufacturing 1415 MHD Supply Chain Solutions 1000 Michelin Australia 2011 Microlise APAC 1306 Mobicon Systems 3303 MTData 1406 Multi-Mover 1316 Muscat Trailers 3018 National Heavy Vehicle Regulator 1109 Netstar 1017 Nexport 1311 Nilfisk 2317 Ofload 1322 Owner Driver 2300 Pacific Telematics 1113 Pathtech – Drug Detection 3304 Peacock Bros 3007 Port of Newcastle 2005 PowerTorque 2300 Precision Automotive Equipment 1506 Prime Mover 2300 Procon Telematics 1320 Protection Experts Australia 1521 PTV Group 1500 Qingdao Aquila Tyre Industrial Limited China 1323 Recode Solutions 2407 Retailquip 2216 Sadleirs Logistics 2218 Scanreco 1218 Schmalz Australia 1522 SCLAA 1118 Southlink Industrial 1416 State Transport and Warehousing 2321 Step Global 1203 STONKAM CO., LTD. 2507 Tele Radio Australia 1514 Teletrac Navman 1503 The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts 1313 TMX 1003 ToooAir Pty Ltd 1004 Toowoomba Enterprise Hub 1018 Trailer Magazine 2300 Transport Certification Australia 1300 TransVirtual 1103 Trelleborg Wheel Systems Aust. 2306 TriTech Lubricants 2421 Truckit Diesel Equipment Finance 1013 Truckworld 1012 Ultimate LED 1009 vWork 3207 Webfleet 1500 WIM Technologies 2406 WRM 1020 X-Pak Global 3106 Yarno 1019 COMPANY NAME STAND NO. COMPANY NAME STAND NO. COMPANY NAME STAND NO.

Pre-Start App

www.proconmrm.com.auNHVRApprovedEWDBYODeviceMobileGPSApp

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KELLY Durkin Trucking is a family business in every sense of the word. Third generation transport operator and farmer, Kelly Durkin, says the story all started back in 1946 when his grandfather purchased his first farm in Thorpedale, Victoria. “We’re a small family-based farming and agricultural busi ness, with a transport division. We transport produce and general freight Australia-wide. With the produce, we carry the fruit and vegetables we grow on our farms, as well as produce that’s grown on other local farms,” said Kelly. Today, Kelly Durkin Truck ing runs nine B-doubles, pre dominantly Kenworth T909s, which stand out on the high way in their green and white livery. The business employs around a dozen full-time staff, as well as some casuals, with some long-term employees having worked for the family for more than 30 years. Kelly Durkin Trucking is run by Kelly and his wife Man dy, his father Mike, and his sis ter Emma and brother-in-law Matt Steendham. “We’re the directors and run the busi ness’ day-to-day operations. The company is getting a lot bigger but we’re still all pretty hands-on. My father has eight granddaughters, so hopefully they’ll be in the business one day too,” added Kelly. Not one to shy away from hard work, Kelly is regularly on the road and enjoys be ing behind the wheel. About 10 years ago, he realised how telematics could assist with maintaining a smooth opera tion, no matter where he was. After speaking with Pro con Telematics, Kelly Durkin Trucking decided to imple ment the company’s Fleetlo cate Software, using it in the office, but focusing on the app when out on the job. “We’re truck drivers and farmers, not tech-heads, so Procon has been great,” said Kelly. “What I like is the day-to-day access that shows where a vehicle is and how long it’s been there – and you can’t argue with the data. We use the app all the time to look at where our trucks are, to see if our drivers are resting or driving or if they’ve been held up. Through Procon’s tech nology, Fleetlocate helps us monitor driver fatigue to the minute.“When I’m out on the road, I can see where our vehi cles are and it’s helped with ba sic things like not calling our drivers when they’re resting, so we’re not waking them up.” As Kelly has found, the app’s vehicle history function can even help to settle disputes. “Today I needed to know what time something was delivered the Monday just gone. The client was arguing about what time the vehicle left the prem ises. He said the truck left by 8:00am but I could see that it was still there at 10:00am –and I had the Fleetlocate data there to confirm the facts. So we can see whether anyone is telling porky pies or not,” he said.Along with location in formation, Kelly Durkin Trucking has been utilising Fleetlocate’s servicing alerts functionality too. “Through the app, we can add alerts for service intervals on each vehicle. We do a B-service every 30,000 kilometres and our long-term services are all logged at 400,000 kilometres via the app, so it means noth ing ever gets missed. “As time has gone on, the Fleetlocate app has proved to be very handy. The team there is also very accessible, any time of the day, any time of the week.” Kelly Durkin with his wife Mandy and daughter Charlie.

A smooth operator –any time and anywhere Fatigue MonitoringAll IAP and TMA needs FOR ALL GPS HARDWARE and SOFTWARE GPS Tracking Software Computer + Mobile App ProView Cloud-Based AI Dashcam Blackvue Dashcams See us at MEGATRANS 24-26 August 2022 - Stand 1320 FREE CALL 1300 496 676

DSE Transport opens new Melbourne warehouse

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DSE Transport has now of ficially opened its brand new Melbourne warehouse, which is located in Campbellfield. The new location has conve nient access to major arterial roads including the Hume Freeway, Hume Highway and Ring“OurRoad.growing customer base in Melbourne required a bigger warehouse, provid ing greater capacity to move our customer’s freight, so we built a new warehouse and moved from our old Thomas town premises,” explained Jeff Hayes, DSE’s national busi ness development manager. The new site features 1000 pallet spaces, truck access into the warehouse via three roller doors, a good sized hardstand area with a large awning, and security cameras installed across the yard and warehouse. “We already had our first two containers delivered in readiness for next week. It’s exciting times ahead as we start to fill the warehouse,” said Nick Papadopoulos, state manager, Vic, at DSE Trans port.“Equally important, we are confident our team will enjoy our new facilities, with a ded icated driver kitchen, shower and bathrooms,” he added. DSE Transport will be ex hibiting at this year’s Mega Trans event. If you would like to discuss how DSE Transport can deliv er smart distribution services, no matter the size of freight or location, to meet your trans port needs, stop by at Stand 1117 for a chat. Owner drivers are also en couraged to drop by, as DSE is always looking for quality operators to join the team for ongoing work and an immedi ate Thestart new DSE Transport warehouse is located at 57 Metrolink Circuit, Campbell field, Victoria, and the phone number remains the same (03) 9464 4605. “It’s exciting times ahead as we start to fill the warehouse.”

The new site features 1000 pallet spaces and truck access into the warehouse via three roller door.

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Streit moves from Austria to helm Scania Australia

NEWS 33BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

SCANIA Australia’s new man aging director, Manfred Streit, has arrived in Melbourne, fol lowing 15 years working for the company in Austria. Streit, 49, replaces Mikael Jansson, 63, who recently an nounced his retirement follow ing five years in the role down with trucks since he was a youngster, Streit said he developed a life-long affinity for Scania early on. His tertiary studies in business and com merce were funded by driving many of the Swedish trucks during university holidays, where he developed a deep pas sion for transport and logistics. After a short spell at French signalling manufacturer Alca tel, Streit moved to Renault in Austria, before accepting the role of dealer director with Sca nia near his hometown in north central Austria. He was there for eight years before becoming country manager for Scania in Austria, in 2016. Having had a taste of Aus tralia as a tourist more than 20 years ago, Streit and his family are looking forward to a longer spell here, this time. “Scania in Australia has a very solid base – thanks to 12 years of growth – that I plan to build on, assisted by a very expe rienced executive management team. I can see there is a lot of depth among our local Scania family, and we will work togeth er to develop further innova tions and services for the benefit of our customers,” Streit said. “Scania is not only focused on growing our business and maintaining customer uptime, but also driving the shift to wards a sustainable transport future. We have already begun this in Australia, and the trans formation will continue in line with the needs of the market. “Having transferred from a small country in the middle of Europe to a large continent far away, I am looking forward to exploring Australia and meet ing with many customers and understanding their business needs.Streit arrives after another solid month of sales for Scania in July, in which the Swedish badge moved 100 units and ce mented its fourth spot on the heavy-duty table behind Ken worth, Isuzu and Volvo. Manfred Streit has taken the reins at Scania Australia.

Penske opens its second rental location in Brisbane

under.Involved

Eliminates carry back It’s the simple cost effective alternative to body liners Lowers fuel and maintenance costs Reduces wear and tear on the truck and trailer Allows for lower discharge elevation height, minimising the risk of roll over Improves driver and truck safety Hydraulic and pneumatic options available A Flow-Easy vibrator speeds up the unloading of bulk materials, providing an efficient, safe and controlled load discharge. Less time unloading, more time making money. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM SOLUTION.WEMATERIAL,COMPACTEDWITHHAVETHE T: +61 3 9800 6777 | W: floweasy.com.au A FLOW-EASY VIBRATOR: The new branch is co-located with Penske Australia, at Lytton.

PENSKE Truck Rental has opened its sixth location in Australia with the launch of a second Brisbane-area branch in Co-locatedLytton.with Penske Australia, the Lytton facility allows for expanded truck rental and leasing services in south-eastern Queensland. “We started the Austra lian truck rental business back in 2014 with just 20 prime movers, and the Bris bane fleet has quadrupled in size since then,” said Adrian Beach, general manager of Penske Truck Leasing. “The steady growth we’ve seen across our opera tions in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth will put us close to 300 trucks before the end of the year,” said Beach.“The existing Wacol fa cility continues to be a great base to service our custom ers in western Brisbane, and we’re now able to offer a new location that is ideal for those north of the city and near the Port of Brisbane. “We’re very excited to set up shop on this side of town, where we can grow our existing relationships and start some new ones as well.“Throughout these strange and uncertain times, we’ve been able to access equipment and support fleets both large and small with short-term rental and long-term leasing solutions that do not require capital investment.Beachsaid Penske’s port folio of Western Star and MAN trucks will be fur ther bolstered with the new product arriving later this year.“We have heavy rigids and prime movers spec’d to handle all sorts of different trailer“Thankscombinations.toour strong OEM partnerships, we have the right fleet mix to help all our customers keep their businesses moving for ward.”Tolearn more about Pen ske Truck Rental’s services, visit gopenske.com.au, or call 1300 GO PENSKE.

Advertise your available positions with THE TRUSTED VOICE OF THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY Reach potential employees through NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED PRINT, ONLINE and SOCIAL MEDIA PETER HOCKINGS 0410 334 peter.hockings@primecreative.com.au371 NEED STAFF? DON’T MISS OPPORTUNITYTHIS In the mix are 66 ultra-quad side tipper combinations, with GVMs of 210 tonne.

MGM Bulk fleet manag er Allan Thomas explained, “Our ultra quads feature a tri drive single steer prime mover, then the first trailer is a tri axle trailer, and then you have three trailers be hind that with tri axle dol lies with four axles.”

MGM Bulk’s fleet is made up of 130 prime movers and over 400 trailers, with Alcoa being the wheel of choice. 10,000 Bulk

WHEN you’re running some of the biggest quad road trains in the coun try, with a whopping 110 wheels under each set-up, you’d want to be sure that those wheels can go the dis tance.From its depots at Bun bury, Perth and Port Hed land, MGM Bulk provides bulk haulage and material handling services to a wide range of mining clients across WA. It manages the logistics of mineral sands, iron ore, lithium, salt, grav el, limestone, sand and more.The roots of the business date back 60 years, when Mario Giacci and his fam ily started a small business specialising in transport and logistics in the 1950s. From these humble beginnings, the family business grew into a national business called Giacci Bros. Then in 2004, Mario Giacci also founded MGM Group, together with his daughter Giuditta and son Michael. Initially established as a supplier of reconstituted blocks, concrete and pre mium quarry materials, the ensuing decade saw MGM Group expand its opera tions, equipment and re sources.After the sale of Giacci Bros in 2014, MGM added a bulk division to the group, known as MGM Bulk. Today, MGM Bulk’s im pressive fleet is made up of 130 prime movers and over 400 trailers, which include a mixture of side and end tippers, tautliners, flat decks andButtankers.thebiggest combina tions of all are its 60-metre ultra-quad side tipper com binations, which can achieve a whopping Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 210 tonne. There are 66 of these im pressive set-ups in the fleet, all based at the Port Hed land operation, and used to transport various products from the mines to the port. In addition, MGM Bulk also runs 17 additional 60-metre super quads, with a GVM of 195 tonne.

Alcoa wheels on the ground at MGM

34 SPONSORED CONTENT WHEELS FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Thomas has been with the company for close to decade, working across var ious roles before taking on his current position two years ago. “As fleet manag er, I order all the gear and also oversee maintenance too. At MGM Bulk, we buy the best components we can when we set up our new equipment, and we believe Alcoa is the best wheel on the market – they are bet ter than anything else out there,” he said. “We’re very specific in what we purchase. We buy Kenworth trucks, Bruce Rock trailers, BPW axles, Jost turntables – and Alcoa wheels. Since 2014, all the new equipment we pur chase is on Alcoa wheels.” Before chatting with Big Rigs, Thomas did some homework. “I’ve gone through my lists and I reckon we’ve now got over 10,000 Alcoa wheels on the ground,” he said. Given the number of wheels sitting under many combinations in the MGM fleet, going for a lighter weight wheel can quickly add to the bottom line. As Thomas explained, Alcoa’s Ultra ONE is the wheel of choice. “We prefer to go for the Ultra ONEs wherever we can. When you have 110 wheels under a super quad, the weight saving quickly adds up. By using the Ul tra ONE, it’s nearly a one tonne weight saving across each ultra quad, which means more payload.”

Over

IT’S NOT THE END OF THE LINE THAT MATTERS. IT’S WHERE YOU START. ACTIVE SAFETY COMES STANDARD MACK CONNECT FLEET TECHNOLOGYMANAGEMENT DEALER NETWORK 82 LOCATIONS ACTIONMACK SERVICE BREAKDOWNEMERGENCY SERVICE When you’re running linehaul, you better get the best truck you can. And the smartest choice is a Mack Anthem, hands down. Mack Anthem delivers big time thanks to its strong service network, enhanced reliability and safety features. Purpose built for linehaul, it delivers all day, every day, and its enhanced fuel efficiency, superior driveline and total driver comfort make it the best way to get your business into top gear. Talk to your local dealer today, or visit MackTrucks.com.au/Anthem

FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Gary Crook makes a quick lap across the paddock in this 2021 Kenworth T909. Milly MC shared this shot she snapped of Jason from Centurion transporting a 5.5m wide Komatsu dozer to Rolleston Mine.

Jon Hurrey found the perfect backdrop for a shot at these silos in the small down of Sheep Hills in the Wimmera-Mallee region of Victoria. Matty Bowler shared this snap of the K200 heading north to Mt Isa, carrying a full load of kiln bricks.Scruffy Marsh sent in this ripper sunset shot, snapped at the Newcastle Waters Truck Parking Bay on the Stuart Highway in the NT.

Ken Sheppard navigates the Einasleigh River crossing at Redrock, Queensland.Adam Rowland heads northbound for Roper Bar in the Northern Territory, with this 2012 Kenworth T909 and road train set-up.

Reader Rigs proudly supported by

36 READER RIGS

SHELL Rimula has partnered with Big Rigs in a big way – so now there’s even more reasons to send in your best truck shots. Each month, the Big Rigs team will choose a #PicOfT heMonth, with the lucky win ner receiving a $500 Shell Coles Express Gift Card. Keep an eye out for our reg ular posts on the Big Rigs Na tional Road Transport News paper Facebook page, calling for your best truck photos and add yours in the comments, or email them to editor@bigrigs. com.au.Don’t forget to include a brief note about the truck and where the photo was tak en. We’ll feature some of the best photos in each edition of Big Rigs Newspaper, with one winner announced each month. Keep those amazing truck pics coming!

Share your truck pics to win with Shell Rimula

Tytec Logistics driver Stacy Olsen was crossing the NT/Queensland border when he snapped this sunset shot in the K200.

READER RIGS 37

Rob Talbot had an early morning start, when he snapped this ripper, just as he was about to enter the Heathgate mine site in SA.

Tom Charlton stopped for a quick snap of the Kenworth while heading through Mackay.

When the going gets tough, truckies keep everyone going

Simon Roberts shared this shot of the 2014 Kenworth T909 he drives, with 2 million kilometres on the clock. He does triple work to Darwin and snapped this pic near the Devils Marbles in the NT. This red Booth Transport Kenworth added a pop of colour at the JMA tank farm in Monash, SA. Thanks for sharing Dean Hill.

Katrina Veljanovska shared this snap of her husband Scott’s Kenworth T908, called ‘Child’s Play’. It was taken in Newcastle after being loaded with steel. Kyle Nicholas-Benney captured this glorious sunset in Kerang, Victoria.

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CONTINENTS HAVE GEOTAB CONNECTED VEHICLES, INCLUDING ANTARCTICA. GEOTAB LEVERAGES ITS ECOSYSTEM TO SELL ITS HARDWARE, ENABLING IT TO ALLOCATE MORE RESOURCES TO RESEARCH AND DEEPAKINNOVATION.”KADAMBI Making the transition to electric We offer complete TURNKEY SOLUTIONS... DesignEngineeringManufacturingCustomisingInstallation & Commissioning On-Site Service & Maintenance SAVE ON FUEL COSTS with Liquip’s HOST Tank Range FUEL STORAGE www.hosttanks.com.auSPECIALISTSContact your local Liquip branch for more information Our Australia-wide Liquip network brings local knowledge, expertise and dedicated service, delivering seamless fuel solutions. The Geotab GO9 and GO9 RUGGED fleet tracking devices are easy to install into any vehicle or powered asset in your fleet.

Geotab can help businesses transition from a purely internal combustion engine vehicle fleet to an electric vehicle fleet. THAN 130 SEVEN

38 SPONSORED CONTENT FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

The scalable MyGeotab fleet management solutions platform collects, processes and presents realtime insights through dashboards and custom reports.

ESTABLISHED in 2000, Geotab is a global leader in IoT and connected transpor tation. It assists customers to improve productivity and driver safety, ensure regulatory compliance and reduce fuel consumption.Geotabcan work with transport businesses to help them reduce their environ mental footprint by leveraging green technology and transi tioning from internal com bustion engine (ICE) fleets to electric vehicle (EV) fleets. It has become a leader in providing fleet management and vehicle monitoring solu tions and in 2020, was the first to exceed two million connected vehicles on a single, open“Overplatform.thelast four to five years, Geotab has seen cus tomer growth and a signifi cant expansion of its product portfolio,” said Geotab gen eral manager APAC, Deepak Kadambi, who has over 20 years of strategy, operations and engineering experience in transportation, technology and includingGeotaband“Moretelecommunications.than130countriessevencontinentshaveconnectedvehicles,Antarctica.Geotab leverages its ecosystem to sell its hardware, enabling it to allocate more resources to re search and innovation. This focus on innovation allows Geotab to develop and deliver the highest quality product.” Geotab’s GO device is ag nostic to the size and type of vehicle, the size of the fleet and the industry it serves. While Geotab’s primary busi ness model began centred on hardware, it’s now more about the services and solutions it delivers.“The appeal and the ad vantage of being a part of a founder-led company is that it’s switched on when it comes to sustainability; it’s always been a part of the company,” Kadambi“That’sadded.whyGeotab started working with electric vehicles over ten years ago when they were not cool yet – sustain ability is in the inherent DNA of the company. “If you look at company baselines from a couple of years ago, there was a drop in the greenhouse gas contribu tion from 42,928tn of CO2 to 29,269tn. So, there was al ready an internal formalisation around Geotab’s sustainability practices that started before Geotab put out its inaugural Sustainability Report in No vember 2021. It has always been the kind of company that has considered the right thing to do – but by making the re port public, Geotab wanted to ensure it is holding true to its aspirations.”InGeotab’s Sustainabil ity Report, four pillars are outlined: safeguard the envi ronment, source responsibly, provide innovation to help organisations improve and create a positive impact in communities.“Whenit comes down to how Geotab operates and its social responsibilities, it’s not enough just for Geotab to be socially responsible – Geotab encourages its ecosystem of partners to follow in Geotab’s footsteps and commit to their own social responsibilities, in cluding environmental aware ness and climate action,” said Kadambi.“That’s why Geotab has a partner code of conduct. It has requirements of its part ners on things like how they get their energy. Is it clean energy? What are the waste management practices? How are they disposing of waste? Are they recycling? So, that’s not just how Geotab operates, but also how Geotab’s ecosys tem of suppliers and partners operate.”Toshare its innovations and identify new goals for customers, Geotab launched the Green Fleet Dashboard to show how a fleet is perform ing over time. “If there’s a fleet that is transitioning to electric, Geo tab has the ability to make that happen,” Kadambi said. “I would say Geotab is among one of the only com panies that can help business es fully transition from a pure ly internal combustion engine vehicle fleet to an electric ve hicleEnsuringfleet.” that the tran sition to electric vehicles is seamless for its customers is what Geotab prides itself on as a business. “If a company has sustainability goals and there is a portion of the busi ness that is extremely depen dent on transportation, Geo tab can have a conversation with them, understand their pain points, and determine the next steps towards the transition.”

Deliver more with advanced telematics The world’s best rated commercial telematics platform is up to Australia’s freight task. 40,000 + Global customers 2 Million + Connected vehicles 40 Billion + Daily records Fleet optimisation • Improve fuel economy • Decrease idling • Reduce Speeding • Monitor engine data • Plan maintenance Productivity • Real-time fleet management • Exception rules • Trips & activity reporting • NFC Driver ID • Easy dispatching Safety • Risk & safety reports • In-vehicle coaching • Accident notifications • Collision reconstruction • Driving in reverse Compliance • Vehicle inspections for safety • Seatbelt use reporting • Manage driver infractions • Corporate sustainability programs Expandability • Open-source platform • Marketplace of Add-ons & Add-ins • SDK & APIs • IOX expansion on every device Sustainability • Reduce fuel consumption • Track CO2 emissions • EV performance monitoring and reporting • GO device recycling program Learn more at Geotab.com/au/truck

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A new tanker pump has been developed by Austra lian Pump Industries that is capable of handling a wide variety of liquids. Called the Aussie Genius, it is manufactured from 30 per cent glass filled polyester, to a formula developed for the NASA space program. Designed to self-prime, the Aussie Genius is an evolution from the Aussie Smart Pump range of 2” and 3” pumps. “The Genius goes one step further than the existing line-up with flows to 1350 litres per minute and heads as high as 24 metres, with a vertical suction lift of 6 me tres,” explained Aussie’s chief engineer, John Hales. “The reason we call it the Genius is because instead of the main body housing and back plate being held togeth er with multiple stainless steel bolts like the smaller Smart Pump line, the Ge nius is held together by a stainless steel clamp that can be released in a matter of sec onds.”Opening up the pump body for clean out and ser vice becomes easy with com plete access to the pump chamber in a matter of min utes. The pump is powered by a Honda 13hp electric start petrol engine or a 10hp Yanmar diesel. Both config urations are becoming popu lar, particularly with truckies operating liquid tankers. The Genius works so well because the body’s material is impervious to most chemi cals, even acids, and will han dle liquid fertiliser, clean wa ter, seawater, diesel fuel and lots more. It is available with a range of elastomers that in clude Buna N, EPDM and Viton. The standard config uration is EPDM. The pump comes in a handsome stainless steel frame with stainless subbase and anti-vibration mounts. “We built it that way be cause one of the first appli cations we found for the new pump was marine salvage and firefighting at sea. We designed a tanker pump and the market found other ap plications for it,” said Hales. The Genius has virtual ly doubled the maximum capacity of the standard 2”

John Hales (centre) with Aussie Pumps staff at the launch of the Genius pump. what call a smart tanker pump

Now that’s

you

Centramaticexplained TheCentramaticon-board balancingsystemisapatented harmonicdevice.Thebalanceruses centrifugalforceand to automaticallydistributebalancing mediapreciselywhereneededto removeimbalance. Thebalancerconsistsofamounting plateandcirculartube,withsmall Durametalspheresanddamping makingupthebalancingmedia. MOUNTING PLATE OUT-OF-BALANCEPOINT DURAMETALSPHERES INDAMPINGFLUID CIRCULARTUBENeverbalanceyourwheelsagain! Automaticallybalancesyourwheelswhileyoudrive Unbalancedwheel Balancingweights moveautomatically oppositeout-ofbalancepointwhile balancingthewheel. Balancedwheel Evenlydistributed spheresshowan alreadybalanced wheel. • Increasetyrelifeupto35%+ • Reducevibration • Reducetyrecuppingwear • Smootherride • Tyresruncooler:5-10% • Extendsuspensionlife • Environmentallyfriendly Centramaticbalancersareavailablefor US,EuropeanandlargeJapanesetrucks 1300822765 www.centramatic.com.au ScantheQRcodewith yoursmartphonereader andvisitourwebsite The Genius works so well because the body’s material is impervious to most chemicals, even acids.

Aussie Smart Pump. The company is working on a 316 stainless steel version, one of which is already avail able for 2” applications. Aussie Smart Pumps have become popular for a wide range of applications over the last 20 years. Their abili ty to handle corrosive liquids has a major advantage over cast iron and sometimes even brass pumps. “One of the things we like about the Genius is its components are injection moulded in quantity. We know that the performance is always going to be per fect, first time, every time,” added Hales. Aussie Pumps is very proud of the new develop ment and lists customers like Holmwood Highgate, Tieman, TTI and other major tanker builders in its clientele.Formore information, please visit the Australian Pump Industries website at aussiepumps.com.au.

The iMass DIU (Driver Interface Unit).

Knorr-Bremse technical sales and business development manager Darren Hillson installs an iMass DIU.

Hardwired for reliability

SPONSORED CONTENT 41BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

Knorr-Bremse lead engi neer for iMass, Rachel Mi chaud, added, “Connectivity between truck and trailers is a no worry event for the driv er with no additional cables or air lines required. Tapping into the existing TEBS pow er socket via the ISO 7638 universal connection solves the issue neatly, powering both and allowing commu nications with the already fitted TEBS Module. “On this, the KnorrBremse iMass system is rated for up to seven trailers; with many years of experience in Australia in mining appli cations where all trailers in cluding the dollies are fitted with Knorr-bremse TEBS and all powered and opera tional in the harshest of con ditions.”

DEVELOPED right here in Australia, the Knorr-Bremse iMass system has been rigor ously tested to ensure its per formance and accuracy mea sures up. In order to achieve the re quired Transport Certification Australia (TCA) mass accura cy of 98 per cent, the system was engineered, designed, developed and tested for com pliance by the Knorr-Bremse engineering and sales team at the Keysborough branch in Victoria.Many of the company’s customers, who run high productivity freight vehicles, require a solution that can deliver an accurate mass man agement system. Local Knorr-Bremse engi neers committed themselves to the task, and performed countless weight measure ments, even working in shifts to gather the data for the weight measurements to en sure the Knorr-Bremse iMass system truly met the stringent requirements for TCA Cate gory B Smart OBM Systems. For any fleet or transport operator, accuracy and conve nience are both critical. From its inception back in 2018, Knorr-Bremse Australia com mitted to providing a highly consistent and accurate onboard mass management sys tem that was integrated into existingDoinginfrastructure.soresulted in cost savings and ease of installa tion and coupling, particu larly across multiple units and mixedThecombinations.Knorr-Bremse iMass (OBM) system is the only approved Smart OBM system utilising the Trailer Electronic Braking System (TEBS). It is designed to measure the pressure in the air sus pension of the vehicle and relate this to a vehicle mass estimationThemain components of this system on a truck com prise of a driver interface unit (DIU), an electronic control unit (ECU), a pressure sensor and deflection or level sensor. On the trailers, the KnorrBremse iMass OBM system utilises the current generation Knorr-Bremse G2.2 TEBS, coupled with Knorr-Bremse iLevel Suspension Control plus the iLevel Sensor. The electronic levelling control on the truck and the TEBS on the trailer both re ceive electronic signals from the pressure sensor which is interpreted as a mass value. These mass values are trans mitted via the CAN signal for the trailer or the CAN bus for theThetruck.driver interface unit is connected to the CAN bus to obtain the truck data, and uses a CAN reader to obtain the trailer data. All relevant information is then conveniently displayed on a hardwired colour screen that shows the mass across each axle. The information is made available to an in-vehi cle/telematics unit. “Right now the system is compliant with Kenworth, Volvo and Mercedes Benz 6x4, but we’re already work ing on expanding the range of trucks that iMass is complied with,” said Rob Bonnefin, Knorr Bremse product and marketing manager. “It’s all hardwired. Fleets have told us they want a hardwired solution to ensure connectivity is easily main tained and reliable. “We’ve also gone to a lot of trouble to ensure a support network in the marketplace by training key installers to support the release of iMass. We have already trained a number of our TruckServices service partners both locally and interstate in the installa tion, calibration and service of iMass. Once installed across the truck, trailers and dolly, the system is calibrat ed and once certified with Knorr-Bremse, a compliance certificate is then provided.”

Milestones missed For truckies who travel a lot, missing being at home with family and friends for mile stones such as birthdays, a kid’s first day at school, an anniversary, and more, is part of the Whenjob. they get back home, most truckies will participate in a postponed birthday event but it is not the same as on the real day. Spy was at a roadhouse parking area in July and ran domly came across truckie BJ Muir who was going to turn 40 the following day. He was far away from home and was obviously going to receive lots of calls when he hit the ‘naughty forty”.But this really gave Spy Lake his Three Springs, WA. to 2004 when a road train

outside

Hell highway turning to heaven Some years ago words truck ies used to describe the Hann Highway between Hughen den and the Lynd Junction included “notorious, danger ous” and a few others which can’t be mentioned in a fami ly publication.Mostofthe 250 kilome tre road was dirt and it was a genuine nightmare to ne gotiate.Each year some work has been done upgrading the Hann, which is an inland route, if the coastal areas have floods.Now most of the Hann has been sealed which is good news for our truckie mates. I was looking through some archives the other day and came across some pics of a road train along the Hann (belowBackright).in2004 I attended a meeting at Clothes Peg Sta tion beside the Hann where concerned residents formed an Action Group to lobby for an Seemsupgrade.people power has worked. Decent rest area One of the questions I ask truckies in my travels is about rest areas, including if there are enough to suit their needs. Most say no. However in recent months a number have praised one near Injune which is 90 kilometres north of Roma on the Carnarvon Highway.Ithas tables and chairs, with shade for drivers who need a rest; and toilets that are cleaned regularly. There is enough parking most times unless it is invad ed by grey nomads and their caravans. Scooter dangers Reports continue to come to Spy from truckies about the erratic behaviour of some who get around on those scooters, which seem to be everywhere at the moment. These scooters can be hired cheaply and are a means for visitors to get around and check the place out. But they certainly don’t give the scooter rider any protection if they are in a col lision.Some of the incidences Spy has heard have put the scooter person in big danger. Whilst there would not be much prospect of a truck ie suffering injury from such an incident, it would cer tainly affect them emotion ally for life. The good news is that po lice seem to be cracking down on these riding habits. Medical overload While standing in a long queue at a bank, Spy was in front of two truckie mates who were discussing what was going on in their work ingOnelives.told of the frustra tion of being employed by a company which had changed ownership three times in five years.“Each time I had to have a new medical check-over by a doctor and it was a pain in the backside,” he said. This middle-aged lad, who looks fit on the surface, also said he had been required to have several visits to a doc tor to ensure he didn’t suffer from sleep apnoea. A short time later anoth er person who had also been standing in the queue and had overheard the conversa tion remarked in a whisper to Spy, “They should be hap py to have medicals as at least they would know they are in shape to drive those big ve hicles.”Younever know who is lis tening when you’re chatting in a public place!

Big improvements after the upgrades on Qld highway SPY ON THE ROAD WITH ALF WILSON 42 SPY ON THE ROAD RealRealServicePeopleRealExperienceRealInsurance Solutions 02 6925 8788 www.tbiinsurance.com.au Transport & Business insurance Services Pty Ltd t/as TBI Insurance Services ABN 22 622 458 593 – CAR# 1262074 Corporate Authorised Representative of Aviso Select Pty Ltd t/as Aviso Select - AFSL #239049 - ABN 37 097 567 710 7036762aj Butcher Glenn

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Flashback

on the Hann Highway created plenty of dust. FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Trucks invade oval

An invasion of military trucks and soldiers took over Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. That was in early August as part of the week-long Ex ercise Austral Shield which was designed to exercise the Australian Defence Force’s short-notice contingency reaction in the execution of Domestic Security Response options to a domestic securi ty threat.Heldthis year in Towns ville at the Cowboys home ground, the exercise utilised a Special Operations element and Reserve forces mobilised from Sydney and Brisbane at short notice to assist the Queensland Police Service in the execution of Domestic Security Response against a simulated terror threat. Exercises like this are an essential part of maintaining an agile and ready force. The Australian Defence Force maintains short notice and specialist capabilities that may be called upon, under Commonwealth direction, to assist the civilian authorities in responding to violent in cidents, including terrorism. Spy paranoia Being a Spy can cause some degree of anxiety when you think you are being spied on yourself. That had occurred with some degree of frequency in recent times when I observed numerous people pulling up in vehicles and snapping photos in the direction of my house.Even my wife had wit nessed such occurrences and was wondering what was go ingAnyway,on. curiosity got the better of me and I asked one of them what all the interest was with the pictures. “I am getting some pics of the Jacaranda Tree which is coloured pink as it is bloom ing. It is next to the fence in the yard beside yours,” he ex plained.What a “blooming” relief to hear that. Coincidence or ESP Do you believe in ESP? One South Australian truckie who used to be an outspoken sceptic has changed his mind. He was sitting on his ve randah enjoying a few days off and for no reason thought of a former colleague who he hadn’t seen for donkey’s years. A few minutes later a ve hicle pulled up outside his house and it was his old mate who had been in the area and tracked him down. They had a long chat including numerous trips down memory lane and will now keep in touch via social media.The SA champ now doesn’t rule out that ESP may exist. Although if he was a betting man he would have a few Oxford scholars on coin cidence.

SPY ON THE ROAD 43

Private Abbas Foladi from the 25/49 Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment, patrolling the grounds of the Country Bank Stadium as part of Exercise Austral Shield 2022 in Townsville. The roadhouse at Sassafras, Tasmania.

This rest area near Injune has been recommended by truckies for a good night’s sleep.

BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

DEALERS THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA Phone: (03) 5127 6128 (Australia) or +61 3 5127 6128 Phone Sales: 0409 899 916 (Australia) or +61 409 899 916 Email: Admin@aircti.com, Accounts@aircti.com, Sales@aircti.com PO Box 218 Yinnar 3869 10 Holmes Road Morwell, Victoria Australia 3840 www.aircti.com FEATURES UNIQUE & WORLD LEADING TECHNOLOGY ✓ SAVE MAINTENANCE ✓ INCREASE SAFETY ✓ INCREASE CONTROL ✓ TOUGH & RELIABILE ✓ SAVE ENVIRONMENT ✓ REDUCES CO2 an insight into the challenges and personal experiences our truckie mates face. Doing a job most love but missing out on what most of us take for granted – special occasions. NT pokies winner Have any NT truckies no ticed a colleague that travels into Queensland a lot who is cashed up of late? This fellow has been win ning heaps on pokies ma chines in the Sunshine State. On his time off, due to enforced fatigue breaks, the mad punter has been visiting several hotels with pokies. He has had several win nings of around $5000 and Spy was there on one occa sion where he showed off the cash.He’s a generous bugger who often shouts his mates a coldie after a win. But he won’t consume al cohol himself because he is a truckie and waits until he gets home to Darwin for a liberal sprinkling of amber fluid. This fellow is also a real ist as was testimony by his response when asked about his winning streak, “Nobody ever mentions what I lose as well,” he said. ‘Dinosaur-like’ T-bones In the WA Wheatbelt town of Three Springs there is a butcher shop where travelling truckies stop off to purchase a big juicy steak – or several. An interstate driver told Spy he saw Rossiter’s Butch ers when travelling through there and felt like a T-bone steak for tea that night, which he planned to cook on his gas burner.“There were no T-bones on display but the butcher pulled out a side of beef and cut two off and they were that big it looked like they came from a dinosaur,” he said. Our truckie put them in his small fridge and cooked one that night, adding some of his own herbs and spices. “It was very delicious and I’ll be going back there next time I pass through. I spoke to other truck drivers and told them about it. Some have already been there,” he toldThreeSpy. Springs is located 325 kilometres north of Perth via the Midlands Road. Spy phoned the shop and spoke to owner-operating butcher Glenn Lake. “I am the only butcher between Moora and Dongara (214km) and have been here for 25 years. Some drivers do stop here and buy steaks and even tell others about them and I get orders from word of mouth like that,” Lake said. He added that he buys only WA meat and cuts most to order rather than having it all on “Yepdisplay.Icut as needed if somebody wants a T-bone or rump and then display the rest. Three Springs is a little place in the middle of no where,” he said. I asked Lake if he could email or text me a picture to go with “Matethis.Idon’t even have a mobile phone or camera,” he said. Aptly there are three water springs in close vicinity. New Tasmania roadhouse My agents down in Tasmania tell me that a new roadhouse is soon to be built next to the northern Bass Highway at Elizabeth Town. This hamlet is strategical ly placed 60 kilometres from Launceston and 40 kilome tres from Devonport in the otherBassdirection.Highway is very busy and is already serviced by some excellent roadhouses. During my last trip down to the Apple Isle I visited most of them including one at Sassafras which was very popular with drivers, even in the pouring rain. Another one at Detention River is closest to Smithton which is at the western end of the ElizabethBass. Town is at the heart of a thriving agricultur al region known for its dairy products and small fruits, which makes it a great place to stop for morning or after noon tea, or lunch.

with Alf WilsonTruckin’ In The Tropics 44 DRIVER PROFILES NORTH sinceSuper-Liner.port,ans,owner-operatorQueenslandGarryEv61,runsEvansTransdrivinga2003Mack“Ihavebeenatruckie1978andanown a rate rise for drivers. “I tell them to pay the registration and insurance on a truck and three trailers like I have and see if they have the same opinion,” he said. A right-arm fast bowler, Hughes represented Aus tralia in 53 Test matches between 1985 and 1994, taking 212 wickets. He played a total of 33 One Day Internation als, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat-trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in 1988-89. In 1993, he took 31 wickets in the Ashes series against England.Hughes was a useful lower-order batsman, scor ing two half-centuries in Tests and over 1000 runs in all. He also represented the Victorian Bushrangers, Es sex in English county crick et, the ACT Comets and Australia A in the World Series Cup. Garry Evans • Premium Italian manufacturer • Steel & Alloy tanks from 70lt to 200lt • Chassis Mount and Rear of Cabin Mount • All tanks supplied with ‘Anti Splash Breather’ • Additional accessories available FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

Townsville.NathanO’Donnell

works for ETS Tree Service, lopping trees to prevent them interfering with powerlines. GEARBOX & DIFFS Unit 1/71 Axis Place, Larapinta, QLD 4110 Ph: (07) 3276 9300 | Fax: (07) 3276 9301 | Email: davids@gibbsparts.com | Email: gd@gibbsparts.com Web: www.gibbstrucktransmissions.com.au ZF TCM UNITS JAPANESE TRANSMISSIONS FOR ALL FOUR MAJOR BRANDS, LARGE RANGE OF DIFFS IN STOCK FOR AMERICAN, EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE TANDEM AND SINGLE DRIVE VOLVO/MACK AMT TRANSMISSIONSSCANIAPOWERPACKSTRANSMISSIONSSPARE PARTS MERCEDES 6—16 SPEEDSLARGE RANGE OF ROADRANGER TRANSMISSIONS ZF TRANSMISSIONS 6-16 SPEED GRS0905/92 FM DIFF with Alf WilsonTruckin’ In The Tropics BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

DRIVER PROFILES 45

The first truck Morice drove was an Albion Chief tain which he still has fond memories of. Living in the tropics and near Townsville, which is by the sea, is great for Morice who enjoys fishing as one of his preferred recreations. “I do catch some coral trout, cod and mackerel,” he said.Coral trout and cod most ly are caught from the Great Barrier Reef waters whilst mackerel can be found on waters outside creeks and not far from shore. His other recreational passion is barracking for the North Queensland Cowboys in the TheNRL.Cowboys finished 15th of 16 teams last year but were comfortably sitting in second position when I spoke to “TheyMorice.havedone very well this year and have improved a lot,” he said. In conclusion I asked Morice what he really liked about the job. “It is the va riety I get working,” he said. It was about 10am when I spoke to Morice and the tem perature was a comfortable 18 degrees and got down a bit later on that at night.

BLOKES like Nathan O’Don nell are responsible for lopping tall trees to prevent them from touching power lines. O’Donnell was driving a Hino which had an Altec crane and bucket on the back when we saw him ready to lop a pink coloured tree in a sleepy suburb of Townsville. With him was his fellow worker Clint who operat ed the bucket and cut the branches.“Itisa tabebuia tree which has pink flowers when it blooms in winter,” O’Donnell said.The pair work for ETS Tree Service which does jobs for Ergon Energy in the re gion.“We go as far west as Mount Isa, up north to Card well and south to Bowen,” O’Donnell said. I asked Clint if he had come across any snakes which had made their home in the trees.“On the coast they are mainly harmless green snakes but in rural areas you get some poisonous ones,” Clint revealed.The job took about 45 minutes and soon after the lads drove off, after a job well done.

Clint in the bucket while trimming this colourful beauty in

ASTUTE truckie Dave Morice has a different opin ion to many other drivers when asked about the worst roads he travels on. Most will nominate a single particular highway or several and spill out why they dislike getting along them. But not Morice. “I am happy to drive on any road which has bitumen on it,” he told Big Rigs. Over the decades he has travelled some rough dirt roads which would have had a bearing towards his re sponse.“Iusually do five return trips a fortnight and take ce ment out to Mount Isa and bring copper or lead back,” he Thatsaid. 900km trip is most ly along the Flinders High way which is often criticised by truckies, especially the 100km section between Hughenden and Richmond. We saw Morice, who drives a Kenworth T909, as he attended trailers at the hook-up pad beside the Townsville Port Access Road. Morice has been a truckie for 27 years and can’t see that changing any time soon – so he has a great knowledge of roads in our vast country. “We have depots at both Townsville and in Mount Isa,” he Moricesaid.likes stopping at the aptly named Lights on the Hill Roadhouse on the inland side of Hughenden when on his frequent travels. It is strategically placed beside the Flinders Highway, across from the Hughenden cemetery and about 400km from the coast. “The food is good and the staff there are friendly,” he said.

Dave Morice Nathan O’Donnell

Dave Morice was at the Townsville Port Access Road when he stopped for a chat.

BY BORED HOUSEWIVESNEUROTIC

GONE are the days of the little woman sitting at home kowtowing to their driver’s ev ery whim and being bored and neurotic.Thepartners of drivers have had have it rough too, and still do. Apart from military and emergency services partners, who else would have an under standing of the life of a truck ies wife Simple,(partner)?noone... not that anyone seems to care. Twenty years ago, we were seen but not heard from. Today we are partners, whether it’s a small business, owner-driver or driver. In general, with all the safety initiatives and red tape aside, partners have to be supportive, knowledgeable and vocal, or it doesn’t work. We deal with our drivers being tired, pushed to comply with customers’ wishes regard less of CoR, held up in road closures, budget juggling, re lationship issues, children, our own work, friends and extend ed family.Wehave to scrimp and save, forego family holidays, educate ignorant family and friends about a truckie’s lifestyle, man age illnesses, frustrated and/or depressed partners who may become suicidal, running the household, etc. For interstate families, we are, more-or-less, soleForparents.small business and owner-drivers’ partners it’s not just groceries, mortgage or rent we stress about. We also have the truck expenses which are constant, often unpredictable, varied, and many. When we have this ‘much discussed’ Amazon effect happening and we then have the added men tal health stress of our drivers and the subsequent inevitable strain on our family unit. For the most part we wouldn’t have it any other way, but every once in a while, we’d love to step off the merry go round and breathe... but who are we kidding? We try not to complain, we mostly manage, we forge friendships with other like-minded truckies partners – because we know they un derstand.There is no room in a truck ing relationship for a ‘cake and eat it too’ partner. These ladies rarely survive the relationship with their driver, let alone with oth er partners in the Facebook groups.We all struggle financially from time to time, this in cludes small business, own er-drivers and drivers, so when you get fined because you spelt something wrong it reverber ates all the way down the line to home. A pedantic fine is an imposition on the whole fam ily. NHVR have said it is not interested in fining drivers for administrative errors. There was a collective sigh of relief from many partners. Yay, more money for groceries, unless you’ve got a driver who’s frus trated for whatever reason. This is when enforcement will likely fine the driver any way, not for any other reason than the driver failed the at titude test. Neither side gets paid enough for the work done, but the suits that con tributed to the issues remain unaffected.We’velet some of the la dies have the last word, as per normal. See extracts above.For interstate families we are, more-or-less, sole parents.

Partners of drivers still have it rough

Other partners share their thoughts on social media about what life is like for those left at home.

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THE PANDEMIC SHOWED THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFE NATIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS, YET TRUCK DRIVERS HAVE NEVER HAD IT HARDER, AND CONDITIONS ARE STILL RICHARDDETERIORATING.”OLSEN is the time for reforms RICHARD OLSEN TWU NSW/QLD State Secretary

TWU RICHARDNEWSOLSEN TWU

Principal Lawyer RK Law Senator Glenn Sterle gives truckies the thumbs up for supporting the convoy in Canberra.

TWU NEWS

THE TWU Canberra Convoy brought to the federal parlia ment a simple message: Now is the time to implement desper ately needed reforms for safety and fairness in the transport industry.Theindustry is on the side of the 10 recommendations outlined in the Senator Ster le Without Trucks, Australia StopsThesereport. recommendations are not yet implemented. The report is a workable blueprint to end the deadly pressures in transport – the 10 recommen dations of the landmark senate report were tabled last year. At the report’s heart is the need for an independent federal body to set enforceable stan dards and rights for all drivers across road transport. The recommendations also address industry issues around: licensing and training; road infrastructure and rest areas; fatigue management; holding clients to account to ensure fairer and safer contracts; pay ments being made on time; the protection of drivers’ rights (owner and employee) and most importantly they seek to ensure the voices of all drivers are Theheard.pandemic showed the importance of safe national supply chains, yet truck drivers have never had it harder, and conditions are still deteriorat ing.The impact on the industry from exploitation and job losses through the gig economy busi ness models, the cost impact from Transurban toll roads and fuel prices all make for a deadly recipe, therefore we have come together to call for life-saving transport reform. The industry is standing be hind the reforms recommended by the Sterle report. We stood on a stage before Parliament House, the Nation al Road Freighters Association (NRFA) were there. Chris Roe of the NRFA ex pressed his organisation’s dissat isfaction with the time taken to implement industry reform, he said: “We’re the truck drivers who dealt with snap border clo sures and Covid rule changes. We want the same efficiency to legislate safer standards in trans port. There is much more in the transport industry that unites us than divides us. That’s why we’re calling on the federal gov ernment for fairness and safety as a whole industry.”

The federal government must act immediately with im provements to vital rest areas, universal licensing and training, and proper investigation and reporting into truck crashes in order to save lives. With FedEx already joining Amazon in the race to the bot tom on wages and conditions, these reforms in transport are incrediblyTransporturgent.workers, their families and the public who share the roads need your support to ensure life-saving trucking reform is introduced as a priority by the federal gov ernment.

TRANSPORTBROTHERTON JAMESEDITORGRAHAM james.graham@bigrigs.com.au TRUCKIN’ JON WALLIS contributors@bigrigs.com.au NSW State Secretary LEGAL ROWANEAGLEKING

TASSIE

Now

48 COLUMN FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

VTA backs the push for minimum standards CEO,

Victorian Transport Association We have a real problem with how gig economy employees are treated by the online platforms.

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IT’S no secret that safety is one of the most important issues the Victorian Transport Asso ciation passionately advocates for, featuring prominently in our deliberations with state and federal governments, members and other employer and em ployee representative groups. Indeed, higher levels of safety standards are at the very heart of our push for driver licencing reform to increase participation in our industry and broaden the appeal of road transport as a career choice for school leavers and others. As much as we need a larg er pool of professional drivers it’s more important that those drivers enter our workforce with the skills and training they need to keep themselves and other road users safe. For this reason, the VTA –through our involvement with the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation – is pleased to join with other re sponsible employer and em ployee groups in pushing for minimum standards within the road freight industry, and the establishment of an indepen dent body for setting standards, resolving disputes and estab lishing binding payment terms. This is consistent with VTA support of recommendations in the Without Trucks Austra lia Stops Sterle Review report. A delegation of us recently travelled to Canberra during the first sitting week of the new Parliament where we met with elected and re-elected par liamentarians from across the political spectrum to articulate our vision for a safer road trans portWithindustry.the Albanese Labor government focused on deliver ing change and improvement, there is an opportunity for the road freight industry to drive reform and action to improve how the industry operates. Our industry is desperate for change and improvement, along with greater safety, pro ductivity and certainty of how to plan for the future. Funda mental change has not been seen in our industry for decades and we have also lacked the support and leadership to assist in unpacking the inequities of economic and operational en vironment that we face today. Significant structural change is needed in the road freight industry that will see a viable, safe, sustainable and efficient industry.Atthe very top of our agen da with the politicians was ensuring the new government considers a reform agenda that will see structural industry im provement, especially with the proliferation of the gig econo my and a general worsening of conditions for drivers beholden to employers that hide behind an app or a webpage. After years of inactivity in acknowledging the challenges and systemic issues within our industry we have now started the process where will see real change that will acknowledge the good operators, isolate those that cut corners, and bring accountability to min imum standards within our industry.Wehave a real problem with how gig economy employ ees are treated by the online platforms that are effectively a third-party employer within our industry. Those platforms are creating the issues we have today, as well as the fact we have no structured organisa tion that will create and enforce minimum standards within our industry.There is no body capable of doing that in our indus try at the moment, and this is what we want the politicians in parliament to legislate for; a change in our industry that protects workers, whilst en suring employers can operate healthy businesses that are both sustainable and safe within the community.Oneof the greatest mis conceptions in and about our industry is that safety and productivity are mutually ex clusive. However, I can say as someone that has run a trans port operation, employed transport workers, and is now an advocate for transport em ployers and their interests, this couldn’t be further from the truth.Employers ‘get’ that there can be no legitimate produc tivity gains without a safe working environment and conversely employee advocates understand the challenges op erators are facing with higher running costs and a limited ca pacity to increase rates. Our experience in Can berra and elsewhere validates that common ground between employer and employee repre sentative groups is achievable, and we look forward to work ing closely with the current government to help and sup port the pathway for improve ment within the road freight industry.

COLUMN 49BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

BY ASSOCIATIONTRUCKINGAUSTRALIAN

You can see the ATA’s presen tation to the transport min isters meeting at truck.net.au here.If the Road Transport Act can’t happen, the next option is to get the HVNL to deliv er vastly improved safety and productivity benefits. There must be a deadline to ensure thisThehappens.ATA told the trans port ministers’ meeting that the NTC should be abolished, and its legislative and policy responsibilities returned to the Commonwealth from whence they came. The ATA also told the meeting that industry is seek ing high level engagement on immediate productivity and safety benefits in a collabora tiveItfashion.would be far more ef ficient for industry to deal directly with senior officials rather than junior public ser vants with no power to act or make decisions. This will quickly clean up the bucket loads of low hanging produc tivityThefruit.ATA is recommend ing a high-level industry/gov ernment taskforce. Industry looks forward to a positive response from governments. The ATA doesn’t fall into the easy trap of saying that government can’t be produc tive because it very clearly can.ACT Transport Minister, Chris Steele, is a positive ex ample of this, with his lead ership of driver medical im provements.Afurther example is the National Cabinet which demonstrated a sharpened fo cus on productivity improve ments when it met on June 17,It2022.isclear that decarbonisa tion is linked to productivity and this point was hammered home by industry at the meet ing of transport ministers. High productivity vehicles will mean reduced emissions andGovernmentssavings. can change the course of history with the stroke of a pen. We encourage them to do so.

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• Smoother and more efficient process for changing the law

The HVNL is held together with string and sticky tape, with some states agreeing to participate while others are going it alone.

Kanofski review is a step in the right direction to

YOU’D be forgiven for think ing that the federal govern ment is all-powerful but (as Covid showed us), the states also wield a lot of power. There are times when this works and times when it very clearly doesn’t. A prime exam ple of when it doesn’t is the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).TheHVNL is held togeth er with string and sticky tape, with some states agreeing to participate while others are going it alone. It’s not a national scheme. It treats Australia as a series of unconnected states. It’s clunky, it’s uncoordinated and it’s not working. The National Transport Commission (NTC) has tried to rewrite the HVNL, but the process has been stalled, for years.The review of the NTC’s rewriting of the HVNL by Ken Kanofski is a step in the right direction. But it doesn’t go far enough. The ATA’s preference is for one single Federal Act as out lined in the proposed Road Transport Act, which would have the following advantag

•es:Uniform scheme for partic ipating states and territories

• Genuine parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legis lation • The board and executive of the renamed Australian Heavy Vehicle Regulator (AHVR) could be held to account through the Senate Estimates process

50 COLUMN FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

• Stronger linkage to Com monwealth road funding

• Administrative appeals could go to a single tribunal not multiple state tribunals

• The AHVR would not need to move from Brisbane • Heavy vehicle policy and legislation would be trans ferred from the NTC to DITRDCA

COLUMN 51BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

• Identification of critical components for compli ance and how these will be enforced, especially fatigue management and chain of Pleaseresponsibility.feelfree to add to the list as there are many and we will only get one chance to put it Theright.road transport sector is far too critically important to every man, woman and child in this Great Nation to be left totally in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats. As a nation we have spent far too much time shuffling the chairs on the Titanic and Can our future be left to politicians and bureaucrats?

• Identification of critical components of the industry to ensure ongoing national security.

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IN my book Don’t Suck the Pencils I outline the signifi cance small to medium busi ness has to play in the Austra lian economy and economies all over the world. In recent articles I have raised the issue of Time to Tame the Bureaucratic Mon ster and In the Shadow of To day Already Walks Tomorrow. Both articles hopefully caus ing owner-drivers and small fleet operators as well as every one involved in this critical in dustry to think about the real issues impacting on the safety and viability of this industry and Australia as a nation. continued safety of every Aus tralian will be impacted by how this critical industry sec tor responds to the very real and serious influences out of our control. If we are to con tinue to successfully respond to situations totally out of our control, we need to be able to mobilise and shift resources quickly and in a safe and effi cientNationalmanner.disasters such as the recent flooding along the Eastern Coast. The AdBlue crisis which saw Australia being caught with limited supplies of this critical road transport commodity. Austra lia’s critically important fuel reserves should be a very real concern for every Australian when everything in this coun try is predominately moved by Internationaltrucks. issue such as climate change, the impact of Covid and recently Chinese activity in the Pacific and the fact that the Port of Darwin is owned by China. The Senate inquiry headed three R’s: Recognition, Re spect and Remuneration. Has the time arrived where Australians need to have an independent inquiry into the critical industry sector? Is it time for a Royal Commission into the road transport sector? What would you, as an owner driver or small fleet operator involved in this critically im portant industry sector, want to see as the Terms of Refer ence for such an independent National inquiry? The Terms of Reference for a Royal Commission have been already presented to a greater extent by the Senate Report and should cover these critical components.•Theviability of owner driv ers and small fleet operators. There is no one size fits all solution Australia is a big encourage young people into the industry.

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10

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GKCROSSWOR Across;13vis,12EdisonDaeevSt tanusTenks,2115ClarSlaves :Down9Amadeus,,6Nova51 17Eton.,EllisArgent,16OrleawNe ALPHAGRAMS:TRONESS.PALEASE,MYRIAD,NEARING,ORGANIST, Uncertain (colloq)(4) Absolved (8) Associate (7) m inside(5) Over time (2,3,4,3) Nightbird (3) cculentplants Immeasurable Arrangedbyrank(12 olentperson arfullysentimenta 23. Poll(8) 24. Colonyinsects Findafinishedcrosswordbydeletingoneof thetwolettersineachdividedsquare. DOUBLECROSS G E N E R A UT M Howmanywordsoffourlettersormorecan youmake?Eachlettermustbeusedonly onceandallwordsmustcontainthecentre letter.Thereisatleastonenine-letterword. Nowordsstartingwithacapitalareallowed, nopluralsendinginsunlessthewordisalso averb. WORDROUND SOLUTION amiramritaariaarumatriaatriumattarauraauriccaratcart cramcurtmarcmariamartraitaratarimutarmactarttiara tracttraittramtraumaTRAUMATICtrim Insertthemissinglettersto maketenwords—fivereading acrossthegridandfivereading down. Note: morethanonesolution maybepossible Solvetheanagrams.Eachsolutionisaone-word anagramofthelettersbesideit,andthefivesolutions aresequential.Forexample,ifthefive-lettersolution startswithJ,thesix-lettersolutionstartswithK,andso SOLUTIONS 6/6 CROSSWORDKQUIC :Across1614.Owlnongrulthe11.InrInnener10.Part1.Iffy3.Forgiven9. 23.Election24.Ants.nMaudli22e21.BrutchicalCacti17.Eon18.Hierar :Down8.rkNa7.ntureVe1.Impris Moo.22e20.AblnloCourrent12.Occur13.InclinercUnde TODAY: Good VeryGood Excellent Allpuzzles© The Puzzle Company TRAILERS MOORE MOORE PITTSWORTH PHONE(07)4693 1088 More Trailer For YourMoney Fax(07)46931545 x(07)46931545 email:sales@mooretrailer s.com.auwww.mooretrailer s.com.au GENERAL KNOWLEDGE EASYSUDOKU HARD Across 1 Daintily pleasing 3 Collide 8 Fencing sword 9 Water pitcher 11 Mature 12 Deep mud 14 Curve 15 Waterway 18 Saloon car 19 Be in debt 21 Singer 24 Vital organ 26 Hindu garment 27 Paradise 28 Transmits 29 Stupefy Down 1 Ship’s company 2 Rain heavily 4 Hawaiian garland 5 Shock 6 Prophet 7 10ThereforeStarchy food 11 Of the kidneys 13 Tracking system 16 Insects 17 Cavities 18 Numeral 20 Broad 22 Hops drying kiln 23 Bearing 25 Finish containsbox3x3androweverycolumn,everysogridtheFill 9.to1digitsthe HARDEASY

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VETERAN technician Brad Hickey from Peel Valley Isu zu in Tamworth and new comer Louis Holt from Ben digo Isuzu are set to represent Australia at the Isuzu World Technical Competition, the I-1Grand Prix (I1GP), lat er this year, after taking top honours at the Isuzu Nation al Technical Skills Competi tion in HickeyMelbourne.hasmade it to the National Technical Skills Competition several times over the last few years, but this time he came out with the win. He and Holt will put their skills to the test against technicians from over 40 countries, when global final take place on November 4. “Making the national team has been something I’ve been working towards for so long,” Hickey said. “When they called out my name, I didn’t really believe it and started tearing up.” Holt also put in a stellar performance to place second in his first-ever attempt at the competition, which this year took the form of a one-hour written exam and a one-hour on-vehicle exercise. “I just can’t believe I did it!” he said. “I’m super excited for the overall experience and hope fully I represent my country well.”They were among a pool of 63 Isuzu apprentices and technicians who took part in an online qualifier event earlier in July. The top eight technicians and the top eight apprentices in that event squared off at a national com petition at Isuzu Australia Limited’s (IAL’s) Melbourne headquarters.ForHickey, the strategy for the competition was to stick to his processes and get the little things right. While Holt attributed his win to the fact he loves his job. “I find being a mechan ic a very satisfying job, very rewarding. The best thing is when a truck comes in and it’s not running, and you go straight up to it and within 10 minutes you’ve found a solution.”Witha focus on the skills shortage and building career pathways, IAL this year intro duced an Apprentice category and a State of Origin into the National Skills competition as a way of progressing their technicians and also adding some home state pride. The winners from the Ap prentice Category were Jaid en McManus (North East Isuzu Burton) and the run ner up was Sam Allan (Bal larat Isuzu). NSW took out honours for the teams-based category which was made up of Brad Hickey (Peel Valley), Kaylem Brown (Canberra Isuzu), Tom O’Conner (Gil bert and Roach Isuzu Hex ham) and Pradeep Siddiki (Suttons Motors Arncliffe). Those making it through to the National skills com petition were given a choice of various prizes, while the top two placing technicians/ apprentices receive Snap-On tools of their choice to the value of $5000 (technician category) and $2500 (ap prentice category) IAL national training manager David Smith says the Australian team has a very real chance at international success at the I-1 Grand Prix event.“Our technicians at Isuzu Australia have some fantastic training opportunities and we’ve shown before we can take on the best around the world and win,” he said. IAL’s team won the in ternational competition in 2011, and had podium fin ishes in another six interna tionalPre-covid,events. the annual I-1 GP was held in Japan since 2006 but this year it will again be a virtual competi tion.“All 16 competitors who made it to the national com petition performed really well, but Brad and Louis and apprentices Jaiden and Sam did some stand-out work to win the competition. I wish Brad and Louis the best of luck in the international event in November,” Smith added.

• Successful applicants must have two years MC driving experience, BFM would be an advantage however can be obtained through GTS, Drivers will be subject to a Company induction which includes a Drivers medical and drug and alcohol screen.

The GTS group is a privately owned business and market leader specialising in freight movement and warehousing. Based in Mildura VIC and employing nationally, we run a fleet of modern prime movers and B/Double/Triple tautliner trailers servicing a range of bluechip customers. Due to ongoing expansion in freight movements the following positions are available for an immediate start –

• Modern well-maintained Trailers.

TOW OPERATORS

• Can be based in any capital city or in between on the eastern seaboard.

MC DRIVERS

• Five weeks paid annual leave.

FULL RIG SUB- CONTRACTORS

• Can be based in any capital city or in between on the eastern seaboard.

• Attractive rates.

• Mass management an advantage however not essential. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact our office E: Reception@gtsfreight.com.au P: (03) 5022 1999

• Successful applicants must have the following - two years MC driving experience, BFM and MASS management or willing to obtain, Modern clean Prime mover, Prime mover MUST be able to tow 36 pallet trailers, all insurances, Tow Operator drivers will be subject to a Company induction which includes a drug and alcohol screen.

Aussie Isuzu techs set for the world stage

Brad Hickey from Peel Valley Isuzu in Tamworth and Louis Holt from Bendigo Isuzu impressed at the recent competition.

• Attractive rates and conditions with weekly payment cycle.

• Modern well maintained prime movers and trailers.

For Brad Hickey, it’s not the first time he’s made it to the National Technical Skills Competition.

CAREERS AND TRAINING 53BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

• Above award pay rates paid weekly.

• Can be based in any capital city or in between on the eastern seaboard.

• Adhoc loading with possibility of leading into full time Sub-Contracting.

54 CAREERS AND TRAINING FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022 BIGRIGS.COM.AU

BY DANIELLE GULLACI

Proud moment for newly licenced Qld MC truckie Don’t miss out – email Cameron Logistics at careers@camerons.com.au or call George on 0455 827 014 CAMERON – you CAN do! Cameron Logistics wants experienced, reliable and enthusiatic HC/HR Drivers for our growing Air Liquide contract. Delivering packaged and bulk gas from multiple locations across VIC/NSW, we offer secure, long-term employment opportunities. SIGN-ON & REFERRAL BONUSES base rate + allowances + OT + Super Requirements include a valid HR or HC licence, police check and pre-employment medical. PACKAGED & BULK DANGEROUS GOODS DRIVERS WANTED! Easter Group Pty LtdEaster Group Pty Ltd 73 Formation St, Wacol Easter Group, located in Wacol, provides time sensitive road transporting solutions to many companies throughout Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. We are a family owned business, operating since 1976. We currently have the following positions available: OPERATIONS ALLOCATORS (Brisbane based only) You will be required to work on a rotating roster including Days-Nights-Weekends Previous Operations experience preferred. MC LOCAL, LINEHAUL & 2-UP DRIVERS WANTED (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Based) Come and work for us as we are committed to: • Training and further education • Your safety • Maintaining an impressive Fleet On offer are permanent full time and roster positions including paid leave entitlements and public holidays. Drivers will need to be available to be scheduled for work falling across the 7 days of the week. The successful Applicant will: • Hold a current MC licence (minimum two years) • Have knowledge of the HVNL and Load Restraint • Be professional • Be reliable To apply for the Operations/Driver positions please contact Operations Manager or by emailing your resume to WORKSHOP MECHANICS & TYRE FITTERS WANTED (Brisbane based only) To apply for Mechanic positions please forward your resume to Workshop Manager via email to employment@kseaster.com.au

After about six months of searching for an employer will ing to give her a go in a bigger truck, Lindley started working for Priddey Trucking Co, do ing casual tipper work, carting asphalt.“Priddey’s paid for me to get my HR licence. They were such a brilliant employer and put a lot of trust in me. My boss would let me practice in the Mack with another li cenced driver out on the road,” Lindley said.

Rhiannon Lindley was seeking a career change, so she made the switch from hospitality to trucking. She now drives this 2007 Kenworth T404 SAR, carrying general freight throughout Brisbane.

IT was while completing a die sel mechanic training course that Rhiannon Lindley, 33, got her first taste behind the wheel. Two years later, she’s just earnt her MC licence, which was a big personal achievement. “I had been keen on this for a while so I was pretty proud to get my MC – I’ve had a lot of people who told me I couldn’t do it,” she Lindley’srevealed.firsttaste of truck driving happened while she was doing a mechanical work experience placement at Fol lowmont Transport’s Brisbane workshop. She asked if she could drive one of the trucks she was working on – and they happily obliged, giving her the opportunity to hone her skills in an automatic Mack. And it was from then on that the driv ing bug truly hit. Lindley didn’t know anyone who had worked in the indus try but wanted a career change. “I was working in hospitality and found that the constant interaction with people wasn’t always fun. It got frustrating at times as I felt like things were often really micro-managed and in your face. I wanted to start something new and build something for myself. I had an interest in mechanical stuff so thought I’d give diesel mechan ics a crack,” she explained. Followmont offered her a spot in its two-month Launch into Work program, where she earned her MR synchro license and forklift ticket. After completing the course, she had plans to find an apprenticeship, but this all happened at about the same time that Covid hit – and those plans were quashed. Lindley had done plenty of driving during her time at Fol lowmont and loved every min ute of it – so the plan switched from working under the bon net to being behind the wheel. She found work with West ern Landscape Supplies, doing deliveries throughout Brisbane in a medium rigid, which she says was a great way to learn to navigate her truck in and out of small, tight spaces.

“It was a fantastic opportu nity and built my confidence up too. It was a twin steer, which was bigger, so that gave me a lot of confidence for my test.”Though she loved the work and the company, Lind ley knew she needed to find more permanent work. I left in about December last year. Because asphalt is so weather dependent and it was coming up to Christmas, so I needed the money. If I had more work, I wouldn’t have left.” It was then that she joined Wickham’s Freight Lines. Ini tially it was working in the warehouse – but not for long. Though she was super eager to upgrade to her HC, money was tight and she couldn’t af ford lessons – so her boss had one of the drivers take her out on the road and that driver be came a Knowingmentor.that Lindley only had auto qualifications but had been madly practicing, the next day the driver told her to jump in a truck with a Road Ranger and took her out along the back roads between War wick and LindleyPittsworth.recallsit as being one of the most exhilarating yet terrifying days of her life. She passed her HC with flying colours.Today she drives a 2007 Kenworth T404 SAR for Wickham’s, carrying general freight throughout Brisbane. It’s been about two years since Lindley’s foray into the world of trucking began – and securing her MC licence in mid July has truly been the ic ing on the cake. “I’m loving where I work and am keen to see what the future holds. I love the free dom and the peace. I can be myself in my job and I don’t need to conform to the ‘gener al work’ look. I met my partner through this as well, he does interstate,” she said. While for now she’s content on perfecting her Road Rang er and B-double skills, Lind ley hopes to one day get into interstate work – and perhaps even try her hand at livestock and heavy haulage work. For others who have thought about getting into trucking, Lindley’s advice is short and sharp. “Just give it a go,” she said. “You’ll be surprised at where it can take you.”Lindley also added, “When you are starting out, chase the experience over the money. Take the smaller jobs no one else wants to have a go at, drive the trucks no one else wants to drive. The experience you gain will become your biggest asset when it comes to finding a higher paying position. “This career path has so many smaller, but just as re warding directions you can take. How much you put into it is what you will get out of it.”Lindley was driving this Scania up until recently. Within around two years, Lindley worked her way up from MR to MC.

CAREERS AND TRAINING 55BIGRIGS.COM.AU FRIDAY AUGUST 19 2022

Must have a minimum B double licence and operational experience Dangerous goods licence preferred Current General Construction Induction card Must be flexible with working hours and willing to travel Bulk liquid transport experience Apply directly using the QR code or contact Melissa Edwards - Talent and Sourcing Business Partner on 0418 261 964 and quote job #586030 Multi Combination Truck Driver Somerton

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