DM MAR 2020 by Prime Creative Media

INNOVATION: A PRACTICAL ELECTRIC TRUCK

MARCH/APRIL 2020 $7.50 including GST

RUSSELLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

MUSCLE IN THE BOX BUSINESS RURAL TRUCKING WORKHORSE

TECH KNOW KEEPING IT SAFE: BRAKE OPERATIONS

ISUZU’S NEW FVY DUAL CONTROL

Garbage guts. Carry bigger payloads than the competition. We’re about to make a big splash in trash, because we’ve just launched a new range of dual control trucks. With lower tare weights than similar models from our competitors, these new trucks can carry bigger payloads. Up to 300kgs per trip! Apply that across a fleet and you’ll see huge boosts in efficiency and reduced operating costs. Visit isuzu.com.au/waste

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THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING

he recent disastrous fire season is going to reverberate for some time, both in the Australian psyche, but also through the way we look at many of the issues which we face as a nation, and as a trucking industry. Now is a very apt time to recall the famous words of Bob Dylan, as the Australian people and economy set out to recover from a summer from hell for many regions of the country. The situation may have calmed down from those really dark days around Christmas, but the memory is not going to fade just yet. The shock of the events which played out in states across the country are going to influence the way we think about many topics in the months and years ahead. The subject of climate change, whether you are a denier or not, is going be coloured by the flames of the Australian summer. Down the track, this is going have an impact on the trucking industry on several levels. One of the issues for which trucking needs to prepare is a direct result of climate concerns, some form of carbon pricing. The ill-fated carbon pricing system which arrived in Australia in a diluted form in 2012, but was repealed on July 17 2014, will not return, but something along those lines is more than likely going to appear as Australia, as a whole accepts, the climate crisis argument. Even though it was loudly disparaged as a fudged scheme and a way to wreck the Australian economy, the scheme did have an effect on the power generation industry. In the period when the carbon price was operating, overall emissions from the electricity industry dropped, according to report by the Centre for Climate Economic & Policy at the Australian National University, by 8.2 per cent. Carbon pricing is probably going to return in some form in the future, in fact, many of Australia’s larger corporations have been planning for some form of return since 2014. Their analysts are telling them action on climate change is inevitable. For the trucking industry the concern is what form any new regime will take. Although not the biggest producers of carbon emissions, road transport is clearly pumping a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We are one of the likely targets. The big question will be around just what form any carbon policy would take. The nightmare scenario would be if some form of levy on diesel put up its price in order to force efficiency measures to reduce fuel burn to retain profitability. This would see trucking companies trying to pass on added costs to our customers, something, historically, the trucking industry has struggled with. However, some form of incentive to drive the trucking industry into an even more effective drive to improve fuel economy, would have a beneficial effect for everyone. Recent trends in the truck market have suggested the industry is moving that way already, with brands coming in with new models with much improved fuel economy gaining considerable market share across the board. This change could also reflect some ‘climate change proofing’ by the big corporates. Whatever the fall-out from a disastrous summer, we should be thinking about the topic as an industry right now. Industry needs to have a single policy recommendation ready for when the inevitable discussions begin about the policy levers to reduce carbon, as they are sure to do.

EDITOR

*Based on severity bands obtained using min/max fuel burn categorisations from 9 different American & European OEMs

bptargetneutral.com www.castrol.com.au/severitytest

MAXIMISE YOUR DRAIN INTERVAL MAXIMISE YOUR PROFIT

ISSUE 115

Contents BEING IN THE BOX BUSINESS

For a trucking operator, being in the box business can be a stressful environment to work in, but it can have its rewards for a bit of hard yacka.

30 A RURAL TRUCKING WORKHORSE

46 A PRACTICAL ELECTRIC TRUCK

There is a particular type of truck which is ideal for the kind of transport tasks undertaken in rural areas – a rural trucking workhorse. You need a reliable, long wheelbase 6x4 rigid with enough power to pull a fully loaded truck and trailer, as well as the something which is easy to use and can cope with anything thrown at it.

There has been plenty of hype in the media about the potential of electric trucks, but Diesel went to see and drive a practical electric truck. It may not have all of the high-end super-hightech of the the highly publicised trucks like Tesla or Nikola, but it does have some runs on the board.

50 LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE FOR

RUSSELL’S MUSCLE

One of the key factors in the ongoing success of Queenslandbased Russell Transport is the diversity of its operations. Paul Matthei speaks with Shane Rachow, Supervisor of the company’s Heavy Haulage division, to find out what makes this highly specialised operation tick.

FREIGHTLINER As the world’s largest truck manufacturer, Daimler is going to have a major influence on the future of truck development. Diesel got a chance to question some of its global leadership team to find out their thoughts.

“Seating – on a higher level”

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NEWS AND VIEWS

Isuzu are buying UD, it’s Caravans versus Trucks, there were Australia Day Honours for Trucking Icons, a Scania/Cummins Engine is released, Isuzu and Kenworth are still number one, bushfire fall-out and a few electric trucks are covered in News and Views this issue.

56 ZERO EMISSION TRUCK, NIKOLA TRE Going Global’s European Correspondent, Will Shiers, takes a look at the zero-emission truck, Nikola Tre, and catches up with Nikola’s outspoken CEO, Trevor Milton.

60 USING TRUCK MAINTENANCE DATA FOR COR There has been a change in emphasis of responsibility for those working on the maintenance of truck, in terms of the Chain of Responsibility and operators could be using truck maintenance data for CoR.

64 MERITOR CELEBRATES FIFTY YEARS IN AUSTRALIA As a well-known premium brand in the Australian truck market, Meritor has been supplying the Australian trucking industry since 1970. This year the company is celebrating fifty years of operations in Australia.

70 KEEPING IT SAFE: BRAKE OPERATIONS For what is such an essential part of a well-maintained and safe vehicle, there can often be confusion around brake systems, especially when it comes to mixing brake airlines and park brake operations.

22 A TRUCK WHICH CAN DO THE JOB With the introduction of the Isuzu Freightpack, the truck buyer gets a truck straight off the forecourt – a truck ready for freight distribution. Diesel took one out to see just what is on offer in the package. www.dieselnews.com.au

NEWS & VIEWS

ISUZU TAKING OVER UD TRUCKS

A non-binding Memorandum of Understanding between Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors has been signed with the intent to move towards Isuzu taking over UD Trucks. According to a statement released, the idea is “to form a strategic alliance within commercial vehicles in order to capture the opportunities in the ongoing transformation of the industry”. The first step will be to combine the heavy duty truck businesses of Isuzu Motors and UD Trucks in Japan and across international markets. This will entail transferring ownership of the complete UD Trucks business globally from the Volvo Group to Isuzu Motors. According to Volvo this move should ‘accelerate growth by leveraging greater volumes and complementary capabilities’. There is great

complementarity between the two Groups from both a geographical and product line perspective, with further opportunities to be explored over time. Behind the deal is a a mutual need to prepare for the future technology in the truck industry. For the Volvo Group, the UD brand has always been very much the baby brother to the other two brands, Volvo and Mack, in the business. For Isuzu, as a stand alone truck manufacturer in a world dominated by the larger global groupings, it is an opportunity to tap into the latest technological developments. Volvo’s global electronic architecture will have the effect of bringing the Japanese truck maker onto equal terms with its close competitors Fuso and Hino, which are already part of global corporations and have access to the results of massive research and development budgets. The enterprise value for the complete UD Trucks business is $3.3 billion and will be subject to the final scope of the business transferred and Isuzu Motor’s due diligence. According to Volvo, the transaction is expected to result in a positive impact on the Volvo Group’s operating income of approximately $310 million and increase the Volvo Group’s net cash position by approximately $3.4 billion.

“The Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors have a well-established relationship on medium-duty trucks in Japan based on mutual respect, shared values and win-win spirit,” said Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of the Volvo Group. “We see great potential to extend our cooperation within technology, sales and service as well as other areas going forward, for the benefit of our customers and business partners. “Our UD Trucks colleagues have done a great job to improve performance in recent years and the alliance opens up a great opportunity to continue the successful journey.” The intended strategic alliance between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors will include: Forming a technology partnership, leveraging the parties’ complementary areas of expertise within both well-known and new technologies as well as to create a larger volume base to support necessary, forthcoming technology investments, creating the best long-term conditions for a stronger heavy duty truck business for UD Trucks and Isuzu Motors in Japan and across international markets amd exploring opportunities for even broader and deeper collaboration within the commercial vehicle business across geographical areas and product lines.

ELECTRIC SOLUTION FOR IKEA Queensland transport operator, All Purpose Transport, is now offering an electric solution for Ikea and its other customers, with the introduction of an electric delivery vehicle into the fleet. “The country needs to see more of a shift towards clean energy in our economy as climate change is something impacting us and it’s great to see All Purpose Transport leading the way here,” said Mark Bailey, Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads. All Purpose Transport is a delivery solutions specialist in Queensland Australia, and has been committed to innovation and continuous improvement, with investment in technology, new services and training. The truck is a modified Hino 917 with the SEA-Drive 120a driveline converting it from diesel to electric, and it has a, claimed 200-

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250km range, four-hour charging rate and a three-and-a-half tonne carrying capacity. All Purpose Transport has been partnering with IKEA for 10 years and GM Paul Kahlert said the new electric vehicle would perform up to 15 deliveries a day whilst reducing noise and carbon emissions in Brisbane. All Purpose Transport operates an owner driver model and they have purchased the SEA Hino 917 delivery truck to test the business benefits of running an electric delivery truck and evaluate the positives and negatives. All Purpose Transport plan to offer an electric vehicle leasing scheme as part of a sustainable business model for their owner drivers. The company is aiming for 10 per cent of their Ikea delivery fleet to be allelectric by the end of 2020. “We led the way with workforce development and now we are leading

the way with last mile emission free deliveries,” said Kahlert. “Our goal is to drive social change and focus on helping the environment. We want to be leading the way.” Ikea Australia’s Renea Robson said the launch of the truck was a significant milestone for the company.

NEWS & VIEWS

THE ONGOING WAR BETWEEN CARAVANS AND TRUCKS There is a smidgen of hope in the ongoing war between caravans and trucks, a sliver of light that there may be some initiative to improve the situation and make life for the fatigued truck driver just a little easier. The big issue for trucks is the way caravaners and other travelling tourists will take up vital spots in truck rest areas leaving no space for drivers who have to take their long break to comply with fatigue rules. The facts of the matter are that road authorities built specific areas for truck parking at rest stops and put up signage telling people the area is for trucks to use. The problem arises, especially around the peak holiday periods, when there are lots of caravans on the major highways, who ignore the signage and clog up truck parking bays Transport for NSW has announced that it will be trialling changes to parking in two Pacific Highway rest areas in northern NSW to ensure spaces are available for all drivers to rest and manage their fatigue. Changes will include the enforcement of fines for light vehicles parked in heavy vehicle spaces and four hour timed restrictions for light vehicle drivers. The two rest areas identified by TfNSW are both on the Pacific Highway, the Yelgun rest area, north of Brunswick Heads, and Arrawarra rest area, north of Coffs Harbour. Diesel News can attest from

personal experience to the issues in both these areas when trying to park up a truck for a rest Rest area parking restrictions have been introduced in the two locations and the Acting Director Northern, Vicky Sisson from Transport for NSW said rest areas are provided to improve road safety and reduce the risk of fatigue for all drivers. “Heavy vehicle drivers are required by law to take mandatory rest breaks, and because of their size are limited to where they can travel, so it is important that heavy vehicle drivers are able to access dedicated parking spaces to manage their fatigue,” said Vicky. “Light vehicles (passenger and commercial vehicles less than 12 tonnes) will not be permitted to park in heavy vehicle spaces in these two

locations and penalties will apply. “A four hour parking limit will also be trialled in the general vehicle parking spaces. This time limit allows adequate time for light vehicle motorists to rest. “We want everyone to remember that rest areas are a shared facility, this trial aims to accommodate the needs of all road users and help everyone on the road manage their fatigue. We encourage all drivers to plan their journey and make sure they’re well rested before they head off. For longer trips share the driving if possible, and plan regular breaks. If you need to pull over and rest, a short 15 to 20 minute nap works best,” said Vicky. The trial will run for six months. Monitoring will be carried out and considered as part of any future roll out.

NEWS & VIEWS

HONOURS FOR TWO TRUCKING ICONS When the Australia Day 2020 Honours List was published, there were honours for two trucking icons. Chosen for their service to the road transport industry and to the community, Tom Lindsay and Paul Freestone have both been awarded a medal of the Order of Australia. Tom has had a long history in the transport industry, as a co-founder of Lindsay Brothers Transport (now part of Lindsay Australia) in 1953, and as a member of the Long Distance Road Transport Association (now NatRoad) since 1964. He was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall of Fame in 2003, the Queensland Road Transport Legends Hall of Fame in 2013, and the National Road Transport Hall of Fame as an Industry

Icon in 2019. Paul started his own transport business back in 1981 developing the operation to the major line-haul operator it is today. Paul was the President of the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation for seven years. He has had a long involvement with the Victorian Transport Association and has been a VTA Board Member since 1998, served as Vice-President from 2000-2007, was President from 2008-2015, and became a life member of the association in 2015. In 2010, he was inducted into the National Road Transport Hall of Fame. “Tom and Paul have each demonstrated a lifelong passion and dedication to the trucking industry, making notable

contributions to the improvement of industry professionalism and innovation,” said Geoff Crouch, Australian Trucking association Chair. “With this brother Peter, Tom grew Lindsay Brothers Transport from a threetruck operation to become one of Australia’s largest refrigerated transport fleets. “Tom has been a trucking pioneer, keeping up with industry transformation and change across his nearly 70 years with Lindsay Brothers. Paul is a self-made, first generation transport operator. His strong work ethic and passion for trucking is something to be admired. “There are many outstanding individuals in the trucking industry like Tom and Paul, and it’s important they are recognised for their contribution.”

ISUZU AND KENWORTH ARE STILL ON TOP After a year when there were signs of some changes in the Australian truck market, 2019 ended with the situation where Isuzu and Kenworth are still on top of the rankings. Isuzu came through with 22.7 per cent of all trucks sold in the year, while Kenworth still predominate with 18.5 per cent of heavy duty truck sales, in the Truck Industry Council sales results for 2019. After selling 2350 Kenworth keeps its place as the heavy duty number one, but Volvo have been snapping at the brand’s heels throughout 2019, coming out with a grand total of 2239 heavy sales for 2019 just 111 trucks behind over the 12 months. In fact, Volvo outsold Kenworth in heavy duty, in May, June, August and September. Volvo has closed in from 1,088 truck sales in arrears in 2018, although back in a much quieter year, 2016 the end of year number saw Kenworth just 190 trucks ahead. In fact, the lead for Kenworth over Volvo has seen the Paccar-owned brand keep the Swedish company in a perennial second place by around 500 to 1000 trucks for most of the last ten years. The question is whether the closer numbers from 2019 represent a real structural change in the Australian truck market as operators move across from conventional US trucks to cabover Europeans. Volvo haven’t been the only ones to gain from a change, both Scania and Mercedes Benz have seen substantial increases from historic

DIESEL March-April 2020

averages, in recent years. The jury is still out on this one, and the figures for 2020 will show us just how much sentiment has changed. Kenworth will have more of its T410, T610 style trucks coming through and Freightliner will be pushing the new Cascadia hard. At the same time, the European cohort will be preaching the whole of life costs and low fuel consumption their product can offer. In the overall Australian truck market, Isuzu Trucks finished 2019 as clear leaders, with 22.7 per cent share of the Australian truck market and a total of 8,621 units sold It also continues to lead the way in the light-duty segment, with 4,207 units sold for 36.6 per cent share and in medium duty, Isuzu Trucks again took line honours, finishing

the year with 2,896 units sold for 39.1 per cent share of the market. At the heavy end, Isuzu continues to hold on to third spot, with 1,518 units sold for 11.9 per cent share of the market in which the Kenworth /Volvo tussle was playing out. On achieving 31 years of market leadership, Isuzu Director and Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Harbison, said, “Off the back of an unprecedented boom in 2018, we continued to strive forward and push our strengths in 2019. I’d like to thank and congratulate our tireless dealer network for their unrelenting efforts. “As always, it’s their hard work and commitment to the Isuzu product and ethos that keeps us top of mind with Australian customers.”

ELECTRIC TRUCKS HEADING FURTHER UP THE WEIGHT SCALE

An announcement by Volvo Trucks sees electric trucks heading further up the weight scale. Many efforts so far are in the local distribution field, but longer distances are now being contemplated. Volvo recently started sales of electric trucks for urban transport, but the truck maker says it believes that electrification can become a competitive alternative also for heavier trucks. To explore and demonstrate the possibilities, Volvo Trucks has developed electric concept trucks for construction operations and regional distribution. “We see great potential for heavy-duty electric trucks for regional transport and construction in the longer term,” said Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks. “With our concept trucks, we aim to explore and demonstrate different solutions for the future while evaluating the level of interest in the market and in society. “To increase demand for electrified trucks, the charging infrastructure needs to be rapidly expanded, while stronger financial incentives must be created for hauliers who act as pioneers by choosing new vehicles with a lower environmental and climate footprint.” Heavy duty electric trucks can help improve the work environment for

drivers and construction workers thanks to low noise level and zero exhaust emissions during operation. The latter will have a significant and positive effect on air quality in cities with many ongoing construction projects. Due to the lack of noise disturbance, these trucks also make it possible to perform transport operations for more hours per day which opens up new possibilities for streamlining operations, for instance in large construction projects and for transport in and around cities. A reduction of the overall climate impact of the transport sector is possible by using heavy electric vehicles in regional distribution. The majority of goods distribution by truck within the EU is regional. “In Europe there is an enormous number of trucks used for regional goods transport that have an average annual mileage of 80,000 km,” said Lars Mårtensson, Director Environment and Innovation, Volvo Trucks. “This means that increased use of electric vehicles for regional distribution would result in significant climate gains, provided the electricity is fossil-free.” Volvo Trucks’ plan for electric heavy-duty trucks for construction and regional distribution is to start by having selected customers in Europe pilot a small number of future electric vehicles. More extensive commercialisation will follow at a later point. “The speed of electrification will depend on a number of factors. On the one hand, an extensive The trucks in the pipeline so far include: Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric. Both these trucks are all-electric and intended, for instance, for local distribution and refuse handling in urban environments. Volvo FH LNG and Volvo FM LNG. The Volvo FH for heavy duty long-haul operations and the Volvo FM for heavy duty regional transport run on liquefied natural gas or biogas. Volvo FE CNG. Volvo FE for compressed natural gas or biogas is intended for local distribution and refuse handling.

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NEWS & VIEWS

SCANIA AND CUMMINS COOPERATE ON NEW FUEL EFFICIENT ENGINE A new inline six cylinder has resulted after Scania and Cummins co-operate on a new fuel efficient engine. Cummins and Scania have been long-term partners in engine and component development. Technology shared includes turbos and high pressure diesel injection systems. The new engine, the DC07, has low-rev, high torque characteristics and a fixed geometry turbocharger, and it uses only selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the exhaust gas after-treatment to meet Euro 6 compliance. “The Scania DC07 is based on a wellknown and robust six-cylinder engine,” says Anna Wingren, Assistant Chief Engineer, Scania R&D. “We’ve added Scania’s accumulated knowledge about advanced diesel engines, including our own technology and developed a

Scania platform offering unparalleled characteristics for applications where a torque level of up to 1,200 Nm is required.” The new engine is aimed at operators in urban and regional distribution, and civil and urban infrastructure maintenance. Weight is often a challenge in these types of applications and is also usually the main reason why these operators have bypassed Scania solutions in the past. The existing basic engine has been comprehensively developed. All of its monitoring and control systems are developed by Scania. In addition, it has been provided with a completely new turbocharger installation, and the new version uses Scania’s exhaust gas aftertreatment system, developed in-house, with only SCR, to reduce NOx emissions.

The new engines offer their best torque from revs as low as 1,050 rpm all the way to 1,600 rpm. This provides good driveability and, because of the low revs, the potential to save fuel, and like its larger siblings it works on thin lowfriction oil, which contributes to the low fuel consumption. “With its 3.07:1 final drive ratio, the engine is turning over at just 1600 rpm at 100 km/h, which is far lower than most comparable motors from rival brands in this segment,” said Dean Dal Santo, Director of Truck Sales at Scania Australia. “The fuel savings this will return on longer freeway journeys can easily be imagined, as will the increased driver comfort and reduced fatigue as a result of the lower levels of noise, vibration and harshness from intruding into the cabin.”

HELP FOR TRUCKING BUSINESSES AFTER THE BUSHFIRES A disaster recovery allowance, concessional loans, and extension of the instant asset write off have been highlighted in a bushfire recovery plan put forward to the Australian Government by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA). The plan sets out the immediate, medium, and long-term assistance needed by Australian trucking businesses affected by the bushfire crisis. “More than twenty industry representatives participated in the development of this proposal, highlighting the industry’s level of concern about the bushfires,” said Geoff Crouch, ATA Chair. “The impact these fires have had on trucking businesses and their employees is unprecedented. Some have lost their homes, workplaces or equipment. Others have been dealing with prolonged time away from their families, suffering financial loss and personal hardship as a result of road closures and lengthy delays. “We appreciate the collaborative consultation process the government is undertaking, and value the opportunity to put the trucking industry’s needs on the bushfire recovery agenda. First and foremost, we have recommended the

DIESEL March-April 2020

Disaster Recovery Allowance be made available as a wage subsidy to employers who can demonstrate loss or hardship as a result of the bushfires and that the allowance or any wage subsidy be extended from 13 to 26 weeks. “We also believe that the Western Australian Shires of Dundas and Coolgardie should be disaster declared, so owner drivers held up by the closure of the Eyre and Coolgardie-Esperance highways can access the assistance.” In terms of concessional loans, the ATA has recommended that small business owners who get concessional loans under the government’s assistance package be able to select monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly repayment terms once their initial repayment and interest holiday comes to an end, maximising the flexibility of loan repayments for these businesses. The proposal also recommends the extension of the instant asset write off to enable businesses to secure cashflow advantages. “We believe the Government should increase the asset write off to $50,000

for one year only, with the higher write off to come to an end on 1 July 2021. At present, the write off is scheduled to fall from $30,000 to $1000 on 1 July 2020,” said Geoff. The ATA has called for the postponement of planned increases to truck taxes, which would see businesses pay an extra $132.8 million in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. “Given the cashflow implications of increasing the road user and registration charges, any increases in the road user and registration charges should occur from 1 July 2021 rather than 1 July 2020,” said Geoff. “With the industry already struggling as a result of the bushfires, the introduction of this increase in 2020 would only add to their burden.” The ATA has proposed extending the Farm Management Deposits Scheme to eligible trucking businesses. “To help the trucking industry weather future natural disasters, the FMD scheme should be extended to include trucking businesses that receive more than 50 per cent of their income from sectors that currently have access to FMDs,” said Geoff.

OPERATOR PROFILE

BEING IN THE

BOX BUSINESS

For a trucking operator, being in the box business can be a a stressful environment to work in, but it can have its rewards, rewards for a bit of hard yacka. Diesel talks to Peter Gatt, running a busy container operation out of Enfield, just south of Sydney’s Olympic Park. 14

DIESEL March-April 2020

eter Gatt admits he was truck crazy as a youngster and fell madly in love with trucks after riding along with his brother-in-law when he was still at school. In fact, Peter later bought his brother-in-law’s business to get into the trucking game. After school he served his time as an apprentice panel beater, but on becoming qualified, had the trucking bug so bad he just had to get into trucking one way or another. He paid $75,000 for the business at 19 and went straight to work with it. In fact, he has never worked for anyone else as a truck driver.

“We had a contract with VisyBoard and mum and dad went guarantor for me,” says Peter. “I had $25,000 saved and sold my cars and boats, and whatever I had at that age. It all went into the business. I sold that business in 1998 and got involved in hauling containers in 2000. “I bought a Scania 142, with a job doing container work. I sub-contracted there for a while and then in 2002, I bought my first brand new Scania, one of the first turbocompound 470s. I ran that for two years and then bought a 580 in 2004, which is still working for me today, owned and driven by a sub-contractor.”

OPERATOR PROFILE

www.dieselnews.com.au

OPERATOR PROFILE

Peter Gatt, PJG Transport.

2010 saw a Scania R Series 620hp V8 enter the fleet, then by the time the next truck came around in 2016, Peter went auto, getting his first truck with an AMT. “Everyone was going auto and I was looking at increasing the fleet,” says Peter. “I thought getting an AMT would be a good way to attract drivers. This year, I have bought an R650 and two R500s.”

GROWING THE BUSINESS In recent years, Peter merged his business with two other operators, Chris Tucker and Stuart Knight. Chris was Peter’s original boss when he first became a subbie hauling containers. In the three years since the merger, the business has gone to nine trucks and 30 trailers. The fleet consists of four Scanias, two Hinos, a Mercedes Benz, a UD and a smaller rigid Fuso. The PJG operation now employs six office staff. The current operation is based in the Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre, an intermodal site, owned by Sydney Ports but operated by Linx. When he had been an owner/driver, Peter had been running his business out of a small section of a mates’ yard in Arncliffe. “My lifestyle has changed completely,” says Peter. “My wife did the books for me and it got to the stage where the kids used to say, ‘can we please not talk about work while we’re having our dinner?’ “The reason we merged the business

DIESEL March-April 2020

is that Chris is good in the office and he can look after that side of the business. We went to Europe last year for seven weeks, took the kids and I didn’t hear from anybody. Before we merged, we used to go on holiday, but I would still have to be on the phone booking time-slots and sorting out issues. The kids used to get frustrated, because we were still running our business on holiday. “I really enjoy driving, it’s my passion. My lifestyle has changed. I still do a bit of driving, although I did have nine months off from it, handling all of the repairs and stuff like that. “I’ve been in the game for 30 years now and seen a lot of changes.. They are probably for the better, with occupational health and safety (OHS) and all of the safety systems. I used to do some mega-hours when I first started, no-one would pull you up for it.”

SYDNEY CONTAINER COVERAGE Although the some of the longest runs the company handles are to Melbourne, with containers for fumigation, the trucks are more normally running around the Sydney region as well as heading out of the city as far as Taree, Newcastle, Dubbo and Canberra. The business has changed considerably during this growing stage. Not all of the work involves going into Port Botany and

hauling out loaded boxes. With a depot within the Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre, the operation brings quite few of its boxes out to Enfield via the train for delivery on from this home-base. Between 40 to 50 containers arrive in Enfield by train each week for PJG. This works okay when the freight on board is not time sensitive. The railway can’t commit to getting a particular container to the terminal at a specific time. Urgent customers boxes have to be collected directly from the stevedores. Being able to work out of a location like the Enfield depot has been a boon to the business. There is less time wasted dealing with the never-ending congestion in and around the stevedores at Port Botany. Instead the containers run out of a fairly central location for the whole of the Sydney area. “We were the first operation to properly move into the Enfield facility,” says Peter. “They opened when Pacific National were involved, then they closed it, before it reopened after Linx took it over. We were the first to move in, in June 2018. “Now, they are really trying to make it work. If it doesn’t work for us, it doesn’t work for them. When we book 30 boxes into their system, they will allocate 30 slots on the train for us.” Overall, the number of containers arriving for PJG by train makes up

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OPERATOR PROFILE

The increasing number of containers being handled by PJG sees the company expanding its reach.

around 30 per cent of all the containers the company will deliver every week. The bulk of containers are still coming out of Port Botany by road, but a growing proportion are getting transferred through to intermodal sites like Enfield. The increasing number of containers being handled by PJG sees the company expanding its reach and in need of expanding its existing 5000m2 to make room for the increased numbers. Four major clients can take between five and nine containers a day, each. These are often drop and swap movements, a full container is delivered and an empty one is collected. The operation also does some unloading of containers at its own depot, where the freight is then delivered on with flat-tops or curtain-sider. Side-loaders are becoming a bigger part of the operation with three now in the fleet. There are two B-double sets running in and out of the depot, bringing boxes backwards and forwards between Enfield and Botany. The B-double will also deliver out to customer a few times each week. Peter is eyeing up an A-double set to further increase productivity on the port to depot leg. The number of A-doubles being used in and out of Port Botany means that the process of setting one up is well established. The trailers makers are set up with the correct specifications and the road managers on the major routes like the one from the port to distribution points like the

DIESEL March-April 2020

Enfield facility are able to sign off on each new vehicle relatively quickly. “We are not big into PBS and A-doubles at the moment, because we have got the train,” says Peter. “If you are bringing in 40 boxes on the train, that’s twenty trips on an A-double.” Typically, the B-double sets will run four trips to Port Botany and back a day. The time slot system at the port has been much improved. After 50 minutes of waiting for a container the stevedores have to pay the transport operator demurrage in 15 minute increments.

MARKET POWER CHARGES The stevedores are still charging each truck into the port ‘Infrastructure Charge’ as well as time slot fee and empty container return fee, which ends up costing the client over $130 every time a box is collected. “There’s charges when you are late and then charges when you are early,” says Peter. “They can call an ‘unforeseen event’ any time they want. In that event, you will miss out on your box. Then you have to get another time slot. We can end up paying over $3000 each month for extra charges, if we have a bad month.” This is where the skills of a good allocator come in. Lining up all of the jobs and trucks to get them arriving as close to the right time as possible, as regularly as possible. These kinds of issues, in finding the right people to handle jobs like this, are occurring for PJG as the operation grows.

Peter has calculated the operation can grow to up to and run efficiently at around 25 trucks if the personnel they bring in have the correct skill levels and industry knowledge. On the ground in the Enfield facility the operation employs an allocator, a planner, a couple handling general administration accounts and invoicing, plus a fork lift driver, who also breaks down loads from containers. Linx will audit the business for the operational safety systems and procedures. Linx rent the facility from Sydney Ports and uses Pacific National and its own trains to haul containers back and forth to the Port. All of the containers PJG put on the train at Enfield are loaded for export. Empty containers return to the port by road. The idea, at all times, is to minimise the runs where the truck does not have a container on board. “Our biggest issue in this part of the industry is the weather,” says Peter. “We can’t return empties when it is windy, because the yards are fearful of an empty blowing onto a truck. Normally, they will only be shut for a day or so. It’s just an inconvenience, because you are driving down there and then they close while you are on the road. “Of the three yards we have to work with Hutchison and Patrick will still work in some high wind, but DP World will shut straight away because the trucks drive down between the stacks. It’s an OHS issue, which is fair enough.” The continuing rise in infrastructure charges from the stevedores over the last couple of years has grown from an average of just $2000 a week, to over $5500 a week, with the possibility of further increases to come. This is an amount which the business has to carry until it can be added to customer invoices. In essence, the transport operators are subsidising the stevedores’ inefficiency, paying a charge to do business with them. From the point of view of the road transport operators, if it is an ‘infrastructure’ charge, then it should be the shipping companies who foot the bill and not the service providers who distribute the containers. This ongoing debate has caused a lot of bitterness in the relationships around the ports. The way the small transport companies have to pay to do business, while the large global shipping operators and

OPERATOR PROFILE

global port operators do not, illustrates the unequal power balance which exists in the ports of Australia. There are a large number of operators running boxes in and out ports. This is not an industry sector which is dominated by the big boys. there are some operations which are major players, like Qube and ACFS, which runs a joint venture with Patrick, but most of the containers leaving the port gates are on the back of trucks in smaller fleets. The reason for the proliferation of smaller fleets in this sector is the need for high service levels by the end customer, service levels the larger national operators find difficult to maintain. The good relationships and that personal touch is appreciated by the importers and exporters whose business depends on a smooth supply chain.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND The business is dependent upon the vagaries of the Australian economy and has

“QUOTE.”

to live with the ups and downs of supply and demand. 2019 was a quiet year for PJG Transport and it was important to keep a sharp eye on costs, in order to weather out the dip in activity. “We are pretty lucky, because we have all new gear,” says Peter. “Most of our gear is good. I am a big believer in spending once up front and then you don’t need to spend so much down the track. All of our new Scanias have five years free servicing with them. You pay one sum and you have certainty. “I get a weekly report on all of the drivers, with percentage scores on how they are driving their trucks. High scores keep the servicing costs down. Any new truck will be accompanied by training to highlight the best way to drive the vehicle to get the best results and lowest costs, from Scania.” Fuel consumption is a big issue, of course. The 500hp trucks are achieving 2.8 to 3 km/l around the city, for the B-double the number sits around the 1.9 km/l mark as a 650 hp truck in stop/go traffic, Peter

reckons that’s not bad. A run with the 650 with a single trailer managed 2.7 km/l in fuel consumption, as a B-double that falls to 2.1 km/l. All of the trucks have a tablet on board, which tracks the truck as well as giving the driver instructions on where and when containers need to be collected and delivered. This is also where the customer signs the proof of delivery, enabling virtually instant invoicing for the client. “The ideal way to expand for us would be to get into warehousing,” says Peter. “In the future we could look at somewhere where we could provide storage. There is money in palletising freight.” From the point of view of a relatively small container operation like PJG, the constant imperative is to keep costs in control, at the same time as improving productivity to keep ahead in a very competitive market. High service levels will keep customers coming back, but it is always going to be about being able to keep prices in an acceptable range for the client.

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TRUCKS ON TEST

A TRUCK WHICH CAN DO

THE JOB With the introduction of the Isuzu Freightpack, the truck buyer gets a truck straight off the forecourt – a truck ready for freight distribution. Tim Giles took one out to see just what is on offer in the package.

he concept is pretty easy to comprehend, the truck buyer avoids the complex and extremely time-consuming task of picking out the right cab chassis for a freight task and then taking this to the body builder to have the right sort of freight-carrying body fitted. Then, at long last, the truck can hit the road and start making money. Having a body built has got harder over the years. Despite a growing demand for truck bodies, the body building industry has not been able to grow fast enough to meet that demand. This has created long waiting times for bodies and frustration for both truck buyer and seller in getting the right product to the right person at the right time. This issue is not going to be resolved any time soon, so truck brands have developed the concept of selling trucks which are ready to start work tomorrow in sectors where the type of body required is relatively generic. The first sectors to be serviced were the small tipper market and the concept has a long history in the Isuzu camp. The first introduction was of ready to go tippers, followed by the Tradepack

DIESEL March-April 2020

and Traypack options, then the Vanpack and now Servicepack. The trucking industry in Australia then saw the new Freightpack range previewed at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show. It takes the concept a little further and a little higher up the weight range. It is based on the F Series and sees a number of models available with bodies from 10 pallets up to 14 pallets. There are five Freightpack models available in the Isuzu medium duty range from a small FRR 240hp AMT all the way up to an FVL curtainsider at 300hp with an Allison automatic transmission. This top of the range is the model Diesel took out on the road to take a look at all of the features which are included in the Freightpack package.

THE BASE TRUCK Let’s start at the truck as it stands before the body and safety features come into the picture. The model is the FVL 240-300 Auto. The FVL denotes the

TRUCKS ON TEST

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TRUCKS ON TEST

“HAVING A BODY BUILT HAS GOT HARDER OVER THE YEARS. DESPITE A GROWING DEMAND FOR TRUCK BODIES, THE BODY BUILDING INDUSTRY HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO GROW FAST ENOUGH TO MEET THAT DEMAND.” cab and chassis combination as being a 6x2 with a wheel base of 7.12m. The 240 tells us this has a GVM of 24 tonnes and the 300 indicates the engine power, in this case 296hp (rounded up to 300). The engine here is the Isuzu 6HK1 at just under eight litres, this pumps out the 296hp at 2400rpm and maximum torque, at 981Nm (724ftlb), is on tap at 1450rpm. This drives through the excellent Allison 3500 six speed auto transmission, with a final drive at 0.65:1. The truck out on the highway sits at 100km/h on 2000rpm after a seamless transition up though the ratios to get there. The way the transmission seems to have been set up means that from a standing start the truck feels a little bit soft. It is not going to win any races away

from the traffic lights. However, once it gets up into the higher gears the performance feels a lot more lively. The engine and transmission are flexible and react quickly to any urging from the driver’s right foot on the accelerator. This suggests some conservative setting in the transmission software at lower speeds. It is not clear why the transmission controls still have to be in the same place as the old manual gearstick would sit. This engine/transmission combination needs little intervention from the driver, apart from choosing whether to put the foot on the gas or the brake. Why can’t the control buttons live on the dash and open up the space between the seats? The ride is smooth and the

combination of the Isuzu taper leafs on the front and the Hendrickson HAS 400 on the rear makes for a good performance on the poorly maintained roads in the area to the west of Melbourne around Truganina and Werriby. The massive building projects in this area have led to damaged roads, which won’t get fixed until the construction phase is over in the area. This cabin is well over 10 years old now, but retains a style which looks modern enough to compete in this market. The dashboard looks a little dated and we can expect this to remain the case until the overall Isuzu range gets a full update up to the next generation of electronics and really comes into the 21st century. Don’t hold your breath on this update, but what Isuzu had on display at the Tokyo Motor Show late last year, and the developing co-operation between Isuzu and Volvo Group as UD Trucks move across into the Isuzu camp, suggests the next generation is going to become available, on a timescale yet to be announced.

The curtains on the Freightpack have just three buckles which make for quick opening and closing of the curtains for multi-drop delivery drivers.

DIESEL March-April 2020

TRUCKS ON TEST

There is also a reversing camera at the rear of the body and an interior camera inside, both linked up to the entertainment screen in the cabin.

STAYING SAFE When it comes to safety, the first thing the driver notices walking up to the truck is the liberal use of yellow paint. This colour has become the indicator of a safety feature, often an after sale fitting. As the driver climbs up into the truck, it has yellow fitments on the steps up into the cab and yellow handles fitted to the A and B pillars to ensure three points of contact at all times. To the rear of the door, on either side, there is a sticker with an explanation of how to safely

achieve ingress and egress on this truck. On the front corners of the truck body there is a long handle which is mounted, quite high, to the front of the body, but it continues down to form a step to climb up into the body when the curtains are open, all yellow of course. In the same area, near the handle to tighten the curtain is a small lamp, which will light up the ground outside the cabin and where the driver might climb into the body, when it is dark. That’s not all there is as the driver

climbs in. There is a yellow painted steel post, which can be inserted into the floor at the coaming rail to supply three points of contact when climbing in This small post can be pulled out easily, but there is nothing like a pair of clips anywhere to store the yellow post when not needed. This would suggest this item may disappear quite early on in the truck’s life. The curtains on the Freightpack have just three buckles which make for quick opening and closing of the curtains for multi-drop delivery drivers. These are serious buckles, known as the Lightning Latch, part of the Freighter offering and providing enough tension to keep the curtain in place out on the road. The buckles are adjustable with a nut on the fitting and, when driving along the Western Highway, the curtains stayed tight and there was very little noticeable flap at 100 km/h. Throughout the road test the curtains retained the correct tension. Behind these curtains are sets of movable gates which are attached, using a sprung strap, to a rail on the body’s roof. The gates can be moved along the body and stacked at either end, out of the way of the freight. The springing in the straps helps lifting and getting the gates in and out of their designated slots. The gate design sees a change to the

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TRUCKS ON TEST

dimensions of the gates to better suit normal pallet widths. Standard 1500mm gates are a mismatch for smaller pallets. These gates are 1080mm wide, making them lighter and easier to handle as well as lining them up with the different elements in the load itself. Moving to the rear of the body, there is a single yellow step hanging down below. There is also a reminder on the rear door to maintain three points of contact. A yellow handle is rearwards facing on the rear corner post of the body and can be grabbed by the driver, when the rear door is open, to help climb up using the yellow non-slip surface on the T-bar step hanging down under the rear of the body. Again, there is a yellow painted steel post, which can be inserted into the floor at the rear door to supply three points

of contact when climbing in from the rear. Holding the rear door open at this point is a well-designed and positioned spring-loaded and rubber ended contraption which is easy to use and keeps the door firmly in place, even in a strong wind. On the front of the body, on both sides is a sticker giving the overall height of the truck. This message is repeated underneath in mirror writing, so that the driver can see the truck’s height from the driver’s seat in the rearview mirror, a nice touch.

WHAT’S GOING ON INSIDE? The safety features keep coming inside the truck’s body. There is a strip of LED lights running along the roof just inside the curtain rail. These have a dual purpose, they provide excellent

As the driver climbs up into the truck, it has yellow fitments on the steps up into the cab and yellow handles fitted to the A and B pillars to ensure three points of contact at all times.

DIESEL March-April 2020

illumination inside the truck, but, when the curtains are open, they illuminate the coaming rail and ground just outside of the truck. There is also a reversing camera at the rear of the body and an interior camera inside, both linked up to the entertainment screen in the cabin. The entertainment screen inside the cabin is much more than an ‘entertainment’ device. The fact that it runs on the Android platform means apps can be developed and loaded up onto this system and be used for a number of useful functions. This goes way beyond the simple functionality of a navigation system and opens up the possibility of being able to run training and operational information through the unit and perhaps communicate to tablet style devices for proof of

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delivery or consignee purposes. The arrival of this Freightpack is a part of the process of Isuzu ‘Pack’ model range becoming a larger part of overall Isuzu sales. It is already up to 25 per cent, as the formula proves to be effective and has become accepted by Isuzu customers. We can expect more variants in the future, with some expected to arrive in 2020. This Freightpack development sees an extension of the number of complete trucks Isuzu are going to be selling into the market. The truck maker is developing the market itself and using the body building queues to attract truck buyers over to a single package sale for a virtual off-theshelf product. It is already a no-brainer in the small tipper market and approached in the right manner, it might not take too long to see rows of curtain sided new trucks sitting in truck dealerships. Isuzu is already close enough to its customers to know exactly what they are looking for in a finished truck and may be able to leverage its buying power into getting a better and faster deal for the end-user.

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATION:

EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE

ver the past two centuries, the Australian road transport sector has grown from a simple and largely unregulated industry into a complex, international logistics chain. At the same time, it has become so heavily regulated that productivity is actually going backwards. One of my most prized possessions is an old steel dray axle that has been refashioned into a long heavy crowbar. Back when it was still an axle, my greatgreat-grandfather and his bullock team used it to cart wool, grain, logs and other produce and supplies across western NSW. He didn’t need a licence to ‘drive’ the bullock team. He didn’t need a permit to access the road network. He wasn’t fatigue regulated. He had no mass limits. He didn’t pay registration on the vehicle. I wonder what he would think about the level of red tape and bureaucracy in the road transport industry of today? You can’t even leave your depot without filling out the paperwork and paying a tax or charge to Local, State or Federal Government. On some levels, regulation and taxation is a necessary evil. Modern vehicles need modern roads, and someone has to pay for them. Faster, heavier freight vehicles sharing public roads with much smaller vehicles travelling in the opposite direction present some obvious safety risks. In 1908 there were 7.6 road fatalities per 100,000 population in NSW. By 1970 this number had almost quadrupled to 28.9. The NSW population also grew rapidly in that period, so the absolute number of road fatalities was sky rocketing. Some form of regulatory intervention was needed and it came in successive waves. If you eyeball the NSW road fatality graph, there are some obvious regulatory winners. When compulsory seatbelts were introduced in 1971 fatalities immediately went into decline. Similar reductions occurred after: roadside breath testing (1982), speed cameras (1991), graduated licensing (2000) and a formal road safety strategy (from 2012). Together, these measures have helped reduce the fatality rate to just 4.1 deaths per 100,000 population. There can be no doubt that regulation

DIESEL March-April 2020

has saved lives, and there is further to go. However, it must be remembered that not all regulation is good regulation, and it always comes at a cost. Deloitte Access Economics has demonstrated that productivity in the Australian transport, postal and warehousing sector has fallen steadily since 2014, the same year that the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) came into force. The regulatory impact statement supporting introduction of the HVNL predicted that productivity would increase by about the same amount it has fallen. The predicted economic benefit of $12.4 billion appears to have manifested as an economic cost of $12.4 billion. In a competitive international marketplace, Australia cannot afford a productivity decline in our road transport sector. All Australian businesses that rely on transport services become less competitive and that ultimately impacts on our living standards. It is particularly problematic in the agricultural sector because, compared with our competitors, we are a long way from key international markets. Beef for example, has the highest embedded transport cost of any Australian commodity. The key message here is that it is important to get the balance right. We need regulation, but it has to be good regulation. Governments have long recognised the critical importance of road transport in supporting a seamless national economy. In 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to establish a national system for heavy vehicles aimed at improving safety and reducing regulatory costs that impact exports and domestic trade. The key elements of the agreement included: • A national licensing system; • A national registration system; • A single national heavy vehicle regulator; • Identical heavy vehicle laws in all participating states; • Abolition of overlapping and redundant heavy vehicle bureaucracies; • Vastly improved heavy vehicle access and uptake of HML and AFM. Here we are, more than a decade later and, given the lack of traction on the

transition to a truly national system, it is no wonder that productivity forecasts have not been achieved. However, some progress has been made. We do have a new national law and regulator, except that WA and NT have not opted in. The states that have participated have not always implemented the laws consistently, and because states did not dismantle their existing bureaucracies, the national regulator has had to fight them every step of the way to even marginally improve rules for access, HML and AFM. No progress has been made on national licensing and the so called ‘national registration scheme’ is little more than a plate administered by the same old state registration systems. It’s a start, but woefully short of what we really need. In recognition of the lack of progress in the heavy vehicle space, just about every aspect of the heavy vehicle sector is currently under review. The reviews include: Productivity Commission review of National Transport Regulatory Reforms; National Transport Commission (NTC) review of the HVNL; Australian Senate Committee Inquiry into the Importance of a Viable, Safe, Sustainable and Efficient Road Transport Industry; and Federal Department of Infrastructure reform process for heavy vehicle charging and infrastructure provision. The stakes are high and ALRTA has been involved in all of these processes, every step of the way. We have attended consultation sessions and formal hearings, met directly with key decision-makers and lodged detailed submissions. In December 2019, ALRTA lodged a submission to NTC containing no less than 108 recommendations. ALRTA member operators know what the problems are and how to fix them. This year, 2020, is shaping up to be a landmark in heavy vehicle regulatory reform. Get involved with an industry association to make sure that your opinions are heard. What will your great-great-grandkids think of the road transport industry of today?

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

A RURAL TRUCKING WORKHORSE There is a particular type of truck which is ideal for the kind of transport tasks which are undertaken in rural areas, a rural trucking workhorse. You need a reliable, long wheelbase 6x4 rigid with enough power to pull a fully loaded truck and trailer, as well as the something which is easy to use and can cope with anything thrown at it.

he Japanese truck makers are masters at building a rugged yet simple to use truck that is highly adaptable. This is not because there is some part of the Japanese domestic market which demands this kind of truck – which is ideal in Australian farming areas – it’s because the Japanese truck makers know how to build a solid platform that is simple to use. The truck tested here out on the road took a Hino 700 FS around some of the drought hit parts of Queensland. This is the kind of truck that those working with the farming community in rural areas is looking for. This is the successor to the trucks which dominated rural transport in the past, the International, AEC, Bedford, Leyland and all of the other post-war trucks now commonly seen in the vintage truck events around the nation. The key is not a lack of sophistication, but a lack of sophistication in the right places. Rural operators, like any other responsible operator, want a safe truck with the latest in steering and braking technology as well as a drive train which can handle some hard work without too much fuss. The structure of the vehicle, its chassis, engine and cab also have to put up with some rough treatment when needed. Don’t

DIESEL March-April 2020

shout it too loud from the rooftops, but trucks hauling freight from farm to farm will often travel on some pretty rough roads and may be loaded above the GVM posted on the compliance plate. It is in this area of expertise that the Japanese brands specialise, and the Hino 700 has found a home in quite a few farming industry associated tasks. Working in this segment is not a high mileage task, but it is tough on the trucks. They are rarely turned over after just a few years on the job, they are expected to put in good service over many years, and are only replaced when thoroughly worn out.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT Let’s start with the basics, what we are dealing with here is a 6x4 truck with a GVM of 28.3 tonnes and a power output of 480hp. The general consensus would tell us that this is a bit too much power when running around at 26 tonnes, but it means it has a GCM rating right up there at 72 tonnes. You never know when you might need that extra power. The other thing to think about in this situation is the kind of road conditions on which this extra power may be needed. Hauling out of a farm can often mean some jump-ups on dirt roads which need some

RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

skill to get over at high masses. A bit of power in the back pocket is always useful. That is also the situation where the 2157 Nm (1591ftlb) of torque comes in handy. Getting through sticky situations and getting the job done. The 13 litre engine uses a combination of EGR and SCR to reach the ADR 80/03 exhaust emission rules, this seems to be the preferred combination of technology these days. Using SCR allows the engine to be a bit more free running and using common rail injection makes for a drive train responsive to the driver’s right foot. Further down the drivetrain is another component which adds to the system’s adaptability and responsiveness, the ZF Traxon AMT. This is the 16 speed version, an overdrive box designed to be able to handle a wide variety of driving conditions. Traxon is the latest iteration of this gearbox and every new version adds to the sophistication of the software and the seeming intuitiveness of the AMT. The smarter the software controlling the gearbox gets, the less often a driver feels the need to intervene and control gear changing themselves.

DIESEL March-April 2020

On this test, there was hardly a point at which the AMT put a serious foot wrong. Admittedly, the truck was not fully loaded or pulling a trailer in rough conditions, but the Traxon always felt very much in full control. At the end of the day, a smooth, wellengineered relationship between a torquey engine and a smart transmission can be very effective and make life easy for the driver. Traditionally, in any kind of rural task, for which this particular truck setup has been specified, a rugged manual box would always be the first choice. Now, we have seen the level of automation reach a point where it is a no-brainer to choose the AMT option, and if there is a situation with which it cannot cope, the driver can always hit the switch back to manual again. This subject arose on the climb up the Toowoomba Range (Cunninghams Gap was closed due to bushfires), when the transmission was not picking the right gear for the grade it was on. Luckily, the truck was not running at a particularly high mass, otherwise there could have been trouble. The Traxon AMT did not seem to be sensing the incline accurately enough and hung onto gears it really shouldn’t have. A

swift shift to manual and dropping the gear to get the revs up, solved the problem and the truck sailed up the range with no issues. As with all of these modern AMTs, the issue is not with the engineering or even the specification, it is probably a communication issue. All modern AMT boxes have inclinometers fitted inside of them to sense the steepness of the grade it is climbing. However, the message didn’t seem to be getting through, the gear picking software thought everything was fine and dandy, while the engine was starting to lug too much. This engine is not a European power plant designed to continue to pull uphill around 1000 rpm, it is a Japanese 13 litre and these are built to perform in a completely different way. Torque is 2200Nm at 1200rpm and is still 2000Nm at 1800rpm, but going down the rev range it starts to drop away quite quickly as revs reduce past 1000rpm. Like most Japanese heavy duty engines, this one should be kept between 1200 and 1800rpm. On this particular set-up the engine is running at above 1600rpm in top gear at 100 km/h.

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RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS

GETTING RETARDATION RIGHT One of the plusses of utilising the Traxon in the driveline is the opportunity to include ZF’s Intarder in that driveline as well. This takes retardation on a Japanese heavy duty truck to a whole new level. The first two pulls on the retardation steering wheel stalk, bring in the exhaust and the compression braking from the engine, but go to the third position and the Intarder kicks in. The performance of this transmission retarder has always been impressive, as it has been fitted on a number of European trucks over the years. This is not just engine braking, this is a beneficial tool to minimise unnecessary brake wear. Driving along the highway and spotting a suitable parking bay does not need a complex mix of braking and downshifting from the driver, it’s just a single movement to perform a seamless task. Pull on the stalk to activate retardation and speed drops immediately. The retarder is holding back the driveline and communicates what’s going on to the AMT. As a result, the AMT starts downshifting quickly. Revs go up and so the engine braking and transmission retardation becomes even more effective. The truck slows without any driver input, the truck drops to the right speed to enter the parking bay and continues to slow. When the truck is about to park, the driver simply presses on the brake pedal to bring the truck to a complete halt. This kind of integration shows us just what can be achieved by this relatively new technology in basic workhorse trucks designed for rural areas. The truck buyers in country areas have long held

DIESEL March-April 2020

out against any move away from the most basic truck designs, but the latest smarter technology now coming on-stream should be a no-brainer. It works well, is safe and only uses the sophistication in the system, which has to be included to ensure the modern engine meets emission rules. The use of this system can be seamless from the driver’s point of view, as there is a switch which blends all of the retardation together. Simply pressing the foot brake brings in a cascade of stopping power. The first few per cent activate the exhaust brake, the next stage sets the compression brake off, while the third introduces the Intarder to the equation. Further pressure brings in the driver’s last resort, the service brakes. For drivers used to the much simpler, but sharper, brakes in the past, this may be a little disconcerting at first. The foot seems to travel some way before the sharp service braking comes into play. For this driver, after the first couple of brake applications, it was easy to

adapt to the braking performance and maximise retardation, when needed, while minimising brake shoe wear. Another intervention from the Traxon transmission is also in evidence in the background as it goes up and down the gears. The system uses the engine compression brake to get the revs just right as it makes the gear change. This results in a short sharp burst of the engine brake burble as the revs are fine tuned. This sound isn’t intrusive or worrying in any way, but drivers handling a modern AMT for the first time may find it a little confusing. There is a switch to change the AMT behaviour into crawler mode, enabling slow manoeuvring when coupling and uncoupling trailers, or getting in an out of awkward areas. Another vital component for any rural based truck is the inclusion of diff locks and cross locks to help the truck and its load get out of sticky situations.

THE RIDE ON COUNTRY ROADS One of the heroes of the drive around the back roads of country Queensland, down through Texas and across the border into New South Wales, was the truck suspension. These roads are far from the best and among the worst in this area but the hidden dips and bumps were not too dangerous for this driver. The combination of semi-elliptical steel suspension on the front and the well-known Hendrickson HAS 460 air suspension, dealt with the conditions with relative ease. There were no clashes with the cab roof and the driver’s seat did not bottom out at any point. This is quite an achievement on these roads when travelling over 80km/h. This is a tried and true set up, using

well known components, but the performance shows a lot of thought has gone into getting the balance just right on the way the suspension has been set up to cope with this kind of transport task. Often it is not just about fitting the right components, but getting them to work in harmony. Since its introduction over 15 years ago, the Hino 700 has been improved to meet the expectations of the market. The first set of changes saw a vast improvement in steering and suspension performance. Later, the introduction of the ZF AS Tronic AMT brought the truck into the 21st century. Upgrading this transmission to the new Traxon sees the model keeping up with the trends in the market which this kind of truck requires.

A SOLID TRUCK The overall impression from this Hino 700 is one of solidity. This means the truck has been built to be able to cope with the conditions, not that it feels solid on the road. There is a robustness to the design which means the driver feels confident the truck will keep in a straight line at speed, despite the undulations, potholes and crumbling edges in the road. This feeling of security is helped by well adjusted cab suspension and a comfortable driver’s seat. This is also quite a large day cab with plenty of room to store what the driver may need. It is also mounted relatively high, which, in these rural situations is quite useful. Drivers aren’t worried about activity close to the the cab, but need good visibility into the distance. For someone operating in a rural environment, this truck has been well set up. Loaded with bales of hay or straw, the truck is capable of pulling a sizeable trailer to maximise efficiency. Add in some ramps and the truck is more than capable of shifting machinery around from place to place. A livestock body could be added if needed and, of course, it is a flat bed and can handle bagged or palletised supplies. It is not too sophisticated, just sophisticated enough. This is a modern truck able to cope with the hammer of rural life, while carrying a substantial load, at the same time as delivering a comfortable ride, easy driving experience and modern safety features. The test truck driven for this article was also fitted with a reversing camera mounted on the rear of the body. This may be fine in this initial phase of the truck’s life, but if this truck ends up working in the kinds of rural trucking tasks it has been built for, the camera may not survive the rough and tumble of farm deliveries and collections. The truck has been set-up so that it is possible to drive in the traditional manner, brake into corners, perhaps grab a gear as well and then power out of the bend, resuming top gear. However, it is also possible to drive it using the modern systems. Use the stalk to activate some retardation into the corner, until a safe speed is reached, before resuming cruise control on the exit and letting the transmission decide on the best gear to be in. Compared to some of its competitors, this truck is a relatively simple, good, solid, basic truck. As a general rural truck it ticks all of the boxes without going over the top in terms of the kind of electronic control systems which can be available. It should also be possible to fix quite a few problems, which may arise on this truck by the side of the road, without a diagnostic laptop on hand, most of the time.

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OPERATOR PROFILE

DIESEL March-April 2020

OPERATOR PROFILE

RUSSELL’S MUSCLE One of the key factors in the ongoing success of Queensland-based Russell Transport is the diversity of its operations. Paul Matthei speaks with Shane Rachow, supervisor of the company’s Heavy Haulage division, to find out what makes this highly specialised operation tick.

he Russell name has been synonymous with road transport for the best part of 95 years and across three generations of the Russell family. With its head office at Eagle Farm, Brisbane, the company also has depots at nearby Lytton in addition to Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and Molendinar on the Gold Coast. Close to a century of continuous operation in road transport simply doesn’t happen without a carefully considered business plan that must be continually updated to reflect the changing needs of customers and society at large. Another vital element involves having employees who are the best of the best in terms of their specific areas of expertise. These people need to have the experience to know how to tackle tasks which can vary widely from day to day, as well as the nouse to devise contingency plans for those times when things don’t work out as initially planned. The Russell Group of companies comprises three distinct businesses, Russell Transport, Metro-Lift Cranes and Caloundra General Transport, with common directors and shared support service functions that enable the businesses to work either independently or collaboratively, as needs dictate. This results in a cohesive service offering to clients across a range of disciplines.

For example, the obvious synergies between the Russell Transport heavy haulage division and Metro-Lift Cranes means the two companies are often working together to facilitate the loading and unloading of over-dimensional and over-mass freight. The man behind the wheel of Russell’s heavy haulage, both operationally and literally, is Shane Rachow. His time is divided between organising loads and gaining route permits in addition to loading, unloading and driving the trucks. With this type of work, experience is everything and Shane has this in spades, having done 18 years in the heavy haulage realm. What’s more, his father was also involved in heavy haulage for some 40 years. Shane has been working for Russell Transport for close to two years, the first as a driver and the last year as Supervisor with some driving still involved. He describes the job as challenging yet rewarding and proceeds to elaborate on the types of issues he is dealing with on a daily basis. “One of the biggest challenges we face is with communication between us and the customers,” he says. “We need to have the correct information as far as dimensions and weights go and if we don’t get this right the job takes a lot longer because we have

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OPERATOR PROFILE

to reapply for permits. “The other big thing for me is when we are actually on the road doing the job, dealing with the general public and at times trying to get machines into places where heavy haulage vehicles are simply not meant to go.” Shane says some customers have trouble understanding that heavy haulage vehicles can’t always be taken into places where a semi-trailer or tipper and dog combination can go. “Just because the permit says the truck can go to a certain point doesn’t necessarily mean that we can actually get the truck

in there; there are so many variables that have to be taken into consideration,” says Shane. “I’ve done this sort of work pretty much my whole working life and over that time you develop the ability to take every factor into account and discern whether or not something is possible. “Sometimes you can push the issue a bit and say ‘yeah, it’s going to be tight but we’ll make it in there’ or ‘nah, it’s not going to happen’. When you have a 100tonne machine that you’re delivering it’s a completely different kettle of fish to a truck and dog or a B-double. “We have to deal with all sorts of different potential obstructions like trees, overhead powerlines, power poles, traffic lights and street signs. Even just a simple kerb and gutter, we can’t go running over them or we’d crush them, and the councils certainly don’t like that.”

KEEP ON LEARNING With nearly 18 years of heavy haulage under his belt, Shane concedes that while his knowledge of the operation is extensive, he is still learning. “You never stop learning in this game,” says Shane. “There’s not much I don’t know but there’s always going to be someone out there who knows something I don’t. So if I don’t learn something new every day, I’m not trying

Russell Transport has five experienced drivers along with a brace of Drake trailers and six Cumminspowered Kenworth prime movers. 38

DIESEL March-April 2020

hard enough, I reckon. “One thing I remember my father saying to me was: ‘The day you think you know everything is the day you need to retire’. That’s always stuck with me for some reason and it’s what I’ve lived by.” Shane goes on to say that nowadays safety and compliance is a huge deal which throws out its own set of challenges. “Some days I do more paperwork than anything else,” says Shane. “You have to have your transport management plans in place and various other documentation to make sure everything is legal and due diligence is done.” Talking with Shane, you get the feeling that he’s not the sort of bloke who would want to be stuck behind a desk every day. “I try to keep it about 50/50 between the office and out on the road.” When Diesel interviewed Shane, he was due to head off to Adelaide the following morning to transport a large switch room back to Queensland. “Quite often I’m out on job sites or down at the wharf, which is where a lot of the company’s heavy haulage work originates, then it’s back to the office to get everything sorted.” says Shane. “In addition to the wharf work, we transport a lot of switch rooms to and from various places including South Australia and Western Australia.” For the uninitiated, a switch room is similar to a large donga fitted out with

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OPERATOR PROFILE

Shane Rachow, supervisor of the Russell’s Heavy Haulage division.

electrical switchboards for use at the likes of power stations and mine sites. “The three switch rooms we brought up from Adelaide recently weigh about 50 tonnes, are 4.8 metres high on the trailer, 25 metres long and five metres wide,” says Shane. “The two we are taking over to Western Australia soon are 28 metres long, 7.5 metres wide, weigh 120 tonnes and are around 5.3 metres high on the trailer. “There’s a lot involved with the planning to get these out from where they are and over to WA.”

HEAVY HAULERS Hauling this sort of weight across the country requires both staff and equipment of an extremely high calibre. Dedicated to the heavy haulage task, Russell Transport has five experienced drivers along with a brace of Drake trailers and six Cumminspowered Kenworth prime movers. Three of these, two C509 conventionals and a K200 cab-over, are ultra heavyduty 240-tonne rated units. Shane says it’s useful to have the short-wheelbase K200 for loads where overall length is

DIESEL March-April 2020

critical. All three feature 18-speed manual RoadRanger transmissions and Sisu super-duty hub-reduction rear axles with six-rod mechanical suspension. The two C509s also sport two-speed ‘joey’ boxes which provide an additional gear reduction of exactly half of the standard 18-speed gearing. All up, that gives the drivers 36 forward gears and two reverse to play with! The three additional Cumminspowered Kenworths, two K108s and a 2000-model K104 are 140-160 tonne rated and all feature 18-speed manual RoadRangers and six-rod rear ends. In addition to the smaller local jobs, these three are used as ‘block’ trucks to help push their big brothers up the Toowoomba range on the ultra-heavy long hauls such as the aforementioned switch rooms going across to WA. Shane says the 13-year-old K104 is a great example of the longevity potential of the KW models when well looked after. “It’s still going surprisingly well for its age,” says Shane. “It’s done over onemillion kilometres and in heavy haulage that’s widely considered equivalent to

more than double the mileage in a line haul unit. We re-powered it with a new Cummins 550hp engine last year which has given it a new lease on life. We expect to get quite a few more years from it yet.” In general, the company has had a good run with Cummins engines across the board, according to Shane, although he speaks more favourably about the early Signature 620 engines in the K108s and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipped 600hp X15 in the K200 than the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Signature 600s in the C509s. “The earlier (pre-EGR) Signatures are unbeatable, they’ve never let us down, and the K200’s AdBlue (SCR) engine is pretty good, but the EGR units in the C509s consistently have small annoying issues like not burning off the diesel particulate filter (DPF) properly or some small sensor that’s not playing the game and shuts the engine down – it’s really frustrating. I’m fairly old-school and for me the earlier Signature is definitely the pick of them.” Meanwhile, the all-Drake trailer flotilla consists of two 10x8s, one 9x8,

OPERATOR PROFILE

The C509 conventionals are ultra heavyduty 240-tonne rated units.

two 6x8s, one 4x8 and two quads, along with two 4x8 dollies. “We have all the equipment we need for the work we do,” says Shane. “The heavy haulage arm of Russell Transport is a relatively small but highly valued part of the company and we pride ourselves on doing the work to the highest possible standard. To my knowledge the company has been doing it since near on day one and it really took off about 10 years ago when the gas work started to ramp up.”

KEEPING THE FLEET IN ORDER On the topics of reliability and maintenance, Shane has an old-school philosophy of keeping things simple by only having manual gearboxes,

DIESEL March-April 2020

for example. This is backed up by his adherence to strict maintenance schedules that ensure maximum longevity from each piece of equipment. Russell Transport has its own workshop that Shane reckons does 90 per cent of the maintenance and repair work while each of the Drake trailers are given the once over by Drake at regular intervals. In saying that, he makes sure each of the drivers keeps up with the regular greasing that’s required. “I say to them, ‘you’ve got grease guns, so use them’,” says Shane. “It’s not hard to pump grease into a trailer and our widening platform trailers need regular greasing to keep them working properly in the long run.

“There are a lot of greasable pivot points due to the hydraulic steerable axles, gooseneck and ball-race and because we are consistently carrying heavy loads everything takes a good pounding, so if you don’t regularly grease all these components they can cause you a lot of grief. “Personally, I prefer to do most of the greasing every second or third day for equipment that’s in constant use. On the other hand, if a trailer has been sitting idle for some time I will grease it every day for the first few days after it is put back into service to make sure each component receives an ample supply of fresh grease over that initial period.” Shane is of the opinion that the Drake trailers are very solidly built and will last ‘forever and a day’ if looked after properly. “Drake builds a very good trailer and we spend a lot of time keeping them well maintained,” says Shane. Some methods used to prevent unforeseen failures are regular walkaround inspections every two to three hours while travelling and at the end of each day, particularly to ensure there are no flat tyres. “If you don’t do that you will come into dramas, it doesn’t take much for something to break,” says Shane. On the subject of tyres, Shane explains the company recently switched to Bridgestone and has found them to provide good performance and service to this point. “Now that we’re coming into summer, everything, and especially the tyres, gets tested to the limit,” says Shane. “We love the cooler weather. We carry at least 10 to 12 spares because you’ll inevitably have the odd day where you’ll blow three or four tyres in a day when you’re fully loaded, then other days you won’t have any tyre failures. So I tell the boys that when it comes to spare tyres it’s always better to have too many than not enough.” Summing up, Shane says he’s proud to work for a company that has such a long and successful track record in road transport. “The directors of the company and management above me are really switched on and know their stuff through and through,” says Shane. “Obviously what they do works, that’s why Russell Transport has been around for nearly 95 years.”

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MEGATRANS

TALKING TELEMATICS As part of the programme for this year’s MEGATRANS2020 conference, there will be a focus on telematics. Ahead of his keynote speech at the event, Stuart Ballingall, Executive General Manager at Transport Certification Australia offers his thoughts on the benefits of telematics, the importance of connecting with stakeholders and the national telematics framework.

he Transport Certification Australia (TCA) is a national organisation that provides assurance services relating to transport technologies and data to enable improved public purposes outcomes from the road transport sector. Stuart Ballingall has been leading the agency for the past year in his role as Executive General Manager. With an extensive background in senior public and private roles across the transport sector, he is excited about the benefits that telematics can offer the road transport industry. “TCA’s role is centred around

DIESEL March-April 2020

providing assurance services for transport telematics and associated data services,” says Stuart. “We have a strong focus on providing these services to the heavy vehicle industry. Ultimately, our reason for being is to help support productivity, asset management and safety outcomes to be achieved from the road transport sector.” According to Stuart, the telematics industry is an evolving field. “Transport is like most other sectors in that more things are becoming connected and sharing data. This gives the opportunity to develop insights that stakeholders haven’t been able to have access to before. It’s driving a general update in

telematics, but also in how this kind of technology can be used,” he says. For Stuart, MEGATRANS2020 will offer a unique opportunity for all aspects of the logistics and transport sector to come together and hear about the developments taking place in telematics. During Stuart’s presentation he will be discussing the National Telematics Framework, the framework is a digital business platform consisting of infrastructure and rules that support an open marketplace of telematics and related intelligent technology providers. The TCA administers this platform, it was established in 2003 and 2008 following a series of decisions

MEGATRANS

made by Responsible Ministers and was globally recognised as an International Standard in 2012. The presentation will also cover the new applications for telematics that are currently being developed with government and industry as part of the National Telematics Framework and Stuart will inform stakeholders about what the roadmap is looking like for deploying this framework. “With telematics being such

an evolving field, I hope that our presentation will provide an opportunity for relevant stakeholders to be brought up to speed on how telematics is starting to be used across the transport and logistics industry,” Stuart says. MEGATRANS2020 offers a rare opportunity for professionals in this sector to step outside their day-to-day working life and learn about what is happening in their sector. Something that Stuart himself will be doing at the event. “The good thing about events like this is they bring people together, particularly when much of the industry is spread out across the country,” he says. Stuart wishes to stress that telematics offers more than the well-known benefits of improving safety and efficiencies. “There is such a positive conversation around telematics. We often find that when stakeholders realise the full breadth of benefits that can be realised from utilising telematics technology, it’s a very pleasing conversation” he says. These benefits can depend on the stakeholder, but Stuart uses the example of a road manager. “It could be getting a better understanding of what is being moved where on your road network, it could be having knowledge to support better decisions about maintenance spend, or it could lead to improvements in

the way you manage traffic and routes to generate efficiency gains. There is just so much,” Stuart says. Stuart is also looking forward to exploring the exhibition floor at MEGATRANS2020, something he did at the launch event in 2018. “It’s certainly of value to see what’s on the exhibition floor, what’s come to market recently that is relevant to what we do. MEGATRANS provides a great opportunity to do this,” he says. Stuart’s keynote speech will be taking place at 3.40pm on Thursday 2nd April. To book your tickets for MEGATRANS2020, visit: www.megatrans.com.au.

MEGATRANS2020 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME DETAILS Wednesday 1st April 09.00-12.30 – Supply chain 13.30-17.00 International trade and shipping session Thursday 2nd April 09.00-12.30 – Electric vehicles 13.30-17.00 – Road transport Friday 3rd April 09.00-12.30 – E-commerce

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TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

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DIESEL March-April 2020

TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

There has been plenty of hype in the media about the potential of electric trucks, but Diesel went to see and drive a practical electric truck. It may not have all of the highend super-high-tech of the the highly publicised trucks like Tesla or Nikola, but it does have some runs on the board.

he subject of electric trucks gets a lot of column inches in magazines and countless speculative stories on truck-related websites around the world. On reading the kind of stories being told, you might believe that the electric trucking nirvana is just around the corner, it isn’t. This is new, complex and fast-developing technology, but there is a long way to go before it is the solution to all of our woes. The concept is a good one and powering a truck from an electricity grid using renewable energy does mean the drastic lowering of carbon emissions. The issues facing developers now is not a proof of concept one, but one of getting a concept up and running in a fleet and making money for its operator. According SEA Electric, we are not there yet, but the company claims there is a clear road to a truck which will fulfil the brief of the future. SEA was a start-up company that came on the scene a few years ago and got a practical vehicle out there on the road and running. It is now in a phase of just getting the number of trucks it has built up and get those out onto the road and working. There are a few operators buying electric vehicles, but in the main there are other factors at play in the purchasing decision. The truck in the All Purpose Transport fleet was chosen as a result of its client, Ikea, declaring an aim to go to zero emission deliveries. There is no government help at all for zero emission operators. This does mean the take-up for electric trucks has been limited and the whole concept is quite slow in taking off. This doesn’t seem to deter Joe Di Santo, SEA Electric Sales Director ANZ, who works out of the SEA Electric headquarters in Dandenong in Victoria. “What I have found is that, if you can get it right here, it’s very scalable,” says Joe. “It is so different here, more complex and more detailed. So, if you can get it working here, it is usually a good sign that it will work in the US and markets like that. “Australia is a very different market for us. We are the only region that has a manufacturing plant, elsewhere in the world is more about licensing our technology. In the US we have licensing partners assembling the vehicles. We are working with Ford and had our first big order of 100 units. “In our Australian operation, we are working towards our facility in the Latrobe

Joe Di Santo, SEA Electric Sales Director ANZ.

Valley. That assembly plant transition is happening very smoothly, but it still not going to be available for another two years. In the meantime, we have our assemble facility in Dandenong, hopefully, that will be enough and become really efficient, but if there is more demand we may have go to a transitional facility until the Latrobe one opens.” According to SEA, the plant in the Latrobe Valley will be a fully functioning assembly facility capable of producing 2,500 per year. At the same time there are a number of research projects in which SEA is working with truck, bus and van manufacturers. There have already been trucks built using Isuzu, Hino and Iveco trucks, with the original power plant being replaced by an electric drive. These are under evaluation, either by the manufacturers themselves or with some of their customers. These relationships look set to become more developed as the number of vehicles involved increase. This should see the current practice of removing the driveline before replacing it, being superseded by trucks being supplied from the assembly line as gliders, without the engines included.

LET’S TALK ABOUT BATTERIES One of the ongoing issues which can hold back electric truck development is the battery technology available. This is a fast-moving field and new technology is appearing all of the time. This development is crucial, as the way to make them economically viable is for the batteries to be lighter and able to hold more charge, giving the electric trucks more range.

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TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

New battery technology seems to arrive about once every three months, but there have not been any quantum leaps in energy density in batteries suitable to be fitted in trucks in the recent past. “Up until about July last year we had a lot of increases in battery density,” says Joe. “From our understanding the next wave of improvement is still about 18 months away. This means we will have a stability in our product. What we now have is what we will continue to have over the next 18 months. “At that point we can expect to get more energy into that box and increase the density. We are going to stick with what we’ve got and, instead of doing R&D projects, we can start to pump out some really big numbers of Hino 917 electric trucks. “Most of our customers understand that buying these trucks is like buying a laptop. Do you want to wait 18 months to get the next technology? At this time, most of the purchases are quite strategic. They have a real marketing initiative behind them, they’re there to promote the transition to new technology.”

CORE MARKET Essentially, SEA’s core market is the simple 200km and back to base type application and then recharge overnight. A 20 per cent improvement in battery density would only move the range out to 240km, so this is not a major game-changer for potential buyers. The technology which is likely to move the market in electric trucks forward is the advent of fast charging. SEA has introduced a fast charging option with its latest trucks. The fast charging system is now available and simply needs a three phase power outlet. With this kind of technology onboard, the idea of ‘opportunity charging’ comes along.

Fast charging the truck up in the driver’s lunch break or while loading can deliver a longer range and improved productivity.

DRIVER BEHAVIOUR One of the first things anyone will notice when driving an electric truck is just how fast it will accelerate away from a standing start. This was certainly the experience of this driver taking one of the SEA trucks out of the Dandenong facility for a test run. Gentle pressure on the accelerator will give you gentle acceleration, but push it to the floor and the driver’s body is pushed back into the seat by the G-force. This intense acceleration is because the full torque from the motor is available right from zero rpm all way to cruising speed, unlike the typical torque curve on the standard diesel engine. This is one of the issues that operators are seeing when they monitor driver behaviour on their electric trucks. The temptation to accelerate fast is difficult for the drivers to resist. Drivers used to diesel trucks around the city are used to banging hard on the accelerator and then banging hard on the brake. This kind of behaviour is not desirable in either diesel or electric trucks. Controlled and gentle acceleration is good for fuel consumption in a diesel, but in an electric truck it can use up precious watts and restrict range. Similarly, when it comes to fast deceleration in an electric truck, the use of regenerative braking, instead of service brakes, sees power being put back into the battery, as well as saving brake wear. From the driver’s seat this regenerative braking feels like the effect we have come to expect from a good engine brake or transmission retarder. The trucks slows up pretty quickly, and a lot faster than this sort of truck would expect from the exhaust

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brake, normally fitted with a diesel engine. As the driver takes their foot off the accelerator regenerative braking starts. The first touch of the brakes sees the regenerative braking become more aggressive. Only further pressure on the brake pedal brings in the service brakes. The latest SEA models also use the exhaust brake stalk on the steering column to activate aggressive regenerative braking. “We have got to try and detune the acceleration and make it a little more progressive, it might give us an extra five per cent in range,” says Joe. “It’s a culmination of different things and we are still in the research stage. We are looking at taking away the ability for the driver to become inefficient. “Even when our vehicles go over 80km/h, the equilibrium between speed and wind resistance is quite profound on the performance of the vehicle. We are talking to customers and asking if it would be OK to limit them to 80km/h, because you could get another five to ten per cent in range. “These are all the little things we are starting to pick up and I think we have done our analysis of this and will have something ready before April.”

REALISTIC SCENARIO “We are really in a consolidation phase now,” says Joe. “We’ve moved from a research and develppment business, to one pumping out the same type of product consistently. We are doing production now. The next 12 months will be important for us to keep refining the process. “We have got the product quality where we want it. It’s more about production time now. Instead of taking three months to build a vehicle, it needs to be three weeks. That will help when we are setting up the Latrobe Valley assembly plant, as well.

TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

“The other priority is securing other original equipment manufacturing organisations. We want to remain agnostic about the vehicle, and have these OEMs wanting us to convert their vehicles. We know that in seven years time they will have their own electric trucks. “This window of opportunity does two or three things, if we don’t become their longterm provider, and there’s a chance that we could be, there are opportunities coming to us every day to convert old trucks. What are you going to do with a diesel truck in ten years time?” SEA is looking beyond the point where the electric truck is ubiquitous and expecting the market for conversions to continue apace.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE FUTURE For SEA the Australian market is unique. Elsewhere in the world, truck makers are buying the company’s kit to convert an existing truck or to fit in a truck they are building. Currently, SEA is active in New Zealand with a sales and servicing presence supporting existing trucks and selling new ones. There is government support in terms of a subsidy (often over $50,000) to encourage electric vehicles. There is an operation in Thailand supporting a few projects. Here, vehicle manufacturers are looking at the SEA drivetrain to be fitted in vehicles on the assembly line. The company is developing its presence in Europe, but says it is currently in a fact finding stage, working out where the demand for a plug and play electric driveline may grow. The US is the region where the company has made considerable headway. The SEA founder and CEO, Tony Fairweather, has

relocated to North America to support the company’s efforts in the region. The team in the US is working with vehicle manufacturers to sell electric drivetrains for inclusion in their vehicles. Electric buyers can receive up to 80 per cent off the price through government grants to improve air quality. “We always think we are behind the eight ball, here in Australia,” says Joe. “”But then we built the UPS delivery van with our driveline for the US market. We built it for Ford in the US and last year went to a truck show with our driveline on the stand. All of our potential competitors came and had a look at our set-up. “While we have all of the motor and batteries within the chassis, all of our competitors had batteries where the fuel tanks used to be. All of them told us that inside the chassis was the best place to fit them. It was a real shot in the arm for our confidence.” Unlike many electric trucks, the SEA doesn’t use cooling for the batteries, only for the motor. Many manufacturers are using more sophisticated batteries, but often these require extra cooling. The possibility in Australia of some form

of government help for anyone buying an electric truck is not on the horizon. In fact, if the numbers of electric trucks start to ramp up steeply, the government will be looking at decreasing revenues from fuel excise. There will be time for the government to fumble their way through this issue and would be expecting the long mooted mass/ distance/location charging scheme to come into its own and end a connection with fuel sales. There is a clear change going on in corporate Australia, moving well ahead of the federal government in terms of environmental efforts to reduce climate change. This is likely to be the impetus for change and a move to increase electric power sales. There is the potential for the big players to gain credibility for their climate change positions, by buying electric transport. Finance companies were originally skeptical about offering their services to those buying electric trucks, but there has been a cultural change as the concept has gained credibility and the prospect of demand for electric trucks into the future.

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TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

LOOKING AT THE

BIG PICT FOR FREIGHTLINER

DIESEL March-April 2020

TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

URE T

here can be no doubt that the future of truck design and manufacture is in a state of flux at the moment. The days when diesel power was the only way to go have now passed. We have electric, hydrogen, natural gas, bio-gas and much more. Similarly, the spectre of autonomous trucks hangs over the head of the truck manufacturers, with no clear timeline. For the launch of the new Freightliner Cascadia, recently, some of the top executives in the Daimler Truck organisation were in town and sat down with the Australian truck media to discuss all things truck and trucking. In terms of scale, the Daimler Trucks

As the world’s largest truck manufacturer, Daimler is going to have a major influence on the future of truck development. Tim Giles got a chance to question some of its global leadership team to find out their thoughts.

organisation is a major player in global trucks, probably the biggest in the world. In the North American market it sold 190,000 trucks last year, including 40 per cent of all sales of heavy duty trucks. The number in Europe was around 80,000. Overall, globally, the business sold over 450,000 trucks and buses through all of its brands. In comparison to these massive numbers, Australia managed to buy 1624 Mercedes Benz, 3382 Fuso and 280 Freightliner trucks, to give them a grand total of 5,286 for the year in 2019. Recent years have seen the Mercedes Benz brand bounce with strong sales on the back of the introduction of the new heavy duty range in 2016. Fuso have always been a strong player,

especially in light and medium duty and Freightliner have been struggling since the discontinuation of the Argosy model. The organisation expects to reinvigorate the Freightliner brand with serious intent and an investment of $100 million in configuring the Cascadia for the Australian market. Early signs show a lot of interest in the Australian truck market for a conventional which comes bundled with a fuel efficient driveline and all of the latest electronic and safety features available off the shelf. Martin Daum as the Chairman of the Board of Management at Daimler Truck is the global chief when it comes to Daimler Trucks and he spoke to a selection of

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TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

Martin Daum is the Chairman of the Board of Management at Daimler Trucks.

journalists in the run up to the pizazz of the Cascadia’s launch in Sydney at the end of 2019. “Buying a truck is the most important decision in the life of a transport company,” says Martin. “If we fail, we let them down. We want to give them them the best available product. We are just about everywhere in the world, there are very few countries where we are not currently present. North Korea won’t let us in and Venezuela don’t have any money. “We have all of our brands in Australia and it makes it an interesting market for us, it’s really a lab where all of the different technologies and brands come together. The market can pick and choose what the best is. Funnily enough, everyone has their niche. It also shows our global brands have a right to be there. “We had one big failure here, when the initial Cascadia was launched in 2008 in the US, it was a left hand drive truck. We made a mistake, that we weren’t able to make that truck in a right hand drive. It was only developed in left hand drive and it was impossible to make it into a righthand drive.” From 2009, Daum was President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America and was involved in the process of getting the Cascadia redesigned with one of the aspects being to make it able to be introduced into Australia. This was going to be a major project and had to wait for a major redesign of the US Cascadia, which was completed and launched in 2016.

DIESEL March-April 2020

Looking back at why the original design for the Cascadia was concieved and designed solely for the North American market, you have to go back into the period at the beginning of the 21st century when Freightliner was very much an inward looking organisation and only beginning to become aware of the global implications of the development of the Daimler Group. “It comes down to having the guts to make the investment,” says Roger Nielsen, President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America. “If I go back to making the right hand drive version of Columbia or even the Coronado, you wouldn’t find us spending more than one single digit million dollars. And you saw that impact, the low investment and low volume tooling that went into those products. This resulted in trucks which didn’t meet all of the expectations of our customers. “But now to go out and spend $100 million to tool the new Cascadia up properly and to keep it configured at the same level as the American configurations. That allows us to get that truck durable from its arrival on day one and it allows us to keep pace with everything else as it changes on the Cascadia, going forward. “Australian products are no longer this unique special project which has to be justified by itself. The team in Australia are going to have a hard time keeping up with the pace of changes we are making in America to make the truck more durable.” It was the change in philosophy brought in by Martin Daum after 2010 which saw a change in outlook and in 2016 the process of developing the Cascadia to be released here began. The cabin had been reshaped to allow it to handle left and right hand drive options.

“Cascadia fits perfectly into our worldwide strategy and focus,” says Martin. “We want to have global innovation and local customisation. Innovation, these days is expensive. We are testing the limits of physics and that is important when it comes to fuel efficiency and reliability. “You need the scale that a market like Australia does not have, you need a global scale. Even the US on its own is not enough to sustain the technology that we need these days. Europe, alone, wouldn’t be big enough to sustain the technology we have in Actros. It takes big markets, 300,000 markets, that shoulder the enormous investments we make every year and pour into those products and technology. “We spend 1.4 billion Euros (AUD $2.3 billion) every year in research and development. So you need the volume to carry that enormous annual investment. Out of that you get the finest technology, which drives reliability, fuel efficiency, safety, connectivity. There are so many things you can do with electronics and push it even further.” As a result of this kind of investment, any new technology will go through a process to ensure it will be possible to be used across all of Daimler’s brands, including Freightliner, Mercedes Benz and Fuso. “On the other side of the coin we are fully aware that every market has its own special requirements,” says Martin. “Australia has the road trains, the dusty roads in the outback. Every country has their own regulations and traditions for its drivers, things they like and dislike. “In every market we are in we want to be as close as possible to the local customer, because we want to serve those who keep that particular country moving. We want

Freightliner have been struggling since the discontinuation of the Argosy model, but expects to reinvigorate the brand with an investment of $100 million in configuring the Cascadia.

TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

Speaking at the launch of the Cascadia in Australia, Daniel Whitehead, Daimler Trucks Australia Managing Director.

to be Americans in America, Germans in Germany, Indians in India and Australians in Australia. We always have strong local management in place.”

LOWERING CARBON EMISSIONS, INCREASING SAFETY “When you look at our technology focus then it is all about emissions,” says Martin. “We want to potentially, one day, be CO2 free. Now, it is technically possible, but economically not feasible. If the world wants it we can deliver trucks pretty quickly. They will be more expensive than diesel, nothing beats diesel. “We have safety, but safety and automation are going along hand in hand. We are talking about driver assistance

systems. Making the driver become more safe and running more efficiently. From there it will be a small step, eventually to do it without a driver. That’s all still a little bit sci-fi, but it will come in the future. It’s not impossible and we are working on it. “I would say the best highway truck in the world, that money can buy, is the Cascadia in North America. We get rewarded with extraordinary market share with that truck. It is the core of our global business and it’s a well deserved spot, because we poured in all of the excellence from our German and American engineering.” During the development phase of the Cascadia for Australia a debate about whether to go with Euro 5 or Euro 6

In the US market, 50 per cent of customer buy the full suite of safety systems and some fleets which have invested in this are reporting a 95 per cent reduction in rear end collisions.

DIESEL March-April 2020

engine configuration led to Australia deciding to sacrifice a little bit of horsepower to use the same emissions control system as is being used in the US. This keeps the Australian trucks on the same electronic architecture as the US and will benefit from the ongoing updates in the States being available at the same time down under. Currently, in the US, the state of the art electronics using, what Daimler calls the Detroit Assurance 5.0 electronics which control the truck safety systems, the Cascadia in Australia is capable of running with this system. In the US market, 50 per cent of customers buy the full suite of safety systems and some fleets which have invested in this are reporting a 95 per cent reduction in rear end collisions. The eCascadia is going through development in the US. There are currently twenty of the fully electric powered Cascadia prime movers running on the highways of North America. “We talk about a C02 free electric truck and then we are technology agnostic about what gives the power to the electric truck,” said Martin. “Either it’s the electric grid and a battery or you have hydrogen fuel cell and use the electricity it produces on the truck. “A fuel cell truck and a battery electric truck are fairly similar. Both have their challenges for the future and both have their rewards. I see them as complementary technologies. We develop the trucks with batteries, but in way so we can always replace the battery with a fuel cell.”

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GOING GLOBAL

ZERO EMISSION TRUCK,

NIKOLA TRE

Going Global’s European Correspondent, Will Shiers, takes a look at the zero-emission truck, Nikola Tre, and catches up with Nikola’s outspoken CEO, Trevor Milton.

wenty years ago, Blockbuster was offered the chance to buy Netflix for US$50m (AUD$72m). But instead of realising the huge potential the start-up company had, Blockbuster’s CEO thought it was a joke, and reportedly laughed his competitor out of the room. At the time Blockbuster had more than 9,000 stores and employed in excess of 84,000 people worldwide. Today, according to Wikipedia, it has one store and employs three people! Why am I telling you this? Because

DIESEL March-April 2020

Nikola Motor’s self-made billionaire boss Trevor Milton, reckons a similar situation is currently unfolding in the truck industry. Speaking at the launch of the zero-emission Nikola Tre in Turin last December, he reveals how he was approached by all of the established truck makers. “As we met with them [the OEMs] their arrogance really made me mad,” says Trevor. “I’m an anti-arrogant kind of guy. I truly believe that in this world a rising tide raises all ships, and all they wanted to do was tear us down. All they

GOING GLOBAL

Trevor Milton, Nikola CEO

did was talk about how good they are, how big they are, how they are number one or number two or whatever. It made me cringe. I hated everything about it. “When Blockbuster dismissed Netflix their words were ‘we’re the biggest, we’re the best, we’re number one. Why do we need you?’ And that is the same treatment I got with these OEMs. I couldn’t believe it. I hated everything about it. “Well, this is the Netflix moment, and we are kicking their asses.” The ‘we’ he’s referring to is Nikola and its new European partner Iveco, the one established OEM that came to that first meeting with what Milton describes as ‘the right attitude’. “They said ‘we’re struggling, we need

help,” recalls Trevor. “We are really good at building trucks, but we are not any good at anything you guys are doing’. They looked at our whole portfolio and they said ‘we want to do all this and we need your help’. They said ‘what do you guys struggle with?’ and I said ‘here’s all the things that we suck at’.” According to Trevor, one of the key areas where Nikola ‘sucks’ is with manufacturing. “It takes decades to learn this stuff,” says Trevor. “And I didn’t want to learn it. I didn’t want to take the path of our competitors, like Tesla. I wanted to work with an OEM that knows truck manufacturing, has a parts supply, a supplier base and purchasing power, but I wanted someone humble enough for us to work with and make a difference with. And Iveco won hands down. It wasn’t even close.” Winning allowed Iveco’s parent company CNH to invest US$250m (AUD$375m) in Nikola, and set up a joint venture in Europe. The product of this collaboration is the Tre, a zero-emission heavy truck aimed at markets outside of North America. Manufactured by Iveco in Europe, the truck uses a choice of two Nikola zero-emission drivelines. First deliveries of the battery electric

THE FUTURE OF DIESEL Nikola CEO, Trevor Milton, believes diesel’s days are numbered, and thinks they will gradually be phased out in the next decade. “Although the diesel engine will still exist for the foreseeable future, it will become so cost prohibitive to own them based upon emissions regulations,” says Trevor. “Nobody is putting R&D into diesel any more, it is completely done. One of the suppliers just announced that they are getting out of diesel injectors. That’s a massive problem. There is no more investment into diesel. It is all going into zero emissions. “So, it’s just a matter of time until all the orders coming in are for zeroemission. The problem is none of the OEMs can build enough to satisfy the market, so for the next 10 years they [diesel trucks] will still exist, but their values will plunge and their costs will go up. They’re dying pretty quick.”

Tre, which has a 400km range, will commence in Europe next year. The hydrogen fuel cell version, which is capable of covering 800km on a single fill, will follow in 2023.

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GOING GLOBAL Launched initially as a 4x2 prime mover, the Nikola Tre will be offered in a variety of configurations, including 6x2 and 6x4.

HYDROGEN AVAILIBILITY In order to avoid the age-old chicken and egg supply and demand problem, Nikola intends to construct its own hydrogen fuelling/charging stations, both in the US and in Europe. While it envisages needing 700 of them Stateside, in Europe it believes 70 should suffice. European hydrogen stations will be opened in phases, commencing in 2022 along major freight corridors in central Europe, including France, Germany, Benelux and Italy. Phase two in 2026 adds the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal. The final phase, which takes us to 2030, covers the rest of the continent. These sites will produce their own green hydrogen, using only renewable clean electricity. In most cases this will be solar, but on occasions wind will be used. Each hydrogen production station will initially be capable of making eight tonnes of the gas every day, but will be expandable to a potential 32 tonnes. Hydrogen production is water and electricity-intensive, requiring 75,000 litres and 17.8 megawatts respectively. Nikola is currently experimenting with using grey water to reduce its environmental impact.

DIESEL March-April 2020

The Tre is based on the new Iveco S-Way, and will have its batteries and hydrogen tanks mounted to the existing chassis. The cab has undergone some significant alterations at the hands of Italdesign. The Turin-based automotive design company was actually responsible for the first version of the Tre, unveiled in Scottsdale, Arizona, during last year’s Nikola World event. One of the key design features is a new, larger grille, which provides increased airflow, resulting in improved cooling. The truck is also more slippery than the S-Way, thanks to cameras replacing external mirrors. Very little of the S-Way’s interior remains, and the redesigned dashboard now incorporates a new multifunction infotainment and navigation system. While badged as Nikola, the trucks will be sold and maintained through Iveco’s European dealer network. Prices are yet to be unveiled, but Trevor assures me that total cost of ownership will be better than, or at least comparable to diesel-powered trucks. In the US, Nikola trucks will be leased to customers on a sevenyear 700,000 mile basis, which will include maintenance and the supply of hydrogen. Nikola and Iveco are

expected to go down a similar route in Europe (see breakout box). Although launched initially as a 4x2 prime mover, the Nikola Tre will be offered in a variety of configurations, including 6x2 and 6x4, and two and three axle rigids. Although I was unable to get confirmation as to whether it will

TECH SPEC Model: Nikola Tre battery electric Power output: 653hp (480kW) Peak torque: 1,800Nm Range: 400km Speed: 120km/h Grade start: 17 per cent Speed on 6 per cent grade: 56km/h Charging capacity: 350kW Average charge time: 120 mins Model: Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell Power output: 653hp (480kW) Peak torque: 1,800Nm Range: 800km Speed: 120km/h (but limited to 56km/h) Grade start: 17 per cent Speed on 6 per cent grade: 56km/h Max hydrogen on board: 80kg Average refuel time: 15 mins

GOING GLOBAL

PERFECT PARTNERSHIP Both Iveco and Nikola describe their European joint venture as a perfect partnership, but what do each get out of it? The benefits for Nikola are blindingly obvious. Access to a donor vehicle and a ready-made dealer network, have according to Milton, accelerated its European programme ‘by four to five years, and saved half a billion dollars’. But there’s more to it than that. Not all of Iveco’s investment was cash. Instead a sizeable sum will be delivered in services.

“In the US we have a beautiful truck [Nikola Two] that is already on the road, but parts are falling off everywhere, and windows are cracking as it goes down the road,” explains Trevor Milton, Nikola CEO. “What we wanted to do was figure out how to prevent that from the beginning. “And so, we told Iveco, ‘we’ll do the JV with you in Europe with the Nikola Tre but we need your help in the US’, and they agreed. Iveco will help us through the whole process. They’re setting up our

factory, they are designing it, they are designing our truck with us, they are validating it, you couldn’t ask for a better partner.” In return for its investment, Iveco’s parent company CNH Industrial gets between seven and eight per cent of Nikola Motor stock. But more importantly, it gives it access to Nikola’s zero-emission drivelines. This is vital if the truck maker is to hit the EU targets of 15 per cent less CO2 by 2025, and 30 per cent less CO2 by 2030, and avoid hefty fines.

The cab has undergone some significant alterations at the hands of Italdesign.

be coming to Australia, it will definitely be available in right-hand drive. Trevor has high expectations for the Tre, anticipating ultimately selling 35,000 units per annum. So, is this really the ‘Netflix moment’ that Trevor claims it to be? Probably not. By his own admission the established OEMs are ‘right behind us’. He tells me that the competition all have the same technology as Nikola, and that the only reason why they haven’t already brought it to market is because they prefer to ‘reap billions of dollars of rewards off their diesel programmes’. If this is true, I can’t say I blame them! Unlike Nikola, the likes of

Daimler, Traton and Volvo Group have been forced to invest billions of euros tackling ever-stringent emissions standards, so naturally they want to recoup some of their colossal investment. My view is that Nikola’s arrival in Europe will certainly shake things up a bit. But while it will definitely steal a march on the competition, its dominance is likely to be relatively short-lived. You can’t rent DVDs from your local high street any more, but pretty soon I reckon you’ll be able to stream Netflix into the cabs of hydrogen-powered Mercedes, Volvos and Scanias!

The truck is more slippery than the S-Way, thanks to cameras replacing external mirrors.

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TECH KNOW

USING TRUCK MAINTENANCE DATA FOR COR There has been a change in emphasis of responsibility for those working on the maintenance of trucks, in terms of the Chain of Responsibility and how operators could be using their truck maintenance data for CoR.

ne of the changes which was enacted in the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) in October last year was the inclusion of vehicle standards in the remit of the CoR legislation. The new regulation introduces new safety duties. There is now a shared responsibility across all of the parties in the chain. Anything which a party can control or influence is now deemed to be something they are responsible for. A trucking operator will be responsible for their maintenance, but someone else in the chain, like the consignor, will be responsible for engaging a trucking operator which maintains and runs its trucks properly. The operator and consignor share the responsibility of moving freight with a safely maintained truck. There is a primary duty incumbent upon everyone that they must ensure the safety of the activity. There doesn’t have to be a safety breach for someone to get into trouble. The onus is on parties in the chain to demonstrate that they have actively sought safety in the trucking operation. The onus on anyone involved is that in their actions they do what is a reasonable thing to do. What was the likelihood of something untoward happening and what was the consequence of it happening? “One of the regular questions we have received, since we went live with the CoR is around vehicle technology,” says Peter Austin, Vehicle Safety and Performance Manager at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. “There are a lot of trucks rolling out into the industry with comprehensive safety packages, but how does CoR and safety technology interact. “The long and short of it is nothing special. The technology is just another risk mitigation or risk elimination technology

DIESEL March-April 2020

that you can incorporate into the CoR. The Chain of Responsibility does not make this kind of safety technology mandatory. “As you examine your transport activities and you identify a risk that a safety technology can help you mitigate, you need to consider it. If you are buying a new vehicle and a safety system is offered as standard, you cannot option that off. Because then it is not reasonably practical. You have access to that technology and you didn’t use it.” The fact of the matter is a lot of these safety systems are now starting to be offered as standard on many new trucks. The new technology will be flowing into the national fleet naturally. “One thing to note is that a lot of these

Peter Austin, Vehicle Safety and Performance Manager at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

safety systems come with a lot of data about the vehicle,” says Peter. “One of the most obvious is Trailer Electronic Braking Systems (TEBS). The data you can get about the state of the braking system and the way the driver is driving the vehicle is invaluable. “At the end of the day, if you have a driver who is pushing all of the limits of the vehicle, it is going to be costing a lot in brakes and tyres. Not to mention the fact you are likely to end up with the vehicle in a ditch somewhere. “It’s not about big brother watching drivers, it’s about how you make sure you have a policy about drivers driving at certain appropriate speeds. The TEBS data can tell you whether or not this policy is being followed and whether you need to do some follow up education and training.” Not only can this data be a way of seeing whether drivers are acting responsibly, it can also tell an operator when policies and procedures may need updating.

DIESEL WORKSHOP

REDARC PARTNERS WITH THE AUSTRALIA MADE CAMPAIGN Redarc has partnered with the official Australian Made Campaign and adopted the iconic Australian Made and Owned Logo.

capability coupled with continuous improvement processes, mean that Redarc products benefit from an everincreasing level of durability.

GROWING EXPORT BUSINESS

ff the back of Redarc Electronics’ 40th Anniversary in 2019, this family-owned, South Australian company is starting the year 2020 by continuing their celebration of Australian manufacturing and Australian made products. Redarc research, design, develop and manufacture advanced electronic products in SA. They are well renowned for their range of electronic voltage converters, power supplies, DC to DC battery chargers, brake controllers and trailer braking products.

advantage,” said Anthony Kittel, Redarc Managing Director. “We know that fellow Australians also feel strongly about supporting local industry, and using the Australian Made logo is the easiest way for customers to identify these products.” Ben Lazzaro, Chief Executive Australian Made Campaign said, “It’s fantastic that Redarc has chosen to celebrate their Australian credentials by carrying the trusted Australian Made logo on its products.

THE TIME IS RIGHT

AUSTRALIAN MADE AND TESTED FOR AUSTRALIA’S HARSHEST CONDITIONS

In Redarc’s 40-year history, they have not considered going off-shore, and are determined that Redarc will continue to excel as a manufacturer in Australia. “With a growing export portfolio, the time was right to bring more attention to our Australian-made products, because we believe that ‘Australian Made’ is a point of competitive

“When a product is known to be made in Australia, there is an immediate connection to higher quality standards,” said Anthony. To ensure that quality remains Redarc’s hallmark, their products are built and tested for Australia’s harsh conditions. Their state-ofthe-art manufacturing and testing

In export markets, the Australian Made logo makes the ‘Australian connection’ instantly and clearly, providing recognisable third-party accreditation and delivering confidence to consumers. Redarc is currently taking their domestically proven products to relevant export markets including North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), UK and Europe, New Zealand, the Middle East, South Korea and South Africa. “Our global reach is expanding through our dedicated export strategies and I am pleased that Redarc products have been shipped to more than 35 countries,” said Anthony. “Australian Made is a strength that we place front and centre in our communications, and the logo is a brilliant tool that reinforces this message visually.” The Australian Made logo will make its debut on many of Redarc’s popular products including their range of TowPro Electric Trailer Brake Controllers, gauges, BCDC In-vehicle Battery Chargers, Battery Managements Systems such as The Manager series, their recently launched control and distribution system – RedVision, safety products such as the Roll Over Sensor and Battery Master Isolation Switch and many more.

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TECH KNOW

APPRENTICE COMPETITION RETURNS FOR 2020 The Capricorn Rising Stars search for Australia’s most promising automotive apprentice returns in 2020.

apricorn Members can nominate their star apprentices online with entries open from February 1 to April 30, 2020 via the competition website, at www. capricornrisingstars.com. Supported by Capricorn Preferred Suppliers Castrol, Repco, Autodata Training, The Workshop Whisperer and TaT, this competition is an opportunity for Capricorn Members to recognise, reward and retain their high performing apprentices who show initiative, eagerness to learn and commitment to their careers. Through the simple act of submitting

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a nomination, Capricorn Members are encouraging their apprentices and letting them know that they have a bright future ahead of them in the auto industry. All apprentices nominated receive a certificate recognising their achievement with the top 5 finalists and overall winner sharing in some amazing prizes which include an all expenses paid trip to the Vodafone Gold Coast 600, a $1000 Repco Voucher, Workshop Whisperer Leadership Academy training, an Autodata Training subscription, industry event tickets and much more. The Capricorn Member who nominates the overall winner doesn’t miss out either, receiving 150,000 Capricorn Rewards points. Capricorn Automotive Chief Executive Officer, Bradley Gannon, encouraged Capricorn Members to nominate their apprentice for the benefit of the broader

industry. “It is clear we need to come together as an industry to support and retain the young men and women who are the future. “The Capricorn Rising Stars program is one simple way our Members can do this, building their relationships with their apprentices to strengthen the industry more broadly. “We strongly encourage our Members to nominate their apprentices that are displaying outstanding commitment so early in their automotive repair careers,” says Bradley. Last year a total of 533 apprentices were nominated by Capricorn Members, outlining the growing popularity and broad industry recognition that this unique automotive aftermarket apprentice-based accolade brings. Capricorn Members can nominate their star apprentices online until April 30, 2020 at www. capricornrisingstars.com.

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NEW EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD FROM CTRACK The user interface for trucking fleets has got easier with the introduction of Ctrack’s new Executive Dashboard. This innovative dashboard is available now designed to deliver richer insights on fleet and driver performance.

nstead of long reports and streams of data for fleet managers to plough through, the new interface concentrates on comparison of data at a higher or lower level, depending on the manager’s needs. This is presented in a graphical format with simple colour coding to emphasise where issues are occurring and which areas the manager may need to investigate further. Ctrack reckons the Executive Dashboard will enable fleet operators to gain further operational insight and business intelligence, identify trends and underlying root causes within minutes. The coloured graphs will compare the metrics the operator wants to look at over a time period they can specify. Managers will be able to see whether the figures have improved over those for the previous month, or week, or any time period the operation chooses. If they identify a subject they want to examine further, such as particular area, depot, truck or driver, it is simply a matter of clicking on the metric of concern and getting detailed information in that area. If the dashboard highlights truck speeding as an issue, the manager

can then investigate which areas of the business are having the most events. It can then drill on down to show the vehicles the manager will need to focus on to reduce speeding events in the fleet. This drilling down process can bring them right down to the individual vehicle or individual personnel. The person using the dashboard will get the preferred view for their position in the operation and the ability to drill down through the data relevant to their responsibilities. It can offer a helicopter view of the operation for a senior manager or as a snapshot of a particular aspect of an operation for a manager whose responsibility is in one of the many data sets the system is monitoring. The data on show can be used as way of summarising the situation, highlighting areas of concern or examining an individual item’s detailed data. It can take a few seconds to identify an area of concern and identify where the problem may lie. Any clear outlier is made obvious and by clicking on the problem topic the manager can work down though the layers of data to the root cause. The interface is customisable in terms

of the way different business groups are represented in the system. From this the hierarchy controls which person will see which relevant screen to aid them in monitoring their area of responsibility. The picture available gives an end-toend view all of the way from an individual driver’s behaviour, with aspects like acceleration, braking and cornering, though items like speeding issues, complaints about drivers, overall usage data, including truck idling, fuel usage. For the management within the operation this new dashboard makes the data more accessible for people who may not be used to checking through spreadsheets of raw data. The system is designed to allow them to only see what they need to see and it will highlight the areas that may require further investigation. “Following 2019ʼs focus and investment on product development, the Executive Dashboard sets the stage for what is going to be an exciting year for Ctrack, particularly in moving towards a more intelligent, data-focused approach for customers,” says Jo Biddle, Global Head of Marketing for Ctrack.

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TECH KNOW

MERITOR CELEBRATES

50 YEARS IN AUSTRALIA

As a renowned premium brand in the Australian truck market, Meritor has been supplying the Australian trucking industry since 1970. This year the company is celebrating 50 years of operations in Australia.

A vital new automated system also aligns the yokes, straightens the shaft and welds the sections in place.

t was back in 1969 that the decision was made by Rockwell and Industrial Engineering to establish a purposebuilt drive axle manufacturing plant in Sunshine, Melbourne. Through a number of name changes and the ups and downs of the automotive industry in Australia, Meritor has continued to supply components upon which the trucking industry has relied. Over the years, drive and steer axles have been supplied to Ford, Chrysler, Atkinson, International, White Motors, Leader, Volvo, Mack, Kenworth and Iveco. While the industry has changed significantly in this time and several of these names no longer exist in the Australian truck market, it’s a significant achievement that for over half a century the Sunshine facility has continued to produce

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axles, first under the Rockwell name, later as Arvin Meritor, and since 2011 under the Meritor name. Among Meritor’s portfolio are tandem and tri-drive axles, steer axles, drivelines, air disc brakes, and drum brakes. Drive and steer axles are assembled in the Sunshine facility and supplied in sequence to the production lines of the local truck manufacturers. Globally, Meritor now employs over 8,000 people in 19 countries and the Sunshine facility is just one of 31 manufacturing sites around the globe. While Sunshine remains the base for the Australian axle operations today, since 2002 the company has also supplied an everexpanding range of aftermarket parts for both heavy duty trucks and trailers from its

nearby 10,000m2 warehouse in Derrimut. This dedicated aftermarket facility also produces brake shoe kits riveted and assembled locally. “We pride ourselves on quality, engineered solutions for our customers backed by that local service and support” says David Cole, Managing Director of Meritor Australia. “Australian customer requirements and expectations are unique. Our drivetrain products need to be increasingly efficient and lighter to optimise payload while decreasing fuel use however our customers are also hauling heavier and heavier loads in some of the world’s toughest conditions. Having local engineering and manufacturing expertise has enabled Meritor to pull the appropriate technology from every global source to meet these needs of the Australian truck owner, while remaining reliable and cost effective”. In the year it celebrates 50 years in Australia, Meritor is continuing to invest in local manufacturing expertise, recently adding the capability to build and balance drivelines in-house at the Sunshine facility. This sees the component manufacturer take further control of the reliability and quality of its driveline products. The new build and balance process is now ramping towards full production and will streamline the process of preparing drivelines for truck production. The imported driveshafts are cut, straightened, spun and balanced as a complete truck set to suit the lengths and specifications of the orders coming in from the truck makers. The equipment can correct any minor aberrations the testing identifies in the process. A vital

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for the past 50 years,” he said. “While we understand the future is difficult to predict, we believe our pipeline of electric axles and drivetrain products, combined with recent strategic investments Meritor has made globally, has us well positioned to be here supporting the Australian industry for another 50 years.”

Sunshine remains the base for the Australian axle operations today.

new automated system also aligns the yokes, straightens the shaft and welds the sections in place. The final critical step is balancing, where the driveshaft is spun on a machine and any imbalance corrected with small weights till the driveline is within strict performance parameters. When the process is finished the driveline is ready to be fitted into a truck and handle the

task without unnecessary vibration. “As a global leader in drivetrain technology, this is an exciting time with the entire industry on the cusp of undergoing some dramatic changes driven by electrification” says Cole. “The combination of a global product portfolio supported by our own local, technical and customer service has served us well

TECH KNOW

AIR SPRINGS INSPECTION GUIDE

ir springs will last almost indefinitely in most applications. However, they fail quickly when rubbed, scuffed, or punctured. If an air spring fails, the trailer will settle on the internal rubber bumpers, allowing the driver to safely proceed to the nearest service facility at a lower speed. Close inspection of air springs is often neglected because of their normally long and trouble-free service life. To avoid unexpected failure, it is important to check and correct any issues during service.

regularly, removing dirt and dust that may build up around the bead. Any grime in this area will eventually wear through the rubber bellows and cause premature failure to occur. Air springs can be ripped apart if axle movement is not restrained by an axle restraint system, such as shock absorbers, chains or straps. Therefore, shock absorbers, restraints and mountings should be inspected for cracking and for serviceable condition. Replace all worn or damaged air spring or shock absorber components.

INSPECTION Look for chafing or any signs of component damage. Look for misplaced air lines that may rub on air spring bellows. Check to ensure truck or trailer ride height is at specification. Operating at an incorrect ride height will place extra strain on air springs, shock absorbers, axle restrain limiters and bump stops. Ensure that the upper bead plate is tight against the underside of the frame and that the mountings show no sign of movement. Air springs should be cleaned

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SKEL AND TIPPER APPLICATIONS When tippers are raised for tipping it is advisable that the air suspension is dumped of all air from the system. This is to increase stability when the centre of gravity is raised as the load is raised. Also, if the air springs are pressurised when the load is released suddenly; then the air springs will extend forcefully and put extreme loads on the shock absorbers and mounts. For this reason, container skels, and similar applications where loads are

removed suddenly, should also be dumped of air prior to removal of the load. When air suspensions are fitted to tip over axle tippers a pressure retention system should be fitted to the air suspension layout. The purpose of this system is to retain some residual pressure in the air springs so that the air spring bellows do not become caught between the piston and plate, where they may get damaged as the axle lowers back to the ground. It is important to not simply add a pressure valve to the exhaust port on most height control valves. Adding a pressure retention valve to the exhaust port will inhibit valve operation and will not retain any pressure in the air springs when dumped. This is because many valves, such as Barksdale, dump through a port in the body and not through the exhaust port that is used for height control. A system to retain some air spring pressure regardless of height control valve operation, such as a Hendrickson AK-136, should be installed between the air springs and height control valve.

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TECH KNOW

MASS MANAGEMENT REVIEW PROCESS

ith the current Chain of Responsibility (CoR) landscape, it is imperative that organisations review their safety management systems and mass management processes. Vehicle weighing systems enable organisations to take the guesswork out of the safe, legal vehicle loading of heavy trucks in their road transport supply chain by enabling drivers to avoid overloading and ensure equal load distribution while maximising payloads. To determine if a truck is overloaded or that a load is unequally distributed, enforcement agencies inspect, measure and sum axle group loads, rather than individual axles within the group. An axle group can be any combination of single, twin, tri or quad axles. Depending how the axle group is constructed, errors can occur when weighing individual axles in an axle group because of load

redistribution. This is why loadings in all data sheets related to heavy vehicles, show axle group weights not individual axle weights, and they are policed in this way. Integrating vehicle weighing solutions into an organisation’s safety management system will not only improve the safety of its road transport operations, but also enable it to realise a host of other benefits such as: • Meeting compliance requirements • Boosting operating efficiencies • Ensuring optimum allocation of resources • Sharing information with supply chain partners While most Diesel readers will be familiar with weigh-bridges, which can be suitable for trade-use where the weight of product will determine a charge; most organisations will only require a system that will be used as a control point to measure axle group weights for safety and Chain of Responsibility compliance purposes.

The following static and dynamic weighing equipment can be used to obtain the axle weights of heavy goods vehicles for these purposes: • Weighbridges • Static Axle weighers • Low Profile Axle weighers • Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) Systems • Onboard Overload Control Systems • Wheel Weigh Pads Diverseco’s Guide provides readers information about each device, and also the accessories and software systems that can transform these industrial weighing devices into fully fledged weighing systems that bring organisations myriad benefits beyond meeting compliance requirements. Link to content: https://marketing.diverseco.com.au/acton/ media/24772/ultimate-guide-to-vehicleweighing-systems

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TECH KNOW

KEEPING IT SAFE: BRAKE OPERATIONS For what is such an essential part of a well-maintained and safe vehicle, there can often be confusion around brake systems, especially when it comes to mixing brake airlines and park brake operations. Bob Woodward, Chief Engineer for the Australian Trucking Association discusses this issue in Diesel.

n issue the ATA’s Industry Technical Council (ITC) continues to be made aware of is instances where newly purchased and installed fittings or airlines have failed to seal correctly. Those experiencing the issues reported the installations leaking excessively while the vehicle was under test in the workshop. In these cases, the installations were replaced without further incident, but if they went undetected these leaks could cause a range of problems including the unintended activation of emergency braking systems. But what causes these incidents in the first place? Metric airlines and their fittings are available through a range of parts networks to support European truck models. However, the Australian market typically uses imperial sizes of airlines and fittings. Confusion can arise given the similar,

DIESEL March-April 2020

but not equivalent, sizes of these airlines. For example, the metric 12-millimetre line will appear to accept the imperial ½ inch olive, which has an equivalent to 12.7-millimetre outside diameter. This means the mismatch of fittings and airlines will result in a loss of integrity of the assembly. Additionally, the metric line has a smaller inside diameter restricting airflow, which could potentially result in the vehicle not being compliant with Australian Design Rules. To combat this issue, the ITC believes it essential that airlines and fittings use the same airline size and applicable standard, whether it be metric or imperial. It’s also recommended that workshop staff double-check the size printed on the airline before selecting matching fittings. Recommended follow up actions are to separate metric and imperial airlines and fittings, ensuring the stores are labelled correctly, and to educate staff about their differences. Another operational braking issue that has been reported is incidents in which setting the park brake on a prime mover either applied its trailer’s brakes on air or did not apply the trailer brakes at all. In Australia, the standard practice is that trailers are parked using the mechanical force of their spring brakes. Applying the park brake in the cab of a prime mover should apply these spring brakes on all connected trailers. Under the Australian Design Rules, trucks and prime movers that meet the European brake standard are deemed to meet the Australian standard, as long as they also meet a performance specification. However, some of these units use park brakes that only apply service air to the brakes on connected trailers, rather than spring brakes.

This is a less safe practice, because the brakes would release if the air leaked out, or a driver mistakenly disconnected the airlines in the wrong order. If a trailer is parked on spring brakes, the brakes will remain engaged even if the air pressure is lost – the brakes fail to safe. The European standard only requires the brakes to maintain pressure for 15 minutes, because drivers routinely fit wheel chocks. But because Australian operating practices don’t include the use of wheel chocks in these situations, there’s a real danger these braking systems could lead to a trailer rolling away, or damage of its landing legs. To assist operators in finding out what kind of park brakes are installed in a vehicle, the ITC developed a Technical Advisory Procedure that provides essential checks that ensure park brakes on their trucks restrain the trailers safely. The procedure recommends operators don’t park a combination on air, and that operators fit a door interlock system that sounds an alarm if the door is opened without the park brake being applied. It’s also recommended that drivers are trained to disconnect airlines and electrical cables before dropping landing legs and releasing the fifth wheel. Established in 1994, The ATA’s Industry Technical Council (ITC) is the trucking industry’s brains trust that solves issues and saves lives. Bringing together operators, suppliers, engineers and industry specialists, the ITC benefits its members and the trucking industry by raising technology and maintenance standards and improving the operational safety of the heavy vehicle industry. To view the Park Brake Operation Technical Advisory Procedures and others, head to www.truck.net.au

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