Big Rigs 30 September 2022

Address: 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205

Phone: 03 9690 8766

Email: editor@bigrigs.com.au

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EDITOR James Graham: 0478 546 462 james.graham@primecreative.com.au

REPORTER Danielle Gullaci danielle.gullaci@primecreative.com.au

GENERAL MANAGER

Peter Hockings: 0410 334 371 peter.hockings@primecreative.com.au

CLIENT SUCCESS

Katharine Causer: 0423 055 787 katharine.causer@primecreative. com.au

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

Tougher tests under proposed licensing regime for new truckies

A

The proposed competencies are outlined in a detailed licens ing system review by Austroads which was tasked by transport ministers into looking at ways of improving the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Compe tency Framework.

The suggested changes are documented in a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (C-RIS) which is now out for industry feedback until Octo ber 28.

The proposed competencies cover a range of broader ele ments including, load restraint; checking for load shift; pre and post trip checks; and some ba sic maintenance tasks (e.g. drive belt check, checking fluids).

In the 116-page C-RIS, Austroads said industry is con cerned that some drivers are gaining a licence without the requisite core skills for driving a heavy vehicle safely.

The following are examples of skill-related issues that have been reported in prospective or newly employed drivers:

• Missed synchro uphill gear changes

• Rollovers within first few weeks of employment

• Persistent hitting of shopfront eaves in narrow laneways

• Lack of knowledge about coupling and uncoupling dollies and trailers

• Inability to safely and con fidently reverse into load

ing bays

• Lack of confidence in steer ing semi-automatic triple and quad road trains.

“These observed deficits in licensed drivers support the need to strengthen skill and knowledge building as part of licence training and assess ment,” said the report.

“When industry cannot rely on driver training and licensing to put the necessary focus on building driver capability in these competencies, then the cost of doing this falls on indus try and society more generally where inadequate capabilities lead to an increase in the risk of crashes.”

Two experience-based path

ways have also been developed and are proposed to operate in conjunction with the existing route of holding a licence for 12 months before being allowed to progress into a bigger truck.

These pathways will enable drivers who wish to move into more productive heavy vehicles to do so after demonstrating that they have gained experi ence in lower class vehicles.

A driver will be able to choose which pathway best suits them. They may choose a different one at various points in their progression up the li cence classes (e.g., via tenure when going from MR to HR and driving experience when going from HR to HC).

B-triple road train rule changes for Queensland

TRANSPORT and Main Roads Queensland (TMR) has recently made amend ments that impact B-triple road train combinations.

The amendments refer to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management–Road Rules) Regulation 2009 (Queensland Road Rules) and came into effect on September 9.

The changes are as fol lows:

• The definition of a B-tri ple road train combination

in the Queensland Road Rules will align with the Heavy Vehicle National Law .

• B-triple road train combi nations will be permitted to travel at speeds of up to 100 km/h (all other road train combinations are only permitted to travel at speeds of up to 90 km/h).

The definition of a B-tri ple road train combination in the Queensland Road Rules is a prime mover towing 3 semitrailers:

a) the first semitrailer being attached directly to the prime mover by a fifth wheel coupling; and

b) the second semitrailer be ing mounted on the rear of the first semitrailer by a fifth wheel coupling on the first semitrailer; and

c) the third semitrailer being mounted on the rear of the second semitrailer by a fifth wheel coupling on the second semitrailer.

Prior to October 2018, B-triple combinations gener

ally operated in Queensland at a maximum allowable speed limit of 100km/h un der a national notice which regulates road trains.

In October 2018, the NHVR made an amend ment to that notice, remov ing a clause that explicitly allowed B-triples to operate at 100km/h.

Following this, in Queensland, the maximum allowable speed limit for a B-triple was 90km/h. The NHVR, however, has since

advised TMR that a B-triple is safe operating at higher speeds compared to other kinds of road trains.

This is due to the vehicle couplings exhibiting greater stability against rollover while providing improvements in high-speed performance than other coupling types.

B-triple combinations are already permitted to travel up to a maximum of 100km/h in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

HINO

BETTER PERFORMANCE, APPEARANCE &

New drivers lacking basic skills.

to

moving

ENERGY Minister Chris Bow en said the Albanese govern ment is investing $49.5m to ensure truckies don’t run out of AdBlue.

With the trucking industry continuing to sound warnings of shortages in the next 18 months, the government will source an emergency stockpile of urea, the key AdBlue ingredi ent, reports The Australian. This would provide the in

dustry with up to five weeks’ supply in case of shortages.

The $49.5m package would also include a competitive grants program to fund manufacturing projects that would produce the product in Australia.

The Morrison government provided Incitec Pivot with al most $30m to bolster supply of AdBlue from its Brisbane plant.

But that facility is scheduled to close at the end of the year

because the company said it was unable to secure an affordable long-term gas supply from Aus tralian gas producers.

“Diesel exhaust fluid is cru cial to our transport sector and the Albanese government is tak ing action to ensure supply and strengthen the market,” said Bowen.

“While the market is cur rently well supplied, we need to put in place measures to deliver certainty and provide back-up in case of disruption.”

NatRoad CEO Warren Clark said the $49.5 million package announced by Bowen was just what the doctor or dered.

“NatRoad has been relent less in its campaign for the government to secure supplies of this essential product, with out which most of the country’s trucks will shudder to a halt,” Clark said.

“This four-year funding package over four years will es tablish an emergency stockpile of Technical Grade Urea, the key ingredient of AdBlue.

“Equally important, it will help establish a new sovereign manufacturing capability with the imminent closure of the

only local plant, and increase market transparency.”

Clark said the retail price of AdBlue at retail was still too high.

“The government needs to keep engaging with industry and that includes road transport operators who are at the coalface,” he said.

“The government’s commit ment to collection of voluntary data from industry is a step in the right direction.

“The Australian Competi tion and Consumer Commis sion needs to increase its scru tiny and apply its powers where gouging is occurring.

“Providing grants to manu facturers to start up local pro duction won’t solve all the issues overnight but it puts us on the right track.

“Creating a national stock pile is a forward-thinking move that will tide industry over in the event of another disruption to overseas supplies.”

Federal Queensland MP Bob Katter wrote to Transport Minister Catherine King re cently requesting an immediate 18-month suspension of the law which requires trucks to use Ad Blue.

The National Farmers Fed eration also weighed in, request ing the government tap into the $500 million National Recon struction Fund to support the manufacture and supply of urea.

Katter labelled the idea short-sighted given the enor mous price of gas for producers, which he said was the final nail in the coffin for Incitec Pivot’s urea factory due to shut up shop in December this year.

“AdBlue is urea which is an ammonia nitrate natural gas. It will not matter how many peo ple put their hands up to pro duce it – unless the government can bring down the price of gas long term, it won’t be a surviv able industry,” he said.

“We have the highest priced natural gas in the world. No one is going to produce urea in Australia, and this is the con cept that is hard for an ordinary intelligent thinking person to understand because it is so un believable.

“There is a law in this coun try that ensures every truck in Australia will go off the road if they do not provide a constant, affordable supply of AdBlue. But the federal government have no intention of doing

anything about it because they are driven by ideology, and this overrides common sense.”

Katter said state govern ments needed to also rubber stamp gas projects that are un der development and release the gas immediately for domestic use to bring down costs in the short term.

“It seems to me that the answers are just sitting there but the interest in serving the tyrannical monopolists is more important than providing solu tions that keep down costs for our farmers, producers, and the public,” he said.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

Labor’s

SUBMISSIONS are now being called for the best op tions for setting heavy vehi cle charges from 2023-24 onwards.

A 48-page consultation paper just released by the National Transport Com mission (NTC) presents three different options for setting charges for a single year, or a three-year period commencing in 2023-24.

Feedback from industry will be provided to infra structure and transport min isters for their consideration later this year.

Key questions explored in the consultation paper are:

• Should charges be set for a single year, or for multiple years?

• On what basis should charges be set?

At the December 2021 Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM), ministers identified a pref erence for increasing heavy vehicle charges by 2.75 per cent in 2022-23.

According to the NTC, the heavy vehicle cost base for 2020-21 which under pins heavy vehicle charges

for 2022-23 is $4,302.9 mil lion.

Estimated heavy vehicle charges revenue for 202223 is $3,727.1 million. This leaves a revenue gap of $575.8 million.

The heavy vehicle cost base for 2021-22 has in creased by approximately 20.7 per cent to $5,193.4 million. This is $1,448.1

million more than estimated heavy vehicle charges reve nue in 2023-24, if heavy ve hicle charges do not increase above current levels.

The NTC said heavy ve hicle charges revenue would need to increase by approx imately 38.7 per cent to achieve full cost recovery.

The NTC has developed three options for setting

heavy vehicle charges from 2023-24 onwards.

These all apply a series of equal percentage chang es to heavy vehicle charges. These options could be used to determine the percentage increases to be applied under both single year or multi-year price setting approaches.

Option 1: Increase heavy vehicle charges by 2.75 per

cent per annum: This is the same percentage increase as agreed by ITMM for 202223 heavy vehicle charges.

Option 2: Increase heavy vehicle charges by 6 per cent per annum: This is close to the current rate of consum er price inflation. Consumer price inflation was 6.1 per cent in the year ending June 2022.

Option 3: Increase heavy vehicle charges by 10 per cent per annum: This is higher than Option 2 but would still be insufficient to reduce the revenue gap be low $1b by Year 3.

Based on the consider ations outlined above, the NTC recommends that ministers set heavy vehicle charges for a three-year peri od beginning in 2023-24.

“Setting charges for mul tiple years could allow pric es to be set to commence a longer-term transition to full cost recovery at a measured pace,” said the commission.

“This needs to recognise both the cost recovery prin ciple underpinning PAYGO and the recognition that moving to full cost recovery

immediately would impose an unreasonable burden on heavy vehicle operators.

“Agreeing a multi-year price path would also have the potential to reduce ad ministrative and compliance costs for governments and industry. Recent experience with the need to revisit heavy vehicle charges each year shows this is distracting to both governments and in dustry and consumes signif icant administrative resourc es.”

The NTC said these costs could be avoided, at least in part, with a defined multiyear price path.

“A three-year price path which is set in advance may offer additional advantages in that it would provide in dustry with certainty about the heavy vehicle charges that would apply in the me dium term, allowing vehicle operators to make better pricing decisions and reflect them in contracts.”

For more information, and to make your submis sion, visit ntc.gov.au and search for heavy vehicle charges.

Submissions close on Wednesday, October 12.

In a newsletter to its mem bers, the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Asso ciation (ALRTA) said it had previously supported smaller charging increases, sooner.

“It is unfortunate that government decision-making delays have led to the current situation,” said the ALRTA.

“The ludicrous situation with heavy vehicle charges under the current PAYGO model underscores the need for a better charging system.

“Further, as we march towards a net-zero emission economy, it will eventually be untenable to recover road expenditure via fuel charges (especially in the case of elec tric vehicles).”

The ALRTA reminded members that behind the scenes, governments are pro gressing with a National Pi lot of a new ‘mass-distance’ style charging system that

Readers react

Andrew Salter

Does nobody remember what happened about 43 years ago? Was it all for nothing?

Mike Williams

I can’t believe them trying this on.

A road user charge, a distance-based charge. Does no one remember what happened on 2 April 1979? Road tax (a distance based road user charge) was the principle issue that sparked the Razorback Blockade.

Let’s just change the name and try it on for size!

BTW there’s ALREADY a user charge in transport. It’s about to come back very shortly. Fuel excise. A tax on how much fuel you burn. Obviously we want to double dip!

Road transport the cash cow as usual.

Even more interesting the fuel rebate comes back as well.

Unfortunately for the pleasure of getting a rebate every quarter when you do your BAS you’re being

will eventually replace PAY GO.

As first reported at bi grigs.com.au, a select num ber of industry participants are trialling hubodometers

to measure distance trav elled and are pre-purchasing blocks of kilometres using a mock permit system. Par ticipants have previously trialled telematics-based dis tance reporting systems.

Trial outcomes, partic ipant experience and in dustry sentiment will be independently assessed by Deloitte.

“It is likely still several years before a new system is ready for implementa tion. ALRTA continues to assert that, fundamental to any changes in this space, governments must commit to supply-side reforms that deliver better road infra structure where it is needed most,” the association con cluded.

Mixed reaction to return of FTC

TRANSPORT Minister Cath erine King officially confirmed the return of fuel tax credits (FTC) earlier this month, along with an increase in the heavy vehicle road user charge (RUC).

King advised that the RUC for truck operators has gone up from 26.4 cents per litre (cpl) to 27.2cpl, an increase of 0.8, ef fective from September 29.

She also said that the cost rise will coincide with a spike in the FTC to 18.8cpl – up from 17.8cpl – that “will offset the impact for heavy vehicle users”.

“The road user charge is intended to recover the greater cost of maintenance and repair as a result of the use of heavy vehicles on our roads,” the statement added.

and will add to the financial and regulatory burden that is already contributing to the exit of drivers from the road trans port industry, said NatRoad CEO Warren Clark.

slugged an extra 5 cents per litre!

Norm Bransgrove

Fuel levy and rego is the road users tax so let’s not have any more and just use what’s collected on the roads from now on.

Allan Clelland

With all this emissions target rubbish they’re going to have to get the $$ from somewhere.

The thing the general public needs to realise is… when they hit the

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freight with extra charges it inevitably filters down to the consumer. We’re all in this together. It’s not just a case of charging the big bad truck owners .. mum and dads and ordinary people get this charge too indirectly. Think about that when u vote.

Len Phillips

Scrap all road user charges for goods transport. The end user has to pay so its just another GST pushing the cost of living out of reach for many.

“The annual change to the heavy vehicle road user charge follows public consultation on the proposed increase which was undertaken by the Na tional Transport Commission (NTC), and commonwealth, state and territory ministers were mindful that an increase needed to be manageable for the industry.”

The fuel excise rate also in creased from September 29, up from 44.2cpl to 46cpl.

The National Road Trans port Association (NatRoad) said that the restoration of the FTC could not come soon enough.

But the long-anticipated rise in the RUC is not so welcome

“This increase in the road user charge is from 26.4 cents per litre and is consistent with the NTC’s recommendations earlier this year,” said Clark.

“While we acknowledge that the 3 per cent rise is less than half the inflation rate for 2021-22, it will still make life tough for truck operators.”

The previous federal gov ernment’s halving of fuel excise ends at midnight, September 29, and NatRoad has warned the spike in diesel prices will be significant.

“It’s truly a case of giving with one hand and taking away with the other,” said the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association in a newsletter to members.

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NatRoad CEO Warren Clark.

A handful of industry participants are trialling hubodometers to measure distance travelled and are using a mock permit system.

get raw deal at

finds commission

THE Productivity Commis sion says trucking companies should not have to pay hefty fees to bring containers in and out of ports.

In its draft report released earlier this month examining the performance of Austra lia’s maritime logistics system, the commission said truck ing companies are having to pay unfair charges because container terminal operators do not compete for trucking

companies’ business.

The commission said reg ulations should be introduced that prevent container ports from charging road operators any fixed fees associated with delivering or collecting a con tainer, and charged to shipping companies instead.

“Use of market power is a problem,” said Commissioner Stephen King. “Truck drivers have to pay whatever price the terminal operator demands to

pick up or drop off a container. The shipping lines choose the terminals so they should pay these charges.”

All the major container op erators – DP World, Hutchi son Ports, Patrick and Victo rian International Container Terminal – charge fixed port access fees.

Patrick ports currently charges $141.45 for every full container imported through Port Botany in Sydney, and

$101.90 for every one export ed.

Commissioner Julie Abramson also noted that transport operators and car go owners have to pay fees to shipping lines when they re turn containers late because empty container parks, which they are directed to, are full.

“This doesn’t seem like fair conduct,” she said.

“Australian consumer law exempts these contracts and

this should be remedied”.

The commission also said earlier intervention by the Fair Work Commission could help resolve protracted disputes about workplace arrange ments.

“Workplace arrangements at container terminals are holding back productivity,” said Commissioner Abramson.

“Highly restrictive clauses in terminal operators’ enter prise agreements limit the ways that workers and equipment can be deployed.

“Changes to the Fair Work Act and operation of the Fair Work Commission are recom mended to tackle protracted enterprise bargaining in con tainer ports and the disruptive industrial action that comes with it.”

Road Freight NSW (RFNSW) CEO Simon O’Hara sees the commission’s draft report as an important first step and vindication of its long-held position on these important issues.

He said RFNSW agreed with Commissioner King when he said that the use of market power is a problem, and that given the shipping lines choose the terminals they should pay those charges.

“We also believe that all surcharges described at vari ous time as infrastructure sur charges or terminal access fees should be abolished given the shipper would be liable for these charges under proposed reforms,” said O’Hara.

“Cherry picking, or dou

ble-dipping, on surcharges would be manifestly unfair for landside freight operators and the community. Surcharges of any kind on landside freight at ports should be directly related to productivity improvements. Not smoke and mirrors.”

“Road Freight NSW notes the productivity at port can be improved for landside freight operators and that one of the unique ways in NSW we achieve this is by the Port Botany Landside Scheme (PB LIS) that needs to remain in place not only for the trucking industry, but also for the com munity and the growing NSW economy.”

O’Hara said that RFNSW also supports the sentiment expressed by Commissioner Abramson that it was unfair for operators to have to pay late fees when returning containers to parks they are directed to when they are full.

“It is pleasing to see the Productivity Commission put some steel in proposed reform to conduct at Australia’s ports.”

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the draft report is a positive step towards end ing the stevedores’ “monopoly gouging scandal”, which has gone on for years.

The report, Lifting pro ductivity at Australia’s con tainer ports: between water, wharf and warehouse, has been released for comments and further submissions from interested stakeholders until October 14.

New system opens access to truckies’ demerit points record

REGISTERED heavy vehicle operators in NSW can now access their drivers’ demerit points balance for a period of 12 months, providing they have each truckie’s consent.

The NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway announced the new system today, proclaim ing it as an important safety

tool for operators and drivers.

“Giving operators access to their drivers’ demerit points record will allow them to iden tify and work with their driv ers to address potential safety issues early,” said Farraway.

“Improved education and training will help employers work with their drivers to pre vent them from losing their

licence and save lives on our roads.”

Road Freight NSW CEO Simon O’Hara welcomes the new system which marks the end result of advocacy with Transport for NSW by the association and its container operators over many years.

“Our container operators found that after particularly

long weekends, some of them were vicariously exposed,” said O’Hara.

“This new system allows operators to check on up to 1000 employees at one time and use one consent form for a period of up to 12 months. Rather than the old system of having to get a consent form every time they used a system

similar to this one.

“This new system gives cer tainty back to operators and flexibility to check demerits when they need to, so that at all times freight operators are complying with the law as are their drivers.”

O’Hara said this new sys tem delivers safety first for the community and early piece of

mind for the operator with drivers not having to be bur dened by the administrative work of having to provide this information.

“Road Freight NSW and our operators joins with Min ister Farraway and TfNSW to take a safety first approach for the freight industry and com munity.”

The Productivity Commission found that operators are being slugged with unfair port fees while transporting containers.

confidence bounces back at

ALMOST two years ago it was reported that Auswide Transport Solutions (ATS) was charged by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) with alleged offences under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

These charges were always denied and defended, and just four days after a prohibition notice had been issued, it was subsequently withdrawn.

ATS CEO Tom Pausic said the company has worked cooperatively with the regula tor over that period while the investigation continued and was always confident in the NHVR’s review process and final decision-making.

There are now no matters pending at all against the com pany, and Pausic said ATS has been active in finding opportu nities to work with the NHVR to ensure safety and efficiency.

“ATS recognises and sup ports the excellent body of work the NHVR undertakes in the heavy vehicle transport industry,” Pausic said in a writ ten statement.

“We are confident with the NHVR’s cooperative approach and confident in our business,

our people, compliance with the HVNL and the CoR sup ported by our operational safe ty management systems. It’s been a total team effort.”

Pausic added that safety is the number one core value at ATS with high standards ex pected from all of its drivers.

“Our ‘Safety First’ culture determines how we carry out our day-to-day business func tions and we always rely on our drivers to play their role by presenting fit for duty and display professional driving be haviour,” he said.

Pausic said the company is an NHVAS BFM and Main tenance Managed Accredited Transport Company, and holds Western Australian Heavy Ve hicle Accreditation.

“These accreditations re quire us to ensure our drivers are fit to drive.”

Pausic said the Safety-First initiative at ATS also includes regular toolbox talks and driver training areas where drivers can access information not only re lated to transport safety, but also driver health issues.

National safety and compli ance manager Jeff Wright said the company is always looking

for opportunities to improve systems, processes and efficien cies to give assurance to its cus tomers.

“We take our safety obliga tions seriously: the latest safety technology and live monitor ing is an area we have invested heavily in,” said Wright.

“ATS has also developed an industry ‘gold standard’ in ECM compliance giving add ed CoR assurance to its cus tomers.”

With business confidence at ATS now at its highest lev els since launching in 2007, the large national carrier is in

vesting heavily in the transport industry.

The fleet was recently bol stered by 65 new Kenworth prime movers that consists of K200, T909 and SAR Leg ends, along with 30 brand new PBS high-capacity trailers to service its east – west corridor.

“Our decision to invest in Kenworth prime movers was taken after careful consider ation of quality and reliability while providing drivers with a safe and comfortable environ ment,” said operations general manager Gabby Singh.

“Australian-made and sup

plied is a key element to our procurements and Kenworth’s relationship with us has been first class.”

Pausic added that central to business planning was support ing customers and staff with a well-planned investment in purpose-built facilities that support the ATS transport task in SA and WA.

Construction using local businesses is about to start on 20,000sqm of land at Direk in Adelaide, SA.

“This will be the most modern ATS depot that will include drive through auto

matic wash bays and a mod ern weighbridge, several drive through large maintenance pits for full combinations, a mod ern workshop with several pits for our mechanics, a modern operations centre overlooking the depot, offices, boardroom and all the comforts for our drivers, including comfortable and quiet sleeping accommo dation,” said Pausic.

ATS is also moving ahead with a 22,000sqm pur pose-built facility in Welsh pool, WA.

Pausic said the new depot will rival the one at Direk for features and also boast a drive through wash bay, drive through workshop mainte nance pits, a weighbridge and a similar modern quality offic es and driver accommodation.

“I am pleased with the team’s leadership in the safety and efficiency space, delivering great benefits to our customers and our business,” concluded ATS director Amrit Kankar.

“Our customer service fo cus, productivity and driving continuous improvement in these areas is a key focus of Auswide Transport Solutions’ future.”

The Auswide fleet was recently bolstered by 65 new Kenworth prime movers.

Trucking lacks a leader

EDITOR JAMES GRAHAM

BEFORE all the republicans out there bombard my inbox, let me just get one thing clear: I’m no royalist.

But I am an unflinching admirer of how the beloved Queen steadfastly stayed the course with an unwavering sense of duty to the monarchy.

From her days as a teen mechanic and truck driver in World War II, brilliantly re flected in the tribute drawing on this page by cartoonist Ry an-Lee Taylor, right up to her last weeks on the throne, she gave nothing but 100 per cent.

It’s a big dot to join, grant ed, but isn’t there a lesson for trucking in here somewhere?

Not that we need a leader, per se, but isn’t it time we got serious about having a singular over-riding independent body running the show, as suggest ed by Senator Glenn Sterle in his detailed inquiry into the industry?

We’re still all so divided with a head-spinning array of associations, agencies and con sultants, that nothing worth while is actually getting done.

Just ask veteran truckie Rod Hannifey who raises this very point in the return of our vir tual Roadhouse Roundtable on pages 12-14.

He recalls attending a 2013 road safety inquiry where there were 33 recommendations made and not one has ever been acted on, to the best of his recollection.

Sound familiar?

I know the last industry tri bunal was much maligned due to the ill-conceived payment order rubber-stamped in its last days. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Done right, can a gov erning body that sets higher standards across the board be a bad thing?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Industry has caused driver shortage, not gender

In response to Lyndal Denny’s column (September 2 issue), Gender bias continues to ham per recruitment drive GENDER bias is only in the heads of those that can make a living out of selling that line.

The industry itself is what has caused the shortage of drivers, not the gender...un less Lyndal considers that women are less likely to put up with poor wages, over en forcement, poor equipment, etc, then I might agree that there is a bias.

Time and again we have examples around the world that the transport industry is

in crisis through poor reten tion. It’s not rocket science learning to drive a truck, but you have to almost be on par with a rocket scientist to un derstand all the legal require ments for driving over borders in Australia.

I stopped counting at 100 pieces of legal requirements (legislation, CoP’s, council requirements, etc) and that’s what my business alone needs to consider - no DG work, just general freight. The in dustry has NEVER been good at selling itself, which is why many people just fall into it because of family con

nection or life circumstances.

There are untapped re sources in hiring more people (men and women) but giving unrealistic expectations of what’s on offer and the reali ty is the main reason we have a huge issue with retention. Train as many as we want to, there will still be a huge gap because driving is no longer an attractive option where you can make a decent living and not lose a lot of that in come to ‘interested parties’.

The industry associations are trying to find an alterna tive, in the short term, for fill ing the massive gaps NOW.

They are also trying to advo cate for more and better train ing of future drivers. While I’m not a huge fan of using migration as a mechanism for bringing in skilled drivers, we can’t automatically find the skilled drivers for the opera tions like the Western Roads Federation is calling for on the Priority List.

The reference to the ATA from 2013 is pretty good. What was said then has pret ty well come true “predicting nearly half the then truck driver workforce being over 65 by 2026 and high-level retirement likely post 2016.”

My issue arises when Lyndal then goes on to say “seeming ly little’s been achieved to alle viate driver shortages, particu larly when it comes to female recruitment”

Being involved in MANY meetings and consultations with both the ATA other as sociations, I can assure Lyndal they are VERY supportive of females in ALL areas of the industry. Females just aren’t as interested in becoming a truck driver. You can’t just get more women to apply for driving jobs just because you want to.

- Angie Welsh

FIT AND FORGET.

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Australia

Test driving the new Kenworth K220 cabover

Just a few weeks after the glitzy launch of the ‘Next Level’ Kenworth to VIPs in Brisbane, our WA correspondent grabs the keys for a run to Coolgardie.

BY DAVID MEREDITH

WHEN you get to drive a pre-production truck you have to expect that some things won’t quite fit, other things don’t quite work, and squeaks, rattles and fizzes haven’t quite been ironed out.

That was certainly the case with the new K220 Kenworth I drove from Perth to Coolgar die earlier this month.

There were two trucks on the run, an auto with a single trailer and a manual with a ginormous 2.8-metre sleeper, both used for dealer launch demos around the country. The manual was bobtail, so I avoided that like the plague.

With only one trailer, it self lightly loaded, the new K barely raised a sweat on the largely flat run to the Gold fields. The run was only in terrupted by a couple of meal and photography stops, so

after an uneventful six hours or so, I rolled into Coolgardie where the trucks headed right for Adelaide and I headed left for Kalgoorlie airport.

Of course, each stop was punctuated by other truck ies who all wanted a piece of the new model. Everyone in the park-ups were drawn to the rig, emblazoned with Kenworth’s “Next Level” mar keting message for the K220. And they all wanted a cockpit tour, which Kenworth’s re gional sales manager Anthony Spence-Fletcher was happy to provide, along with commen tary on the new features.

Most were impressed, but the indicated price put a couple off. Those operators will need to be taken on a deep dive into whole-of-life cost by their local Kenworth sales dude before opting for a cheaper alternative.

Even considering the

pre-production foibles, the drive itself illustrated the yawning gap that still remains between the cab experience of this truck compared to the latest Europeans. With a cab outline and structure that is several decades old, it’s to be expected.

Of course, the Euros are all brand new cabs from the ground up and are designed for cruising continental Eu rope at 90km/h with a single trailer, while connected to massive electronic infrastruc ture pinpointing every turn of the wheels. But the design ef

fort put into noise and vibra tion suppression allows you to have a pleasant conversation at normal room volume at any speed, under load or other wise.

Not so in the K220. As always, the 550hp Cummins sounds like a chaffcutter, and

the suspension reports all road irregularities directly to the steering wheel. This pre-pro duction model was obviously ‘looser’ than the first produc tion trucks due off the line next year, but some of the wind noise and component clatter was generic to the K

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WA writer David Meredith found the new dash as good as it gets.

The K220 our correspondent tested had acres of room in the cab.

Series and will be no surprise to seasoned operators.

The major mechanical up grade was the lighter, smooth er Eaton Endurant XD Pro automated manual, which shifted between cogs with its usual efficiency, but with fast er changes to smooth out the torque interruption.

Using the manual mode on the few hills we encoun tered was easy to manage and allowed me to optimise fuel usage. There is more room for the driver too, and as with all K Series driver placement is as far to the RHS of the truck as

you can get.

A new grille optimises cool ing and there are LED head lights. The roof and fairings have been smoothed out to reduce drag, and wheel arches changed to reduce spray into the engine compartment.

There is still acres of room in the cab – 1.88m tall Spen ce-Fletcher had no trouble standing up between the seats. Certainly, a life on the road will not be cramped in the K220.

Spence-Fletcher’s main job was to orient me to the new truck’s electronic features. It’s

been a long road for Ken worth to assimilate the kind of digital technology that its stablemate DAF already has, but the wait has been worth it.

A combination of radar and camera images is juggled by some tricky software that generates all the alerts and warnings that are now stan dard equipment on longhaul cab-over prime movers.

I got beeped a lot for lane deviation until I factored in my seating position being much closer to the truck’s off side boundary. Even then the alert was perhaps too finely tuned - it got its knickers in a twist over bitumen seals and the like. But that’s some fine-tuning that Kenworth’s engineers will take care of with the volumes of driver feedback they’re gathering from the round Australia demos currently in progress.

There’s a massive 15” high-definition instrument panel that is switchable be tween displays.

As usual now, exceptions to normal operating are dis played for attention, and the display includes features that many drivers will grad ually get used to, in partic ular the driver performance and coaching tools that help make a big difference to fuel efficiency and component life. Additionally, there’s an 8” audio visual navigation unit that handle all your comms.

Physical gauges are an op tion if you want to clutter up the new wrap-around dash.

System switches are now in clusters that can be removed to shift switches for driver preference. I found the new set-up as good as it gets –didn’t have to stretch or look away from the road for any thing important.

The K Series engine brake was especially effective. Not as good as a retarder of course but Spence-Fletcher made the point that the combina tion of a driver who drives well ahead of themselves and the two-stage engine brake will minimise service brake use anyway. I’m pretty set

on a retarder for B-double work and above, but Antho ny pointed out that a retard er’s space and weight impact prompts many Kenworth cus tomers to work without it.

Certainly, the transmis sion’s connection to the auxiliary brake was help ful, particularly as the first two clicks on the engine brake lever were followed by a spring-loaded addi tional click which instantly dropped down a gear.

The adaptive cruise was ef fective, as all these systems are now, and happily avoided any

false readings from signs that would slam the brakes on for no reason.

Down the road, an over night run would be good to assess the new cab, but so far there is no doubt that for Ken worth devotees the changes will be received with enthusi asm. And that’s already hap pening.

Delivery is more than two years away, and those with K200 orders are being given the opportunity to convert their orders to the K220.

A no-brainer, if ever there was one.

The two K220s on the run drew plenty of attention from admiring truckies.

Meet the panel

Truckies’ big issues, and how to fix them

THE buzzword of the mo ment in trucking is roundta bles.

For a few weeks leading into the Jobs and Skills Sum mit in Canberra earlier this month, having your place at one of them seemed to be the industry’s hot ticket item.

But where were all the hard-working truckies? A long way from the halls of power, from what we could tell.

So, we gathered three truck ing luminaries (see panel, left) for an informal roundtable of our own and set them loose in a Facebook group to debate the hottest topics of the day.

Here’s an edited version of their discussion.

Labor’s ‘enforceable stan dards’ commitment Mike Williams: The question is what will the standards be and how will they be enforced? Is it all just talk?

In my view the only thing that needs to happen is to make a ruling that companies can no longer pay employees a kilometre rate.

We should be paid by the hour, log books are certainly by the hour! The rate should be in line with all other in dustries. Hourly rate, penalties and other entitlements. None of this flat rate rubbish.

I was on $40 flat an hour as a full-time driver driving a quad. I do better now driving a single tanker on the east coast.

For too long companies have seen drivers as easily re placeable. The pool of expe rience and willingness to ac

cept whatever is dished out is rapidly shrinking. So now the majors are scrambling to do anything to get the bums on seats. They don’t care where they come from. That’s a huge problem.

Rod Hannifey: I would like to think the meeting with Minis ter Burke was a good start.

He did say that it was not a matter of if, but when it would happen.

There is no doubt we need better representation, but if

they only have the ATA for example, I fear drivers will be abused still and again.

Glenn Sterle said the NRFA will have a seat at the table, but we still don’t know what the table looks like, who else is there and the big ques tion, is if we do come up with solutions, will they be listened to and acted on?

It was a wide consensus, there are so many issues and like I have said for years, going to any government with just, here are the problems, is no

good. Yes, we now also have the answers from the senate inquiry

But it would be interest ing to compare these with the road safety inquiry I attended in 2013 when there were 33 recommendations and not one was ever acted on. So, will having those involved who hold the wheel see more done? I really hope so, but there is much before that will happen and how much of that can we really control?

No wonder we are a cynical

bunch, we are still really strug gling to truly and completely solve one issue. We will never get the road recognised as our workplace and our lives have no real value to anyone else and with all the other stuff, blokes are saying it is simply too hard.

Just see the government has confirmed AdBlue supply, that is good, one issue sorted, but unless they get behind the recommendations from the Senate inquiry, we will still be trying to get things fixed in

The ‘majors’ are scrambling to do anything to get bums on seats, says truckie Mike Williams.

Rod Hannifey

One of the most vocal safety advocates for drivers over many years, interstate driver of the TRUCK RIGHT Kenworth, a trav elling industry billboard for road safety, and presi dent of the National Road Freighters Association.

Mike Williams

A veteran NSW-based driver, popular social me dia commentator, regular Big Rigs columnist and host of the top-rating podcast On the Road.

Corrina Riley Board director at Women in Trucking Australia and MC truck driver operator at Gaff’s Heavy Haulage.

another 10 years.

They are new at the table, it is the first time a federal government has committed substantial money to rest areas and I think how that works, will either set the tone for real change or not.

Image issues hurting in dustry

Hannifey: I think how the in dustry is still perceived by the public is the biggest problem. It means we can be abused by authorities, it means people will leave and or not join the

industry and that puts pres sure on every single aspect of the job, no matter what role you play.

The public recognised us for five minutes during Covid. We missed the chance to be seen as what we are, the in dustry that provides all their needs and wants, at a cost to those who do the job.

They have already forgot ten what we went through and few even then, knew or cared, they just wanted their food, fuel and toilet paper.

We still get people who say,

put it on rail and that shows, they do not recognise what we do for those outside a capital city.

In some ways we are our own biggest enemy. We are disjointed and can’t agree and put forward a single agreed

solution. The NRFA 6-point plan, had it received support from all the others, could have done enormous good, but the big companies and their cus tomers want their freight de livered for nothing and yester day and they don’t care what

a driver gives up, even their lives at times, to get it there cheaper.

If we aren’t recognised, we can’t be heard by government about the road being our workplace, so our safety is not important. We can’t be heard

about education of motorists about sharing the road with trucks and we can’t be heard to get rest areas, let alone an apprenticeship for drivers. These have been our issues for 20 years.

Page

The public recognised us for “five minutes” during Covid.

If we aren’t recognised, we can’t be heard about the road being our workplace, so our safety is not important, says Hannifey.

Driver shortages, training, and is there a gender bias?

From Page 13

Is there really a driver shortage?

Hannifey: Is there a driver shortage, or is there a shortage of conditions that see older drivers leave and then no one to replace them?

When we worked 100 plus hours a week you could make good money risking your life to deliver the freight, you can’t do that, nor should you now, but the money for the job, the responsibility and for the overall task, is not there and so we have to get drivers from overseas who welcome what we want, a chance to have a family and a life.

Riley: As Rod said, is it a driver shortage? Or, is it a shortage of conditions that see older drivers leave and no one to replace them?

I think the driver shortage comes ‘partly” from us being a “nanny state” now!

I mean back in ‘the day’ we took our kids and they learned from us what we learned from our parents and so on, and all kids wanted to be drivers just like dad or (mum nowadays). We have missed out on a new gener ation of young drivers who have been trained from a young age.

It is rare to find a company that even allows passengers these days.

Instead, we hire people from overseas and give them an MC licence over a two day period.

And expect them to know what they’re doing! They may be filling the driver seats … but at what cost?

We need to be training anyone going into a heavy ve hicle for a minimum 6-weeks’ period I believe - covering all aspects of the job.

‘Aussie women are the an swer’

Riley: According to our re search at WITA, 1.6 per cent of the total truck driver work force are women.

If you look at a group of 100 truck drivers, 98.4 of them are men and just 1.6 are women.

There are 1000s of women out there with truck licences who can’t get a foot in the door because of gender bias (which happens when male employers pick male drivers).

The less gender bias there is, the more women and the more women … the less gen der bias.

But it will take an indus try as a whole to change these views.

I believe Aussie women are the answer to the heavy vehicle driver shortage.

Hannifey: And there are two other issues in getting women involved. One is a problem for anyone: companies want two years’ experience but won’t train you. That means we lose well-meaning and possible candidates because they can’t get a start, men and women.

The other for linehaul is facilities: will women drive off into the sunset knowing there is few places safe for them to park and ever fewer toilets etc to use?

Outside of Heather’s course [Heather Jones at Pilbara’s Heavy Haulage Girls] and she is a bit far away for many, what can be done for these two is sues? When the government funding for rest areas becomes available, I hope to include this issue.

Riley: Yes absolutely, good point. This was a problem for me personally when I started. I had all the experience on the road for over five years but be cause I was just an offsider for my ex-husband, I had nothing on paper.

It took a LOT of borderline stalking and persistence to get a start in the big trucks.

Until I started with Hernes, and that’s because I offered to prove myself for two weeks (which they declined) and with the ‘stalking’ got my start.

They were a company that would give anyone a go and offer training from a rigid. I was lucky I guess.

There are companies that will give you a start with min imal experience, however, yes, the training very is minimal.

“We need to be offering a minimum of six weeks train ing to ALL new drivers cover ing All aspects of driving, load

restraints, fatigue, log books etc….

A lot of women drivers have become accustomed to the She Wee now which is a bit tricky to use at times.

I was doing dog runs for drivers out of Gatton pads and you needed to make sure you went to the toilet before you got there as some drivers would sometimes be hours away.

Which is why I got on board with Wes Walker and the NRFA in pushing for the Gatton pads amenities for ALL drivers - I mean there is a lack of respect for ALL drivers who use that facility.

Women already drive off into the sunset knowing there are minimal places to park, we just plan better.

Amenities in all rest areas would be ideal, and CCTV would also help with the safe ty issue, but at what cost? And who will fund it, and when?

And how do we keep cara vaners out of these rest areas so long haul drivers can even get their trucks in when they need to rest?

Driver apprenticeships

Williams: I’m torn on the apprenticeship idea. The cyn ical side of me says it’s just a way for companies to offset

their wage bill. If it leads to a more professional driver then fine but I can’t see it. They’re talking TAFE etc. how many truly experienced drivers are well enough qualified aca demically to teach at TAFE? How many would want to? More to the point, what can be taught a TAFE that couldn’t be taught in a transport yard?

I have calls from listeners who say that the opportunities to learn have been lost with the OH&S reforms. Kids don’t go with the old man any longer, etc. There’s no doubt that’s the case.

I believe companies don’t want to train because they know that there is nothing tying the driver to them when the training is done. They know that the training is por table.

They don’t improve pay because they’ve never had to before, there’s always been a driver laying about some where. This motivates the call for having drivers seen as skilled migrants.

It gets them over the hur dle and imported into the country, the companies ab rogate their responsibility to train because they have an other source of drivers open to them and as far as they’re concerned, it’s business as usual and even better it’s a group (usually) with no un derstanding of their rights under Australian industrial law or as an employee in this country.

Besides K rate is better than anything they’ve re ceived before. Companies achieve the status quo. Prob lem solved.

Hannifey: Maybe the appren ticeship, if done by companies with those drivers who have had enough and want to leave, but could teach and then pass on their skills and knowledge would be a good compromise.

But as you suggest, some companies (and to be fair with some, very slim margins) don’t see the need to spend their money.

I must say I asked David Simon once how he felt about training drivers for the in dustry. They had a program and once some have the skills and these were then well rec ognised by other companies, new recruits wanted a big KW and to do 100 k instead of 90 in a Simon’s Volvo. He said he would rather train then and have them work for someone else, than to have someone with no training coming at his trucks every day.

If a few more adopted that theme, it would change over time. Yes, not having your kids is an issue, but most driv ers I know, don’t want their kids to go through and have the life they had to live.

As you say, the fact that there were those available to step in, has seen too many become complacent and un less we are paid what we are worth in this current market and climate, we will be taking what we are given, because those from overseas certainly see this job as better than they have had anywhere else.

I wish I either had the one definitive answer or the ca pacity to solve it all. So many complain we haven’t fixed it, but they will do nothing to help.

WiTA Trailblazer of the Year Jennifer Colman is an inspiration to others.

Photo: WiTA/Facebook

Hannifey is concerned that the industry missed its chance to leverage the essential role it played during Covid into positive changes.

Little Louie’s new lease on life for Cobram operator

Garrie Oliver’s beloved Ford Louisville serves as a handy piece of transport, and also as a link to the transport of times past.

BY DAVID VILE

THE Ford Louisville takes its place in the annals of Austra lian trucking history as one of the models fondly remem bered by many as an iconic truck through the 1970s and 1980s.

At the top of the product line was the LNT9000 with its little brother, the small er-capacity LN7000 being put to work in a number of applications such as agita tors, tippers and short-haul prime-mover work.

In the case of Garrie Oli ver, his LN7000 was firstly a restoration project, and is now a handy truck to have in his shed at Cobram in northern Victoria.

Oliver had travelled down the Murray Valley to Echuca to the American Truck His torical Society show in early September and detailed the history and subsequent resto ration of his truck to Big Rigs.

“It was originally sold out of Toowoomba to Gat ton Freight lines in 1978 as a single-axle prime mov er, before a guy bought it in Queensland and set it up to cart speedway cars around on the back. He sold it to a fella in Sunbury near Mel bourne, who only had it for around three months and he realised it wasn’t really what he wanted so he sold it to me, and we went from there,“ he explained.

Having acquired the truck in 2018, Oliver gave the Ford a thorough restoration over a number of months both in side and outside.

Mechanically the truck was in sound order, so a lot of the work involved overhauling

the bodywork and interior.

“It still had the original factory paint on it and had the body on the back and the sleeper-cab wasn’t con nected through to the cabin. We pulled it down and Barry ‘Dicko’ Dickson in Cobram painted it all.

“We fitted the sock for the sleeper, made a lot of panels and bits and pieces and then did the paint. It was originally white with a blue pinstripe, but I have a little hot-rod car that has red in it, so I put some red stripes and fuel tanks and so on to match it all up.”

Under the bonnet is a ‘lit tle’ 3208 Cat motor, which was a standard fitment to the LN7000 in that era.

“You can tell it has the Cat motor by the bonnet vent out the top and it’s rated at 210 horsepower. Someone along

the way has put in a 10-speed Road Ranger gearbox so it can cruise along ok until it sees a hill,” he said with a grin.

Internally the cabin also underwent a full overhaul with a couple of new air-ride seats which were trimmed to match the original Louisville brown herringbone trim and the dash coming up better than new with its woodgrain finish also getting a makeover.

Oliver was able to source authentic parts from around Australia in order to get the Ford back on the road.

“Riverina Diesels in Dunolly were great with bits and pieces, they helped me out a lot, there’s a mob in Perth called Just Louisville’s - little things like the bonnet reflec tors and so on and grille shells. I spent a bit of money getting the grille on this one done up

because they stand out as soon as people look at it they know it’s a Ford Louisville,” he said.

Loaded up at Echuca with a grey ‘Fergie’ tractor, the Ford usually carries Oliver’s hot rod car around the place to shows and events, but the tractor had stayed on the back after a trip to a heritage machinery show up in Dubbo earlier this year.

With the fitment of a tow bar on the back of the truck it is a versatile unit.

“I set it up with a tow hitch to tow a caravan so we can go to these types of events… it tows the caravan well and you wouldn’t know it was there. We can put the hot rod or the wife’s car on the back if we do go away somewhere and tow the van also, so it covers all the bases - this works well for us!”

Back in the day Oliver was

known as ‘Oliver the Ghost’ on the highway, kicking off in 1976 on interstate working for the likes of Mick Travlos on TNT work before work ing for Safeway in Melbourne for 20 years and then doing music concert event/touring work for ATS.

After a ‘tree change’ north from Mornington to Co bram, in recent times he has been behind the wheel of Bar ry Dickson’s’ Kenworth T900.

“We have been carting John Deere tractors for Hutcheon & Pearce out of Finley, with the season the way it has been lately and with the canola and wheat season coming on it has been flat out,” he said.

Oliver is about to also do a couple longer-distance trips for ATS once again with a couple of show tours such as the Guns N’ Roses concert

schedule coming up in the future.”

Back at home the little Louie serves also as a handy piece of transport but also as a link to the transport of times past according to Oliver.

“Not many do these LN7000’s up, plenty of peo ple have done up LTL’s but there’s probably a few of these still on farms and so on.

“The old Louisville’s played a big part in transport in that era and a lot of people made money out them. Com panies like Lindsay Brothers had a huge fleet of Louisville’s 9000s and I drove them back in the 1970s - a lot of blokes had them…but they are get ting a bit rare now.

“These little Louisville’s were widely used, and they certainly had their place in transport in Australia.”

The Ford Louisville stands out with its distinctive grille.

Garrie Oliver and his Ford. Photos: David Vile

The LN7000 coupled to the caravan makes a good set up for shows and rallies.

The custom body on the back of the Louisville usually hauls Oliver’s hot rod car.

Enduring memorial and convoy returns to Gatton

on into the night with many people staying over and camp ing for the night in Gatton, or staying in local hotel/motel ac commodation.

Sunday morning, October 2, sees the memorial service take place from 10am at the Memorial itself at Lake Apex Park, on Lake Apex Drive in Gatton.

This moving service always brings tears to many of the as sembled family members and

other guests, who pay their respects to those whom they have lost, with a wreath and flower laying ceremony as an integral part of this service.

Join any of this year’s events at lightsonthill.com.au where you can register for the con voys and/or secure tickets for the entertainment on October 1.

Please note that tickets are not required to attend the memorial service the next day.

LIGHTS On The Hill, the en during memorial and convoy weekend for truckies, and oth ers associated with the trans port industry who have passed away, returns to the industry calendar on October 1-2.

Established over 20 years ago in Gatton, Queensland, Lights On The Hill gets greater recognition each year, as it be comes more widely known and appreciated, not only within the transport industry, but also with the wider public.

For the first time this year, the organising committee has embarked on a massive TV campaign on SKY News Regional and 7 CENTRAL TV networks with 30 second advertisements which com menced airing on September 9.

This TV promotion fea tures the backing track of Slim Dusty’s song Lights on the Hill in a very fitting tribute to the memorial itself.

Joy McKean, Slim Dusty’s wife, who actually wrote the song, very kindly gave the me morial foundation committee the approval and licence to use the song for the duration of the promotional campaign.

Every year, this dedicated group of volunteer committee members promotes various events and activities taking place over the first weekend of October, centred around the recognition and remembrance of all those who have lost their lives or passed away over the preceding 12 months.

Also feeling the pain of lives

lost are a number of committee members themselves.

They have also lost related loved ones, or close contacts, who were greatly involved in the transport industry, and who were more often than not drivers.

They feel not only the pain of their own loss, but also for the many other people who have also lost their own loved ones, or close contacts.

Lights On The Hill starts on Saturday, October 1, with two large truck convoys leaving from Brisbane and Toowoomba and converging in Gatton.

It is a truly amazing specta cle to see an incredible num ber of brightly polished and glistening prime movers tra

versing the Warrego Highway, where families gather along both routes to watch, wave and blow horns from under um brellas sitting on their picnic chairs, or sitting on ute tail gates under ‘lean-to’ tents.

When the convoy arrives at Gatton Showgrounds there is plenty of entertainment in store as well. Music this year is provided by headline act The Wolfe Brothers, with support from talented performers such as Hayley Jensen and Josh Set terfield.

Together with an amazing truck show, food and market stalls, and unlimited free rides for the kids, you definitely will not be bored, promise organ isers.

The entertainment goes

More event dates for your diary

team and coach in the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue.

Urana Vintage Rally

October 15-16, 2022 Victoria Park, Urana NSW facebook.com/uranavintage machineryclubinc

The Urana Vintage Rally will see vintage enthusiasts come together to celebrate the trucks, cars and machinery of times gone by. While White and International were the fea ture truck brands at the 2018 and 2019 events, this year the focus is on Mercedes-Benz.

Heritage Truck Association Annual Show

children’s activities.

Gold Coast Truck Show October 23, 2022 Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, Queensland goldcoasttruckshow.com.au

The Gold Coast Truck Show will see trucks rolling in for an impressive display. Entry is $25, which includes passen gers, trophy nominations and judging for awards across various categories.

includes truck awards, live entertainment and a spectacu lar fireworks display, all to raise money for a worthy cause.

Convoy For Kids Goulburn

November 19, 2022 Goulburn, NSW convoyforkidsgoulburn.com.

au

and motorbike convoy in the Southern Hemisphere, the Illawarra Convoy raises funds for individuals and families affected by potentially life threatening medical condi tions, together with charities that work with these people, and local hospitals.

OCTOBER

Ivanhoe Dry Times Truck, Tractor, Car and Bike Show

October 1-2, 2022

Sahara Oval, Ivanhoe, NSW facebook.com/Ivan hoe-Dry-Times-TruckTractor-Car-and-BikeShow-1348021992012877

Aside from the truck event, there will be live music, trac tors, and more. All proceeds go towards local community groups and projects. Gates open from 10am. For more information, contact Allan Carmichael on 0447 953 982, or Lonni Grimwood on lonni grimwood@gmail.com.

Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies’ Day Out

October 8, 2022

Gympie Showgrounds

facebook.com/mattyhillcoat struckiesdayout

This fun day out for truckies and their families helps to raise money for River’s Gift and SIDS research.

QTA Road Freight Industry Awards

October 8, 2022

Royal International Conven tion Centre, Brisbane qta.com.au/events/qta-roadfreight-industry-awards

The Queensland Trucking Association’s awards celebrate those in the road freight indus try who have shown excel lence, dedication and com mitment to their roles. This year’s feature guest speaker is Dr Craig Challen OAM, the Australian cave diver who was instrumental in saving a soccer

October 15-16, 2022 Beaudesert Showgrounds, Queensland heritagetruckassociation. com.au

Held over two days, the event will be a celebration of heritage trucks, tractors and cars. The weekend will feature trade stalls, and food and refresh ment vans. Entry is only $5 and children under 14 are free.

Dungowan Village Fair

October 15-16, 2022

Dungowan Recreation Ground, NSW dungowanvillagefair.com.au

Come along and enjoy vintage trucks, cars, motorbikes, trac tors and more. There will be a tractor pull and kids’ pedal tractor pull, the Tamworth Truck Drivers’ Club Show & Shine, entertainment and

Tamworth Truck Drivers’ Memorial Day October 29, 2022 Tamworth Truck drivers memorial grounds (New En gland Hwy, Tamworth Next to the Lions Park)

All trucks to be parked by 9am with presentations starting at midday. Entry fee for trucks is $25. Other highlights include a Tug-O-War for teams of six with a first prize of $1000. All event enquiries to Damien Hook (president) 0439 278 885; Max Thomas (Vice president) 0407 014 235; Victor Kent (secretary) 0439 486 095; or Patricia Downey (treasurer) 0401 428 208.

NOVEMBER

Brisbane Convoy For Kids

November 5, 2022 Brisbane, Queensland brisbaneconvoyforkids.com.

au

This truck convoy runs Lara pinta to Redcliffe, followed by a fun-filled family day that

Convoy for Kids Goulburn provides support for local children with cancer, terminal illness and permanent disabil ities, by providing financial assistance to their families. For the first time in two years, the Convoy Carnival Day will run in its entirety, with a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest parade of trucks..

Illawarra Convoy

November 20, 2022 Illawarra, NSW illawarraconvoy.com.au

Touted as the largest truck

Castlemaine Rotary Truck Show

November 26-27, 2022 Castlemaine, Victoria castlemainetruckshow.com

This is the 34th year for the event, which celebrates the contribution of the trucking industry, with entertainment for the whole family. Event proceeds go to local youth and community projects.

Have you got an event you’d like included in the next Save the Date? Email all the details to editor@bigrigs.com.au.

The memorial service takes place on Sunday, October 2.

When the convoy arrives at Gatton Showgrounds there is plenty of entertainment in store for ticket holders.

Show

The popular Brisbane Convoy For Kids returns on November

How do you engage your local market

A: Keeping in close contact with our customers is one of the most important things we do. It’s the main role of our outside sales reps, who keep our customers up to date with new products, specials, and the range we carry. Radio advertising and social media are the other key ways that we keep customers informed.

Inland Truck Centres Wagga Wagga 260 Hammond Ave, Wagga Wagga NSW 2650

Joel Bray – Parts Manager

Inland Truck Centres Wagga Wagga

Truckin’ In The Outback

Simon Roberts

A third-generation truckie, Simon Roberts was already be ginning to hone his truck skills from as young as five years old, while sitting on his father’s lap.

Roberts, 48, has been working for ABC Transport for a little over 12 months but his career as a truckie extends 30 years.

“I was 18 when I got my heavy articulated licence on a special permit, and I haven’t stopped since. I got my MC as soon as I was able to and began doing B-doubles. I got into road trains about 10 years ago,” Roberts explained.

“My grandfather had trucks. He had five kids and dad was the only one that got into trucking. When I was about five, Dad would let me steer the truck up to the road, then he taught me how to change gears. He’d whack me on the back of the head if I missed a gear and say, ‘Come on, you can do better than that’,” he laughed.

“The first time I actually drove a truck on my own, with dad sitting next to me, I was

10. It was a V8 Mack Super liner. Dad has been retired for a few years now – he stopped driving trucks when he was about 70.”

Originally from Mel bourne, Roberts moved to Mildura with his family at around the age of 10, and has called it home ever since.

Despite being based in Mildura, he does the Adelaide to Darwin run each week, pulling triple road trains from behind the wheel of a 2014 Kenworth T909, which has over 2 million kilometres on the clock.

“This truck, for its age, is like a new one. It rides and steers good, pulls better than anything else we’ve got here. I don’t want to give it up,” said Roberts.

“We have a bloke work ing here who goes out to the Indigenous communities in Alice Springs. He had this truck for a while before I got it. They took it off the dirt, cleaned it up and got it back on the highways.”

Roberts’ trip is about

3200km each way. He carts a mixture of general and refrig erated freight. “At this time of year, we bring back a lot of produce from Kununurra like pumpkins and watermelons. Then mangoes will start in about a month or so.”

When asked what he loves most about his work, Roberts responds, “It’s just the freedom and the blokes I work with.”

Though he admits a lot has changed over the past 30 years on the road. “It’s nowhere near the same sort of comradery as there used to be, but there are still a lot of old school blokes around my age and older who are really good blokes. Once I leave Adelaide, I don’t hear from anybody unless they need to get hold of me. The good thing about truck driv ing these days is that we have to have our breaks, so you get your regular sleep every night, which is probably the best part about it now.”

Roberts added that it’s a relatively good run nearly the whole way through. “It’s all bi tumen on this run. It’s a pretty

smooth run up here but once you get up around Elliott, north of there and into Dar win, the road gets pretty rough,

but I’ve driven on worse roads than this one I’m on now. At this time of year can be a little hectic with all the tourists that

head up north. There are a lot of caravans around and some don’t know how to handle be ing around road trains.”

Roberts pulls triples from Adelaide to Darwin each week, driving a 2014 Kenworth T909.

Simon Roberts has three decades of experience behind the wheel.

Reader Rigs proudly supported by

Share your truck pics to win with Shell Rimula

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

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

Darcy Gauci-Quigley sent in this ripper shot of his 2012 Kenworth T909. Damian Toms shared a snap of this 2020 T909 pulling a quad up to Darwin.

Jacob Elliott loads molasses at Harwood Sugar Mill in the Northern Rivers region of north-eastern NSW.

Steve Bottom from Doolan’s Heavy Haulage sent in this awesome pic “getting a hand” with one of the last modules into Iron Bridge.

Rick Leach snapped this shot before the first trip to Adelaide from Mornington Peninsula.

Shane Workman captured this glorious sunset while out on the Tanami.

Milly MC snapped this ripper shot of Andrew from Hi Quality Group heading into site between Quilpie and Eromanga, Queensland.

Robbie Bell enjoys this superb backdrop while loading chickpeas in Central NSW.

Tony Griffin stops for a break between Mingenew and Mullewa, WA.

Ned Jones “dodging ant hills” on a goat track in the outback of Onslow, WA.

Neil Davey shared a great shot of this brand spanking new 100 tonne rated Derek Murray & Co grain tipper set-up.

Rhianna Harker snapped this ripper of a shot at Darwin port. Kyle Nicholas-Benney travels along the Coorong in South Australia, loaded with cattle.

Peter Shiells loads lambs out of Victoria’s west.

When the going gets tough, truckies keep everyone going

PETROGAS and Pacific Pe troleum operate 48 fuel stops across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, includ ing numerous sites with B-dou ble access, and many that are unmanned.

“Our unmanned sites are a point of difference. We bring an option that’s available 24/7, with outdoor payment termi nals at the pump. A number of these sites have toilets and show ers too. Once you buy fuel, you receive a code to use the toilet or shower facilities,” explained Chris Wight, general manager of the Australian fuel group.

Petrogas acquired Pacific Petroleum in March 2022, so

the two brands now run un der common management and ownership.

The network includes 27 fuel stops in Queensland, four fuel stops in NSW, and 14 fuel stops in Victoria. As Wight re veals, there are more in the pipe line as well, with various new sites currently in development.

For the past five years or so, Liquip Victoria has been instru mental across the company’s operations.

Each state based Liquip op eration supplies equipment for storing and transferring bulk liquids including petroleum and other hazardous liquids. They specialise in the terminal,

tanker and aviation markets, offering products that include meters and pumping systems.

From fuel pumps to fuel storage through to fuel trans port, Liquip Victoria is the major business partner for Petrogas and Pacific Petroleum, helping to keep things flowing – literally!

Liquip Victoria has built a few Petrogas / Pacific fuel de pots, the most recent of which was a major inland regional de pot, incorporating a truck stop, in Shepparton, Victoria.

Across the two brands, there are 70 trucks in the fleet, used to transport fuel - a mix of semis, B-doubles and rigids. Most road tankers are fitted with Liquip’s Swift Delivery System, which uses level gauging to deliver multiple products accurately and conveniently through a sin gle pump to selectable outlets.

“We were one of the first to put the Swift Delivery Sys tem from Liquip Victoria in our tankers and now build our tankers as standard with this technology,” said Wight.

“The Swift System removes a lot of the manual labour out of the fuel delivery process, helping to reduce fatigue throughout

the day. It’s a one-pump system which minimises the need to move hoses and its lighter which means improved pay loads as well,” he added.

“We’ve always wanted to be at the cutting edge of technology whilst ensuring our delivery settings and sites are the most ergonomic. This system is almost completely automated, and our drivers think its great.”

In addition, Liquip sup plies fuel storage tanks, which Petrogas and Pacific Petro leum acquire for customers who have fuel delivered on site.

Liquip also provides truck servicing to Petrogas and Pa cific Petroleum, making it a true one-stop shop for the company’s needs.

“The Liquip Group is well set up to service businesses like ours,” said Wight. “At the un manned fuel facilities, they can provide us with everything we need. We use and recommend Liquip Victoria as a partner for all our requirements, from provision of equipment and infrastructure builds to servic ing and maintaining our deliv ery vehicle fleet.”

Across the Petrogas and Pacific Petroleum brands, there are 70 trucks in the fleet.

Liquip Victoria has built several Petrogas / Pacific fuel depots, the most recent of which was a major site in Shepparton.

BASED in Kyneton, Victoria, RSD Transport was started by Bobby Dicko almost 30 years ago. The business runs a fleet of 16 trucks and approximate ly 30 trailers, carting danger ous goods and general freight Australia-wide.

Dicko says he began using Hendrickson suspension back in the mid 1990s. As new technology has been intro duced into Hendrickson’s of fering through the years, RSD Transport has been quick to implement it into the fleet.

“About half of our fleet runs on Hendrickson’s IN TRAAX suspension. They’re lighter and virtually mainte nance free,” said Dicko.

“Cost wise, INTRAAX only needs a major service every 1,000,000 kilometres or so. We got 1 million kilo metres out of the last trailers before we did a full tear down and replace of the hardware kits, so now we won’t have to touch them for another five years.”

The newest B-doubles join ing the fleet feature INTRAAX with Zero Maintenance Dampening (ZMD) technolo gy. This technology is designed

to eliminate shock absorbers from the maintenance equa tion by integrating the damp ing function traditionally per formed by the shock within the air spring itself. ZMD air springs exchange pressurised air between the bellows and the piston. This patented air spring provides uniform and consistent damping over the life of the air spring.

“There are two B-doubles I’ve purchased this year that have ZMD, which Hendrick son invited me to trial. The first of these B-doubles has now been on the road for four months and the other will be delivered shortly. We have an other five trailers with ZMD

on order too,” explained Dicko.

And according to the truck ie behind the wheel, it’s a defi nite winner, especially when it comes to ride quality. “Our driver reckons it rides really well, especially when he’s on the Newell Highway, which is in such poor condition. He reckons these trailers are 10 times better than the previous trailers he was towing,” Dicko added.

In the newest trailers with ZMD, Hendrickson’s HXL7 Extended Life Wheel Bear ing package has also been in cluded, which helps to keep maintenance costs down even further. HXL7 also comes with

a five-year or 1.2-million-kilo metre wheel end warranty too.

“This is the first time we’ve used the HXL7, but I’m pretty sure this will be even more cost effective for our operations,” said Dicko.

Hendrickson Australia also has a number of other value-add products for fleets running linehaul or in vari ous other applications. These include TIREMAAX PRO Tyre Inflation system, CON NEX STEER, PRIMAXX, TOUGHLIFT and COMPO SILITE Steer Lift for trucks.

For further details, please visit the Hendrickson website at aus.hendrickson-intl.com or contact 03 8792 3600.

The business carries dangerous goods and general freight Australia-wide.

Bendix launches Ultimate Tow Electric Brake Controller

hicle applies the brakes.

The controller allows brak ing to be easily modulated by adjusting the dial left for a lower setting or right for maximum setting. This adjustment might be needed when descending steep hills or mountain roads, providing the driver with ad ditional controlled braking ca pacity.

Installing Ultimate Tow is also simple – only a single small hole is required for the remote head and it can be lo cated in the smallest of knockout dash panels.

available from leading automo tive, 4x4 and camping stockists across Australia and New Zea land, and is covered by a gener ous three-year warranty.

BENDIX has applied its many decades of braking expertise to develop the new 12V Ultimate Tow Electric Brake Controller, providing additional braking control and enhanced safety for drivers who regularly tow heavi er trailers or caravans.

Developed, fully pro grammed and tested from an Australian facility, Ultimate Tow features its own unique braking algorithm, ensuring

superior performance and reli ability in demanding local con ditions.

By law, trailers with a gross trailer mass (the weight of the trailer with everything in it) of between 750kg and 2000kg are required to be fitted with either a mechanical or electrical brak ing system. And anything over 2000kg needs to have an elec tric, or electric over hydraulic brake and an electric ‘break-

away’ controller. Break-away systems are designed to activate the trailer or caravan’s electric brakes if they decouple from the tow vehicle.

When hitched to trailers and caravans with electric brakes, the electric brake con troller’s purpose is to activate and control the braking force supplied by the electric brakes in the caravan or trailer when ever the driver in the tow ve

Bendix Ultimate Tow also features an override function – if the driver notices that the trailer/caravan is swaying, they press the same dial to engage the override. This applies the trailer brakes independently without the tow vehicle brakes needing to be on, pulling the trailer or caravan into line and minimis ing the swaying affect. Other safety features include an open circuit and trailer disconnection indicator.

Ultimate Tow is suitable for installation in a wide range of popular vehicles and is com patible with the ALKO ESC systems fitted to many caravans and trailers. The unit offers a compact, remote head and OEM-style finish with builtin LED for easy access during night-time driving and attrac tive aesthetics.

Positioning is made even easier with the included 1.28m of cabling, which allows greater flexibility to mount the control unit in a variety of under dash or under seat locations. The control unit features rugged aluminium construction and can be installed on any angle.

Everything required to fit Ulti mate Tow is also provided with in the kit, so there’ll be no un expected trips to the auto shop mid-job.

Bendix Ultimate Tow is

For more information, free call the Bendix Brake Advice Centre on 1800 819 666 (8am5pm Monday to Friday EST), email brakeadvicecentre@ben dix.com.au, or visit the website at bendix.com.au.

It is developed, fully programmed and tested from an Australian facility.

The new 12V Ultimate Tow Electric Brake Controller.

key player in onboard weighing systems

Phillip Carthew, says the com pany is very dedicated to servic ing the industry.

“We have been provid ing advanced products for a critical industry for a very

sands of dollars over the years of use,” Carthew added.

“It is important for the operator to fully understand what compliance of an OBM system is, for use in IAP-M,

up to 100 load information points which you may email from your phone or tablet if needed,” he said. “However, when the scales are being used for programmes such as IAP-M

product to make it the best available product on the mar ket. “We look forward over the coming decades to continue working with the road trans port industry, which is critical for the growth of the Australian economy, providing avenues for productivity in partnership

For more information,

Setting a new standard in load coverage

QUEENSLAND-based com pany Retractable Tarps has set a new standard of load cov erage with its wind out hood tarp systems.

Designed to protect loads from rain, hail or shine, the Australian-made solution is a

durable, flexible and essential addition to your heavy vehicle fleet.

The system can be con trolled manually from ground level or via an electric drive, making it a user-friendly expe rience for operators.

Leveraging a carefully de signed tensioned pulley setup, support bows and combing rails, the system quickly covers the load and secures it.

Retractable Tarps technical sales manager Chris Vitnell said the tarp material itself was customised to suit each client’s needs, with a range of options available.

“Particularly popular is our quarry spec mesh, which is specifically designed for dust suppression and quarry use,” Vitnell said.

“It’s a heavy-duty, mo no-filament mesh and the dense weave catches and con tains fine dust blown off the load during transit.

“The material is reinforced with high strength stitching, is extremely UV resistant and has a service life of four to five years.

“The durability is only enhanced with double rein forcement on all bow pockets, stainless hardware anchoring the tap to support bows and high strength material edging the tarps.”

Vitnell added Retractable Tarp’s waterproof PVC ma terial was also popular, as was

their high temperature hood tarps designed for hot mix as phalt applications.

The wind out hood systems also mean operators can cover the load using a remote or in cab switch, saving them from having to leave the truck cab to manually cover a load.

The electric solution im proves site efficiencies and workplace health and safety, as it reduces employee exposure to dust-heavy environments.

The wind out hood systems are purpose-built, can come in complete kits or be retrofitted to existing infrastructure.

The systems are comple mented by Retractable Tarp’s fast-selling hood tarp mesh kits, another industry stan dard-setting product. Vitnell said these are another proudly Australian offering.

“They are produced at our Brisbane manufacturing fa cility,” he said. “We also have strong international partner ships and we are the Austra lian distributor of Roll Rite, a premium product with an ul tra-durable hydraulic gearmo tor widely used in the mining sector.

“These are the best per

Dual hydraulic arms.

forming arm kits on the mar ket, designed to perfectly fit side tipper applications. Get in touch to find the best fit for your operations.”

The Retractable Tarps range of solutions includes wind out hood tarps, waterproof hood tarps, dual arm rollover sys tems, low profile single arm systems, single arm systems, al

loy pull-out tarp units, budget single cable systems, electrical components, basic rollover systems, manual arm rollover systems, tower tarp systems, ute and box trailer tarps, pivot arm systems, drawbar covers, Quicksilver lining and Auto Glaze Liquid Crystal.

To find out more, please visit retractabletarps.com.au.

Hood systems allow operators to cover the load using a remote or in cab switch, removing the need to leave the truck cabin when covering the load.

safer and

WORKER safety is para mount in today’s society and under VSB6 it is a require ment to have a hose burst valve installed and opera

tional on a tipping hoist.

The hose burst valve is an inline safety valve that pre vents the tipper body low ering in the event of a hose

rupture. However, opera tors have strived for quicker turnarounds between loads to maximum work and yield for the vehicle. One way to improve the work rate is to increase the lowering rate of the tipper body.

The use of the hose burst valve is seen to introduce a larger pressure drop into the system and reduce the flow of oil back to tank, slowing the potential lower speed of the body. Manufacturers have had to devise ways to overcome this deficit.

Hydreco Hydraulics has looked at all the issues and requirements and is pleased to announce its new VA40 hose burst valve which has a number of unique design el ements that offer improved safety, better performance and improved environmen tal impact.

The device uses an ad justable flow dependent check valve (also known as a velocity fuse), in a patented arrangement, that is “de-sen sitised” by the use of a so lenoid valve with a separate tank line. They work in uni son to provide reliable hose

THIS PROVIDES FASTER FLOW RATES ON LOWERING THAN ALL OTHER DESIGNS. AN ADDED BENEFIT IS THE ABILITY TO ALSO HAVE A SLOW LOWER FUNCTION (SEPARATE FROM THE TIPPING VALVE) BY ACTIVATION OF THE SOLENOID VALVE ONLY.”

burst protection.

The flow dependent check valve is simple and re liable in operation but is also adjustable to suit individual hoist requirements. This de sign is also more tolerant to oil contamination than all other designs, meaning that it will work when needed in a hose burst condition.

For controlled safe lower ing in a hose burst condition a solenoid operated cartridge valve is used to channel the oil from the hoist to tank via an auxiliary tank line, ensur ing that oil is not spilt, re sulting in less contamination

for the environment.

For ultimate protection, a low flow bleed screw is provided on the valve body for field emergency safe lowering when power is not available to operate the so lenoid. The oil returns to tank through the auxiliary tank line.

In a normal lowering operation both the flow de pendent check valve (with extremely low pressure drop) and the solenoid valve (up to 50L/minute additional flow) are operational. This provides faster flow rates on lowering than all other

designs. An added benefit is the ability to also have a slow lower function (sepa rate from the tipping valve) by activation of the solenoid valve only.

The enhanced features of the VA40 hose burst pro tection valve will make your tipper more efficient, while keeping personnel and the environment safe.

For further information on this product or Hydreco’s other truck and trailer prod ucts, please contact the sales team on 1300 HYDRECO (1300 493 732) or visit the website at hydreco.com.

Hydreco’s

A hose burst valve is an inline safety valve that prevents the tipper body lowering in the event of a hose rupture.

balanced load:

working together

WE spend most of our days talking to trailer drivers. They know a thing or two about driver fatigue. They’ll also tell you that one trail

er load, compared to two or three trailers, will all display different characteristics. They will behave differently in the way they sway back and for

wards or from left to right.

Drivers say that sometimes the two trailers will behave and maybe the third trailer’s characteristics are complete

ly different. In addition, the features of the load come into play. If it’s a liquid load, you will have that rolling around; with a waste load, you don’t know what you’ve got. It could have been loaded topheavy, which means taking a corner carefully, so that you are holding onto the road.

Then, physical characteris tics of the road make for fur ther challenges. In Far North Queensland, some highways have been worn by road trains. Drivers say it’s a bit like going on a roller coaster. Where you’d usually drive at 100kph, a smaller truck or single trailer driver may need to reduce the speed to 80 or 90 kph so they don’t hit the hard bumps. The small vehi cles experience wear and tear in the shocks, steering com ponents and tyres.

Then there is the windsail effect. We’ve been told driv ers along the Great Australian Bight with two or three trail ers, may not even see the last trailer in the left hand mir ror, with the wind pushing it across the road. With this

THE REASON WE FITTED THE ATLAS BALANCE RINGS FROM NEW WAS BECAUSE OF THE RISING PRICE OF TYRES AND FUEL.

WE WANTED THE TRUCK RUNNING AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE WITH LESS WEAR AND TEAR.”

DAN MURPHY

sort of work, the trailer tyres will wear and tear in a certain direction. Often with city work; braking, reversing and short sharp turns; the steer tyres may wear more.

Singing with the choir: 46 wheels working together Dan Murphy of Deke cat, drives through Central Queensland; Moranbah, Glen don, Dingo (the birthplace of Broncos halfback Ben Hunt) and Emerald. “The worst is the Beef Road between Dingo and Peak Downs, you’ve got to be on your game there,”

he said. “At night you can see the trailer lights all out of line behind you. This Kenworth T610SAR tracks a lot better. I put it down to the Atlas Bal ance Rings and Hendrickson Air Max Suspension. Seriously you’ve just spent a million dol lars on your rig, what’s a few thousand dollars to keep all 46 wheels working together? Like my dad Marty, I always wanted to be a truck driver, except for the week I was going to be a fire truck operator, and that’s going on for nine years now.

“The reason we fitted the Atlas Balance Rings from new was because of the rising price of tyres and fuel. We wanted the truck running as efficient ly as possible with less wear and tear.

By having 46 wheels work ing together rather than fight ing each other – whether full or empty – it means the engine doesn’t work as hard, and nei ther does your wallet.

Remember, Australian made, Australian owned. It’s Atlas, it’s Balanced! Call 1300 2ATLAS (1300 228 527) Australia and New Zealand.

Atlas Balance Rings for steers and drives.

The T610SAR has been fitted with Atlas Balance Rings, keeping all 46 wheels working together.

Dekecat’s Kenworth T610SAR.

Flow-Easy vibrators enhance driver safety

a common goal to provide quality goods and services to the rural sector in and around the Riverina.

With an impressive 95-

year history, the group now has more than 1500 members across a vast farming region, with branches in Leeton and Griffith in addition to the main office in Yenda.

The philosophy and vision of Yenda Producers is to assist members to continue the de velopment of sustainable rural businesses within the commu nity. The Co-operative pro vides an extensive range of ser vices that includes the supply of chemicals, fertilisers, seeds, fuel and general merchandise – es sentially anything that a farmer requires.

The group has a fleet of tipper trucks that includes sin gle trailers, truck and tractor spreaders and four B-doubles which are used to cart fertiliser and manure. It was the diffi culty drivers were having un loading manure that originally prompted operations manag er Kevin Curran to look at a Flow-Easy vibrator.

Flow-Easy vibrators are dis tributed by Enmin Vibratory Equipment in Braeside, Victo ria. They are designed to speed up the unloading of bulk prod ucts, providing an efficient, safe and controlled load dis

charge. The vibration loosens compacted material, effectively eliminating compacted residual build up – a costly and com mon issue.

“It was one of my drivers that originally alerted me to the fact that the manure was often sticky and would simply not move. The only way to get it moving was to repeatedly bang on the side – both risky and time consuming. My driver had heard of Flow-Easy vibrators which were the impetus for me to look into it,” Curran said.

Enmin provided Yenda with a unit on a trial basis – the trial proved the value of the vibra tor, particularly in relation to OH&S. “The vibrator saved a lot of time unloading thereby improving our productivity,

but the real attrac tion of the unit was the safety aspect,” said Curran.

Following on from the success of the trial, Yenda pur chased and fitted vibrators to all of their trailers. “The Flow-Easy vibrators have certainly proven to be a worthwhile investment,” Curran added.

The vibrators also allow for a lower elevation height, mi nimising the chance of over turning – further improving driver and truck safety. Other benefits include lower fuel and maintenance costs and reduced wear and tear on the truck and trailer.

The Flow-Easy range in cludes 12 and 24 volt electric vibrators along with hydraulic and pneumatically powered options. Some transport ap plications require vibration to be applied for an extended amount of time, a scenario where the design characteris tics of the hydraulic and pneu matic models come into their own. If required, they can be run continuously, rather than

The Flow-Easy vibrator was implemented to help with issues drivers were having with unloading manure.

the more generally utilised intermittent operation of the electric models.

“The Flow-Easy vibrators are easy to install and only require minimal modification to the trailer body, making them a simple, low cost addi tion that provides a number of benefits. These include in creased health and safety for our drivers and a reduction in the risk of a OH&S incident when carting. So we look at it as ‘cheap insurance’ in this area,” Curran added.

“As we update our truck and trailer fleet we will be removing the vibrators from the existing trailers and installing them on the new units,” added Curran.

BASED in the small town of Yenda near Griffith, the Yenda Producers Co-operative Society is part of the Yenda Group, whose businesses share

Businesses in the Yenda Producers Co-operative Society share a common goal to

services to the rural sector in and around the Riverina.

THE VIBRATOR SAVED A LOT OF TIME UNLOADING THEREBY IMPROVING OUR PRODUCTIVITY, BUT THE REAL ATTRACTION OF THE UNIT WAS THE SAFETY ASPECT.” KEVIN CURRAN

A trusted name in trailer rentals KEITH CleenSweep proves to be a winner

WITH close to 40 years in the trailer rentals game, Semi Trailer Rentals in Queensland knows trailers and it knows them well.

Started by Ross McArthur in Rocklea in 1985, with just five trailers, the business has grown organically to offer a broad mix of over 50 high quality trailers for short or long term hire.

Still family owned and op erated, it was taken over by his nephew and current managing director David Portas in 2007. Prior to that, Portas had been managing the company for five years.

Semi Trailer Rentals of fers tautliners, flat tops, drop decks, skels, road train dollies, extendable flat tops and drop decks, and B-double tautliners and flat tops.

Since 2013, a second Semi Trailer Rentals business was formed to service the north side of Brisbane, with a branch opened up in the suburb of Pinkenba in Brisbane, with Matthew Carew at the helm.

“There was an opportunity to open up in the north side of Brisbane because we realised there was a gap in that area for trailer rentals. It means we can provide for businesses from Ca boolture and further north, pre venting them from having to come through the city of Bris bane to get to us,” said Portas.

Both Portas and Carew have strong product knowledge so they can provide the best advice on the right equipment for the tasks required.

Semi Trailer Rentals’ pre ferred trailer supplier is fellow Rocklea business Haulmark Trailers. “There’s a longstand ing relationship with Haulmark Trailers that was started by my uncle over 20 years ago. We’ve stuck with Haulmark because

they provide a premium prod uct and I’d rather have a pre mium product in the fleet that can go on to service our cus tomers for the next 20 years,” explained Portas.

“We do buy some sec ond-hand equipment but Haulmark’s trailers are the only ones I purchase new. And when it comes to new equipment, I follow the lead of the salesper son at Haulmark.”

From one family business to another, Portas says that the majority of his customers are small to medium family owned transport businesses.

“We’re still servicing the same type of transport opera tor we were in the beginning, which are small to medium family businesses, who make a living out of general freight, civ il engineering, steel and timber cartage. We’re also servicing the mining and agricultural sectors of the economy.

“The businesses we’re servic ing have changed, but the types of family owned companies we cater to are still similar in na ture. There are many current customers who’ve been with us for over 10 years.”

Portas says he’s developed a

very trusting relationship with his customers too. “And it has to be that way,” he said. “We pride ourselves on our avail ability and contactability – I never turn the phone off. We can also offer flexibility on rates, dependent on the length of the hire term.”

Many of Semi Trailer Rent als’ customers choose to hire equipment from the business to cater to various contracts.

“If the contract terms of our customers is short enough to dictate that purchases aren’t the most cost effective option, then it makes sense to hire instead of buy. When it comes to trans port contracts, while a new trailer could be manufactured and purchased by our cus tomers, the capital outlay is so significant that it makes more sense to hire what’s needed for a specified period of time.”

Semi Trailer Rentals cur rently has four B-double sets available for hire and says these units have been in high de mand – even through the un predictable Covid period. As a result, Portas is expanding the hire fleet with another B-dou ble set that is due for delivery this year.

OPERATING three road trains with the KEITH CleenSweep system, Beggs Bulk is enjoying impressive gains in efficiency.

“When you empty the trailers out, there’s no prod uct left inside, so you don’t need to sweep it out. Having the CleenSweep system saves about an hour in cleaning time every trip,” explained Beggs Bulk general manager Ken Beggs.

CleenSweep is a lightweight tarp system, recommended for bulk materials. It eliminates the need for a broom or man ual tarp.

Used in conjunction with a KEITH Walking Floor self-unloading system, the CleenSweep tarp system ‘sweeps’ out residual materi al as the trailer unloads. The CleenSweep tarp is powered by a winch system and extends down the inside of the trailer, with the load resting on the top of the tarp.

As the Walking Floor sys tem unloads the trailer, the weight of the material pulls the tarp along the floor, cleaning as it goes. It retracts at the push of a button.

Beggs Bulk runs a fleet of five trucks, specialising in com modities transport for the cat tle and feedlot industry, carting out of SA and into southern Queensland; with cotton seed carried on the return leg.

Beggs, 70, has two of his own KEITH Walking Floor

road trains with CleenSweep systems, with his sons Craig and Mark working alongside him.

“I also have a sub-contrac tor that trades under the name ComSpread. He’s been with me several years and is inte gral to the business. He has two AB-triples, and a KEITH Walking Floor road train that’s dedicated to my business, as well as a third AB-triple that is sometimes used to help out.”

Beggs started in trucks when he was 18 but gave it up for a long while before coming back into the game 15 years ago. It was supposed to be a semi-retirement job, but hasn’t turned out that way.

“The business has grown tenfold in the last few years. It was getting too hard running the business from behind the steering wheel, so now I do one week of driving and two

weeks at home,” he said.

The Walking Floor road trains average 18,00020,000km a month. “I had AB-triples for many years and slowly morphed into this par ticular work I’m doing now. I knew Walking Floor systems would be the best option for the job. The first set of KEITH Walking Floor unloaders I bought was magnificent, so I bought a second set. They were doing so well that my subbie bought a road train set too – so now there are three sets of Thin Wall trailers with KEITH Walking Floor systems in them,” added Beggs.

“Previously I was using tippers, but now with the Walking Floor systems, there’s less work involved – and I’ve picked up work as a result of having them, because they can back into sheds that were inac cessible to the tippers.”

Semi Trailer Rentals purchases high quality trailers that

go

its customers for the next 20 years.

Beggs Bulk general manager Ken Beggs.

The KEITH CleenSweep system has given the business huge efficiency gains.

WITH TRAIL-LINK be coming a widely known name in the air and elec trical connector markets, the company has recently focused its efforts on mov ing into the more technical aspect of truck and trailer wiring.

The brand’s offerings for well-known brands like Mercedes-Benz and Fuso have broadened to include wiring componentry behind the cab and down the truck body, such as extensions for tippers, and conversions for multi-volt trucks.

Leaning on its decades of global experience and expertise, TRAIL-LINK provides a helpful offering which works alongside lead ing brands to provide smart solutions to wiring.

A premium Victorian tipper manufacturer, Gipps land Body Builders, has re cently delved into TRAILLINK’s “plug-and-play” wiring looms, shaving hun

TO COMPLETE THE OFFERING OF WIRING LOOMS, TRAIL-LINK HAS REFINED ITS SELECTION OF HIGH QUALITY AND INNOVATIVE LIGHTS TO INCLUDE SIDE MARKER LAMPS, INTUITIVE AND SMART TAIL-LAMPS, NUMBER PLATE LAMPS AND BUZZERS: A FULL UNDER-CHASSIS WIRING AND LIGHTS SOLUTION.”

versal connectors at the front and rear of the loom allow for any number of variations to the cable lengths under the chassis.

TRAIL-LINK makes inline joining of lights as easy as “click-and-connected”. No splicing or dicing is re quired as “click and con

LINK has refined its se lection of high quality and innovative lights to include side marker lamps, intuitive and smart tail-lamps, num ber plate lamps and buzzers: a full under-chassis wiring and lights solution.

Pre-delivery of new trucks has also been stream

An individualised kit comprising of air, electri cal and EBS coils and their sockets and connectors is supplied to dealerships to make it affordable and easy to fit coils to customers who demand the premium brand fitted on their fleet.

Dealerships can deliv

Pre-delivery of new trucks is also streamlined with complete predelivery kits built and supplied by TRAIL-LINK.

How data can reduce costs and improve resilience

IN 2022, businesses in ev ery industry are feeling the pinch, and the trucking in dustry is no exception. Even with the reinstatement of the fuel tax credit from Sep tember 29, with the full fuel excise also back on from that date, many operators will continue to be impacted by the financial burden caused by fuel costs.

While government assis

tance is critical, the situation offers an opportunity to as sess the costs you can control as a driver and reduce spend ing. It may seem daunting, but having access to relevant data and insights can make the task significantly easier.

Data-based insights from telematics and fleet manage ment platforms enable you to pinpoint issues and create a plan to tackle any problems.

Automating vehicle main tenance

When you’re on the road day in and day out, vehicle main tenance is likely not front of mind. A poorly maintained ve hicle can burn through exces sive fuel, reduce the longevity of parts, and cause unexpected breakdowns – costing you time and money on a very expensive asset that your business relies on. Keeping essential vehicles and

their parts in good condition can help to reduce costs and avoid unscheduled time off the road. Predictive maintenance tools make it easy. The digi tised systems keep record of current and historical data to help you identify what needs maintenance and what needs to be scheduled in. You’ll re ceive alerts if something needs attention, so you can focus on the road rather than worrying about the condition of your vehicle.

With the use of electronic forms and pre-trip inspection checklists completed by the driver, the information is sent in real-time to the office. If the check reveals a problem, you can address the issue before the vehicle leaves the yard or parts can be ordered instantly and fixed upon return if you’re already on the road, reducing delays. After all, you may not even realise something has gone wrong and drivers often aren’t mechanics.

Assess your driving habits

With your vehicle maintenance taken care of, considering driv ing habits is the next step. As a driver, that’s the single biggest

thing within your control, and inefficient driving habits can guzzle up fuel very quickly.

While eliminating excess ki lometres is important, how you drive is even more so. If you’re regularly engaging in driving behaviours like harsh braking or speeding, even excessive idle, you’ll use more fuel. Fre quent rapid acceleration and harsh braking can increase fuel consumption by 40 per cent.

AI-enabled technology like the Smart Dashcam can help by providing real-time alerts direct to the driver. The alerts allow you as a driver to correct

your driving instantly, saving money while protecting you and the community when you’re behind the wheel.

Control what you can Being able to better control what you can is important – and having access to data makes it easier to know what you can improve and help you make better decisions on the road. By better understanding your driving behaviours and the vehicle, you can help to reduce costs and stay resilient, regardless of what’s around the bend.

SMART DASHCAM

A new approach to reduce risk by using video AI to protect your drivers

Video AI uses in-built sensors to provide real-time insights into behaviours via audible alerts to the driver.

Digitised coaching & training via a dedicated driver app to help focus on improving performance.

Create a balanced program that rewards positive actions and communicates areas for improvement.

Helps to reduce costs through improved behaviour by managing areas of harsh usage and efficiency.

Predictive maintenance tools make it easy to keep essential vehicles and their parts in good condition.

Inefficient driving habits can guzzle up fuel very quickly.

Alcoa turning the wheels to increased payloads

WHEN higher payloads equate to higher returns on each trip, it pays to choose weight saving options that don’t compromise on quality, wherever possible, right down to the wheels.

For Brisbane based trailer manufacturer, Robuk Engi neering, custom built, low tare weight aluminium trailers are its specialty – catering to the bulk haulage market. “Tare weight is critical for us, hence the reason we use Alcoa,” said Robuk managing director James Yerbury, adding that the Alcoa Dura-Bright is the wheel of choice.

As Yerbury explained, the payload gains achieved are im pressive. “Dura-Bright wheels are 5kg lighter per rim. On a PBS A-double you can save almost 200kg on the com bination’s tare weight just by using these Alcoa rims. On an AB-triple, you’re looking at 240kg in weight savings, which is incredible.”

Based in the suburb of Hemmant, Robuk was start ed by Yerbury in June 2020.

Working for a fellow trailer builder, he began his career in the trailer industry on the production side, before pro gressing into drafting and engineering roles, and then finally taking on the posi tion of managing director at a well-known Queensland trailer builder. Eventually the time felt right to go out on his own, and with that, Robuk was born.

Starting out with just three staff living in a tiny shed in rural Queensland, in a very short period of time, Robuk has experienced solid growth and now employs 46 peo ple. “We’ve just had our best month ever and are continu ously hitting our production targets,” said Yerbury.

“An aluminium tipper can be anywhere from a tonne lighter compared to a steel bodied tipper. Our custom ers enjoy looking after their gear, and invest in spectacu lar prime movers, and it’s an absolute treat to manufacture premium quality trailers to make the entire combinations

amazing. Along with using Alcoa rims, to keep our tare weights to a minimum we use high-end materials including 700 grade steel chassis and then it’s down to the design and engineering that keeps the weight down,” Yerbury added.

“All of our trailers are ful ly custom built – every sin gle one. So, we’re not going through a production line and putting together pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. We invest in using the best products, taking the time to build our trailers correctly, and ensuring everything is complete with absolute precision. That goes right down to our choice of suppliers.”

Robuk has been specifying Alcoa wheels since the begin ning, though management have developed lasting rela tionships with Alcoa through previous roles, which extend over a decade. “It’s great work ing with suppliers like Alcoa who invest in new materials and being at the forefront of new technologies.”

According to Yerbury, Alcoa’s product quality is equally matched by the ex perience and aftersales service it provides. “Alcoa is great at always thinking ahead and always looking at ways to de liver better and lighter wheels. The useability, sustainability and visibility of Alcoa rims set them apart,” he said.

“Our trailers are predom inantly servicing the grain industry, which is having an other great season. Payloads are the money maker, so tare weight is critical – and up to 240kg in tare weight savings, just from the rims, goes a really long way.”

Using Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels can save up to 240kg in tare weight on some of Robuk’s largest combinations.

The bulk haulage industry is Robuk’s biggest market.

Increasing tyre life with Centramatic balance rings

IN today’s trucking industry, the more trailers or freight you can haul means more payload, which can increase your profitability.

It also creates more wheels on the ground, which can lead to increased downtime for repairs and maintenance of tyres and suspension relat ed issues, which eat into your bottom-line costs.

One solution consists of automatic balance rings, which mount onto wheels to continuously balance the tyre and wheel assembly while you drive. Centramatic sales manager Bruce S Reilly Jnr explains that they work by utilising centrifugal force and deflection to automatically distribute moveable weights precisely where needed, to re move imbalance in wheel and brake assembly.

By fitting Centramatic balance rings to your trail er wheels, you will benefit, on average, in a 35 per cent increase in tyre life, improve fuel consumption by between 1-3 per cent and up to 5 per cent on some long haul oper ations, further extend suspen sion life, reduce damaging

vibrations to sensitive freight and livestock, and have less downtime rotating and re placing tyres.

These benefits add up and prosper from a typical non-balanced wheel to op timally automatically bal anced wheel/hub assembly in eliminating the extra road frictional resistance and tyre heat associated with the un balanced wheels pounding ef fect, creating a smoother and cooler running tyre taking less horsepower to pull the

trailer at constant speed, so using less fuel. Additionally, the cooler tyre wears slower, giving increased tyre life.

Centramatic trailer bal ancers are a once-off pur chase, and the most cost effective, as one pair of high capacity balancers does four wheels by fitting a single balancer between the dual wheels.

Centramatic balancers are made for most wheel sizes from 15” floats to 17.5” low loaders to 19” and 22.5” rims

with most typical stud pat terns available from five to eight stud and differing 10 stud Euro and US patterns.

Unlike products that need to be replenished or replaced as they are used, Centramat ic balancers offer consistent benefits and savings that add up to a massive amount over the trailers’ life compared to their initial cost. There has never been a more cost-effec tive solution.

Centramatic Balance Rings have over two million

users worldwide. They have been sold and proven over a period of 25 years on heavy vehicles in Australia and have a life expectancy exceeding 3 million kilometres.

Many operators who are currently using Centramatic’s steer balancers and seeing the results are now implement ing, fitting or trialling trailer balancers too – realising the same or greater benefits from their trailer wheels.

Centramatic is supplying some operator’s trailer bal ancers directly to the trailer manufacturer as they can build the cost into the initial purchase of a new trailer or lease and it is more cost ef fective than buying later for an additional cost. There are

some trailer manufacturers which are also offering to include Centramatic Bal ance Rings as an option in the build price as they also benefit from lower running cost trailers, and a happier customer, with the vision of repeated business and less complaints.

Centramatic trailer bal ancers have the highest ca pacity counterbalance in the industry. As an example, its 22.5” balancers have approx imately 750 grams/26 ounces of movable weight together with the largest cooling sur face area, which is approxi mately five times the capacity of any competitor’s product that is sold for the same price or slightly more.

Centramatic explained

Many trailer manufacturers are now offering Centramatic Balance Rings as an option.

These automatic balance rings mount onto the wheels to continuously balance the tyre and wheel assembly while you drive.

Make your trailers look great with the LELOX range

LELOX prides itself on effi ciency and customer service. With local Australian manu facturing comes the ability to pivot to any number of needs. Ultimately, this means LELOX is the perfect partner for trailer owners and builders.

One of the main products for trailers is the quarter mud guard. LELOX has provided trailer builders such as Mus cat Trailers and Sloanebuilt with stainless steel and alu minium quarter mudguards for decades. These products can be customised to suit the customer needs and aid the efficiency of fitment. Quar ter mudguards can be prepunched with bracket holes. This negates the need to drill the mudguards onsite, drasti cally reducing fitment time, in turn, increasing uptime.

Quick Release Mudflap Clamp and

In the range of quarter mudguards there is now the 500mm long option as op posed to the standard 700mm long version, which has be come incredibly popular in recent times.

brackets are the pinnacle of strength in the marketplace.

Release Mudflap Clamp and Coverstrip

LELOX also manufactures mounting accessories for trail ers. LELOX’s straight chas sis pipes and cast aluminium

The chassis pipes and cast brackets are made at the inhouse foundry at LELOX head office in Western Sydney. Hav ing an in-house foundry means quality is always stringently controlled and managed.

Straight chassis pipes come

with a galvanised pipe or a full 304 grade stainless steel pipe with high polish – adding that extra bit of shine to any trailer. LELOX also provides subplates that can be welded to trailers. These allow easy fitting of straight chassis pipes as all holes line up and are predrilled and tapped.

Quick Release Mudflap Clamp

But the LELOX range doesn’t stop there. There is also spray suppressant prod ucts in varying thicknesses, cut to length and with flexi ble and rigid backing. There are chromed pipelight hold ers that fit easily in the end of LELOX chassis pipes to allow fitting of lights.

When LELOX diversified into including a gasket and seals division under its cor porate umbrella, the ability to CNC cut intricate rubber products became possible. This meant existing customers can now utilise this service by re questing thick insertion and conveyor belt rubber be cut

into mud protection and de flection pieces.

This diversification has al lowed LELOX to tap into dif ferent market segments, such as off road and mining. LELOX stocks a wide range of rubber with varying thicknesses. The rubber is CNC waterjet cut to ensure accuracy is high.

Quick Release Mudflap Clamp

backing plate, vibration dampeners, nuts and bolts

Coverstrip

Install and remove mudflaps in under a minute without the need for tools!

Mudflaps remain stable and secure under normal operation

Quick Release Mudflap Clamp and Coverstrip

Quick Release

If the functionality of the quick release clamp is not needed but you still want to make your truck look great, fit LELOX's coverstrip!

Mudflaps will release when sufficient tension is applied

Use with a loop kit or on its own!

No moving parts to be seized up by mud and debris

No modifications required to mudguards and chassis setup for fitment*

Product includes backing plate, vibration dampeners, nuts and bolts

Coverstrip

the functionality of the quick release clamp is not needed but you still want make your truck look great, fit LELOX's coverstrip! with a loop kit or on its own!

MFCSPLMFCSSS

QRMFCPL

damage to your mudflaps

off your mudguards with this tough new look

and remove mudflaps in a few minutes

remain stable and secure under normal operation

will release when sufficient tension is applied

moving parts to be seized up by mud and debris

modifications required to mudguards and chassis setup for fitment*

includes backing plate, vibration dampeners, nuts and bolts

Coverstrip

If the functionality of the quick release clamp is not needed but you still want to make your truck look great, fit LELOX’s coverstrip!

with a loop kit or on its own!

Available to suit stainless steel and plastic mudguards

Available to suit stainless steel and plastic mudguards

Mudflap and reflectors not included

*Mudguards require drilling for fitment

Mudflap and reflectors not included

*Mudguards require drilling for fitment

LELOX has provided trailer builders such as Muscat Trailers and Sloanebuilt with stainless steel and aluminium quarter mudguards for decades.

issues before they become a problem

out so we could remove the load and pressure from the dam aged dolly. It meant we could have the dolly repaired before it resulted in a full failure or full axle replacement. We were able to bring that dolly into the workshop and have it repaired without causing too many ma jor dramas.

“It’s an easy system to work with and identify where issues may occur. If the system reports an issue somewhere, it’s usually easily identified and repaired with interchangeable parts.”

WITH a history that dates back to the 1950s, the family owned and operated Woods Group ser vices Australia’s agricultural in dustry, including farming, pro duction through to transport.

Woods Transport is one of six businesses within the group. Its main operations are centred around container movements to port for export and stock feed delivery into feedlots, servic ing southern Queensland and northern NSW.

Depots are located in Goondiwindi, Toowoomba and Brisbane; and the sizeable fleet is made up of 40 prime movers

and over 100 trailers.

Since 2016, Woods Trans port has used LSM TyreGuard with integrated Tyre Moni toring Systems (TMSystem) across much of its fleet of prime movers, A-doubles and AB-tri ple road trains and container loaders.

“It’s been fitted across our road trains and stock feed trail ers. The system enables us to identify potential issues and problems prior to them be coming major. LSM TyreGuard can help prevent things like flat tyres causing blow outs, any thing causing added friction

from a misaligned or broken axle, brake lock-up and failed brake boosters, to a fire in axle hubs,” explained Woods Trans port compliance manager Anne Lipp.

“It’s all about prevention and being able to monitor and iden tify issues so you’re not having costly breakdowns, equipment damage, delays or time off the road.”

The LSM FSM Fleet Safety & Tracking Manager enables remote tyre monitoring, pro viding the dispatch team with online alerts, analysis and re porting data, and fast and accu

rate tyre management informa tion, helping the team to ensure compliance.

The LSM TyreGuard MTR360 Multi-Trailer Com bination TMSystem is fitted to Woods Transport’s road train fleet. While the LSM TyreGuard CE360 Heavy Machine TMSystems is also fitted to numerous container loaders too.

The system provides track ing and live monitoring. “You can actually monitor the pres sures and temperatures from your computer in the office, as well as the driver seeing it all on

the display screen in their prime mover. We have text and email set up so the system can send an alert whenever it identifies a problem. As well as identify ing the truck, it also tells us the wheel position the problem re lates to,” said Lipp.

She added that quite recent ly, the system came into its own, avoiding what could have oth erwise been a costly problem.

“A high temperature alert came through for the dolly and the driver received an alert in the cabin. He pulled over to check the axle hub and we were able to take a spare piece of equipment

LSM also offers the Ty reGuard Smartlink Tool/Tab let, an offline tool for manual inspections, programming, maintenance and off-line stor age and analysis of tyre pressure and temperature data, especially where telemetry is not available.

In addition to the usability and convenience of its systems, LSM Technologies also prides itself on its high levels of cus tomer service too.

Lipp added, “LSM Technol ogies have been very good to deal with. They offer great ser vice, including providing train ing to people on site, as well as technicians to help us under stand the system if required.”

LSM TyreGuard with TMSystem if fitted across much of the Woods fleet of prime movers, A-doubles and AB-triple road trains and container loaders.

Woods Transport’s

movements

Truckin’

Mal Wyton

VETERAN owner-operator Mal Wyton from the small sleepy hamlet of outback Muttaburra is committed to the road transport industry in the outback and also has a share with two other truckies in the local hotel.

Wyton is aged 65 and drives a 2003 Kenworth 904 powered by a 620hp motor and with an 18-speed Road Ranger gearbox.

Muttaburra is 650km from coastal Townsville and 210km from Hughenden. A lot of the nearby roads are dirt.

“I transport cattle as far away as Brisbane, Rockhamp ton, Oakey, Townsville, and anywhere in between, mainly from stations to meatworks and feedlots, and some for live export. Muttaburra is located in the centre of Queensland,” he told Big Rigs.

Wyton, his wife Sue and road transport industry cou ples Ken and Pam Midson, Fiona and Peter Turnbull have purchased the Muttaburra Exchange Hotel.

“Ken and Pam are from Tasmania and come up here for around three months of the year. Peter, Ken and I each have trucks. We get a lot of passing through drivers stop at the pub for a meal,” he said.

In The Tropics

The partners have built a truckie’s shed and bar out the back of the pub with a great barbecue.

But they have so far resist ed any temptation to follow the lead of the Exchange Ho tel at Coen in the Far North, where somebody climbed into the roof and wrote a large ‘S’ at the beginning of

the watering hole’s title.

Born at Toowoomba, Wy ton arrived in Muttaburra with his family at age 10 and loves the outback life, where the people are friendly.

“My dad Doug originally purchased the business,” he said.

The road transport indus try has been a genuine family

affair for Wyton whose broth er Gordon had owned Bris bane based G&D Partners which ran 40 trucks.

“His sons Michael and Troy took it over and they now have two depots. Mi chael does a western run to Mt Isa and Troy mainly local and container work,” he said.

Muttaburra is one of the

outback places where alleged sightings of the Min Min Light are reported from time to time.

Whilst many are skeptical about its existence, Wyton said he knows it does exist.

“I saw it once when I was young, and it was a huge ball of light which passed near me when I opened a gate to

a property. Then it disap peared,” he said.

Wyton likes stopping at the Morven Roadhouse be side the Warrego Highway and 250km west of Brisbane when in that area.

As for the worst road he gets along, Wyton had this to say: “Roads are what you make them,” he said.

with Alf Wilson

Mal Wyton, his wife Sue and road transport industry couples Ken and Pam Midson, and Fiona and Peter Turnbull have purchased the Muttaburra Exchange Hotel.

Wyton drives a 2003 Kenworth 904 powered by a 620hp motor and with an 18-speed Road Ranger gearbox.

Truckie caught in heated exchange at SA roadhouse

Angry response

A very angry South Austra lian based owner-operator phoned Spy last week about an unfortunate incident at a roadhouse parking area in which he claims himself and some truck drivers were de scribed as “druggies”.

The middle-aged man is known to Spy, having re ceived info about other mat ters previously from him, which had been accurate.

He was having an en forced break at the interstate roadhouse and took several tablets out of a bag and swal lowed them.

Soon after the truckie said he heard a woman, who was a passenger in a nearby vehi cle pulling a caravan, yell out to him, “Now I know why truck drivers kill so many people on the road because many take illegal drugs.”

Naturally the driver gave her a return serve and the grey nomad’s husband was soon on the scene getting involved.

The van couple threat ened to call the police and our driver said he would wel come that.

However, the grey no mads soon beat a hasty and somewhat embarrassed re treat when they heard the driver’s response.

“One was a blood pres sure tablet and the other to treat anxiety and I have doc tor’s prescriptions in the bag for both.”

Unrest at places of rest

Reports continue to reach Spy of unrest between truck ies and van drivers at rest ar eas around the country.

Most truckies will tell you there is not enough suitable rest areas for truckies which have acceptable facilities.

It makes it even worse when the ones that exist are often taken over by vans.

Particularly in the case when it’s a rest area designat ed for trucks only.

A veteran Victorian driv er said he pulled up for the

night at one and was asked by a nearby van driver if he could turn off his refrigerat ed trailer.

“It is keeping me awake,” the van man said.

They exchanged words and the van ended up mov ing on but incidences like this are becoming more and more common.

Especially cases where vans park in a manner where they take up several spaces which are supposed to be for trucks.

Lonely road for tyre change

Along a lonely section of road, a truckie is hard at work changing a front tyre on his Kenworth.

There is little chance of anybody coming along to help, and even if they did, there would be no certainty that any assistance would be offered.

His cowboy hat could be clearly seen on the truck dashboard by several ladies who drove past just before dusk.

They would have had no chance to help him as they were already late for a party.

Some of the stretch of highway out to Muttaburra where this occurred is dirt, which increases the risk of tyre damage.

Postage trucks active

Some learned truckies were at a roadhouse eatery offer ing their opinion on the cost of postage stamps rising due to less letters being sent be cause of emails.

They were all suggesting

that less postmen or wom en were operating and that in many areas they delivered three days a week instead of five.

So when Spy was having a day off I saw my postie doing his delivery up my street and asked him about the subject.

“We do deliver less let ters but heaps more parcels because of eBay sales. There would still be lots of Austra lia Post trucks on the high ways,” he said.

This lad was riding a big ger motorbike with extra space for parcels.

Decent cop

When a truckie was pulled over by cops last week at Jamestown in SA he grabbed his log book ready to present it to the officer.

“What minor thing are they going to nab me for now,” he thought.

Much to his surprise the lady cop said he would not require the book and had just stopped him to advise a light on a trailer was not working.

“She just said to get it fixed as soon as possible and I was soon on my way. But she could have tried to get me for some minor offence and didn’t. She was a decent cop,” he said.

Dumbleyung Roadhouse

WA

For the past nine years Rick Noble and his wife Vicky have run the Dumbleyung Roadhouse in WA which has been a popular stop off for truck drivers.

Situated 271km south-

east of Perth via the Al bany Highway and the Wagin-Dumbleyung Road (38km east of Wagin), Dumbleyung is a small Wheatbelt town and Rick estimates an average of 50 truckies a day pull up there.

“We have trucks travelling from Queensland to Bun bury Port and others with general freight and cattle and horses. We look after the drivers,” Rick said.

There is plenty of park ing, showers for drivers and good food to select from.

“The steak burgers and onion burgers are favourites of the truck drivers,” Rick said.

I phoned Rick on Septem ber 7 when their field days were being run nearby.

“It is very busy here with people from the field days dropping in. We open dai ly from 6am to 6pm,” Rick said.

The couple live in a resi dence just near the roadhouse and in cold weather drivers will have a yarn to the couple

around a campfire.

The region became world famous on New Year’s Eve of 1964 when British speed ace, Donald Campbell, set the world water speed re cord when he raced his boat Bluebird across Lake Dumb leyung at 444.66 km/h (276.3 mph).

Fishing adventure set backs

It was reported in a recent Spy column that a group of NSW drivers travelled to the Gulf of Carpentaria area of the far north for their annual fishing adventure.

The Wollongong and Newcastle lads have been making the long journey for most of the past 10 years and travel in two 4WD vehicles with small aluminium din ghies tied to the roofs.

It was supposed to be a two-week trip and back home colleagues and friends waited in anticipation for a promised fish or mud crab.

But alas that never eventu ated and the trip was plagued with setbacks which resulted in them leaving camp after four days.

“Rain started and we were concerned we would get stuck up there with most of the roads being dirt. And one of the fridges broke down,” one said.

Even one of the dinghies, referred to as the Titanic, needed repairs.

The only species of fish caught were cod which aren’t all that tantalising to the lads’ taste buds.

They reckon the cod

fillets they ended up with would have cost $200 per kg when all of the trip outlays were taken into account.

A cow and crocodiles

When Spy overheard two drivers yarning about a cow and saltwater crocodiles the other day, I immediately thought that a reptile may have had a feed of beef.

Could a cow have wan dered too close to one of the saltwater infested creeks in the Innisfail area and ended up in the jaws of the saurian?

As the conversation con tinued, I discovered that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Actually, a cow had wan dered onto a road near the Flying Fish Point Crocodile Farm in north Queensland.

A radio station reported that as a warning to motor ists about stock on the un fenced road.

Lady with a camera

If you are a truckie who pulls up at some remote location and are asked if a young lady with a camera can snap your pic, it will probably be my daughter Joanne.

Like myself, Joey as she is known, has a passion for capturing truck pics and yarning to drivers.

She gets around to many areas and recently travelled to the outback races at Tower Hill.

On the way back she got some pics of road trains parked outside the Torrens Creek Hotel which gets lots of truckies stopping there.

SPY ON THE ROAD WITH ALF WILSON

The Muttaburra Shop and Fuel service station.

A truckie prepares to change a tyre just before dusk in the outback.

A light rig carrying Australia Post mail in NSW.

Dumbleyung Roadhouse in WA.

Spy’s daughter Joey Wilson at Torrens Creek along the Flinders Highway.

SA court decision could have national implications

ensure, “so far is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its workers, and of other persons”.

WORKPLACE SPECIALIST LIAM FRASER Law Partner, Kingston Reid

A DECISION in the Su preme Court of South Aus tralia under Section 32 of the State’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011 could have national implications for em ployers in the transport and logistics industries.

The case related to the waste management company Cleanaway Operations. In August 2014, one of its vac uum trucks lost control on a steep section of Adelaide’s South Eastern Freeway and collided with other vehicles at high speed at an intersection, killing two people and seri ously injuring two others.

The South Australian Mag istrates Court of South Aus tralia convicted Cleanaway on eight counts of offences. As the Court said in its deci sion, Cleanaway had breached its duties under the Act to

More specifically, the Court found that Cleanaway had failed to ensure the com petency of the driver in se lecting the correct gear while driving a manual truck, par ticularly when descending the freeway. The company was fined $12 million.

Cleanaway appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Although this Court reduced the fine from $12 million to $3 million, it agreed with the lower court’s decision that it was “reason ably practicable” to assess the competence of the driver to drive down the freeway, even considering the driver had a heavy vehicle licence. In his decision, Chief Justice Chris Kourakis said a heavy-vehicle licence ensured “a minimum, but not always sufficient, standard of competency”.

He added that the com pany recognised the need to assess drivers’ competence because it employed a person to assess the competency of new drivers. In this case, the

driver’s competency had been assessed only regarding au tomatic trucks, not manual trucks, even though the abil ity to make appropriate gear changes was an important safeguard against the risk of collision.

In essence, CJ Kourakis dismissed Cleanaway’s appeal to set aside counts one and two because of a failure to ensure driver competence to drive down the freeway in the vacuum truck; and a connec tion between the exposure of the risk and the breach of duty was proven as there were rea sonably practicable measures available to Cleanaway that if adopted, would have materi ally reduced the risk.

So, what does this mean for employers in these industries? First and foremost, the Su preme Court decision means that having the appropriate licence does not demonstrate competence. And, if it applies in transport and logistics, it could also apply to other in dustries that have employees with high-risk licences.

Small businesses, in partic ular, could be particularly vul nerable. It’s probably fair to

assume that most small busi ness employers assume the competence of their operators by them having the appropri ate licence. But based on the South Australian decision, licencing only satisfies a reg ulatory obligation, and em ployers need to take an extra step of actually ensuring their employees are competent.

For large transport and logistics organisations, the requisite systems are likely to be in place. For example, they might have an experi enced operator “shadow” a

new employee. As the Court said, Cleanaway had a system for verifying competence of its drivers. The problem was it was deployed irregularly.

For larger organisations, this may be feasible. For smaller operators, this may be impractical and overtly bur densome. But it is something they will now have to consid er.

Employers outside South Australia also need to sit up and take notice – as I said it could have national impli cations. First, a prosecution

under the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011 could use the South Australian Supreme Court reasoning to apply it to duty holders under the Heavy Ve hicle National Law affecting all heavy vehicle operators.

Second, as a decision in a superior court, other jurisdic tions will undoubtedly look to the Judge’s reasoning around what training and instruction it is reasonably practicable to provided licensed operators. It could be a whole new ball game.

The Supreme Court decision means that having the appropriate licence does not demonstrate competence.

AT a recent industry ‘do’, the topic of conversation turned to possible reasons behind per sistently low numbers of female heavy vehicle drivers.

One fellow cited a lack of clean amenities while another felt personal safety concerns out on the road was another major impediment. Both agreed that until these issues are addressed, female uptake will remain low.

My question to both was: Has anyone actually done a

FEMALE TRUCKIES ARE A RESILIENT, RESOURCEFUL BUNCH WHO TAKE THE DAILY CHALLENGES OF THE JOB IN THEIR STRIDE. WOMEN DON’T SHY AWAY FROM TRUCKING CAREERS BECAUSE OF SUBSTANDARD AMENITIES AND PERSONAL SAFETY ISSUES.

LYNDAL DENNY

Using the same logic, could we assume then that 98 per cent of the truck driver work force is male because men don’t care about filthy amenities and personal safety?

frankly annoy the crap (pardon the pun) out of women. They are essentially perpetuating the stereotype that women are high-maintenance and there fore problematic to employ.

I’ve yet to hear a female diss trucking as a career because of the poor state of amenities or personal safety concerns.

Given the appalling lack of roadside toilets – and in an effort to dispel the ‘amenities myth’ – WiTA recently ran a Facebook post asking the girls to share details of the creative workarounds they come up with out on the road when Mother Nature calls.

It should be noted at this point that while the ‘boys’ are anatomically advantaged when it comes to a quick no-fuss wee, for us gals, things aren’t quite as easy. A thorough reconnais

stun guns!

privacy. Some park their trailers in an ‘S’ shape for greater priva cy while others limit their fluid intake. Some manage their shewees like a boss - while oth ers report getting their heads round ‘going’ standing up is nigh impossible.

One female Argosy driv er over-shared, telling us she opens the steps out and goes in underneath her prime mover using the chassis as a bench for her wipes and phone for light. She can park anywhere and no one can see her. As an added bonus, warm air from the en gine keeps her butt warm on cold days!

Every female remote area driver will tell you she won’t see another soul for hours but as soon as she pulls over to answer the call of nature, the truck stop will invariably morph into

between 9am to 5pm. Sanitary wipes and nose pegs are strong ly recommended for any driver brave enough to use the toilets provided in warehouse areas.

These are the facts and they speak for themselves. Female truckies are a resilient, re sourceful bunch who take the daily challenges of the job in their stride. Women don’t shy

away from trucking careers be cause of sub-standard amenities and personal safety issues.

One final fact to mull over - the appalling lack of clean shower and toilets available to the nation’s truckies in 21st century Australia is a national disgrace, and that’s a problem that needs to be addressed for EVERY driver.

WOMEN IN TRUCKING

LYNDAL DENNY

CEO, Women in Trucking Australia

prime example of a female driver who takes the daily challenges

Industry welcomes new commitment to standards

a few – together in the same room without there being sig nificant points of difference.

RECENTLY, I had the privi lege to attend a unique round table gathering of industry as sociations, trade unions, major transport operators, freight customers and academics, for important discussions ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit.

Wearing my Australian Road Transport Industry Or ganisation (ARTIO) secretary and VTA CEO hats, it was an honour to represent these two key stakeholders on the important issue of minimum standards, and continue our consistent advocacy for a safe, sustainable and fair road trans port industry.

In some ways the roundta ble was an unlikely gathering of traditional opponents and competitors – rarely do you get groups like Queensland Truck ing Association, NatRoad, FBT Transwest, Coles, Woolworths, Uber, Doordash, Linfox, Tolls and the TWU – to name but

EDITOR JAMES GRAHAM james.graham@bigrigs.com.au

But when it comes to attain ing safety, sustainability and fairness in road transport, it’s pleasing that we all had a com mon goal because we under stand these things aren’t mutu ally exclusive, and that they’re vital for Australia’s economic future and the safety of trans port workers and road users.

The pandemic has edu cated Australians about the indispensable nature of road transport supply chains for a functioning society. They now have a better appreciation of the heroic role our industry and its workers have played in recent years.

coalition that emerged from the roundtable is now con structively calling for govern ment action through two key Senate inquiries.

The recommendations of the ‘Without Trucks Australia Stops’ Sterle Report and, fol lowing the recent findings of the Select Committee on Job Security, agreements reached between unions and on de mand platforms, confirm the need for reform for road trans

port gig economy workers.

We’re calling on the govern ment to ensure road transport participants can operate supply chains that are safe, sustainable and viable; provide operators and online aggregators with regulatory certainty, flexibility and a level playing field; and ensure that transport workers appropriately benefit.

To achieve this, the Com monwealth needs to investi gate a range of options, which

may include resourcing an independent body to establish and maintain minimum stan dards by traditional transport operations and emerging gig economy delivery and ride share transport work, pro mote best practice supply and contract chain industry stan dards, resolve disputes, ensure transport workers can access and contribute to an effec tive collective voice; convene specialist industry advisory

groups to provide advice and recommendations; and pro vide appropriate enforcement to ensure standards and objec tives are met.

As I said at the conclusion of the roundtable discussions, transport clients, employers, workers and now even some gig economy disruptors are all call ing for the security of enforce able industry standards, with our unity showing how critical it is for the government to act.

is

However, this appreciation doesn’t change the fact that there are unique challenges facing our sector, from road safety risks with potentially fa tal consequences for workers, through to competitive pres sures that can force transport operators to operate at below cost recovery.

THE

At the same time, the legal framework has not kept pace with changes in the industry including the rise of the on-de mand ‘gig’ economy and new types of work arrangements.

TASSIE TRUCKIN’ JON WALLIS contributors@bigrigs.com.au

The broad, new industry

transparency in spending by government?

our country roads is one too many and it takes a suite of measures to save as many lives as possible, like improving our roadside infrastructure.”

OLSEN

RICHARD OLSEN TWU NSW State Secretary

State Secretary

THE TWU has watched with interest as NSW government ministers faced up to detailed questioning in Budget Esti mates Committees. Ministers and public servants are asked how they are looking after the money entrusted to them by the NSW taxpayer.

Media reports suggest that

LEGAL EAGLE ROWAN KING Principal Lawyer RK Law

there will be delays in govern ment spending on roads. The government is pinning this on the pandemic, but when questioned, the Roads Min ister Natalie Ward was unable to talk about which roadwork would be delayed: “It’s a mat ter for the Treasury.” The pub lic servants apparently have the answer but not shared it with the minister.

The TWU can make some observations on the NSW Government delivery of safety for transport work ers. I note that in August, the NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Sam Farraway said: “One death on

Does that “suite of mea sures” include facilities and rest areas – adequate to suit the needs of all road users in cluding Heavy Vehicle oper ators? We do not know what strategy is in place, there is very little transparency.

In the NSW Freight and Port Strategy, it states: “Truck rest areas are important in managing driver fatigue as well as providing facilities for load adjustment or addressing maintenance issues that can

arise on route. Transport for NSW will continue to iden tify and develop rest areas at strategic locations on major freight routes.”

Can the minister outline what spending has occurred on facilities or amenities that support driver wellbeing and compliance with mandatory rest breaks?

Roads are safer for trans port operators with adequate ly provisioned rest areas that include suitable facilities that provide the separation of trucks and other road users. Good rest areas support driv er wellbeing and their ability to comply with mandatory

rest breaks.

In February of this year, Transport for NSW ran an online survey in the heavy vehicle industry. They were looking to carry out a review of heavy vehicle rest stops across the state road network. I also note that since that survey ran, there has been dead silence from TfNSW.

Perhaps a question that Min isters Natalie Ward and Sam Faraway could answer: what happened, what is their strat egy? Truck drivers need these answers now.

There has been some prog ress; Minister Farraway an nounced upgrades to the Ou

rimbah Rest Area, on the M1 Motorway, with new parking bays for vehicles up to 14.5 meters long. That would fit a caravan behind a 4x4 very nicely. Could the minister outline where he has spent funds upgrading or building an adequate number of new rest areas that are suitable for use by heavy vehicle drivers of semi-trailers that average 19m long or B-doubles that aver age 26m long?

As one driver asked in a comment on the TWU rest area survey: “We are supposed to be professional drivers, but we have inadequate facilities. Where do our taxes go?

VTA COMMENT PETER ANDERSON CEO, Victorian Transport Association

The pandemic has educated Australians about the indispensable nature of road transport supply chains for a functioning society.

TRUCKIN’

launch

TWO Melbourne Isuzu truck dealerships have teamed up to establish their own training academy, with a group of 12 apprentices already over half way through their first year.

The Westar and Patterson Cheney Apprentice Academy was launched in a bid to help curb the rate of apprentice ship dropouts and enhance skills retention.

Westar and Patterson Cheney Truck Group training coordinator Peter Sherry said the response to the academy has been resoundingly pos itive, with over 30 applica tions received for the first 12 apprenticeships positions.

Under the Academy pro gram, apprentices partake in a range of paid work and train ing, and attend TAFE togeth er every two months.

Sherry said the aim was to build a strong camarade rie among the participants to help them feel more commit ted to finishing their appren ticeships.

According to recent find ings by the National Centre for Vocational Education Re search (NCVER), one third of all first-year apprentices and trainees don’t complete

their training.

In its Completion and At trition Rates for Apprentices and Trainees 2021 report, released on August 11, the NCVER revealed that less than half of the apprentice ships begun in Australia in 2017 had been completed.

According to Sherry, the combined dealership initia tive aims to take the bull by the horns to encourage young people to consider a career as a truck mechanic. The group

works with training and gov ernment organisations to reach out to young people who might be interested.

“We actually put some of them into our dealership one or two days a week so they can see whether they like it before they commit,” he said.

Through the Apprentice ship Academy, an apprentice can become a qualified heavy commercial vehicle techni cian or an auto electrician, with training in all areas of

the service and pre-delivery areas.

During the four-year pro gram, apprentices complete a Certificate III in Heavy Com mercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology (AUR31120) or Certificate III in Automo tive Electrical Technology (AUR30320) through the Kangan Institute at the Auto motive Centre of Excellence in Melbourne’s Docklands.

The apprentices also have the opportunity to obtain a forklift licence, first aid qual

ifications, a truck licence, Certificate II Automotive Air Conditioning and Arctic A/C refrigerant handling licence.

To sweeten the deal, every one accepted into the Patter son Cheney Apprenticeship Academy is also given a start er toolkit worth $4000.

“We place the apprentic es in our three dealerships,” Sherry said. “We have five participants in Dandenong, six at Westar in Derrimut and two in Campbellfield, which is now expanding and dou

bling its workshop size.”

The first intake in the Pat terson Cheney Apprentice ship Academy range in age from 16 to their late-20s and include a mix of male and fe male apprentices.

As part of their training, the group visited the Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) head office to watch the final of the Isuzu National Technical Skills Training Competition.

“The opportunity came for them to observe the com petition, to see what goes on and obviously we hope they’d be involved with it one day,” Sherry said.

“It’s also important for them to see the level of pro fessionalism of the IAL guys so they can replicate that in the dealerships.

“It’s not just bringing dirty old trucks into workshops and getting oil changed and get ting themselves dirty as well. There’s quite a lot of nous that goes into diagnosing. Hope fully they can take some hints back to the workshop.”

Patterson Cheney is plan ning another intake of 12 to the Apprenticeship Academy next year, and possibly even a mid-year intake.

The first intake at the Academy ranges in age from 16 to late-20s.

Jamie

RUN WITH RELIABILITY ALUMINIUM WHEELS