Prime Mover December 2019 by Prime Creative Media

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December 2019

League of their Own

Glen Cameron Group

IN CO-OPERATION WITH

DECEMBER 2019 $11.00

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Industry Feature: PBS Special Report Fleet: FoodBasket Personality: Adam Ritzinger Showcase: Detroit US Tour

Innovation Fleet: KTrans Technology: Tokyo Motor Show Test Drive: Scania R500 Final Mile: Fuso eCanter

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December 2019

League of their Own

Glen Cameron Group

MEET THE TEAM Australia’s leading truck magazine, Prime Mover, continues to invest more in its products and showcases a deep pool of editorial talent with a unique mix of experience and knowledge.

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John Murphy | CEO

John has been the nation’s foremost authority in commercial road transport media for almost two decades and is the driving force behind Prime Creative Media becoming Australia’s biggest specialist B2B publishing and events company. Committed to servicing the transport and logistics industry, John continues to work tirelessly to represent it in a positive light and is widely considered a true champion for the growth of the Australian trucking and manufacturing industry.

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Luke has a background in copywriting and content marketing, working with a range of businesses from solar and engineering to freight forwarding and 3PL. With a special focus on digital marketing and content creation, Luke has a strong strategic edge and can draw on years of experience in social media campaign management.

DECEMBER 2019 $11.00

ISSN 1838-2320

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In his 15-year career as a journalist, William has reported knowledgeably on sports, entertainment and agriculture. He has held senior positions in marketing and publicity across theatrical and home entertainment, and also has experience in B2B content creation and social media strategy for the logistics sector.

editor William Craske william.craske@primecreative.com.au managing editor, transport group

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A seasoned transport industry professional, Peter has spent more than a decade in the media industry. Starting out as a heavy vehicle mechanic, he managed a fuel tanker fleet and held a range of senior marketing and management positions in the oil and chemicals industry before becoming a nationally acclaimed transport journalist.

Innovation Fleet: KTrans Technology: Tokyo Motor Show Test Drive: Scania R500 Final Mile: Fuso eCanter

ceo John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

Peter Shields | Senior Feature Writer

Industry Feature: PBS Special Report Fleet: Food Bank Personality: Adam Ritzenger Showcase: Detroit US Tour

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PRIME MOVER magazine is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in PRIME MOVER magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in PRIME MOVER magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

CONTENTS

Prime Mover December 2019

32 38 42

COVER STORY “There’s a really strong connection and interaction between our team and the Air Liquide team daily to make sure everything is running the right way and not just for a safety perspective but obviously for customer service and everything that goes with that.”

HERE TO HELP

Prime Feature Stories FLEET FOCUS

22 League of their Own A fleet of the newest Scania NTG commercial vehicles have been purchased by Glen Cameron Group to coincide with its recently secured Air Liquide account. It represents one of the most ambitious projects for the prominent transport company.

48 Here to Help The Department of Human Services provides Mobile Services for communities in remote areas often devastated by natural disaster or economic hardships. It has partnered with SG Fleet to ensure its unique service is fitfor-purpose and always at the ready.

32 Waste Line

TEST DRIVE

With a major waste transport task to tackle, Perth based specialist logistics provider KTrans, turned to performance-based standards for an innovative take on the roadtrain double teaming up with Volvo Trucks and opting for I-Shift with crawler gears.

54 Open Range Prime Mover samples the six-cylinder Scania NTG R 500 to discern whether or not it has the goods to deliver in the demanding B-double application.

38 Enter Sand Man

06 From the Editor 08 Prime Mover News 58 Final Mile 66 Personality 70 Australian Road Transport Suppliers’ Association 73 Australian Trucking Association 74 Australian Logistics Council 76 Truck Industry Council 77 Victorian Transport Association 78 Peter Shields’ Number Crunch

Carting materials into building sites is the main task of Donald’s Sand and Soil and a new Fuso Shogun purchased for the operation has wasted no time proving its mettle. TRUCK AND TECH

42 Feeding the Five Thousand As the cost of living in today’s society continues to rise, providing nutritious food to those less fortunate is becoming increasingly critical. The FoodBasket at Maryborough has risen to this challenge, with the help of a new Hino 500 Series 10-pallet truck.

Regular Run

FROM THE EDITOR

Arrested Developments

William Craske Editor Roadtrains like those pioneered and unique to outback road transport in this country are currently undergoing a trial in the Great Plains region in the United States following the signing of a bill, little spoken about in our transport media, but ratified all the same by the North Dakota governor earlier this year. The bill passed legislature on 11 April to test the viability of using high mass Class 8 trucks and multi-trailer combinations in North Dakota as a countermeasure to tackle increased freight demand, decreasing rail availability and the current truck driver shortage. Proposed by Republican Senator Larry Luick, the bill was introduced by the North Dakota Senate Agriculture Committee to provide a roadtrain pilot

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program, which has since passed both houses. In his presentation, Luick listed increased freight demand, high driver turnover rates and hours-of-service regulations as key factors behind the necessity of a roadtrain pilot program. A safety study is now being conducted to assess the impact on public safety including roadway and bridge infrastructure, assembly areas and economics. If solutions to these issues are found, the pilot roadtrain project set for appraisal in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, would have provision to expand into other states and Canada, a country to date, facing similar challenges to its supply chain from driver shortages. North Dakota is known as the American food basket as the nation’s number one producer of spring wheat and sunflower, barley, oats, lentils, honey, beans, canola and flaxseed. A disruption to this supply chain would have immediate and long lasting consequences. The Australian market, of course, poses a unique set of driving conditions for road transport fleets whose operations endure the daily challenges of inhospitable terrain and extreme, often sweltering weather. In winter, North Dakota can reach temperatures of 50 below celsius making road conditions very different to the Australian outback where high gross combination vehicles, haul over 200 tonnes, fitted with road friendly suspensions on certain routes accessible only by permit.

Being as that the United States has not made any significant changes to its mass and size limits, at least federally, for nearly 40 years, the conundrum confronting freight operators looks certain to have reached a tipping point. An adaptation is now critical. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported in July the current driver shortage was a continuing problem for the entire supply chain as 71.4 per cent of all freight tonnage is moved on American highways. Last year’s driver shortage was estimated at 60,800, a record high and a 20 per cent increase on the year prior. Should the current trend hold, the shortage, according to the ATA report, was forecast to swell to over 160,000 drivers by 2028. The results of the roadtrain trials, not yet released, will be of interest to operators across the international trucking community. Industry has a knack for delivering canny solutions, no matter how dire the economic forecasting, when given the reigns to do so, supported by government but not beholden to it. Through cautious appraisal many will watch, with great interest, to see the outcome of the evaluations in North Dakota even if the technology is largely old news in Australia. A certain amount of awe is owed those engineering feats whose genesis and subsequent application has been willed to life to forestall collapse. You mightn’t be able to see an Australian roadtrain from space, but it’s a wonder, nevertheless, of the modern world. It’s very existence should be cause for celebration.

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^ Complimentary standard scheduled servicing for 300,000km or three years from the date that the vehicle is first registered, whichever occurs first. * For new vehicles purchased and delivered between 1 July and 31 December 2019 unless extended. While stocks last. Please contact an authorised Dealer for eligible available vehicles. Scheduled servicing and repairs are provided on the standard terms, conditions and exclusions of a Best Basic Service Plan and excludes wheels, rims and tyres. Please contact your authorised Dealer for a copy of the Planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full terms. Servicing intervals are based on the applicable Freightliner maintenance manual. To find out more about this offer please contact your local authorised Dealer or call 1300 323 722.

PRIME NEWS

> Cameron, Rocke honoured by VTA Two of road transport’s biggest names have been honoured at a gala dinner by the Victorian Transport Association (VTA). Glen Cameron Group Founder and Managing Director, Glen Cameron, was presented with Life Membership of the VTA, the highest accolade awarded by the association. In the Association’s 117-year history, it has only been presented 19 times, to emphasise, according to the VTA, its significance as a way of acknowledging service, loyalty and dedication from an especially distinguished member. Rocke Brothers co-founder Michael Rocke received the prestigious W.F.D Chalmers Award. Over 100 senior representatives of the transport industry, past award winners and other freight and logistics stakeholders attended the annual blacktie event at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Club, which was sponsored by CMV Truck & Bus. In receiving the honour Cameron joins other road transport luminaries such as Phillip Lovel, Paul Freestone, Gavin Murphy and Lou Arthur. During his presentation VTA President Cameron Dunn lauded Glen Cameron’s long-standing record of success and achievement as founder and managing director of the Glen Cameron Group.

Peter Anderson, Glen Cameron, Michael Rocke, Cameron Dunn. 8

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“Glen joined the industry working for his father Ed’s business out of school and started his own operation with an eighttonne tray truck in 1975, aged only 22,” he said. “The Glen Cameron Group has grown into a multimillion-dollar logistics company that is the envy of operators around Australia. “He has directly employed hundreds of transport workers over his 44 years trading, and hundreds more indirectly, and his business has made a massive and positive contribution to the economic livelihoods of the communities it operates in.” Dunn also paid tribute to Glen Cameron’s extensive record as a VTA and Executive Council member. “Glen has been an active and energetic member of the VTA for over 40 years, serving as Vice President and a member of the Executive Council for most of those years, which is indicative of his passion for the Association and industry, and his commitment to seeing it prosper. There is no one more deserving of VTA Life Membership than Glen and I am thrilled to present him with this recognition on behalf of the Association,” Dunn said. The W.F.D Chalmers Award was instituted by the VTA in memory of Daryl Chalmers, who was a member of the

Executive Council for over 40 years. It is presented annually to recognise individuals that have supported and worked with the Association over many years, with dedication, loyalty, and commitment to its existence and longevity. “Tonight’s recipient well and truly exceeds every one of these criteria,” Dunn said in announcing Michael Rocke as the 2019 recipient of the W.F.D Chalmers Award. “Mick has devoted virtually his entire working life to the transport industry as a carrier on the Melbourne waterfront. He grew up in Cheltenham as a massive Saints supporter, attending St Bedes College in Mentone where he received his HSC in 1976,” he said. Rocke was hired by McIlwraith McEacharn, a Scottish shipping agency, where he worked initially in a clerical role. He moved to E.A. Rocke, then part of Mayne Nickless, where he worked up until 1995. When Rocke left E.A. Rocke he was Victorian state manager and Rocke’s was the largest carrier on the Melbourne waterfront. According to Dunn, it was in 2003 that Mick became the driving force behind the establishment of Rocke Brothers – a greenfield start up where he continues to work today. “His industry knowledge and personal relationships in this sector would be difficult to match, and his personal strengths of honesty and fairness, and his excellent ability to build and sustain customer and industry relationships over a long period have been instrumental in his success,” he said. VTA CEO Peter Anderson joined Cameron Dunn in congratulating Glen Cameron and Michael Rocke for their years of dedicated service to the industry and the Association. “Glen and Mick deserve the thanks and appreciation of everyone from the Association for their passionate support of our industry,” he said.

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PRIME NEWS

> Qube secures Shell Australia contract

After an extensive tendering process, Qube Holdings has announced that Qube Energy has been awarded the Shell Australia Provision of Integrated Supply Chain Services contract. This contract is reported to include service provision for the Prelude FLNG facility,

QGC and QCLNG operations including supply base, port and logistics services in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia for a period of five years. “Qube’s diversified experience in complete supply chain services in the oil and gas market and logistics services,

ensured Qube was best placed to deliver Shell true operational integration and safety standards that matched Shell‘s high standards,” Qube said in a statement. Qube aims to target local employment as per its strategic policy to minimise transient workforces. “Qube Energy is the largest integrated oil and gas service provider in Australia, linking all modes of supply chain logistics,” said Qube Energy Director, Michael Sousa. “Our technology will allow Shell complete visibility of their supply chain. “We look forward to a partnership that delivers Shell supply chain efficiencies in a Zero Harm working environment,” he said.

> Government calls for input on $5.2M National Freight Data Hub The release of the first discussion paper on the design of the National Freight Data Hub according to the Federal Government marks a major step towards a more competitive, efficient and productive freight future for Australia. Over the next 18 months the Government will design a Hub, committing $5.2 million to it, in collaboration with industry, governments and other key stakeholders it announced. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said access to better data means a more productive and resilient freight sector. “I encourage all those with an interest to invest the effort to engage closely with my Department and participate in the submission process and follow up workshops, to ensure the design meets the needs of the freight industry,” he said. “A well-designed Hub will improve access to and sharing of valuable freight location and performance data.” Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz 10

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Enhanced access to data can streamline daily freight operations.

said the Australian Government is committed to helping meet Australia’s growing freight challenges and improve international competitiveness. “Enhanced access to freight data helps industry, governments and others streamline day-to-day freight operations, make better investment decisions and evaluate the performance of Australia’s freight system,” he said. “We are pleased to be delivering on a

key Liberal and Nationals Government commitment under the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.” The Hub commitment also builds on the comprehensive ‘Freight Data Requirements Study’ from the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre released back in April. Submissions to the National Freight Data Hub: Discussion Paper 1 close on Friday 6 December 2019.

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PRIME NEWS

> Isuzu’s Birdseye calls it a day

Jeff Birdseye.

Commercial vehicle manufacturer, Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL), has announced the retirement of its long-serving Advertising Manager. Having started at the company in 1976, Jeff Birdseye joined General Motors Holden where he held several sales and marketing roles. Birdseye was first appointed as the Light Commercial Vehicle Manager at Isuzu General Motors, as it was then known in 1996, before a promotion to Marketing Manager saw him occupy the role for nearly two decades. His 43 year career came to an end in November. In a media release issued by Isuzu, he was described as a

“company loyalist” and instrumental in the development and execution of key marketing and well-targeted advertising campaigns that often straddled between wryly humorous and gritty. “Jeff’s work history with our organisation is remarkable, both in its tenure and his impact on our business,” said IAL Director and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Harbison. “Jeff has been responsible for some of the most memorable marketing campaigns in the brand’s history, and his passion for the Isuzu brand is indisputable.” During his time at Isuzu, the company

enjoyed unrivalled success, dominating marketshare for three decades in Australia. “We speak a lot about the milestone of 30 years of Australian truck market leadership and the marketing nous and communications savviness of Jeff has played an integral role in that achievement,” Harbison said. Birdseye said, as he bowed out, that he was pleased that Isuzu was well placed to succeed in the future. “Isuzu has been a great employer, with a real culture driving people to succeed, and I’ve met a lot of great people along the way who have helped shape my experience,” he said. “It’s sad to be leaving, but it’s time to stop and smell the roses after 43 years of continuous employment.” According to Harbison Birdseye had guided Isuzu through challenging times and has always held firm to its core principles. “His presence, wit and wry smile will be sorely missed, and we thank him and his family for their dedication, hard work and infectious passion for Isuzu Trucks,” he said. “We wish him all the very best as he enters this next rewarding chapter of his life.”

> Truck engine remapping prompts latest NHVR investigation The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and South Australia Police have commenced a joint investigation into allegations about the remapping of truck engines throughout Australia. NHVR Director of Investigations Steve Underwood said that remapping allows emissions controls and speed limiters on heavy vehicles to be modified. “Remapping engines allows trucks to exceed the speed limit unimpeded, endangering all other road users,” he said. According to Underwood, the allegations were very serious and the NHVR was concerned as to how widespread the practice might be. 12

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“This operation commenced after police intercepted a number of heavy vehicles in South Australia that were found to have had their engines modified,” he said. On 15 October 2019, search warrants were executed at a business premises and a private dwelling in Victoria where information, documents and other evidence obtained from these premises were currently being subject to analysis. The investigation involves Police agencies from South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland as well as NHVR investigators from Brisbane and Adelaide and includes VicRoads officers. “This level of cooperation speaks to the

complexity and seriousness of these allegations,” said Underwood. “This is a timely reminder to all parties in the heavy vehicle supply chain to ensure they take all steps reasonably practicable to ensure they comply with their safety duties to eliminate or minimise public risk,” he said. Operators, Executive officers and companies who modify vehicle engines may encourage drivers to speed in direct contravention of their safety duties under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Penalties for these serious criminal offences are up to five years imprisonment for an individual and up to $3,000,000 in fines for a company.

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PRIME NEWS

> Trucks to pick up slack on controversial ‘botched’ rail project

Trucks are three times faster than trains on Murray Basin Rail project.

Grain trucks in Victoria are set to be deployed in Western Victoria to carry freight that would have otherwise been delivered by rail on the faltering $440 million Murray Basin Rail project. Designed to increase the capacity by upgrading and converting the railway lines in the state’s west to standard gauge used across the border in New South Wales, the project was supposed to remove 25,000 trucks off the state’s roads. But with only two stages so far

completed out of the projected five, trucks are expected to be brought in to carry grain and other agricultural products to the port for export. Rebuilding the rail line between Maryborough and Ararat has seen extreme cost saving measures introduced in which steel rails reportedly from 1913 have been used on the project. Reports suggest this has since resulted in significant speed reductions in which trains take three times as long to make

the journey in comparison to road transport. According to Nine News trains that have been reduced in capacity, make the journey between the two towns at much slower speeds than trucks on the road, with speed limits as low as 25 kilometres an hour imposed on sections of the line. Parts of the line have reportedly also been abandoned as the project runs out of money. The Murray Basin Rail project was jointly funded by both Federal and State governments. To date the most pressing concern for the State Government waw completing a $23 million upgrade of the Manangatang and Sea Lake lines, ahead of this year’s grain harvest. Liberal MP and Shadow Treasurer Louise Staley told Nine News that not enough ballast had been put into the track work. “There’s whole parts of the line further north that they haven’t done at all, they’ve just abandoned fixing them,” she said. In June the Victorian Auditor-General was looking into the project although the findings from that report have not yet been made public. The State Government earlier acknowledged it had already spent most of the project’s entire budget, halfway through its completion.

> Truckies to reunite at Hall of Fame next year The National Road Transport Hall of Fame at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has begun preparations for what is expected to be the biggest ever Australian Truckies reunion in August 2020, marking the 20th anniversary of the Hall of Fame opening. Festivities will begin on Monday 24 August, building up to the Cummins Race day at Alice Springs Turf Club on the Friday. The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday followed by a fabulous evening dinner. Then on Sunday Alice Springs will be treated to the largest procession of 14

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trucks the city has ever seen. “We have only just finished our 2019 event which was very successful, however given that 2020 will be our 20th reunion we expect it to be bigger than 2015 when we had over 10,000 people come to town and 278 inductees into the Hall of Fame,” said Road Transport Hall of Fame General Manager, Lester Hamilton. “We are encouraging people to download the form from our webpage and nominate inductees early,” said Hamilton. “Shell has generously come onboard and will donate five $100 vouchers to

be randomly drawn on 31 January from early bird entrants.” Voicing his thoughts on the 2015 event, second-generation Adelaidebased earthmover, Barry Goldspring, summed it up. “Every five years we come to Mecca, to the Hall of Fame,” said Goldspring. “You just look around, you see the money spent, the time, the man hours and the passion that goes into all these amazing trucks.” Tickets to the 2020 event will go on sale before Christmas, with details posted on the Hall of Fame website.

PRIME NEWS

> NSW Government enables road freight efficiencies through Coonabarabran

Safer, more efficient trucks will be travelling through Coonabarabran this month with the NSW Government approving access for higher productivity vehicles on the Newell Highway. Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Toole, said allowing roadtrains up to 36.5 metres through Coonabarabran is a significant step

towards achieving end-to-end access for these vehicles on the Newell, and unlocking access for about 180 kilometres between Narrabri and Tooraweenah. “About 900 trucks travel through Coonabarabran each day so this is a great outcome for the community as it means fewer trucks are needed to move the same amount of freight,” said Toole. “It is

another example of the NSW Government working to make it easier and more efficient for regional businesses to get their products to market.” Roadtrains carrying hay in support of drought relief have been safely travelling through Coonabarabran since August 2018. Following a detailed review, higher productivity vehicles will now have the same access. “The NSW Government is making significant improvements to the Newell Highway for all road users, with upgrade work taking place along 18 kilometres of the highway just south of Boggabilla as well as the upcoming addition of about 30 new overtaking lanes,” said Toole. A Transport for NSW representative attended Warrumbungle Shire Council’s Community Consultation meeting earlier this week (28 October) to discuss the benefits of higher productivity vehicles and expanded access for road trains through Coonabarabran.

> New board members appointed to heavy vehicle regulator The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has appointed two new members to its board. Retiring members NHVR Board deputy chair Peter Garske and board member Coral Taylor it was recently announced will be replaced by Julie Russell and Catherine Scott. Russell was named Queensland Trucking Association Woman of the Year in 2014 and National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year in 2015. In April she was named as a board member of the Australian Trucking Association. Scott, who has experience in risk management and corporate governance, has been chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator since 2012. Garske and Taylor are expected to finish up at the end of the month. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said 16

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the appointments of Ms Russell and Ms Scott were unanimously backed by ministers. “A staggered approach to board appointments was instituted last year to provide a smooth transition for new membership,” he said. “Duncan Gay will continue on as NHVR board chair, as will board members Ken Lay and Robin Stewart-Crompton.” Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said both Russell and Scott were highly respected within the heavy vehicle transport and logistics industry, bringing with them a wealth of experience. “She is a third-generation member of a Queensland based trucking company,” he said of Russell. “Her commitment to road transport reform was recognised when she was appointed to the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Board in April and an ongoing role as chair of the ATA’s Industry Skills and

Workforce Committee,” said Buchholz. “Catherine Scott’s career combines experience in transport, infrastructure, and natural resources.” Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey thanked Peter Garske and Coral Taylor for their years of service. “I would like to thank Mr Garske and Ms Taylor for their six years of exemplary service,” he said. “Mr Garske and Ms Taylor were foundation board members, with Mr Garske later accepting the deputy chair role. “Mr Garske’s experience and indepth industry knowledge have been invaluable. His influence was critical in helping the NHVR progress regulatory reform, benefitting the heavy vehicle transport industry. “I would also like to thank Ms Taylor for her industry advocacy and guidance to the board and the NHVR.”

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GLOB AL NEWS

> Hino previews future hybrid heavy duty Hino has previewed a concept vehicle in addition to a hybrid heavy duty commercial vehicle featuring a cutting edge Artificial Intelligence system. The 700 series heavy duty hybrid truck, known as the Hino Profia Hybrid, launched in Japan’s domestic market in August. Optimal hybrid driveline control, according to the commercial vehicle manufacturer, is assisted by world first AI utilising drive route, vehicle load, hybrid energy availability and other factors determining driving requirements from up to 100 kilometres away – in real time. These benefits help reduce the environmental footprint of the vehicle by minimising power consumption and maximising all important fuel economy. The Hino Profia Hybrid has been paired with an A09C diesel engine in parallel with an electric motor, in conjunction

with a 12-speed automated manual transmission. “The launch of the Hino Profia Hybrid in the Japanese market is a very exciting development for Hino globally - we are working with Hino Japan to determine suitability for this product and many other products for the Australian market,” said Daniel Petrovski, Hino Australia Product Strategy Manager. As one of the main attractions at the Hino stand, the Profia Hybrid was accompanied by the Hino FlatFormer, a versatile concept vehicle the OEM is claiming will change the concept of mobility forever. According to Petrovski the FlatFormer is a modular electric vehicle platform that measures 4.7m long, 1.7m wide and has a platform height of only 335 mm, with an electric motor output of 170kw delivered through its six wheel end

motors which are feed energy from the 50kWh Lithium Ion Batteries. “The FlatFormer offers a new level operational flexibility and can be fitted with a myriad of cab and body configurations to suit the customer’s transportation and mobility requirements,” he said in a statement. Hino will also showcase its racing heritage and prowess with its 500 Series Dakar Rally truck that competed in the 2019 event, which also marked Hino’s tenth consecutive victory in the Under 10-litre class.

> Hyundai offers glimpse of hydrogen semi concept Global automotive company, Hyundai, has provided a teaser of its new HDC-6 Neptune, a fuel cell prime mover at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta. The hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric truck, glimpsed here in an image rendering released prior to event, owes a lot to Chrysler Airflow and Art Deco automobiles in its sleek retro design. At present, Hyundai manufacturers light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles at three international plants. Its new commercial vehicle the Hyundai Xcient L520 6x4 received a soft launch locally earlier in the year and has been specifically designed with the container market in mind. The commercial vehicle manufacturer currently sells units into 130 countries around the world. “We have cemented the fuel cell technology leadership position in the passenger vehicle sector with the world’s first commercially produced fuel cell EV and the second-generation 18

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Hyundai HDC-6 Neptune.

fuel cell EV, the Nexo,” said Edward Lee, head of Hyundai’s commercial vehicle business division. “With the induction of the HDC-6 NEPTUNE, in addition to the road proven Xcient fuel cell truck, we expand our technology leadership into the commercial vehicle sector by unveiling our vision of how fuel cell electric trucks can resolve the environmental equation of widely use commercial vehicles and our commitment to create a decarbonised society.” Hyundai’s name for its new concept

recognises the Roman god of the seas, Neptune, symbolising the hydrogen powered natural elements of the sea. According to Hyundai, the HDC-6 Neptune will feature advanced in-cab technology. At the North American Commercial Vehicle Show it was paired with the HT Nitro ThermoTech, a high performance refrigerated concept trailer solution from Hyundai Translead. Hyundai Translead manufactures dry and refrigerated trailers as well as flatbeds, chassis, and dollies.

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Hyundai HDC-6 Neptune.

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FUTURE MINDSET

TRANSPORT SYSTEMS FOR A SMARTER FUTURE PETER CARR Peter Carr, Director Regulatory Market Development Australia New Zealand at EROAD, works with governments and agencies sharing best practices in promoting safety and productivity in road transport policy and regulatory design. Prior to joining EROAD, Peter spent over 22 years in government roles, managing policy development on land transport investment planning, funding, revenue and financing, and heavy vehicle regulation.

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ROAD recently attended the 26th Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in Singapore, which ran from 21-25 October 2019. This five-day event showcased technical developments in transport, with a theme of ‘Smart Mobility, Empowering Cities’. More than 300 Australians, representing over 100 Australian public and private sector entities, joined 10,000 other attendees to learn more of the innovation and advancements companies like EROAD are delivering. Inevitably there was a strong focus on autonomous vehicles and ‘on-demand’ mobility-as-a-service initiatives. Australian academics, private sector researchers and public officials were present at many of these discussions, showcasing the leading-edge work underway across the states and territories. However, it wasn’t all just about defeating congestion with robot cars and flying taxis. For example, there was an all-Australian panel on ‘Optimising Supply Chains using Data’. Representatives from CSIRO, the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, and iMOVE, the Co-operative Research Centre for the Australian mobility and transport sector spoke, showcasing Australia’s Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool and Transport for NSW Freight Data Hub. Transport Certification Australia presented on the lessons learned from

adding new functionalities to the National Telematics Framework for things like on-board mass measurement, mass management and road information management. EROAD was there both to listen and to present. Nina Elter, EROAD Senior Vice President Global Market Development observed “The World Congress is a great forum for keeping up to date and for sharing lessons learned from practical experimentation. It is also an opportunity to reinforce the basics. For example, EROAD’s experience supporting our customers in US road pricing trials shows time and again the need for the heavy vehicle industry to be brought into the policy and design discussions early so that the practical risks and opportunities of reform are understood in addition to the theoretical and political ones. This was an important observation to share, a reminder that a ‘them and us’ approach by governments doesn’t work.” This question of engagement was the focus of significant attention with standing room only for Nina’s presentation. EROAD works collaboratively to ensure the voice of the transport industry is heard from those defining policies and regulations, enabling results that benefit all parties. It was, therefore, timely that the World Congress included a session focused on sharing best practices in stakeholder engagement. This session will present the ﬁrst results of a series of ‘Citizen

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Debates’ organised across 40 cities in Europe, US, Canada and Singapore, as well as the views from research activities and workshops carried out in the frame of the EC funded projects CARTRE and ARCADE. While the findings outline the views of the relevant cities in which the debates were held, the methodologies embodied a lot of common sense that government and other agencies could apply in any setting. Gareth Robins, EROAD Director of Analytics, presented on new opportunities being opened by GNSS-based telematics data. “There are two emerging advantages I wanted to illustrate when I presented,” Gareth noted. “One is that, with connected vehicles on the network, we are able to measure both behavior and near misses and provide a faster feedback loop for road controlling authorities to test the efficacy of safety interventions. The other

is that it becomes possible to see where ‘black spots’ might next emerge because of the way real people interact on a daily basis with a section of infrastructure. Both advantages enable a less costly and more efficient approach to reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.” Gareth’s work in this domain is gaining traction internationally. The Transport Research Board in the United States has appointed Gareth to the Trucking Industry Research Committee. It reviews a wide range of research topics such as business economics, truck operations, supply chain logistics, shipper/carrier/consignee issues, labour market and human resource issues. He is also a member of the Freight Transportation Data Committee. This identifies and publicises data on commodity movements, international trade, freight transportation activity, and the economics and organisation

of establishments engaged in freight transportation. These levels of insight reflect the mass of data ITS systems gather. Data privacy is a paramount concern. As EROAD’s Director of Regulatory Market Development, I also had the opportunity to present on this topic. With the amount of data out there, and the ability to combine it to reveal unexpected insights, almost all of it needs to be treated as personal data. The drive for open data has merit, but it tends to forget that the data is about people and is not a free good. Privacy and enforcement frameworks offer some protections. But there is a pressing question around data ownership that governments will need to grapple with, sooner rather than later. Australia’s role in this area has been acknowledged, and Brisbane will be hosting the 17th Asia Pacific ITS Forum in May 2020.

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COVER STORY

LEAG OF THEIR OWN A FLEET OF THE NEWEST SCANIA NTG COMMERCIAL VEHICLES HAVE BEEN PURCHASED BY GLEN CAMERON GROUP TO COINCIDE WITH ITS RECENTLY SECURED AIR LIQUIDE ACCOUNT. IT REPRESENTS, GIVEN THE SHEER SCALE OF THE LOGISTICAL AND SAFETY ELEMENTS INVOLVED, ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECTS UNDER TAKEN FOR THE PROMINENT TRANSPORT COMPANY.

ast month logistics specialist, Glen Cameron Group, amidst several significant developments at the company, announced it would service the distribution network of industrial gas and services giant Air Liquide. The operation comprises, at present, 18 depots in four states and employs 112 staff. A French multinational, whose 100 year history has seen it expand into 80 countries worldwide, Air Liquide, is also a leading supplier of gas and services locally, working across healthcare, manufacturing, food, research and mining. Air Liquide offers bulk and packaged gases to its customers, the distribution of which is achieved through bulk tankers, 8-tonne mini-bulk rigid vehicles and B-double combinations. Its bulk gas products consist of oxygen, nitrogen, argon or carbon dioxide making it something of a juggernaut in the precious cargo sector. Packaged gases are provided across 100 different types of cylinder products. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big ask for any truck fleet covering vast distances and remote locations in contrasting climates. Scania is one of only three commercial vehicle manufacturers so far entrusted with the task. The timing of the announcement, which involves the procurement of over 140 pieces of new motorised and trailing

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COVER STORY

equipment, can’t be lost on anyone aware that Glen Cameron Group appointed, back in July, a new CEO, Nick Capp, whose hiring could be said to have gone under the radar as far as industry announcements for key personnel like executives goes. Capp, who returns to the world of Australian road transport has taken up the newly created position after 25 years of experience in logistics and freight management with the likes of Linfox, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Telstra. Glen Cameron Group, according to Nick, was a long time competitor he greatly admired and when he was informed of the newly created role of Group CEO, he wasted no time weighing up the opportunity. “I’ve always held Glen in a high regard and in turn looked upon his business

Glen Cameron Group purchased 26 new Scania vehicles for the contract. 24

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with great respect and admiration for its prospects and opportunities,” he says. “I am excited to lead the company through its next stage of growth and development.” Operational rollout of the contract commenced in early September with 12 vehicles dedicated to transit routes along the Eastern Seaboard. South Australia was added a few weeks later. Handover of operations was completed in November. The contract represents a number of breakthroughs for the organisation as it expands its operations into Far North Queensland. It’s a five year contract, marking the company’s first ever dangerous goods account, and also brings its logistics operations into Port Kembla and Port Pirie. Strict processes for loading and unloading hazardous goods are in place. That there

is a variation across different loading points as well as unloading points makes it all the more critical to get the systems of protocol right. According to Nick, knowledge and the transfer of knowledge, as he tells it, remains ongoing and necessitates a healthy collaboration in partnership with the Air Liquide team. “There’s a really strong connection and interaction between our team and the Air Liquide team daily to make sure everything is running the right way and not just for a safety perspective but obviously for customer service and everything that goes with it,” he says. “They’re highly conscious of that.” A turn of the century French engineer, inventor and chemist, Georges Claude was the first man to apply an electrical discharge to a sealed tube of neon gas to create a lamp. In partnership with eventual company president, Paul Delorme, who he had met while studying at the École de Physique et de Chimie Industrielle in Paris, Claude had founded L’Air Liquide S.A in 1902. At the time Claude had developed a process for producing liquefied air in quantity having proposed the use of liquid oxygen in iron smelting long before it was more widely used three decades later. Among his discoveries, Claude determined that acetylene gas could be transported safely by dissolving it in acetone. This method was also later adopted during the expansion of the acetylene industry. It was studying inert gases, however, that Claude made his name when he found that passing an electrical current through them produced light and the same year he developed the neon lamp which he exported for use in signs and lights in the United States. It was in 1957 that Air Liquide arrived in Australia. In less than a decade it had installed its first air separation unit with liquid capacity. Now it is considered a leading supplier of industrial and medical gases and equipment for homecare, servicing thousands of customers and home oxygen and sleep apnoea patients across the country. The company also delivers a major safety solution in mining, a polymer hollow

Nick Capp.

fibre gas separation technology is applied to generate nitrogen which helps prevent gas explosions in underground mines where high methane levels effectuate evacuations that shut down the area before it is eventually stabilised. As a technology, it helps control and mitigate these problems without the operation having to abandon the mine. A product shortage for something like gas, crucial to a range of manufacturing processes, would create significant issues for its customer operations so it’s vital that it gets moved safely with upmost efficiency. This is where safety and compliance come to the fore for Glen Cameron Group. “Glen and his team have invested a lot in this area. I saw this when I was on the other side of the fence,” Nick says. “And that really counts at an operation like Air Liquide. We’re really focused on an investment in training. It’s a highly skilled environment.” In partnership with Air Liquide Australia, the Glen Cameron Group team conducts and maintains a comprehensive theory and practical training program. Part of this involves a guide for upskilling a new driver assigned to the Air Liquide Australia operations that takes a minimum of four to six weeks before they are deemed qualified for the task. At the time they will learn up to 15 different

“There’s a really strong connection and interaction between our team and the Air Liquide team daily to make sure everything is running the right way and not just for a safety perspective but obviously for customer service and everything that goes with that.” Nick Capp CEO, Glen Cameron Group

modules of training, first at a theory level and then later at a practical level. A continuous cycle of updated training and assessments follows for all of its employees. Nick says the over-investment in training is not by accident. “Once you’re in that environment, it’s really important that you stay up to date,” he says. “We’re meeting with all current requirements in terms of handling those gasses at loading, in transit and the unload point.” A large part of the fleet for this contract is consolidated with Scania commercial vehicles. Glen Cameron Group has purchased 26 new Scanias that include NTG twin-steer 6x4s and 8x2s for the rigid applications, G450s for the single trailers and for the B-doubles the newly released G500s, a formidable machine on the flat terrain linking the 12 sites that

stretch from Port Pirie in SA, throughout Victoria, across New South Wales and up into northern Queensland. All are Euro 6 emissions compliant as mandated by Air Liquide. Glen Cameron Group Asset Manager Shane Coates said the G500 makes for an ideal metro runner for B-double applications. “It has been returning excellent fuel outcomes,” he says. “As the bulk of these routes involve negligible climbs we have opted for the new NGT G500 13-litre engine. It produces a significant 2,550 newton metres of torque without having to upgrade to a 15 or 16 litre engine.” The task involved is mostly local and regional, with the G500s ideally suited to large roaming areas where the topography won’t present a challenge for the DC13 155 13-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

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engine and offers a compromise and balance between the torque required of it and preferable fuel outcomes. The twin steer Scanias are a mix of P320s and P450s, towing dog trailers. In the application Shane says there is several Fassi cranes fitted behind the cabs where the twin steer’s additional weight increase allows for 11 tonnes over the steer. “Over the last two years we have purchased around 40 of the Scania 8x2 twin steer product, many of them for our Interstate PUD business as they are an ideal solution when we encounter heavy weights over the steer,” he says. “Given we’re often dealing with uneven load distribution it’s an ideal vehicle insofar that while we are always leaving the yard legal, the challenge is to stay legal as the load diminishes from the rear.” A twin-steer truck capable of grossing 11 tonnes over the front axles therefore provides a solution to this challenge explains Shane. “If we were to remove four pallets for example off the back of a 6x2 vehicle the weight over the steer axles increases and the Scania twin-steer product solves the impediment,” he says. The Scania G450s are being used for single trailer applications in the Air Liquide tanker fleet. At present, according to Shane, around 150 of these operate in the fleet with outstanding aftermarket support around the country. All of the Scania trucks procured for the Air Liquide contract from South Australia across to Victoria and right up the east coast of Australia are covered under a full comprehensive maintenance regime within the Scania support network for the duration of the contract. “This removes any variable or unexpected maintenance related costs in a range of otherwise remote areas where R&M costs can typically increase,” he says. “Scania owns all of its dealerships and that works well for us as we reach into one place, with one person, at an agreed price to provide outcomes and solutions for us regardless of the location.” Queensland provides a unique set of challenges for the application given 26

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the drivers operate alone at unmanned depots without management on site. Drivers effectively run the tanks that they source from various inhouse and external supply points and refill. Those same drivers are then out completing the runs on their own, delivering into a whole range of customer sites. Where there might be inimitable complexities on certain tasks at hand the adroitness of the Scania G500s, G450s and twinsteers assist in overcoming the many and varied challenges in providing Air Liquide with the best and most efficient logistics solution. Following the purchase of any commercial vehicle, Scania provide comprehensive one on one driver trainer in cab support that ensures drivers for Glen Cameron Group are extracting the most amount of value from the vehicle, particularly as it relates to fuel. Drivers can do up to four modules at the most in theory every week, notwithstanding the intensive practical training also required. “They’re buddied up with experienced drivers and go through all the practical training and understanding as we’ve been slowly rolling out our implementation and takeover,” Nick says. “Like most businesses there’s always the specifics around an individual customer drop off point which typically are not in your theory and manuals but are in the practical application and we’ve very much

got to keep that updated and make it as close to what is expected as possible.” Competitive advantages are hard won. Practically no one, develops a quick and practiced mastery of the supply chain, without years of dedication and experience. Juggling 20 cent pieces at a pay phone to check in with his drivers, long before he came to prominence, must now seem like a distant dream from another lifetime for Glen Cameron. Road transport, not unlike any major industry, is humbling for its cumulative challenges. New technology, which promises to solve so many of these is also, with the rate of change, one of them. According to Nick, the rollout of new technologies at Glen Cameron Group has got him especially enthused about the role he can provide for customers. “We’re seeing the initiatives that are coming through now and how to improve the way that we operate with our customers and that’s an area that we’re excited about,” he says. “I’m sponsoring a range of programs that we’re rolling out to different customers across the different divisions that will make business easier for everyone. We’re focused on visibility and real time actioning and event management. With such a broad array of thousands of customers we need to be able to provide that everywhere and that really helps us with our own planning and operational efficiencies.”

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REP PERFORMANCE

VEHICLES APPROVED FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED STANDARDS ARE POISED TO CLOSE IN ON A NEW RECORD FOR UPTAKE THIS YEAR. INTERNATIONAL INTEREST FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SCHEME FOR HIGH PRODUCTIVITY VEHICLES IS ON THE RISE. THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATOR HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN SPREADING THE MESSAGE TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES REGARDING PBS ACCESS, ACCREDITATION AND EDUCATION AHEAD OF THE ANTICIPATED NEXT PHASE PBS 2.0. Fonterra milk tankers in a PBS approved A-double.

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E AT A

n upsurge in approved PBS applications over the past year has come as a further endorsement by industry as the scheme surpasses the number of design applications achieved over the same period in 2018. Despite levelling out in the back half of last year, the demand for performance-based standards combinations year-to-date have continued to rise, bucking the trend. Recommended changes to the design approval process have had the desired effect, with the average PBS design application now approved inside a week. The benefits across pre-advised applications as well as the simplified process for PBS design variations has given industry renewed confidence according to National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Chief Engineer Les Bruzsa. “The system is now flexible enough that should a customer want to develop a new PBS concept or change an existing PBS design, they will no longer have to wait up to eight weeks,” he says. “Industry has increased confidence in the PBS process and especially how the NHVR is handling PBS applications. Instead of having very complex PBS applications for a range of potential prime mover, trailer and suspension options, the number of simple PBS designs developed by industry have started to increase. We are getting preadvised applications through the system in only two days.” Increasing awareness also helps. The NHVR identified knowledge gaps across the industry and through its PBS demonstration days, has conveyed

Les Bruzsa, NHVR Chief Enginer.

the benefits of investing in PBS across regional Australia with the goal to deliver a message that resonates with attendees on how it can make life easier for everyone involved in the supply chain. Tim Hansen, Engagement Specialist at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, has been on the ground in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory this year, facilitating consultative mechanisms and cross-industry cooperation in the interests of boosting PBS vehicle uptake and improving road infrastructure.

His efforts have also contributed to a shift in how government, business and industry work towards a safer and more productive future while ensuring better safety outcomes for the wider community. Alongside team members John Gilbert OAM (National Manager), Simone Reinertsen (Victoria, SA and Tasmania) and Dan Casey (Queensland), Tim and the stakeholder team have actively been promoting the latest PBS innovations across the country through close collaboration with local councils, heavy p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

SPECIAL FEATURE

NHVR community engagement day.

vehicle operators, transport associations as well as broader members of the community including farmers, caravaners and the supply chain at large. Local council cooperation, particularly with heavy vehicle operators, makes these demos successful according to Tim. “The PBS demonstration is a concept that began in Bundaberg, Queensland, about three years ago,” he says. “From the beginning, we have always tailored these days to highlight the local freight task. So, in Bundaberg, there is an emphasis on timber and sugar whereas in Forbes we see combinations suited for food and grain haulage.” There are two key objectives with the demonstration days. The first according to Tim is to increase awareness by spreading information about PBS. “It’s an opportunity for participants to walk in the shoes of someone else and better understand the opportunities and challenges that PBS presents,” he says. “Secondly, these events can help grow road networks by enabling more preapprovals and finding ways to streamline the route access process.” With the response time significantly reduced for design applications and vehicle approval applications, the NHVR expects it will have approved around 1800 PBS combinations in 2019. At present they are on track to reach 10,000 PBS combinations in operation by Christmas. A change to many of the 30

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“The system is now flexible enough that should a customer want to develop a new PBS concept or change an existing PBS design, they will no longer have to wait up to eight weeks.” Les Bruzsa National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Chief Engineer

NHVR’s internal processes helped make this significant PBS milestone possible according to Les. “It’s a huge workload for us, especially considering that the NHVR certified more than 700 individual vehicle units for PBS in 2019, but we’ve been able to respond to industry needs and we’ve been monitoring the response time. Around 60 per cent of those are approved on the same day or next day and 85 per cent within two business days,” he says. “So that means the industry doesn’t have to wait for the PBS Vehicle Approval when the vehicle is ready, as we go through the certification very quickly.” Poring over data, Les made a discovery while on a recent trip to South Africa, where he gave a series of presentations on PBS. Looking at proportional vehicles across PBS levels he was surprised to see that more than 95 per cent of PBS vehicles were approved in PBS Level 1 or PBS Level 2 categories, inside 30 metre

overall lengths. “The majority of the vehicles are in the smaller PBS classes — three-axle truck and -four axle dog combinations that are approved with different mass limits, under Level 1 and Level 2,” he says. “That might indicate that we should be concentrating on the review of the Level 1 and Level 2 standards and how we address the technical issues related to the operation of these PBS vehicle classes.” According to Les 50 per cent of the PBS Level 1 and Level 2 combinations are truck and dogs, with another 30 per cent represented by B-doubles and 20 per cent A-doubles, which are gaining popularity among freight movers in different jurisdictions. Although PBS is often commonly associated with larger vehicles, in practice, the statistics prove, that it’s not the case. As a concept, PBS 2.0 is still very fluid according to Les. The reforms identified by the NHVR involve providing fleet interchangeability through a modular

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approval approach where safer vehicles are prioritised in access decision-making. The development of a modular PBS approach was first suggested in 2012 during the review of the PBS scheme. The NHVR now has advanced vehicle performance modelling capacities and more engineers with expertise within PBS, which provides a framework and opportunities to dive deeper into the modular concept. “Under a modular concept we would create a modular approval system. For example, the prime mover’s powertrain may be assessed against the PBS standards without the specific knowledge of the trailers connected to it. The high-speed dynamics and lowspeed performance of a combination is mainly influenced by the trailer characteristics. It would be possible to approve a certain prime mover to operate with trailers that are within a performance and design envelope,” Les says. “So instead of specifying every unit in a PBS combination, we would specify these performance design envelopes, which would represent a framework of this modular approach. That would be beneficial as operators would able to assemble PBS compliant applications.” At present the NHVR has a PBS Vehicle

Approval for an operator with 11 trucks and ten trailers. According to Les that vehicle approval is 141 pages long after all the individual units and combinations are drawn up and specified individually. “Managing the assessment and certification of a large fleet is very difficult and challenging from both an operational and compliance perspective ,” he says. “It would be great if operators could say ‘I’ve got this PBS Level 1 modular trailer and I’m looking for a new prime mover — what is on your list?’ The manufacturer could then go over their PBS Level 1 modular options and purchase that prime mover and operate it without having the new PBS assessment done. That’s the logic behind it.” Given there are many technical assumptions involved, getting there will be complex and not without significant challenges, once the vagaries of vehicle performance and the pathway to describing these facets are factored into the process. Removing some of the PBS vehicle combinations from the scheme and then transitioning them back to the prescriptive fleet was one of the original principle objectives of PBS when Les first started working on it in 1999. He cites the proforma designs for new

non-standard vehicle designs that meet the performance-based Standards in New Zealand. The approved non-standard vehicle combination designs have been introduced to streamline the approval process for applying for high productivity commercial vehicles. “It would be great to create these type of classes of proforma designs,” Les says. “For some of the higher mass and longer combinations, New Zealand’s approach has used PBS to create proforma designs and transport operators can use combinations that meet those specifications. There are currently 14 proforma designs available and these designs specify the length, axle spacings, widths and other dimensions based on PBS. Transport operators can approach the manufacturer and say ‘build a vehicle to this specification.’ When you get that vehicle you don’t need to do a new PBS assessment.” Between the truck and dog combinations and A-doubles that are being accepted in the jurisdictions, according to Les, there isn’t a great difference between them in terms of their length, axle-spacing, the componentry and suspensions. “It would be possible to create these envelopes if only we had the legislative framework supporting this concept,” he says.

Three-axle Mack tipper and four-axle dog the most popular PBS combination under the scheme.

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SPECIAL REPORT IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE NHVR

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ASTE L I N E WITH A MAJOR WASTE TRANSPORT TASK TO TACKLE, PERTH BASED SPECIALIST LOGISTICS PROVIDER KTRANS, TURNED TO PERFORMANCE-BASED STANDARDS FOR AN INNOVATIVE TAKE ON THE ROADTRAIN DOUBLE. TEAMING UP WITH VOLVO TRUCKS AND OPTING FOR I-SHIFT WITH CRAWLER GEARS HAS BOOSTED KTRANSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ABILITY TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO, WORKING WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MAIN ROADS AND MANUFACTURERS HAS PROVIDED AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION WITH PRODUCTIVITY GAINS.

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SPECIAL REPORT IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE NHVR

hree years ago, KTrans, conceived of a unique solution for transporting commercial and industrial waste for Cleanaway. The task involves, for the best part, a journey of two hours, from a suburban waste transfer station in Perth to a landfill site in the Southwest and back, with a trailer changeover in between. Prior to this, the project involved C&I waste being moved out of their Metro Transfer Station in end tippers. According to KTrans joint owner Craig Jolly, the company put forth the idea of using ejection trailers, as they not only withstood the high compaction forces in waste transfer station applications but increased the volume on each of the loads. “The idea was about maximising the payload we could move,” he says. “Once we had agreed with the client that this was our preferred option the next step was to engage with a PBS assessor and to go through the process of completing a full PBS assessment.” It proved to be a compelling solution, as each trailer holds around 430 kg per cubic metre. Bound for a landfill site where the soft surface provides challenges, especially following rainfall, KTrans determined a Volvo FH16 600hp with crawler gears, was the best truck for the task at hand. The demanding and repetitive work covers 900 kilometres per day in high gear at a gross weight of 98.5 tonnes, yet also involves accessing the boggy landfill site with its steep tracks – a challenge for any heavy vehicle. The Volvo FH16s, according to Danny Carroll KTrans Operations Manager, have delivered on all fronts, providing great flexibility given the five vehicles employed on the run make the round trips twice daily and the landfill site requires deft handling. “We needed to deliver an efficient, streamlined solution for the customer that surpassed what was on offer at the time,” he says. “Finding the right balance 34

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in the application to see those gains in productivity meant sitting down with the assessors to engineer the specifications that would help us realise it.” Tiger Spider, a transport engineering consultancy that specialises in heavy commercial and high productivity freight vehicles, was approached by KTrans to take over the process of achieving accreditation for performance-based standards (PBS). One of the first points of order was to confer with Main Roads WA, for whom they would be obliged to regularly consult during the ensuing process, from which there are several intermediary stages to work through. A key priority was to verify that the transit routes proposed for the trailer combinations would be suitable. On the recommendation of Tiger Spider, KTrans soon settled on rear steerable quad axle trailers, with a lift axle to increase the load-carrying capacity of the truck. When raised, it helps to extend tyre life, as well as improve fuel consumption on empty return trips. “At this point Tiger Spider is working in

Volvo I-Shift technology with crawler gears provides traction control on the landfill site.

sync with body building engineers to understand the solutions subsequently needed,” says Danny. “Then in collaboration with Main Roads WA they go over the route assessment and that includes requesting approvals from local shires the vehicle combinations will be passing through.” Once the routes are deemed appropriate approval is given to the operator to access these roads with the proposed combination, according to Danny. On this particular run the vehicles pass over several bridges of varying sizes which were also factored into the approvals in accordance with laws across different shires. The specialised fleet of Volvo FH 16s are deployed to a roadtrain assembly area on the Outer Ring road near Bunbury where KTrans separates the combination and delivers to the landfill site, 20 minutes away, as single trailers. Here things get interesting. As the landfill locale is often sodden in the winter months, the KTrans prime mover and the now single trailer combinations nudge close to 53 tonnes

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Danny Carroll.

fully loaded, on the soft, shifting surface. At that weight sinking on the steep tracks is par for the course. The Volvos, with their I-Shift crawler transmission technology, have proven time and again a remarkable counteragent for the trying conditions Without the torque multiplication and traction offered by I-Shift with crawler gears on the Volvo, Danny explains they would unlikely go a day without having one of the vehicles bogged. “On the landfill the crawler gears are a big help. The trucks can sink up to ten inches as they’re going across the site,” he says. “Without the crawler gears we’d be getting stuck out there on a regular basis.” Given the repetition involved in this particular task for KTrans, the risk of having a vehicle stranded in the sludge might well induce a domino effect of consequences – costly downtime, lost revenue and subsequent salvage operations. “In our operation with the diff locks we don’t generally have many problems getting stuck on the site anymore,” he says. “These crawler gears on the sloping parts of the landfill are a massive support to us.” With the contract now in its third year, this particular waste operation has helped KTrans realise major gains in productivity. The company is on the verge of moving to a new purpose-built facility at the Roe Highway Logistics Park early next year. As it gets ready to enter the next chapter of its history the KTrans team is excited by the prospect of continuing its association with dealer Truck Centre WA and Volvo, whose support, especially through the implementation phase of the PBS roadtrain, according to

Craig, was nothing short of outstanding. “Their continued support is to an excellent standard and we look forward to continuing our partnership,” he says.

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TRUCK & TECH

ENTE CARTING MATERIALS INTO BUILDING SITES IS THE MAIN TASK OF DONALD’S SAND AND SOIL AND A NEW FUSO SHOGUN PURCHASED FOR THE OPERATION HAS WASTED NO TIME PROVING ITS METTLE.

t was a trip to Brisbane, earlier in the year, in which Ray Donald, was first awestruck by the Fuso Shogun. At the time he had been considering purchasing another commercial vehicle for his sand delivery business, carting building material mainly into residential construction sites. But that soon changed once he got to inspect the Fuso up close. At the age of 64, Ray runs a sandpit in Ballarat, where the sand is brought down through a 5mm screen, a process that involves the separation of stone mixed in with the natural types of sand he uses before the sand is ready to be certified for septic sand filters on new housing estates on the outskirts of Geelong. After the screening process Ray, with use of a front end loader, loads up a tandem drive tipper and dog trailer before he carts it out. This has been his bread and butter for the past 20 years. Trucks have been a constant of his daily work routine since he completed his apprenticeship as a turner and fitter toolmaker in 1976. He started out with an ACCO and has driven a range of different trucks over the years mainly moving gravel in and out of local quarries. The sandpit, where Donald’s Sand and Soil is based, was originally part of a garden supplies business which he eventually sold. He chose to keep the wholesale operation. Since then the garden supplies business has gone 38

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through a few sets of hands including Porter Plant. Ray’s three sons-in-law have more recently taken it over, successfully, bringing it, for Ray’s family, full circle. Ray services the sandpit with his own truck, a Fuso Shogun, which he took delivery of two months ago following a pivotal moment at the Brisbane Truck Show. In just two months he has clocked over 13,400 kilometres, mainly between Ballarat and Geelong. On the return leg he has clocks 100 kilometres daily. The Shogun replaces a commercial vehicle he had previously owned for around six years. It was high time for a new truck. “You’ve got to go new these days with all the developments in truck technology,” he says. “The engine technology, for example, has come on by leaps and bounds. You’ve really got to update your vehicle every five or six years to stay abreast of the latest gear. It’s much safer, easier on the driver and keeps VicRoads from pulling you over.” Developed as a showcase of Daimler’s cutting edge powertrain hardware with the latest safety systems, the Shogun was officially unveiled at Brisbane, where Ray first laid eyes on it. He attended in May, with the idea of purchasing another European cabover prime mover. But once he saw the Shogun, being able to sit in the truck and talk about it with on hand representatives at Daimler, he was sold. The suspension valve on the seat of his

Ray Donald.

SAND MAN

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TRUCK & TECH

Natural sand for septic filters is loaded in Ballarat.

“This vehicle goes anywhere. It’s saving me a lot of time and worry when it comes to getting into some of the trickier sites. Often with an airbag system the wheel gets tilted up on uneven ground and I’ll sit there with it spinning.” Ray Donald Donald’s Sand and Soil

last truck desperately needed replacing, restricting adjustments. According to Ray he put up with it for a while. Now he’s in heaven with a whole new seat. The comfort of the seating, he says, is remarkable. “If you’re getting into the cab early in the morning and then climbing out of it later that same night it makes a real difference,” Ray says. “At night you feel refreshed after sitting in it.” The nature of the work, which has meant long hours in the vehicle, and much over time, for someone of his experience, makes it imperative that he has a newer truck with the latest in cab comforts and features. The dash instruments are easy to read and enables Ray to dial up whatever he needs to reference on the fly, whether that’s operational conditions, running efficiency and fuel consumption under load or empty. As the steering wheel provides convenient access to all the main controls, he particularly likes the modern interactive display. “As soon as you flick it across you’re told the distance you’ve travelled, the time of day, your fuel economy,” he says. “It’s easy to use.” Features like the lane-changing assistance are a welcome addition for the long runs in traffic. The dash, according to Ray, will display an alert for distraction, should 40

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he take his eyes off the road ahead for too long. It’s part of a feature added to counteract fatigue called Active Attention Assist. Accidents are minimised by Active Emergency Braking, a rear collision preventative feature which is beneficial to all other road users given the hard miles Ray sees on the highway. He’s also set up a dashcam. As part of his due diligence before purchase, Ray says he tested, earlier in the year, a couple of the newest offerings from Japanese manufacturers. That’s where he started ramping up his research into the type of vehicle he wanted. The 5 year warranty offered by Daimler was part of the attraction. He’s rapt by Fuso’s warranty service. “Most of the others I considered only give you three years,” he says. “I don’t run interstate so there was, from my perspective, little chance of accumulating 500,000 kilometres in the next five years.” Donald’s Soil and Sand supplies six recurring plumbing clients. Most of the new estates haven’t yet been connected to a sewer. Some opt for a treatment plant. Others put in a sand filter – and that’s where Ray comes in. Of what were once country towns that are now linking up to Geelong, 20 lot subdivisions of houses await septic

connection. By the time Ray arrives on the scene concrete slabs might have gone in and bricks and building materials have been delivered. He needs to negotiate all of it and even freshly planted tree saplings. The cabover Fuso suits his application, running a tandem drive truck and dog trailer. “It’s compact and more moveable with a superb turning circle,” he says. “I like the vision it affords me on these little house blocks especially if the concrete has already been poured.” Having a new truck with a superior traction control system helps optimise grip of the vehicle by ending wheel spinning given the reduction in engine power it prompts. It allows the vehicle to accelerate smoothly, even on rough, boggy or slippery surfaces, which, as it so happens, is the natural habitat of the Fuso in Ray’s operation. The traction control, he says, helps pull the truck, without fail, from the soft ground. “I’m really pleased with it. On the earlier trucks you were limited to where you could drive so you had to put diff locks in,” Ray says. “This vehicle goes anywhere. It’s saving me a lot of time and worry when it comes to getting into some of the trickier sites. Often with an airbag system the wheel gets tilted up on uneven ground and I’ll sit there with it spinning. But with the traction control it just clicks

in, it’ll bite the dirt automatically and you drive out of it.” An alert comes up on the dash to notify the driver he is in crawler mode. It’s been a major discovery for Ray given the long Victorian winter has made conditions wetter than usual. “You can feel the traction at work and it gets me out of a lot of tight places,” he says. “It’s made a big difference to my business.” Ray works under a 42 tonne limit. As he’s not carting out of a quarry and getting paid per tonne there’s no pressure to pay the extra money for a 45 tonne carrying permit. He’s always preferred tandemdrives. The Fuso Shogun has a Daimlersourced automated 12-gear transmission and engine. As part of his research, Ray approached Sargeant Transport who were running a host of new MercedesBenz trucks. They were impressed with the Benzes and they had a new 460hp 12-speed transmission which they confirmed was a more comfortable

drive. That stayed with Ray. It was intel he valued. Knowing the Fuso Shogun had essentially the same running gear from Daimler’s shared truck technology platforms, he was finally sold on it. The engine is manufactured at the MercedesBenz plant in Mannheim while the ShiftPilot transmission is produced at the Gaggenau plant.

The Shogun also, according to Ray, had superior pricing to the other model truck he was weighing up at the time. But it was its singular presence at the Truck Show that first caught his eye. “That was a big moment for me,” he says. “I’ve waited a while to finally get my hands on one but it was more than worth the wait.”

Fuso Shogun tipper and dog runs 100km daily.

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YEARS

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FEE

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DING THE FIVE

THOUSAND AS THE COST OF LIVING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY CONTINUES TO RISE, PROVIDING NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CRITICAL. THE FOODBASKET AT MARYBOROUGH HAS RISEN TO THIS CHALLENGE, WITH THE HELP OF A NEW HINO 500 SERIES 10-PALLET TRUCK.

Mick Wait

n common with many regional cities in Australia, Maryborough on the central Queensland coast has been saddled with the double whammy of a growing unemployment rate and an aging population – circumstances which lead to many people having restricted means to afford the basic necessities of life. As a Christian church with a mission heart for helping those in need, LifeChurch at Maryborough in 2008 established the FoodBasket – a low-cost food club that supports families and individuals on low incomes by providing everyday food items and household staples at well below retail prices. Those with either a valid Health Care or Pension card can avail of the service which aims to consistently supply a wide range of ever-changing food items to this sector of the community. Given the unemployment rate in Maryborough is reported to be one of highest among Australian cities, the

extremely high demand for the services of FoodBasket is hardly surprising. As much of the food is sourced from Brisbane, about 270km south of Maryborough, the logistics of transporting the goods – which includes ambient, chilled and frozen products – is a critical aspect of the not-for-profit organisation. The man in charge of this is Mick Wait, who started as a casual truck driver four years ago and two years later rose to the position of Manager. Being a former long-distance truck driver, Mick possesses the necessary skills to deliver the goods, as well as a caring heart for helping those in need within his local community. As such, it’s obvious he gains a great deal of satisfaction from doing his job well. “We’re a ministry of LifeChurch Maryborough and we operate a small retail not-for-profit grocery store,” Mick explains. “Anyone with a Health Care or Pension card is welcome to become p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

Hino 500 Series fitted with 10-pallet refrigerated body.

“Moving to the new truck brought us many benefits, most importantly, it’s a lot bigger. We’ve gone from a 3.9 tonne payload to 7.0 tonnes with the new Hino.” Mick Wait The FoodBasket

a member, which entitles them to shop here. We have lots of either free or really low-cost items available.” The food items come from a variety of sources, some free and others purchased at low prices, which enables all the operating costs to be covered. “We are largely funded by the minimal prices we charge for our grocery products, along with some small grants we receive from the government,” Mick says. “While the grants are greatly appreciated, the majority of the running costs are covered by our customers. “Our three main sources for food are Foodbank, SecondBite and a number of food wholesalers that are able to give us significant discounts for buying in bulk. We source all the food as cheaply as we can so that we don’t need to charge much to cover our costs.” All of the food is transported to the FoodBasket’s Maryborough premise from various locations around Brisbane in a Hino 500 Series Standard Cab truck fitted with a 10-pallet refrigerated body. 44

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The unit was supplied by Brisbane-based Scully Refrigerated Special Vehicles (Scully RSV) and replaced an older Japanese truck with a six-pallet body. According to Mick, the new Hino has made a phenomenal difference to the operation due to a number of improvements over the old truck, not least that it can carry nearly twice the cargo while at the same time using precious little more fuel. Another big plus is that the Carrier refrigeration unit can be plugged into mains power when stationary, enabling the FoodBasket to use the truck as an overflow cold storage facility when it’s not on the road. “Our previous truck had a six-pallet body with the refrigeration compressor running off the truck’s engine which wasn’t ideal,” Mick explained. “It worked okay while the vehicle was moving but when it was stationary with the engine idling it really didn’t have the capacity to maintain the required temperature, particularly in the middle of summer.

“The new unit has no problems pulling the temperature down, regardless of the freight or the time of year,” he asserts, adding that the difference between the new and previous truck is like chalk and cheese. “Moving to the new truck brought us many benefits most importantly it’s a lot bigger. We’ve gone from a 3.9 tonne payload to 7.0 tonnes with the new Hino.” He adds, “It’s also significantly more comfortable and much nicer to drive – thanks to all the safety features.” Mick says he particularly likes the adaptive cruise control which he puts to good use on the Bruce Highway running between Brisbane and Maryborough. “It really is a handy bit of kit,” he enthuses, adding that it takes some stress away from the driving task by enabling the truck to cruise with the traffic flow without the driver needing to intervene if the vehicles ahead slow down. On the topic of fuel consumption, Mick says the old truck used almost as much fuel as the new Hino, while carrying little more than half the weight. “On a standard run where I go down empty and bring back a full load from Foodbank the new truck uses seven litres more diesel than the old one but brings back nearly twice as much freight. That’s a pretty impressive boost to the bottom line,” he says. The actual fuel savings are, in fact, a lot higher considering Mick now does two trips to Brisbane a week where with the old truck three to four trips a week were done to transport the same amount of tucker. He also mentions a couple of other ways the new truck is saving the company precious money. “The new truck is significantly cheaper to insure than the old one, perhaps due to the added safety features, and because it has a 20,000km service interval compared to the 10,000km interval of the old truck, we’re saving around $150 each service,” he says. Mick’s prior driving experience was with prime movers including Kenworth,

Scania and Western Star, so driving a ‘little’ truck was new in many ways for him. “I was a bit hesitant going with a Hino because I’d never driven one before, but now that I’ve driven it for nearly a year I’m very happy we chose to buy a Hino.” Interestingly, the truck was bought outright from revenue saved up over the last ten years, in addition to a government grant, and Mick says he is also grateful for the extra care and assistance offered by Scully RSV in supplying the vehicle. “Scully gave us a generous discount on the purchase price and also provided the signwriting for the truck at no cost to us which was very decent of them,” Mick explains. “We also received a grant of $17,000 from the Federal Government which was a great help too.” There’s something consoling about the FoodBasket store, existing as it

does, non-profit, solely for the benefit of those in need. Because LifeChurch has invested in the latest trucking technology in the form of a Hino 500 Series Standard Cab and Scully RSV body with Carrier fridge plant, the

combined increased cost efficiencies enable more people who live in Maryborough to receive much-needed help from this organisation. In these times of economic hardship for many, there’s also real value in that.

The new Hino has almost doubled the payload for FoodBasket.

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TRUCK & TECH

APPOINTMENT IN

TOKYO THE TOKYO MOTOR SHOW IS UNIVERSALLY RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE MAJOR EVENTS OF ITS TYPE IN THE WORLD. THE 2019 EDITION WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT TO PAST ITERATIONS WITH EXHIBITORS SPREAD ACROSS TWO SEPARATE SITES. FORTUNATELY, THE FOUR JAPANESE TRUCK MANUFACTURERS WERE ABLE TO SHARE THE ONE PAVILION, WITH MAJOR PASSENGER VEHICLE MAKERS TOYOTA AND SUBARU IN A CONNECTED PAVILION.

INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE Definitely the best of the truck stands and not just because they were picking up our tab. Display Highlight: the Quon Concept 202X future concept truck which has the capabilities of being intricately connected to its surroundings, including other trucks, infrastructure and people.

1. UD’s Quester is a model intended for ‘developing’ nations and at Tokyo it premiered with the ESCOT Automated manual transmission. 2. UD Raijin electromobility demonstrator. A hybrid based on the Quon. 3. Battery on Quon hybrid. 4. Quon 202X simulated platooning. 5. UD’s version of ‘mirror cam’

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TRANSPORTING EVERY HAPPINESS At once cryptic and utopian, which often amounts to the same thing .

1. Hybrids are no longer limited to fourtonners. The Hino Profia Hybrid is based on the Hino 700 Series and went on sale to the Japanese public in August. Great if you have some happiness to move around. 2. Hinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dakkar winning race truck always gets attention. 3. Hino Delivery concept vehicle uses pods and a wheeled drone to make that final metre delivery. 4. Hino FlatFormer modular electric vehicle. platform features six-wheel drive and can be fitted with a vast array of cab and body components.

CREATE WITH YOU Buses as well as trucks on show. 1. Isuzu Giga with new high cab roof incorporates full suite of safety features including adaptive cruise, control, blind spot monitoring and pre-crash braking system. 2. Isuzu FL 1-R concept vehicle which dominates the surrounding stand like a giant robot from a Japanese Sci-Fi movie.

CHALLENGE THE CHANGES Definitely, the most modest of the exhibits. Apparently, they had a trick light duty 4x4 in the outdoor exhibition but there was no mention of it on the stand (at least not in English).

1. Premiere of Fuso Super Great (Shogun in Australia) with level 2 autonomy 2. Fuso F-CELL based on Canter with fuel cell and electric drive technology. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

HELP I S O N T H E W AY

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROVIDES MOBILE SERVICES FOR COMMUNITIES IN RURAL AREAS AND OFTEN ASSISTS PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY NATURAL DISASTER OR ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS. IN RECENT TIMES, IT HAS PARTNERED WITH SG FLEET TO ENSURE ITS UNIQUE SERVICE IS FIT-FOR-PURPOSE AND ALWAYS AT THE READY.

reated in response to drought in 2006, the Mobile Service Centres now offer services for Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support as well as information about Department of Veteran Affairs programs to regional and rural communities. The vehicles now offer similar services to those found in any urban service centre, including private interview rooms, service desks, social workers and online access to myGov accounts. As the first government department to achieve national TruckSafe accreditation, it has evolved in recent years. This evolution, according to Colin Hall, Director of the Department of Human Services Mobile Servicing Team, has been facilitated by three key factors: the increasing technology on board the trucks; improving connectivity around the country; and the widespread use of social media. “We tailor services to community needs,”

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Colin says. “That means doing a lot of work in advance of the next visit in order to work out what the community’s needs are.” Each Isuzu FX vehicle boasts wireless IT connectivity and is allocated two service officers, a manager and driver to help with whatever human services is required. “We used to go to a lot of places that didn’t have Telstra connectivity,” Hall says. “That was quite limited. The advent of social media has enabled more people to be aware of what services we provide, alerting them that we are coming to town.” The Human Services Mobile Services team works closely with mobility solutions provider, SG Fleet, on the design of each vehicle to exploit its maximum height and length as space inside the mobile centre is at a premium. Expanding capsules are employed to increase floor and head space so the interior flows appropriately while taking into account egress access issues. SG Fleet helps triangulate the design process

between the body builder and Human Services Mobile Services team. It’s an interactive process, according to Colin, in which engagement well in advance of the design phase is crucial. “Through the build, you always find new innovations, new ideas and issues to troubleshoot. In that way it’s really about the three parties working together to keep finding new ways and solutions that arise throughout that whole build process,” he says. “It’s all about engagement, so when there are challenges all three parties can deal with it together. SG Fleet’s role is really to facilitate that process and make it happen.” The vehicles deployed by Human Services have changed shape over the years. They originally started with Winnebago campervans before upscaling to DAF prime movers. At present they have found that a heavy rigid vehicle, at its maximum height and maximum length, is ideal for the access and requirements of the moment,

namely accommodating the number of customers in the vehicles with the maximum amount of service points. In addition to the onboard technology and resources, the builds encompass fuel range, fuel tanks and storage for the 200 litre tanks of water they carry, which all need to be stored under the chassis. With that weight distribution comes another consideration. Materials for the build are chosen for how they might affect fuel efficiency and travel range. As the Australian Government Mobile Service Centres are sometimes dispatched to rural locations, even crossing the Nullarbor once annually, having the widespread SG Fleet network of service providers at its disposal is a major drawcard. SG Fleet also offers vehicle tracking and a pool vehicle booking system. “In these rural communities, we often draw on SG Fleet’s network of service providers to get us on the road again if we have an issue around vehicle repairs or maintenance. SG Fleet is fantastic as they allow us to tap into that network. Even when they are not the actual provider, they’ll find someone who can get us on the road again should we have an issue.” More recently the Mobile Services Centre vehicles attended sites in New South Wales and Queensland where communities had been ravaged by bush fires. Safety is the first priority, according to Colin, particularly when it comes to delivering services in an area suffering from a natural disaster. “You need to be in the right place at the right time. That’s really front of mind. You might have flood waters rising or fires moving through the district. The challenges for us are that we really need to understand what the community’s needs are, determine we have the right service offer and make people aware of our visit,” he says. “Moving heavy vehicles on rural roads is a risky affair. We take that very seriously.” To mitigate those risks, the Department of Human Services achieved national TruckSafe accreditation to ensure it understands the issues around fatigue management, vehicle maintenance and driver training. “In all of those things, we adopt industry

The Mobile Service Centres are housed in purpose built Isuzu FX rigids.

best practice through our quality control,” Colin says. Recognising the risks of driving the heavy vehicles in areas stricken by natural disaster means a professional standard is required of the operation. Industry experience, Colin explains, is valued and professional drivers are recruited as part of the department’s safety strategy. “Then we underpin that with our driver training and our support programs. We invest in that. We make sure we have our drivers undertake advanced driver training, regularly,” he says, acknowledging support is also provided in skills testing. “All the drivers take great pride in the job because they know that they’re recognised as professionals and are trained and equipped to deliver to quality standards we have through our TruckSafe Accreditation and all the other courses we can do around fatigue management and chain of responsibility legislation.” A rotational system is in place for the three vehicle crews. Two crews are always on with one crew off. For every week off, two weeks are spent on the road so that the vehicles are kept on the move as much as possible. Having well-trained and well-equipped drivers helps to insure daily checks are completed and faults in reports are followed up so the vehicles, during handovers, are in great shape. Inspect365, SG Fleet’s fleet management tool, has enabled the Human Services Mobile Service team to automate its manual process of daily checking and

fault reporting. As it takes a driver through a sequence of checks in the morning, the faults are then logged and registered so they are prioritised. “The management information in Inspect365 underpins the integrity of our quality systems and our truck safe standards and that keeps us at industry best practice,” Colin says. “Working within the realms of government services, we still adopt those industry best practices around vehicle maintenance, driver training and fatigue management. Everything that’s involved in the chain of responsibility legislation is covered to mitigate all of those risks and that’s where we want to stay.” Colin came across from the Department of Agriculture in 2004. He’s been involved in managing rural programs and regional servicing strategy for much of his career. The new technology and management now available, he explains, helps identify risks and provides greater visibility as to where the vehicles are. It’s a big country after all. “We get reports on heavy braking and speed and it gives you a lot more helpful information to manage risks,” Colin says. “We’ve got access to people and information and support at the touch of phone. That’s really what it’s about. It’s about making problems go away. If there are issues we need to find solutions and that’s where SG Fleet comes in. From our point of view, we’ve really got to make sure that we’ve got these trucks working on the road and delivering what they need to do all the time.”

Neither Mr Hall, the Department nor the Australian Government is receiving any benefit related to the publication of this article, other than the usual services that are provided by SG Fleet under its contractual arrangements with the Commonwealth. Where the Department is procuring motor vehicle services it is required to use SG Fleet because it is the whole of Commonwealth provider of motor vehicle services. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

MORE THAN MOTOR

CITY DETROIT TODAY MEANS MORE THAN MAKING ENGINES. THE COMPANY HAS DEVELOPED AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF MODERN COMPONENTS ENGINEERED AND MANUFACTURED AT ITS OWN PREMISES. PRIME MOVER RECENTLY WALKED DOWN THE PRODUCTION LINE AND CAME AWAY RATHER IMPRESSED.

t the 3.2 million square foot facility in the city of its namesake, Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit company manufacturers major powertrain components including the range of Detroit Diesel engines as well as driveline components including the DT12 automated manual transmission and Detroit rear and front axles. Initially owned and operated by General Motors the plant commenced production in 1938 and has been building truck engines since 1955. The facility has undergone several multi-million dollar

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upgrades since the beginning of the 21st century and the organisation was rebranded as Detroit in 2011 as it had become more than just an engine manufacturer. Production of the first of the DD platforms began in 2008 with the DD15 and the facility currently produces the DD13, DD15 and DD16 heavy duty units and the DD5 and DD8 light duty engines. Since it began operations more than eighty years ago Detroit has produced more than five million engines including one million during the past 20 years. The current annual production

amounts to 110,000 heavy duty engines, 10,000 medium duty engines and 45,000 transmissions. Detroit was purchased by Daimler in 2000 and has since been a key factor in the global developments and manufacture of Daimler’s major driveline components. Product engineering and testing are under the same roof, as is the Detroit national customer call centre, creating a situation which streamlines the process from product inception all the way to aftermarket support. All displacements of the Detroit engines have similar designs and construction which incorporates wet cylinder liners, cast engine blocks and one piece cylinder heads. Extensive webbing on the Detroit blocks is used for strength as well as reduction in noise and vibration. Raw engine block and cylinder head castings are produced in South Africa and are then machined at the Detroit facility. Improvements in design are such that only 35 pounds of material needs to be removed from a DD15 block compared with the 150 pounds that used to be machined off a block for a Series 60 engine. It takes around four hours for an engine to be processed down the line, and each is subjected to rigorous inspections at five ‘quality gates’ as more components are

added. Torque tools are used extensively, not just on bearing and head bolts and every bolt and nut associated with the fuel rails is double checked. The aim is for each shift to produce 163 units. Every engine is hot run tested on one of the 42 Dynometer prior to being shipped. At the Daimler truck plant in Charlotte North Carolina the engines are retested after installation into Freightliner and Western Star trucks to ensure there are no issues and to confirm power and torque ratings. An increasing range of components are being manufactured ‘in-house’ to ensure quality and maximise production efficiencies. Turbochargers used to be either the number one or two components subject of warranty claims. After two years of development the turbos began being produced at the plant in 2015 using a Daimler design identical to the Mannheim units used on Daimler truck engines in Europe. Around 85,000 complete turbos are manufactured each year at the Detroit plant and rotor components are also exported to be used by Mannheim. The turbo shafts have a tolerance of just six microns and bar codes and data matrix stamps ensure the aerospace-like quality which has resulted in drastic reductions in any turbo problems associated with Detroit engines. Turbocharger testing involves shaft speeds of up to 405,000 rpm. The use of the proprietary asymmetric turbo reduces weight and complexity plus delivers improved performance with sustainable reliability. Behind the products are the people who make them and there is a palpable evidence of pride on the shop floor. The turbo division is a great example where there are nine employees dedicated to producing the turbos and all are qualified for each other’s roles. Despite its massive size the overall facility shows a commitment to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Since 2008, the factory’s energy consumption has decreased by 48 per cent, while at the same time production has increased significantly. LED lighting is used extensively, and the facility-wide recycling

program involves recycling or reusing items such as component packaging. The most recent developments of Detroit engines such as the DD13 have focused on delivering a long flat torque curve to provide the driveability and fuel efficiency associated with engine down-speeding. This has resulted in the DD13’s ability to deliver 90 per cent of its peak torque in just 1.5 seconds whereas in the same time a competitor’s engine will only be at 50 per cent. Factors contributing to this improved performance include the use of the non-waste gated turbo and low inertia camshafts. As an adjunct to the power, the engine’s retardation braking capabilities have been enhanced with the improved ‘Jake’ engine brake which is integrated into the camshafts rather than sitting on top of the rocker arms. This design change provides three stages of engine braking and is much quieter in operation. Lifetime servicing is enhanced by the location of most key maintenance components above chassis rail for direct access which results in less service time and improved heat dissipation. The larger capacity of the sump helps extend oil drain intervals as does the maintenance free crankcase breather which is a closed system and returns oil to sump. The DT12 automated transmission has been a success story for Detroit with 45,000 being produced

at the facility annually. The DT12 has well-recognised capabilities and its contributions to efficiencies begins in the basic architecture that utilises an alloy case and two gear shafts instead of three to significantly reduce weight. Rear axles are another area where Detroit has pursued efficiencies which complement the down-speeding of the engines, and final drive ratios of 2.0:1 or 1.9:1 are becoming the norm, with even lower numerical ratios currently being assessed and likely to enter production soon. The Detroit steer axles may not be as complex as engines or transmissions, yet they are a vital component of modern trucks. The Detroit front axles feature Torrington bearings to handle the thrust forces and to provide a long life of smooth steering. For decades the terms ‘Detroit Diesel’ or ‘GM’ were commonly associated with the supercharged two stroke engines which the company produced for under GM’s ownership. The modern ‘Detroits’ continue to derive some of their heritage from those venerable green painted icons that were a mainstay of truck and bus engines for decades. The North American manufacturer’s and Daimler’s inputs, since 2000, today deliver a range of modern major driveline components that are able to operate seamlessly together regardless of the brand of vehicle they are fitted to. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TRUCK & TECH

BLAST FR O M T H E PAST A LEADER IN THE FAST-CHANGING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, GME IS CELEBRATING 60 YEARS AS A 100 PER CENT AUSTRALIAN-OWNED FAMILY BUSINESS.

he sheer magnitude and geography of Australia has made communication and information sharing essential to building the country. Reliable radio access has been vital in farming, freight movements, emergency services and infrastructure. Of course, over the last six decades none of that has changed even while GME has continued to evolve along with radio communications. Founded by engineer Edward Dunn in 1959, Standard Components, based out of Sydney’s northwest, originally specialised in TV tuner reconditioning before branching out into other aspects of TV services. By 1964, as television became the dominant medium in the country, it had expanded its range of Kingray products. Its primary product at the time was the Masthead Amplifier, an analogue unit that accepted signals from separate UHF and VHF antennas, or UHF/VHF combination antennas, and output the amplified signal down a single cable. It was popular in remote areas where it facilitated a higherquality TV signal. In 1972 Dunn partnered with close friend Phil Dulhunty, and formed Greenwich Marine Electronics, now known as GME. This signalled a new direction for the company which had started to branch out into the communications industry as a distributor of 27MHz Marine Radios. GME entered into the 27MHz CB market in the late ‘70s when it debuted its first radio model, the GX275. A new decade brought with it a range of new designs which the company had, as it diversified its revenue streams, commenced manufacturing inhouse. 52

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GME’s Winston Hills facililty.

In the Bicentennial year, 1988, Standard Communications, by way of realising it had to compete internationally, recognised it needed to streamline, and wherever possible, automate its production practices, installing surface mount technology machinery. As part of this technological transition the company incorporated a comprehensive Total Quality Management program. Since then the company’s CB Radios have gone through an evolution afforded by new communications technology and innovation. Selective Calling is now standard in the CB Radio market following the launch of the TX4000, which GME introduced to market in the early ‘90s. GME has since unveiled the TX4500, one of its flagship products and a portfolio of super compact units popular with truck drivers across the heavy vehicle industry and 4WD enthusiasts alike. GME over the years has expanded and opened a new purpose-built headquarters in Winston Hills in 2013. The facility houses all aspects of its current business including

manufacturing and engineering capabilities, warehousing and marketing. At present GME employs over 200 Staff to ensure its commitment to Australian design and manufacturing is ongoing. More recently GME released the first connected UHF CB Radio Platform, the XRS Connect in 2016. Compatible with smart devices via Bluetooth, the range of radios enable the user to personalise the settings of the XRS, use the dedicated smartphone apps, XRS Location Services and XRS Connect and download firmware updates to access new features. GME recently confirmed it was committed to releasing a minimum of one new upgrade for XRS every year. This will ensure, according to the company, that its users will always have access to the latest technology available. Dedicated customer focus such as this has long been an integral part of the company ethos and brand. The legacy of founder Edward ‘Ted’ Dunn, who passed in 2001, lives on through the family ownership and the many active long serving staff who worked alongside him.

TRUCK & TECH

KEEPING UP

APPEARANCES APPEARANCE IS CRUCIAL AT KERDEN HAULAGE AND REMAINS A KEY FACTOR FOR WHY IT PARTNERS WITH PAINTS, COATINGS AND SPECIALITY MATERIALS SUPPLIER, PPG, TO ENSURE A CONSISTENT, HIGH QUALITY FINISH ACROSS THE ENTIRE FLEET.

t’s not just its ability to tackle specialist tasks with no-fuss efficiency that has helped Kerden Haulage carv out an impressive reputation over the past 27 years. From the very first truck – a second-hand 1986 International S-Line – which Dennis and Kerry Radburn used to establish the business back in 1992, there has been a steady focus on projecting a smart, professional and eye-catching appearance. It’s a strategy that continues to pay dividends, according to Kerry. “We are very proud of our fleet and we get a lot of work out of the appearance of our trucks. Turn up with a tatty looking piece of machinery and that customer is not going to be too enthusiastic about giving you more work. When we turn up at a customer’s place, they often tell us how good the trucks look,” she says. Based in Nowra, on the NSW south coast, Kerden Haulage is still very much a family business, with Dennis and Kerry’s son, Damien, having joined to help run the growing company. After cutting its teeth in a variety of state-based work, such as supporting the construction of venues for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Kerden Haulage has spread its wings along the east coast and across the country. Today, it’s engaged in a wide variety of work, including over-dimensional haulage for Qantas, storage and distribution for Todae Solar, express freight for DHL and haulage of precast concrete components for BCP Precast. It’s all about meeting the customer’s needs says Kerry. A lot of what it does is specialised work. As they cart products for Cromford Pipe Holdings, a poly pipe manufacturer, the company uses extendable trailers, drop-deck extendable trailers and crane trailers specifically to help transport

their products. Kerden Haulage’s fleet has grown to 45 trucks, mainly made up of Kenworths, and most are finished in the company livery, consisting of gunmetal grey and contrasting white. With increasing vehicle numbers, however, came a growing issue with fleet presentation. While the liveries of different trucks often looked fine in isolation, when they were parked next to each other, noticeable differences became obvious and, in some cases, paint jobs

colour codes and colour samples, the products and detailed processes to be used to paint the various substrates the vehicles are made from (steel, fibreglass, aluminium, etc), along with detailed views of the company’s livery and how it’s applied to different types of vehicles in the fleet. Copies of the PPG FleetSpec handbook get distributed to each Kerden Haulage depot, as well as the PPG FleetPool network of independent Commercial Transport

PPG PaintManager lists the precise paint formulations.

were not to the company’s high standards. According to Tony Naughton, PPG NSW Commercial Transport Manager, PPG was approached by Kerden Haulage to reduce the varied colours and appearance of their fleet. “They take a lot of pride in their fleet and they wanted continuity of colour and finish because the look of their trucks reflects back on their business,” he says. “The service we were able to offer is called PPG FleetSpec. It’s a free service where we worked directly with them to precisely match their fleet colours and then prepare a PPG FleetSpec handbook dedicated to Kerden Haulage.” Inside the handbook are all the fleet’s

repairers and refinishers. When a Kerden Haulage vehicle goes to any PPG FleetPool shop or PPG user around the country, they have everything needed to achieve the same colour and consistency of finish. “The Kerden Haulage colours are all listed on our PPG PaintManager XI software system so it’s simple for a user to look up the precise formulations,” says Tony. “In the same way, local trailer or truck manufacturers using PPG, such as Volvo, Mack, Kenworth and Iveco, can also access those colour formulations. Importantly, they get the uniformity of colour and finish that shows off their organisation in the very best light.” p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TEST DRIVE

Scania R 500 in B-double application. 54

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OPEN RANGE HAVING TESTED A NUMBER OF V8-POWERED SCANIAS OUT FRONT OF HEAVY-WEIGHT B-DOUBLES OVER THE YEARS, PRIME MOVER WAS KEEN TO SAMPLE THE SIX-CYLINDER SCANIA NEW TRUCK GENERATION R 500 TO DISCERN WHETHER OR NOT IT HAS THE GOODS TO DELIVER IN THIS DEMANDING APPLICATION.

he mission Prime Mover chose to accept was to determine whether the renowned fuel efficiency of Scania’s sixpack powertrain can be harnessed with acceptable performance hauling a B-double with a gross combination mass (GCM) north of 60 tonnes on an undulating route east of Melbourne. Considering most current multi-trailer prime movers sport 550 or 600hp ratings, ‘Is 500hp enough?’ seems a fair question to ask. Perhaps more to the point, ‘Is there a place in the Australian full-weight B-double (or dare we also mention A-double) market segment for 500hp prime movers? Of course, many variable factors must be taken into account, including average GCM and the extent of undulations on the route most travelled. It’s surprising, for example, how much difference a 55 tonne GCM compared with a 62.5 tonne GCM makes to the average speed of a combination on a long and steep climb. Interestingly though, making a decision on the horsepower rating alone could prove erroneous due to the fact that the torque rating often plays a more important role than outright horsepower in determining

the suitability of a truck for a given role. To put things in perspective, a popular engine rating for linehaul B-doubles is 550hp and 1,850lbft (2,508Nm) of torque. In comparison, Scania’s G and R 500 variants deliver 500hp and 1,881lbft (2,550Nm) of torque. So, while at first glance the 550hp rating might sound more impressive, it is the torque produced in the lower reaches of the RPM band that actually hauls the truck up the hill more so than the horsepower. Therefore, all things being equal, with its extra 31lbft (42Nm) of torque delivered between the exceptionally low 1,000 and 1,350rpm, the 500hp Scanias could potentially outclass 550hp opponents on a climb. But as the old adage regarding human behaviour notes, perception is often interpreted as reality meaning many will continue to believe that higher horsepower equals better performance. It can be a similar story in the sensory realm whereby a vehicle that makes more noise can be easily perceived to have better performance than a quieter one. This is a factor that has traditionally worked against European trucks in the Australian market, particularly when compared

with those originating from another part of the northern hemisphere where twin seven-inch chrome stacks were at one stage the signature feature of all-powerful prime movers. But time inevitably moves on and nowadays the quest to extract every ounce of bang from each precious litre of fuel, not to mention considerably lower emissions, has more or less overtaken the glitz and glam factor in terms of being the number one priority of most successful commercial haulage operations. With this in mind, Prime Mover settled into the premium black velour upholstered driver’s chair of an R 500 hitched to a curtain-side B-double set that according to a certified weighbridge docket was grossing precisely 60.7 tonnes. The docket also revealed ideal weight distribution with 6.4 tonnes on the steer, 16.3 tonnes on the drive and respective tri figures of 18.84 and 19.16 tonnes. This shows that the R 500 with its 3,825mm wheelbase is ideally suited to multicombination applications. Having started out from Scania’s Laverton branch, ahead lay a 379km round trip taking in the picturesque hills and dales p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

TEST DRIVE

The R 500 offers a whisper quiet environment even under load.

of eastern Victoria from the Melbourne metro to Leongatha via Caldermeade. Importantly, every operational detail of the drive would be recorded by the inbuilt Scania Communicator C 300 telematics unit, providing an accurate fuel consumption figure and other vital data at the end of the journey. Moving off, it was impossible not to be impressed by the whisper quiet environment and ultra-refined yet well controlled ride thanks to the four-point airsuspended cab. The leather-bound steering wheel complete with a flat section at the bottom adds to the high-end European feel, somewhat belying the reality that we were, in fact, driving a heavy vehicle. Indeed, it’s hard to adequately describe in words the extent to which such a pleasant driver’s operating environment tends to mitigate the stress when guiding a 60-plus tonne multi-combination vehicle through hectic traffic situations. This notion was put to good test while surrounded by Melbourne’s morning peak mayhem, with the Scania’s sophisticated 14-speed Opticruise automated manual transmission – featuring a direct (1:1) top ratio – holding eighth gear at a steady 40km/h with 1,400rpm registering on the tacho during the climb up the Westgate Bridge. Once over the crest the R 3500 retarder and engine brake combo came to the fore, checking speed to 60km/h with no brake pedal intervention. Despite the fact that from here to the Burnley Tunnel it was 56

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stop and start all the way, the powerful yet relaxed nature of all aspects of the Scania’s operation instilled a similar calmness into its driver. For instance, features like Eco-roll – which engages neutral to save fuel on the overrun – can be fully taken advantage of in heavy traffic if the driver accurately anticipates the ebb and flow rhythm of the traffic and backs off the throttle as early as possible. Flowing the vehicle along in this manner virtually negates the need for the service brakes except for the final few metres before a stop. Other standard active safety features such as lane departure warning (LDW), electronic stability control (ESC) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) provide added peace-of-mind for the driver should an unforeseen circumstance arise. Upon entering the Burnley Tunnel, the powerful retarder reiterated its worth keeping velocity at 75km/h in 10th gear at 1,300rpm during the long descent. The subsequent climb at the other end saw the Scania hold 35km/h in seventh gear at 1,400rpm. As the trip unfolded through the vista of stunning scenery, it became clear that 1,400rpm was indeed the ‘sweet spot’ with this engine, not only when pulling hard up hills but also cruising quietly and effortlessly at 100km/h, thanks to a tall 3.42:1 final drive ratio. The lengthiest and steepest climb was in the mountainous Caldermeade district where a particularly sharp pinch caused the Scania to briefly

drop into sixth gear, once again holding 1,400rpm and 25km/h until the grade levelled slightly, allowing it to grab seventh gear and claw its way back to 35km/h before the summit was reached. There were a couple of instances on the steepest sections where manual was selected to prevent an unwarranted upshift, but for the most part the Opticruise transmission gauged the conditions and selected the appropriate gear with impeccable precision. Another notable climb on the M420 heading back towards Melbourne near the Stud Road interchange saw the Scania hold steady at 70km/h in 11th gear at 1,200rpm. On the all-important topic of fuel consumption, during the outbound journey with relatively level running the dash display climbed steadily to peak at 2.0km/litre (5.65mpg) before receding somewhat as the mountainous regions took their toll. Still, the trip average of 1.87km/litre (5.28mpg), as recorded by the Communicator, was a commendable result given the demanding conditions of high GCM, heavy traffic and lots of climbing. Even more astonishing was the revelation that 20 per cent of the 379km trip – equating to 75.8km – had been completed in Eco-roll mode with the transmission neutralised, engine idling and using minimal fuel. Among other revelations, it reinforces the need for all drivers to be clued up on eco-driving techniques in order to exploit the full potential of Eco-roll and other fuel saving features incorporated into modern trucks. Put simply, being ignorant of such features is a sure path to higher fuel bills. Many fleets are also realising the benefit of providing financial incentives to their drivers if specific fuel consumption targets are met. These measures are the keys to maximising fuel efficiency and minimising whole-of-life costs for the operator. In the final wrap-up, the Scania R 500 passed with flying colours as a worthy contender for multi-combination roles with GCMs of up to 62.5 tonnes. Its attributes of sufficient performance, outstanding fuel consumption and supreme driver comfort and convenience add up to a package par excellence in the heavy-duty Australian truck market.

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DELIVERY THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO OPERATE A TRANSPORT BUSINESS IN AUSTRALIA, BUT THE FRANCHISE MODEL IS STILL COMPARATIVELY RARE. MOOREBANK-BASED PACK & SEND HAS PERFECTED THE CONCEPT. Interview by Sebastian Grote

FAST FACT

According to Pack & Send CEO, Michael Paul, the company’s franchise model is key to ensuring a ‘premium service’ experience. “Our franchisees are our movers and shakers. They’re the faces of the overall business, and of their individual businesses too. As members of the communities they service, they play an integral role in the local marketing of Pack & Send,” he says. In contrast, the role of the franchisor is to provide franchisees with a solid foundation of business systems, or “small business with the tools of a big business,” as Michael puts it. 34

feb r ua r y 2 0 1 6

Q: Pack & Send has been around for a while now. Is the 2016 business still comparable to the one 22 years ago – for example, is parcel delivery still the core of the business? A: The Pack & Send business has changed tremendously since 1993. We started it before the notion of e-commerce, or even the Internet, was in the vernacular, so there has been a significant shift in the way we function. But our mission has always been the same – providing convenient access to a wide range of solutions when sending anything, anywhere. The types of services we can offer are now more varied, though – from traditional

domestic and international import and export work to more modern services, like supporting eBay and online retailers in delivering their products to customers. Q: How did the parcel delivery industry change since the early days? With Toll IPEC, Star Track and emerging online services like Sendle on the scene, the competition must be fierce. A: The parcel delivery industry has evolved with the times. For example, customers today expect that a fundamental requirement of parcel delivery services is an online ‘track and trace’ function that provides a real time delivery status. When we started in 1993, no parcel carrier in Australia had that capability as the technology wasn’t yet in place. You had to phone the carrier to find out exactly where your parcel was – and you usually got a response the next day. In the early days, deliveries were also primarily B2B and very few deliveries were made to households. The growth of e-commerce has changed that, with significantly more B2C deliveries. In line with that, the competition has also changed – for example, where Pack & Send once relied either on customers walking in store or phoning us to send their goods, we are now developing new and

The truck brand of choice at QFS is Hino, mostly the wide body 500 Series with 260 horsepower engines and Allison automatic transmissions. is the extensive and ever increasing range of gourmet items that it has available including boutique nonalcoholic beverages. The beverage sector is a growing market and drinks now account for around 10 per cent of sales with almost 700 different beverage products available. The warehouse holds bay after bay of food service products that are not readily available in retail supermarkets and are required by catering, hospitality and cooked food outlets. One of the advantages of expanding the beverage business is the opportunity to cross sell food service products to those on the beverage customers’ base. “With beverages we don’t deal with the chef as we often do with food products,” says Brian Saharin, QFS General Manager. “Instead we deal with the front of house.” This opens the possibility to provide ancillary items such as napkins, coasters and straws and

customers who were predominantly beverage clients are now able to obtain food service products as well. This also translates into the opportunity for traditional food customers to amalgamate their beverage and food orders. QFS Company Director Guy Politi says that there is a trend in demand towards some higher quality food and beverages. “It can be tomato paste from Italy or cooking oil from Malaysia. We import a lot of quality gourmet products such as flour, rice and confectionery,” Guy says. The truck brand of choice at QFS is Hino, mostly the wide body 500 Series with 260 horsepower engines and Allison automatic transmissions. Trucks that have entered the QFS fleet as assets of various business acquisitions will be progressively replaced with more Hinos to join the 39 Hinos that are already in the fleet. The decision to adopt Hino as

hen company CEO Frank DePasquale established Quality Food Services (QFS) in 1988 the two main products were lasagne and hot dogs and were mostly sold to school canteens. Today QFS has a range of over 7,000 products, which it delivers to businesses such as restaurants, 26

december 2018

pubs, clubs, hotels, cafes, and aged care facilities. And QFS continues to supply a wide range of products to approximately 800 schools. Providing direct service to an area extending from Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast to Ballina in northern New South Wales, and west to Toowoomba, QFS is also involved in providing food services to remote

mining camps using sub-contractors. During late 2018, in order to handle the volume and to cater for future growth, QFS moved into its purpose designed and built warehouse and administration facility located in Pinkenba in close vicinity to Brisbane Airport. By being directly under the flight path the location presented some unique challenges in

BEST

AUSTRAL ASIAN

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TO SUPPORT AUSTRALIA’S GROWING FREIGHT TASK, KRUEGER TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT HAS JUST PUT THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON A NEW PBS B-DOUBLE REFRIGERATED DOUBLE DROP DECK COMBINATION.

FOR AUSTRALIA POST, SAFETY IS AT THE HEART OF ALL OF ITS OPERATIONS, AND THE SAFETY OF ITS PEOPLE COMES FIRST. WITH ITS LATEST DELIVERY OF B-DOUBLES FROM VAWDREY AUSTRALIA, THE COMPANY IS TAKING THIS MESSAGE TO THE STREETS, AIMING TO SPREAD THE WORD AND ENCOURAGE SAFE DRIVER HABITS AMONG ROAD USERS AROUND THE NATION.

Krueger Transport Equipment is a trailer manufacturer with a distinct sense for key

The next logical step, he adds, is the launch

zero. Its new ‘Stay alert – There’s a life riding

and Sydney and Melbourne.

on it’ campaign is urging the public to be

“There is a large number of posties on

“PBS is a trending topic in transport and

was all about pushing the innovation

every operator is either getting on board

bar higher, which meant reducing the

of letters and parcels to millions of people

with high productivity vehicle design or at

to provide them with the best support on that journey, we’ve dedicated ourselves to Drawing on ample experience in PBS vehicle

can be. In 2012 for example, Australia Post began implementing anti-lock brakes and stability control across the fleet. “We use Volvo prime movers which we consider to be the safest on the market. The prime movers have anti lock brakes and stability control, so it makes sense to pair that with a trailer that

The freight task of Australia Post is enormous. The company sends millions

growing our PBS offering.”

never waivered, with the business constantly taking advantage of developing safety technologies to ensure its fleet is as safe as

of a refrigerated double version of the best selling model. “This is a first for us,” says Grant. “Designing this combination

least strongly considering adding that type

support and work within those areas as well, and Vawdrey does just that,” adds Terry.

industry trends, and Performance-Based

of equipment to their fleet,” says National

N E W S

Australia Post’s commitment to safety has

Standards (PBS) is no exception.

Sales Manager, Grant Krueger. “To be able

E Q U I P M E N T

TEC HN OLO GY

Spreading the word

PBS is a trending topic in transport and every operator is either getting on board with high productivity vehicle design or at least strongly considering adding that type of equipment to their fleet.

we wanted to offer our customers even

allows for maximum cubic, full-height

maximise freight capacity and also minimise

more vigilant in a bid to curb the number of posties injured on their motorcycles at

motorcycles. And there are many injuries

work, encouraging drivers to slow down and

that are occurring on a regular basis.

remove distractions while they are behind

has the same capabilities,” says Terry. Vawdrey has built more than half of the national Australia Post fleet.

the road every day, delivering our mail on

across Australia and around the world. Australia Post, together with its StarTrack business, operates a fleet comprised of Krueger’s latest PBS build is a hybrid between a standard curtain-sider in the front and a refirgerated one in the back, both PBS-optimised for maximum payload.

Australia Post has decided to use these new

As well as ensuring its fleet is built to the highest safety standards, reliability is paramount too. “And that’s part of the

National Manager of Fleet for the Australia Post Group.

based around the safety features they can incorporate into our equipment, the large

reason we use the manufacturers we use. We choose suppliers that we believe are the

over 16,500 pieces of equipment, including

the wheel.

trailers to spread our road safety message

Vawdrey has built more than half of the

volumes they are capable of producing and

best in their category,” Terry adds. “Australia

prime movers, rigids, vans, motorcycles and

Australia Post’s recent trailer order of 10

to the public, serving as a reminder to help

national Australia Post trailer fleet, and is the

their ability to satisfy all of our requirements.

Post has a great partnership with Vawdrey.

approximately 4,500 trailers.

new B-doubles from Vawdrey, delivered in

keep our motorcyclists safe. These are the

manufacturer of choice when it comes to

“Vawdrey is quite a progressive company

They are very accessible and understand our

A number of posties are injured in motor

September, are serving as mobile billboards,

first trailers to wear this new safety message,

tautliners. It’s a business partnership that has

from a safety and an innovation perspective.

requirements. If I need trailers produced in a

vehicle accidents each week – and Australia

spreading this message as they travel along

but people can expect to see a lot more of it

stood the test of time, extending for more

They are always pushing the boundaries

hurry, they always try and accommodate that

Post aims to bring that number down to

their routes between Brisbane and Sydney,

in coming months,” explains Terry Bickerton,

than 30 years.

in terms of what can be done. They are

wherever possible.

design – Krueger has built numerous PBS-

tare weight of the trailer and giving fleet

that operators can use to ramp up payloads.

more space and flexibility, making for a

loading, with the ability to achieve general

downtime, with daily loading and unloading

“Vawdrey understands our business

a very progressive business with regards

The longevity of the Vawdrey product is also

approved skels, curtain-siders and B-double drop decks, as well as Super B-doubles

operators more clearance space to work with inside and out.”

It has a cubic capacity of 190m³, with 75m³ in the A and 116m³ in the B-trailer.

solid productivity plus. We again use our 36-pallet, 4.6m design as a base, which

loads and mass loading without the usual

going much faster,” he explains.

and Australia Post understands theirs,

to producing higher productivity and PBS

testament to the build quality. We do very

in the past – one model that has been in particularly high demand recently is the company’s 36-pallet, high-cubic double

Krueger’s PBS refrigerated double drop deck B-double measures 4.6 metres high and 2.5m wide, allowing for excess cubic space

Grant explains, “Under the PBS framework,

drop deck B-double with mezzanine decks, Grant says.

10 per cent payload reduction.”

trailers. With more and more online orders, our freight task continues to grow, so we are

little work to the trailers apart from regular maintenance. And on the flip side, when

timeframe perspective,” adds Terry. “Safety

moving very large volumes of product.”

a trailer comes to the end of its life in our

idea of what freight will be on board, how

is our number one core value and we don’t

Thanks to PBS, Australia Post has been

fleet, a Vawdrey trailer maintains great resale

introducing a growing number of higher

value too.”

version, says Grant, with the A-trailer

compromise on it. That’s part of the reason

non-refrigerated and the B-trailer set-up

frequently the trailers are used and what

as a refrigerated curtain-sider. According

roads the drivers will use. Information like

we only purchase equipment from major

productivity vehicles into the fleet. “This sort

this is crucial when building any trailer that

manufacturers. We choose our suppliers

of innovation means we can move more freight with less vehicles, helping to get

upgrades to both the A and B-trailer for

runs on PBS.”

the hybrid unit. “Both trailers feature

Going forward, Krueger’s focus will be

more vehicles off the road. We work within

on adding to its portfolio across the

the limits of what the current legislation

the front deck and 100mm on the rear

board, while also solidifying its position

allows, but we need manufacturers that can

lower decks, ed.), allowing for extra loading

as a PBS powerhouse. “Krueger is all and high productivity transport solutions and that’s what the new PBS B-double refrigerated double drop deck

division sheets between the drops of the

combination represents,” Grant adds. “The

trailer to this build to provide additional air

unit is designed to deliver huge productivity gains that will help increase a company’s

side shifting pallets. They also provide load

profit margins. For maximum safety, we

restraint when braking.”

have also added our patent pending, OHS-

Regardless of the set-up, the PBS

friendly Self Lifting Gate system.”

refrigerated combination will generate high volume freight operators heading into 2016, Grant predicts. “The bottom line is this combination is designed to

Contact Vawdrey Australia 1-53 Quantum Close Dandenong South VIC 3175 Ph: 03 9797 3700 Web: www.vawdrey.com.au

about developing effective, efficient

for the customer, particularly for forklift drivers loading pallets,” he notes.

plenty of excitement amongst many

Trailer Magazine DECEMBER 15

a productivity perspective and from a

unit, we’ll have our engineers sit down with them, or visit their facilities, to get an

to Grant, Krueger has made significant

in terms of what we can achieve from

“With each customer that orders a PBS

One of the first customers to embrace the new design has ordered a hybrid

flow and circulation and assist operators in

p r i memover mag. c om. au

38 23 10

TRA S IHL O ER AND BODY TE WC CHNOLO ASI GY NG THE VER Y B EST AUS TRA LAS IAN

“In addition, we have fitted perforated

Hino 500 series with a 260hp engine.

201

INNOV ATION

High cubic combination

QUALITY FOOD SERVICES IS BASED IN BRISBANE AND PROVIDES THE IMPORTANT LINK BETWEEN FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS. HINO’S WIDE BODY 500 TRUCKS ARE THEIR VEHICLES OF CHOICE FOR THE EXPANDING DELIVERY FLEET.

UST

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space that provides more loading capacity

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low profile mezzanine decks (58mm on

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SHOWCA SING

PBS SPECIAL

order to comply with more than the usual Commonwealth, State and local regulations and has resulted in an ultrahigh technology facility that is covered by 69 safety and security cameras and extensive on-site fire detection and fire fighting systems. The authorities are anxious to prevent any incidents that could affect the operation of the airport so there is a continuous sampling of air to detect any smoke and the entire fire and security system is tamper monitored. The warehouse has nine robotic doors, which will open in the event of a fire to vent any smoke. The warehouse has a footprint of 11,000 square metres of which 50 per cent is refrigerated in four different temperature zones using a very efficient refrigeration plant that utilises ammonia rather than the more common Freon. The move from QFS’s previous premises in Stafford required 5,000 pallets to be moved in a 72 hour period and as the QFS fleet needed to continue to deliver goods to customers, contractors were engaged to handle the 120 trailer loads of products. A distinct point of difference between QFS and other food service suppliers

URC

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tarting off with a single office in Parramatta, NSW, Pack & Send has evolved into a national delivery heavyweight that can draw on more than 100 service centres Australiawide and was recognised as the Australian Franchisor of the Year in 2007 by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Franchise Council of Australia. Now also present in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Pack & Send is considered a leading force in the transport franchise game. Prime Mover met founder Michael Paul, who has been serving as CEO of the company since its incorporation in February 1993.

IND

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9 201 ber

Contact Krueger Transport Equipment 275 Fitzgerald Road Derrimut VIC 3030 Ph: 03 9366 2133 Web: www.krueger.com.au

www.trailermag.com.au

Terry Bickerton, Paul Vawdrey and James Dixon.

Trailer Magazine NOVEMBER 18

www.trailermag.com.au

PRIME MOVER and TRAILER are Australia’s most-read monthly news resources for the commercial road transport industry covering all facets of our industry from bitumen to boardroom. Subscribe today to get access to award-winning reporting and thought-provoking insight — 22 times a year — from the most acclaimed journalists in the country. SPECIAL OFFER – Subscribe online today to receive both magazine for the price of just one! Save over 50% and never miss another story from our fast-paced industry.

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FINAL MILE

THE SOUNDS

SILEN WHILE FULLY ELECTRIC POWER BECOMES MORE COMMONPLACE IN THE PASSENGER VEHICLE SPACE, AND START-UP CORPORATIONS, WITH THEIR MUCH-HYPED CONCEPTS, WORK TOWARDS DELIVERING UPON THEIR AMBITIOUS PREDICTIONS IN HEAVY PRIME MOVER-STYLE APPLICATIONS, FUSO HAS TAPPED INTO THE RESOURCES OF ITS PARENT DAIMLER TO DEVELOP A PRACTICAL ALL-ELECTRIC LIGHT-MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK.

t this point it is universally recognised that electric vehicles are the way of the very near future as the costs of petroleum fuels increase due to supply and demand factors and the declining stocks of oil. The Fuso eCanter project may only be in its infancy here in Australia with just the one assessment vehicle arriving to date, but the program started life as far back as 2015 with a public test program of the Canter E-Cell prototype. The eCanter has an advantage over most other electric truck developments which use cab and chassis platforms obtained from different OEMs, as the Fuso product utilises proven in-house architecture and engineering supported by the global resources of the entire Daimler car and truck network. The result of this homogenous manufacturing approach is very evident in many details of the eCanter. The all-electric Fuso presents as a complete and integrated proprietary package rather than various bits and pieces that have been cobbled together by a third party ‘manufacturer’ sometimes without the support or even knowledge of the organisation from which the rolling cab chassis is sourced. The eCanter will be doing the rounds of appropriate local fleets and operators and has a GVM of 7,500kgs, with a payload

de c e m be r 2019

of at least 3,000kgs available with this particular body which is more than sufficient for the type of metropolitan parcel delivery application envisaged for the eventual production models. The electric motor delivers 135kW (181hp) of power and 390Nm (288 ft/ lbs) of torque and drives the rear wheels using a conventional tail shaft and hypoid differential rear axle. One distinct benefit of electric drive is maximum power and torque are delivered from zero rpm and the acceleration is quite stunning. Electrical storage is handled by six Daimler-sourced liquid cooled lithium ion battery packs with two mounted on the outside of each chassis rails and a double deck pack located between the rails in the space where a transmission would be in a conventional driveline. The combined storage has a maximum of 82.8kWh, which is enough for more than 100 kilometers of normal driving. Our test around the suburbs of Melbourne covered more than 80 kilometres, including stop-start operations in heavy traffic and probably too much enjoyment of the acceleration capabilities of the eCanter and the range prediction section of the dash was still forecasting another potential 40 kilometres before requiring a recharge. In real world circumstances that will realistically equate to a full shift of parcel deliveries in a metropolitan

environment. Instead of a tachometer, the speedo is complemented by an analogue instrument that indicates the most efficient application of the accelerator pedal, as well as when the driveline switches to charge mode when on over-run. It’s not unlike similar gauges in hybrid vehicles but is a lot less complicated. This particular vehicle retains the Japanese style cable socket so a connector suitable to local three-phase outlets is used. Full charge can be achieved in less than two hours using a DC charger or four hours using AC charging. There may also be the opportunity for ‘topping up’ during the day which can be as practical as connecting to a charge point while loading at a delivery centre dock or at a convenient and suitable power outlet while the driver takes a meal break. Recharging also occurs when no pressure is applied to the accelerator and the truck is able to go into over-run mode which as well as adding to the stored electrical energy in the batteries, provides a noticeable drive line braking effect. To complement the acceleration capabilities of the electric driveline the eCanter is also fitted with a retarder function operated using the same steering column stalk as an exhaust brake would do on a diesel powered Canter. When activated this function signals the motor to provide

CE even more electro-magnetic retardation and the effect is significantly better than what can be experienced in an equivalent sized diesel truck and from our brief experience we conclude that brake pads will outlast the rest of the truck as the brakes are only used when coming to a complete stop. Obviously without a conventional engine or transmission servicing costs will be low across the lifetime of the truck but will require technicians with expanded skill sets in order to be able to work safely with the high voltage power circuits.

Small electric motors provide the power to run the cooling pump and fans, the power steering, the air conditioning and the electro-hydraulic wheel brakes. Inside the wide cab (which seats three adults comfortably) with the audio system off the only perceptible noise at 60 km/h is a slight hum from the tyres on the pavement and the whir of the air conditioner’s ventilation fan. The eCanter will quietly (pun intended) gain the attention of potential operators, politicians and environmentalists and for the moment at least, it has the major

Liquid cooled lithium ion battery packs mounted on the outside of each of the chassis rails.

advantage of being a product totally developed by a global player such as Daimler, a fact not lost on local senior management. “The eCanter is not available in Australia just yet, but when it is, it will come with all the benefits of being backed by an established truck maker,” says Daniel Whitehead, president and CEO of Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific. “That will include the assurance of parts, service support and warranty coverage provided by our national Fuso dealership network.”

Maximum power is delivered from zero rpm for stunning accleration.

p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

INSURANCE

DRIVING AMBITIONS

WITH SPECIALIST UNDERWRITING AND CLAIMS EXPERTISE – BOLSTERED BY ITS RISK ENGINEERING AND COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM – ZURICH SUPPORTS AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT BUSINESSES 24/7.

n the interests of best serving fleet operators Australia-wide, global insurance company, Zurich, has aligned itself closely with road safety experts from the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP). The NRSPP helps Australian businesses to implement effective road safety strategies in the workplace and provides myriad resources, research papers and case studies for heavy transport operators online. “Avoiding crashes should be the first priority of every heavy transport operator as it can severely affect the future wellbeing of their greatest assets – the drivers. But crashes also temporarily halt their trucks from delivering, lower their revenue and profits, and can harm their reputation and customer contracts,” explains Mervyn Rea, Zurich’s Head of Risk Engineering. “The NRSPP is a valuable tool for improving work-related road safety awareness, particularly for those in the mid-market and SME segments of the transport industry who may not have a dedicated in-house resource for safety and risk management.” Earlier this year, the NRSPP released a discussion paper that outlined five key considerations for the successful implementation of telematics into an organisation. Those considerations according to NRSPP Discussion Paper: InVehicle Monitoring Systems (IVMS): Safety Through Good Practice Telematics included clearly defined goals; selecting technologies for now and future use; building employee acceptance; real-time monitoring and feedback; and management of feedback. Zurich’s partnership with NRSPP is just one example of their commitment to improving the safety and wellbeing of drivers in the transport industry. Their in-house Risk Engineers and underwriters also work 60

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Zurich assists customers develop driver coaching.

closely with fleet operators to help them get the most out of their telematics systems from data optimisation to reporting. While it doesn’t prescribe to a particular provider, Zurich, according to Merv, simply guides its customers through the key features and benefits of a comprehensive telematics solution, in particular around the monitoring of key driver behaviour metrics such as acceleration, braking, cornering and speed. “Many heavy goods trucking fleets are utilising telematic systems for a variety of functions, including condition monitoring and maintenance, efficiency and utilisation, location and projected estimated time of arrival and driver safety,” Merv says. “Zurich’s risk engineering team can help their customers determine the best telematics solution. We also assist our customers to develop a driver coaching and continuous improvement program, using the telematics data as a trigger for improvement actions.” Safer drivers have also been proven to be

more efficient with fuel consumption. Zurich’s Risk Engineers have found that a robust driver-monitoring and coaching program not only reduces crash frequency, but it also reduces maintenance and fuel costs by around 10 per cent on average. It doesn’t end with telematics. Zurich can also assist their customers to determine what other technologies can assist them to increase driver safety, and as a result reduce crashes, improving productivity and customer service along the way. Zurich have worked with their customers to manage and assess the outcomes of pilot programs using Seeing Machines technology to detect driver distraction or fatigue early, reducing the potential for a crash. “Zurich is committed to the transport and logistics industry,” says Craig Sandy, Zurich’s National Underwriting Manager for Motor. “Our expert underwriters, specialist heavy motor claims team and risk engineers work closely together to provide a tailored solution that best meets our customers’ needs.”

MUCH MORE THAN TRUCK INSURANCE.

Zurich helps to improve workplace safety in the trucking industry through market-leading risk engineering solutions. We work closely with customers to optimise business processes and driver behaviour. This helps to reduce claims, keeping your trucks on the road.

ASK YOUR BROKER ABOUT ZURICH TODAY.

ZURICH INSURANCE. FOR THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE THEIR BUSINESS.

This information is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situations or needs. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Wording (as applicable) from zurich.com.au before making a decision. The issuer of general insurance products is Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ZAIL), ABN 13 000 296 640, AFS Licence Number 232507 of 5 Blue Street, North Sydney NSW 2060. ZU23775 V1 08/18 LEWG-013697-2018

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

INSURANCE

THE FIX I S I N EVERY MINUTE YOUR TRUCK IS OFF THE ROAD IS A MINUTE IT’S NOT MAKING MONEY. THAT CAN SPELL TROUBLE FOR ANY BUSINESS. NTI HAS HEAVILY INVESTED AND CONTINUES TO INVEST IN ITS OWN ‘ACCIDENT ASSIST’ AND ‘PREMIUM REPAIRER’ NATIONAL NETWORKS.

he immediate response to an accident often sets the tone for all the actions that follow. NTI has its own locally dedicated call centre solution and an incident response team which has access to its National Heavy Vehicle Towing and Recovery network. It consists of 35 tow operators with 376 heavy units. “We’ve got long-term tow partners who know how to influence what happens, control costs and clean up a job,” says Richard Gibson, NTI Manager – Repairer Network and Technical. “Some of them have been partners since 2002, so there’s a lot of trust and a lot of confidence.” Participation in the program involves partners undergoing internal training, regular reviews and adopting agreed standards to ensure quality and consistency so that partners can reduce costs and turnaround times all while remaining fully compliant with safety and regulatory standards. When an incident occurs and Accident Assist is notified, NTI will immediately dispatch, from its national towing network, a representative and/or the necessary resources to scene, where they will either manage the scene or

The national network of Premium Repairers can start all NTI jobs the moment they arrive at the repairer. 62

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assist emergency services where able. While this is unfolding it is crucial to recover and transport the vehicle to a place of repair and attend to its load. At the same time other processes are at play with the call centre communicating with drivers, their families and businesses so they are all kept in the loop. The national network of Premium Repairers, according to Richard, have the advantage of starting all NTI jobs the moment they roll through the door of the repairer. The ability to start a job straight away reduces time off road by days and sometimes weeks. “We’ve seen cases where two trucks are involved in an accident, and our Premium Repairers get their truck repaired and back on the road before the other vehicle has even been assessed,” he says. “It’s an unreal advantage.” That’s not to say that the work is rushed or substandard – far from it. NTI has worked with its repair partners to create a set of standards to make sure both sides are clear on what is needed, and both sides can deliver the highest level of standards available to industry with a focus on professionalism and safe truck repairs.

NTI’s own Repair Managers really focus on the repair process and relationship with its repair network to make sure the claims experience is class leading. NTI and its Premium Repairer network constantly review the requirements to complete a heavy vehicle repairs. Processes, equipment and trade personnel are always improving to provide the ultimate service to the client. On average, repairs are completed six days faster than other insurers can manage. This helps protect the insured businesses from undue disruption and loss of earnings. Whether it’s fuel, milk or livestock, cleanups can be costly when trucks have an accident and spill the load. NTI’s Accident Assist program also provides its own Incident Response Team. In these situations, NTI can provide clarity and comfort to both the insured and business that remediation of the incident scene is under control. The team works with its localised network service providers with good local knowledge to get the best possible results. “They’re special guys with that exceptional drive to get the job done. They know what government experts – EPA, police, fire, ambulance, local, state and federal governments – require and they know how to comply, so they’re not adding cost or complexity to the process,” Richard says. To pass the best experience onto the customer in a time of need, NTI is focused on running a reliable, efficient and highly trusted tow and repairer network. It’s an approach, according to Richard, that pays dividends, helping NTI make accurate and timely decisions on repairs and write-offs. “It’s all about protecting your livelihood,” Richard says. “The best thing we can do for our customers is get them back on the road, with a fully repaired vehicle, as efficiently and as little inconvenience as possible.”

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NO ACCIDENT NTI AND SEEING MACHINES HAVE JOINED FORCES.

Great things happen when two industry leaders work together. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why National Transport Insurance and Seeing Machines have formed an exclusive partnering arrangement: to use data to drive change. Together, they offer an intelligent driver monitoring system with the power to reduce driver risk in your business, while also providing exclusive insurance benefits to maximise your return on investment. To find out how you can benefit, visit nationaltransportinsurance.com.au or talk to your Insurance Professional.

Insurance products are provided by National Transport Insurance, a joint venture of the insurers Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Insurance ABN 11 000 016 722 AFSL 227681 and AAI Limited Trading as Vero Insurance ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 each holding a 50% share. National Transport Insurance is administered on behalf of the insurers by its manager NTI Limited ABN 84 000 746 109 AFSL 237246.

DRIVE INTO THE FUTURE MEGATRANS .COM .AU

S U P P O RT I N G S P O NSOR S

CON FEREN CE SPON SORS

1 ST - 3 RD AP RI L 202 0 M ELBOU RN E CON V EN T I O N & EXHI BI T I ON C EN T R E

ASS O CI AT I O N PARTNER S

PERSONALITY

SAFET Y

OBSE ADAM RITZINGER IS WELL REGARDED IN THE HEAVY VEHICLE INDUSTRY FOR HIS CONTINUAL FOCUS ON SAFETY ACROSS RESEARCH, CONSULTING, PRODUCT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT. HE HAS WORKED AT THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD RESEARCH BOARD, THE GERMAN FEDERAL HIGHWAY RESEARCH AGENCY, ADVANTIA TRANSPORT CONSULTING AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER SAF-HOLLAND. ADAM IS NOW THE HEAVY VEHICLE ACCREDITATION SYSTEMS MANAGER AT TOLL, WORKING WITHIN TOLL’S ROAD TRANSPORT SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE UNIT. PM: Your roles over the years have always pointed strongly towards road safety in the heavy vehicle industry. Why does this sector interest you? AR: I was fascinated by machines at a young age and always knew that I would pursue an engineering career. Road safety is another topic that I’m very passionate about. Over the years I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been able to apply my engineering expertise to deliver positive road safety outcomes through research, policy, and product design, which is an incredibly fulfilling space

Adam Ritzinger. 66

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to work in. When given the opportunity to work in Toll’s Road Transport Safety and Compliance Unit, I was excited not only because Toll is the largest supplier of transport and logistics services in the Asia-Pacific region, but also because Toll’s approach to safety is perfectly aligned with my own. At Toll, we believe everyone has the right to return home safely and we are working towards creating a workplace free of incidents and injuries. Toll developed an HSE strategy which is called ‘Safety Obsessed’, a concept that underpins everything that Toll does.

PM: What are some of the ‘Safety Obsessed’ initiatives? AR: The key focus areas are developing a safety-first mindset, the introduction of a new Toll Reporting and Compliance system (TRAC), and investment in safety technologies in our fleet. The first area is really about fostering the ‘safety obsessed’ culture in our employees. We are engaging all staff across Toll, encouraging them to speak up, reach out and actively care for each other, and are supporting this by running hundreds of face-to-face ‘Incident and Injury Free’ workshops in every location Toll operates. The TRAC system has been rolled-out to over 25,000 staff, and will enable greater integration between HSE technology, culture and management, leading to enhanced HSE practices globally. But given my technical background, I have a specific interest in the fleet safety technologies. Toll is investing $1.6 Billion in its fleet, and, as a result, all new Toll vehicles are fitted with telematics, and all new linehaul, remote area and dangerous goods vehicles are equipped with Driver State Sensing (DSS) technology to manage fatigue risk. PM: How has safety technology become part of Toll’s vehicle specifications? AR: Toll’s current standard spec is the

SSED highest level of safety equipment offered by the manufacturer. This covers a range of active and passive safety technologies, which all play their own role. In addition to telematics and DSS, Toll’s spec also includes the latest EBS braking and rollover protection systems, active cruise control, lane assist, and side underrun protection. We are also fitting vehicles with cameras to capture what happens on the road to assist with incident analysis. PM: What recent technology has been game-changing? AR: One of our big wins is DSS technology. Our systems comprise in-cabin cameras that use software to detect fatigue and distraction events in drivers. I’ve witnessed the results firsthand of how it delivers positive safety outcomes on many different levels. We pick up events in real time and work with the drivers to ensure their welfare, and we can also use the findings as a coaching tool later on. One particularly positive recent story involved a driver who had a couple of fatigue events that were picked up by the system. He was tested by a doctor and was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, which he was completely unaware that he had. As a result, he now has a portable CPAP machine that he takes with him, and he says he feels 20 years younger. PM: What’s coming up on the radar in the safety technology space? AR: There has been a lot of discussion around Autonomous Emergency

Braking (AEB), given the recent Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) which seeks to mandate it for some classes of truck by 2020. Even though it’s a relatively new technology, we’ve had AEB on a number of trucks and our experience has been overwhelmingly positive. We completely support the proposal to mandate AEB on new trucks and we don’t think it should be delayed any further. The question I ask is, given that it was mandated in other countries six years ago, why have Australian regulators waited so long? PM: Does it seem that it is the industry itself leading the change for improvements in safety? AR: Regrettably, for a lot of the transport industry the take-up isn’t there. I think we’ve seen that clearly with AEB despite it being available on many truck models for some time. I read in the RIS that the take-up sits at around six per cent of the fleet, which is pretty low. Our own fleet would be much higher because of our approach to fleet specifications, but in terms of our role in advocating and encouraging safety technologies there is only so much we can achieve. We’ll push as hard as we can, but until it’s written into the law and mandated it’s unlikely to be widespread. PM: Are there any metrics to measure the influence of the technologies? AR: We’ve seen an incredible improvement in key safety metrics in recent times as a result of our safety

initiatives, which have included rolling-out key safety technologies. Looking at Toll employees alone (i.e. excluding subcontractors), across 201011 there was one fatality per 29 million kilometres, but by 2015-16 that had reduced significantly to one fatality per 116 million kilometres. That’s a massive factor of improvement, so we understand clearly that the changes are having a real impact.

PM: What’s the approach to Electronic Work Diaries? AR: We think this is a really important next step and we’ve supported mandatory telematics and work diaries over the years. Again, many overseas jurisdictions have made them mandatory, so I ask the question, why haven’t we done so in Australia? The technology is available now, we’ve got many examples in our fleets and we are definitely seeing benefits in terms of safety and compliance. PM: What’s your key message around safety technology for trucks? AR: Be safety obsessed. Do not hesitate in fitting safety technologies to your fleet. Why wait for them to be mandated? Why wait for the regulations to catch up with the industry? If a safety technology is available now, it can, and should be fitted. I wholeheartedly encourage the widespread adoption of road safety technologies. Toll welcomes the opportunity to continue to take on an advocacy and encouragement role and share our experience. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

PRIME MOVERS & SHAKERS

THE BOY FROM THE BUSH AN OUTBACK TRIP IN A SEMI-TRAILER WITH HIS FATHER, THE LATE COLIN FULWOOD, IN 1968 AT THE AGE OF 14, CEMENTED JEFF FULWOOD’S LIFELONG CAREER AS AN OUTBACK TRUCKIE. FOR HIS TIRELESS DEDICATION TO THE INDUSTRY, IN 2017, JEFF WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ROAD TRANSPORT HALL OF FAME AT ALICE SPRINGS.

e took a load of Gilbarco equipment on a Dodge semi from Adelaide to Gidgealpa, near Moomba in the far north-east corner of South Australia,” Jeff recalls. “The Strzelecki Track was primarily just station roads then and I remember this trip like it was last week. I was occasionally allowed to steer, and vividly recall Dad’s stern warning: ‘Get your thumbs out of there, son. If we hit sand, the steering wheel will spin around and break your thumbs off.’” This knowledge came in very handy for Jeff when years later he restored and then drove a 1943 Chev Blitz truck across the Simpson Desert. “Dad also told me things like, ‘See that tree line over there, it means a creek crossing is coming up.’” Jeff began driving trucks at age 17 for the family business carting general freight, including many loads of 67kg 68

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bagged flour which had to be lumped into bakeries. In 1974, after the huge outback floods, he did a few trips back up the Strzelecki Track to Moomba from Adelaide. This was for Alan Crawford (AKA Tonto), a truckie for whom Jeff says he has the greatest admiration. “I was driving a single drive Leyland Buffalo, but to continue this work Alan wanted us to have a bogie drive truck which Dad wouldn’t buy.” During 1977 Jeff ventured out and bought a new Ford Louisville prime mover sporting a Cummins VT903 engine, 15-speed Roadranger box and 38,000 lb Rockwell diffs on Hendrickson suspension. However, after two trips to Perth doing the promised work, he knew this run wasn’t for him. “For the next three years I did Adelaide to Darwin roadtrain general freight for Freight Brokers, TNT and others,” he says, “and some interstate and local

work in between to give the truck a break from the rough South Road which, being mostly dirt from Port Augusta to the Northern Territory border, gave cause for lots of roadside repairs.” Jeff will never forget a trip with John Doyle when he infamously tipped the trailer-sized computer off and then reloaded it with surprise help, as if by divine intervention, when a massive yellow loader turned up. In 1980 TNT offered him work from Adelaide to Moomba for a Santos expansion project. He was soon working on the ‘Strez’ again. By 1981 he purchased a new W-model Kenworth roadtrain from good friend Peter ‘the Greek’ Kolizos. It was assigned, in the main part, general freight from Adelaide to Moomba for Santos. “During my first trip I met an industry icon, Neil Mansell, who wished me luck with the new job and said to see his boys if I wanted to do any rig shifts in

between Adelaide runs. Well, I passed the initiation of my first rig shift, but sadly my lead trailer didn’t. The massive load broke one main chassis rail,” Jeff recalls. “Working for Neil felt like an honour. I admire his built-for-purpose equipment and his empathy towards mates and employees, past and present.” In 1986, as the work dropped off, Jeff began the overnight Northern Territory Freight Services (NTFS) run from Adelaide to Alice Springs every Wednesday night and back then there were still some dirt sections of the Stuart Highway. On the way back he hauled timber sleepers from the newly dismantled old Ghan railway line that had run beside the Oodnadatta Track. Later that same year in the Alice, Jeff hooked up with two trailers of drummed cyanide pellets after the NTFS run. These were to be taken to Tennant Creek. “Near Barrow Creek I collided with an abandoned 1200cc road bike after the drunken rider had hit a cow. My roadtrain rolled as a result, spreading deadly cyanide pellets everywhere. Huge drama followed with the clean up and recovery operations,” he says. “I never recovered financially from this incident and everything was sold in the late 1980s. I then drove for others until 1997, doing as much bush work as I could.” In 1997 Jeff purchased what he calls a ‘magnificent machine’ – a 1993 C500 Kenworth prime mover. “This became my best-ever truck and the one I did most of my operating in for more than 18 years. The work that came with it introduced me to delivering fuel and carting crude oil all over the interior of Australia for a variety of companies up until 2014,” he recalls. The operation involved servicing most stations and road camps up the Strzelecki, Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks and many in between taking Jeff throughout the Cooper Basin and his favourite part of Australia – the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) aboriginal lands. As a result, he spent a few years going west past Uluru every

Jeff Fulwood.

fortnight, delivering fuel to aboriginal communities all the way along the Great Central Road through to Kalgoorlie. He then reloaded and headed back again, finishing back at his base in Port Augusta. On a muddy floodway, west of Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Jeff got a triple roadtrain bogged. It was on a precarious lean. Trying to prevent a dangerous rollover, he managed to unhitch it and get the prime mover and lead tanker through to the roadhouse to unload. The only way to get the bogged tanker free, according to Jeff, was to pump the fuel out – JetA1 for the Warburton Airport on which the Royal Flying Doctor Service was reliant – and into the empty tanker. “Being either brave or stupid, I hung an airline around my neck and the other end up in a tree as I crammed in under the listing tanker to hook the hoses onto the just visible outlets,” he recalls. “Kneeling down with mud and water up to my waist, I thought if it rolled then maybe I could still get air through the airline. A bloke from Port Hedland pulled up, reckoned I was crazy, took a picture and headed off. I eventually emptied the tanker and the next day a grader rocked up and we managed to get it all out and moving again.” Many other opportunities arose for Jeff through the ensuing years as the business grew to 14 roadtrains, mainly Kenworths, of course, and nearly all working in later years for Toll Energy. With depots in Moomba, Quorn and

Port Augusta, the business subsisted on excellent structure and good management from Garry Roeby and Jeff’s brother Ian. He even restored an old W-model, which is now on display at the Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs. He loves the APY lands with its red sand dunes, desert oaks and ghost gums. “The mountain ranges and rock formations are sights to behold,” Jeff says. “I admire and respect all those who live there.” In recent years Jeff has worked for the Darwin-based Nighthawk Transport. His main job is a weekly triple roadtrain run of general freight to Nhulunbuy, on the Central Arnhem Road. With 600 kilometres each way of relentless rough corrugated road, wash outs, bulldust, jump ups and the like, Jeff describes this as one of the most challenging tasks he has done, especially when in wet season. Although he has mixed feelings about the heavily regulated industry, Jeff believes many of the changes he has seen are for the better. For the first nine years he didn’t have a sleeper cab, having to sleep across the seats or use a swag. There was no air conditioner for those first 33 years. The introduction of tubeless tyres he deems a major milestone. “Didn’t we have fun trying to seal them up after mending punctures on the South Road,” he says, and on load restraint, “Everything was restrained by ropes and chains until straps appeared. My new Kenworth has central tyre inflation so I can let the truck’s tyres down and pump them up again on the move for dirt road running.” Today he maintains a passion for road transport, especially outback operators. Jeff admires the many truckies that came before him who he says did it much tougher. “I say to drivers wanting to do bush work you need two qualities: patience and perseverance,” he says. “I don’t know if they can be taught or are just in the blood, but thanks a million Dad for planting those seeds a few billion corrugations ago.” p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

INSIGHT | VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

Power steering PETER HART

am currently investigating a power steering problem on a heavy-duty prime-mover. This provides me with an opportunity to learn what can go wrong and to describe to you the basics of power steering. Most heavy trucks have a single power steering box on the right-side. Dual-axle trucks will have an additional slave steering box to increase the steering force. The photo shows the steering shaft from the cabin connected to the steering box. In this installation the shaft goes via two universal joints and a bearing. The steering box converts the rotary motion of the steering column into fore and aft movement of the Pitman arm. In turn, this arm moves the steering mechanism (for further information see my February 2019 article Steering Basics). The steering box is a gearbox with hydraulic oil pressure assistance when the steering column is turned away from the straight-ahead position. A cross-section is shown in the diagram. The actuating shaft has a ball thread that contains ball bearings. This is done to minimise the turning torque. If hydraulic assistance is lost, the driver will need to steer the wheels with manual force and so the less drag involved in the steering box the better. The piston rack is moved by both the rotation of the actuating shaft via the threads and by hydraulic force on the piston. 70

de c e mbe r 2019 2018

The hydraulic force comes from a net hydraulic pressure on the piston that occurs because turning the actuating shaft opens one or the other hydraulic flow valves, which causes steering fluid to flow into one or the other end of the piston. This provides the steering assistance. The speed of movement of the steering system depends upon the flow rate of the steering fluid and the force that the Pitman arm can generate is determined by the fluid pressure. Therefore, the sizing and condition of the hydraulic system is a key factor. The pressure at the outlet of the steering

pump (hydraulic pump) that is installed onto an engine PTO somewhere at the front of the engine, should be 1800 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2200 psi. The capacity of the pump, the sizing of the hoses and the restrictions in the steering box valves will determine the flow rate that will occur. The steering fluid temperature will rise due to flow through restrictions. The fluid also cushions road vibrations that might reach the steering shaft via the steering box, which will heat the fluid. The more steering activity, the more temperature will be produced.

TORSION BAR (2) ROTARY VALVE SHAFT BALL THREAD CYLINDER HEAD BEARING CAP RELIEF PLUNGER

(1) ACTUATING SHAFT

(4) PISTON RACK

(5) PISTON RING (3) SECTOR SHAFT

ARTSA TECHNIC AL COLUMN

The steering fluid cools off inside the steering reservoir which has a metal surface positioned to be cooled by airflow. Steering box systems (and hydraulic systems generally) are often repaired by specialists, rather than a general workshop. The installation of Teflon seals inside the steering box can be a specialist task. The generalist might draw the line adjusting the wheel-cut stops. But the generalist also needs to know what can go wrong and where, so that the correct help can be obtained. The following Table gives my assessment of the causes of problems that can occur with steering systems and what to look at. Lane assist and autonomous steering will require electric assistance and intelligent controls. In the first step an electric motor will be integrated with the hydraulic steering box. In the second step the hydraulic steering system will be replaced by an electric system, which will save 3.5 – 8 kW (5 -10 Hp) engine power. Trucks will soon have a steering wheel position sensor and a steering controller. The electric assist will provide fine control at all speeds and reduce driver effort. At high speeds electric steering will keep the truck in the lane. The photo shows ZRF’s ReAX electric steering box. It requires 48 volts dc – and that’s another story! Dr. Peter Hart, ARTSA

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CAUSES

Hard steering with slow steering wheel turns.

Universal joints are stiff Universal joint angle is excessive (>20o). Tight bearings inside the steering box. Mechanical damage in the steering box. Low pump pressure. Wide tyres fitted or low tyre air pressures. If only in one direction, contamination in one piston relief valve; or metal in relief ball seat in piston

Hard steering with fast steering wheel turns.

Internal fluid leaking / failed internal seals.

Slow steering response.

Low flow rate due to a restriction in the hydraulic system. Pinched return fluid line.

Darting / wandering steering.

Air trapped in steering fluid path. Oil flow too high. Insufficient front axle load. Rear axles not parallel.

Cyclical binding felt at the steering wheel.

Eccentricity or interference on the input side. Worn or misassembled universal joints. If it happens more than once per turn of the steering wheel, the joints may have too high an angle.

Unbalanced wheelcut.

Wheel stops are incorrectly adjusted. The Pitman arm or the draglink are misadjusted. The poppets are operating for one direction prematurely.

Steering kickback when turning the steering wheel.

Air in the steering fluid. Low pump flow. Mechanical looseness.

Steering kickback on the move.

Poor steering design that produces bump steer. Worn or failed shock absorbers.

Excessive backlash / freeplay.

Work universal joint. Pitman arm ball is worn “egg shaped”. Mechanical looseness.

Directional pull with steering wheel centered.

If it occurs during braking, brake imbalance on the steer axle. Steer wheel toe in or toe out. Tyre imbalance on the steer axle. Wheel alignment problems generally. Wheel bearing pending failure on one side. Unbalanced tyre pressure.

Non-recovery of steering wheel to neutral position.

No positive caster. Verify caster angles. Fifth wheel ungreased and binding. Binding in steering mechanism or wheel kingpins.

Directional pull with steering wheel off centre.

Leaking internal seal in the box. Steering mechanism is out of adjustment.

Steering shimmy.

Air in the hydraulic system. Abnormal tyre wear on edges or runout. Mechanical looseness.

Abnormal Noise from the steering system.

Low steering fluid level. Loose steering column components. Mechanical looseness in the steering mechanism. Particulate contamination in steering fluid. Incorrectly installed filter in reservoir.

Hydraulic fluid leaks.

Check hoses and fittings.

Steering oil is discoloured.

Excessive operating temperature.

Engine oil contamination in steering reservoir.

Failed oil seal in the steering pump.

Frothing in the reservoir, overflowing reservoir.

Indicates air in the hydraulic system. Blocked filter.

Water in the reservoir indicated by milky steering fluid.

Indicates water in the hydraulic system. Corrosion and blocking of valves will likely occur resulting in slow response.

Low fluid in the reservoir.

Indicative of leaks from hoses and fittings. Risk of pump failure and overheating of steering fluid. Hot fluid risks damage to seals and valves.

Lack of steering assistance.

Worn out pump cannot produce necessary pressure. Insufficient oil volume. Sticking pressure relief valve.

High steering fluid temperature.

Relief plungers not correctly adjusted creating excessive restriction. Restriction in pump supply. Oil flow too high. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

Cairns | 1-3 April 2020

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Thirty years of improving our industry

BEN MAGUIRE

afety was not always prominent in the trucking industry, however after an horrific truck and bus crash near Grafton in 1989 it was decided that something must be done. A month later, a meeting between key individuals in the Australian trucking industry called for action, and thus the Australian Trucking Association was born. From humble beginnings in a wooden aircraft hangar, the ATA has grown to transform the Australian trucking industry. For 30 years the ATA has strengthened the voice of Australia’s 50,000 operators and 200,000 people, by working collaboratively with its members to improve industry safety, professionalism and viability. Thanks to the dedication of those passionate, strong-minded individuals who first came together 30 years ago to put everything on the line in the best interest of the industry, we have seen a drastic improvement in safety outcomes and immense productivity gains. There has been significant progress on making our roads safer. Figures prepared by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research for the ATA show that the rate of fatal articulated truck crashes fell 80 per cent between 1982 and 2015, despite the enormous growth in the number of trucks on the road. Over the last three years, fatal crashes involving articulated trucks have continued to decrease. Providing the backbone of supply chains, trucking

is an Australian success story. Between 1971 and 2007, trucking industry productivity increased six-fold due to the uptake of high productivity vehicles like B-doubles. It has been estimated that in the absence of productivity improvements over this period that nearly 150,000 articulated trucks, in addition to the 70,000 registered for use in 2007, would have been required to undertake the 2007 articulated truck freight task. In 2017, there was an estimated reduction of more than 440 million kilometres in truck travel and an average 24.8 per cent productivity gain across commodities carried by PBS vehicles. As the ATA heads into its next chapter, we must now look to addressing the challenges that lie ahead. Next year will be significant for trucking as we anticipate the continued development of revised national truck laws: legislation that will last decades and affect everyone in the industry. For years the ATA has advocated for this review and the delivery of a back-to-basics approach that is so desperately needed. Australia is home to the fifth largest freight task in the world and road freight essential to our economy. It’s vital that we have clear and modern legislation in place to reflect our changing industry. Out of date and impractical regulation is costing our industry millions and taking money out of the pockets of everyday Australians. Implementing more productive heavy vehicle access on our roads can save a typical family $452 each year, and for local businesses it’s worth an annual $80 million for wholesale trade, $70 million for construction services and $40 million for retail trade. As a nation we must be better, and our politicians should not be scared of making valuable commitments to improving productivity and safety. We need to unlock freight routes for High Productivity Freight Vehicles across the nation and especially on the Hume

Highway. As it stands, this is Australia’s busiest and most advanced highway that’s stuck running out-dated combinations that were pioneered in the 1990s. By assuming staged access to the highways connecting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Australia would gain $6.9 billion in direct real term benefits, with two thirds of the operational benefits coming from allowing HPFV access to the Hume Highway. Through our Industry Technical Council, the ATA is exploring practical and safe solutions to give government confidence that this can be achieved. We are also amidst a time of great disruption as both the trucking industry and association landscape faces technological and social change, changing the way we do business, work and live. We are now in a situation where we must adapt to change and embrace new technologies and opportunities, or else fall behind. While technological advancements such as machine learning and artificial intelligence may seem intimidating or confusing, they hold the key to unlocking business productivity and the potential to grow like never before. We must also work to bridge the ever-widening generational divide and nurture our industry’s next generation. Initiatives such as the ATA’s Daimler Truck and Bus Future Leaders’ Forum are the key to developing strong leaders who will help build a stronger, safer and more productive industry. So, what does the next ten years hold? Whatever the challenges, we must not see these as a barrier to success but rather a motivator to strive for greatness, an opportunity to strengthen the industry and secure its future as a major contributor to the Australian way of life. Ben Maguire CEO, Australian Trucking Association p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

INSIGHT | VICTORIAN AUSTRALIANTRANSPORT LOGISTICS ASSOCIATION COUNCIL

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National Operating Standard will build industry and community confidence

KIRK CONINGHAM

he review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) currently being undertaken by the National Transport Commission is a valuable opportunity to build on progress made to date enhancing the safety of the heavy vehicle industry. In many respects, the current HVNL reflects the compromises that were considered necessary to convince most (but not all) jurisdictions to sign up to the 2011 Intergovernmental Agreement on Heavy Vehicle Regulatory Reform. However, the law clearly needs reform to be fit for purpose for the 2020s and beyond, so that it better reflects the nature of the industry, encourages and embraces the use of technology to deliver safety and productivity improvements, and ensures those operating the nation’s heavy vehicle fleet are meeting an agreed set of national standards. The Analysis of Heavy Vehicle Safety Accreditation Schemes in Australia undertaken for the National Heavy Vehicle NHVR (NHVR), commonly known as the Medlock report, found that based on the 2014 Survey of Motor Vehicle Use by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 466,545 vehicles were rigid trucks whilst 96,226 vehicles were articulated vehicles. Yet the same report also found the number of operators participating in accreditation schemes such as the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS) was significantly lower. Plainly, this suggests a high degree of reluctance to participate accreditation schemes currently 74

de c e mbe r 2019

on offer. The HVNL review process has seen many industry participants expressing concern about key features of current accreditation arrangements. These include the cost of obtaining accreditation in the first instance, the fact that accredited operators do not feel they are experiencing reduced levels of enforcement activity and ongoing concerns regarding auditor quality. Accreditation is used for two purposes in the HVNL. The first is to ensure safety outcomes, and the other is to gather information used to make decisions about permitting access to road networks. However, the low uptake of the current accreditation schemes suggests the marketplace has decided the schemes aren’t fit for purpose. ALC believes a practical solution is the development and implementation of a National Operating Standard for the heavy vehicle sector, which is easy to understand and would address the concerns above. The key features of this standard have been extensively outlined in submissions ALC has put forward to the NHVR review process. In particular, a National Operating Standard would require operators to maintain an audited safety management system (SMS) that meets specified standards, which could be made by the NHVR, or alternatively a specialist safety body. Safety management systems are a wellknown tool designed to manage workplace safety. These are used in a number of industries with significant safety risks, including the aviation, petroleum, chemical, railway and electricity sectors. One of the SMS standards should be a requirement that the SMS must require an operator to maintain a system complying with the registered industry code of

practice made under Part 13.2 of the HVNL (commonly known as the Master Code). This would provide assurance that an operator has in place systems promoting compliance with the chain of responsibility provisions of the HVNL; and would also facilitate a common basis for the conduct of safety audits. Another vital element of the proposed National Operating Standard would be to ensure operators have sufficient capital available to maintain vehicles to an appropriate standard. Any financially troubled or under-capitalised business is tempted to cut corners. It is an unfortunate reality that sometimes, in the search for savings through reductions in discretionary spending, vehicle maintenance may be neglected. This obviously increases the chance of an accident related to mechanical problems. The community must have confidence that heavy operators have sufficient funds available to meet their obligation to undertake regular and appropriate vehicle maintenance. Similar requirements are already imposed in other sectors, including for those operating passenger transport services in NSW. If such arrangements are deemed suitable for passenger transport services, there is no reason why a similar standard should not apply for freight transport. Ensuring that all heavy vehicle operators are complying with a nationally consistent set of clear, easy-to-understand standards will help boost safety within the industry – and provide assurance to the wider community that they are sharing the roads with heavy vehicles maintained to an appropriate standard. Kirk Coningham CEO, ALC

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Catching the cheats

TONY MCMULLAN PETER ANDERSON

lmost from the day that heavy vehicle manufacturers were legally required to supply vehicle road speed limiting to prevent truck and bus speeding on our highways, making our roads safer and reducing crashes and engine emission control systems to reduce harmful tailpipe pollutants, providing cleaner air for all of us to breathe, there have been a minority who have felt the need to devise ways and means to disable, or modify, these systems. The result being more trucks speeding on our roads and higher levels of exhaust pollutants. TIC and TIC members have long condemned these behaviours. Speeding heavy vehicles are a danger to all road users, including the driver of the speeding truck while increased levels of exhaust pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen gases and particulate matter (black soot) can harm the health of all Australians. For a number of years now, TIC has lobbied all levels of government to introduce laws that make it illegal to sell, use, or be in the possession of tools and/or information that allows the disabling, or recalibration, of a heavy vehicle’s road speed limiting and engine emission systems. TIC and TIC members have also called upon authorities to provide increased in-service enforcement of these critically important safety and environmental systems. Enforcement is of course more difficult in the current age of electronically

de c e mbe r 2019

controlled engines and truck systems. Unlike the days when mechanical control systems ruled, where it was visually more transparent to see if an engine’s fuel pump had been modified, or if the speed limiting governor had been tampered with, today we are faced with illegal ‘pirate’ software changes that can be much harder to detect, both for the vehicle, or engine manufacturer and regulators. TIC and TIC members have been working with both enforcement officers, as well as the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to provide training and information to assist in detecting illegal system modifications, which includes the “remapping” of vehicle Electronic Control Units (ECUs). TIC was pleased to hear of the recent joint investigation by both the NHVR and South Australia Police into allegations of the remapping of truck engine ECU’s throughout Australia. The NHVR’s Director of Investigations, Steve Underwood, released details of an investigation that involved Police agencies from South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland as well as NHVR investigators from Brisbane and Adelaide and includes VicRoads officers. Further details included the execution of search warrants in mid October 2019 at a business premises and a private dwelling in Victoria where information, documents and other evidence obtained from these premises were currently being subject to analysis. According to Underwood, the allegations were very serious and the NHVR was concerned as to how widespread the practice might be. “This operation commenced after police intercepted a number of heavy vehicles in South

Australia that were found to have had their engine (ECUs) modified” he said. “This level of cooperation speaks to the complexity and seriousness of these allegations. This is a timely reminder to all parties in the heavy vehicle supply chain to ensure they take all steps reasonably practicable to ensure they comply with their safety duties to eliminate or minimise public risk” and “remapping engines allows trucks to exceed the speed limit unimpeded, endangering all other road users”. The NHVR is further concerned that operators, executive officers and companies who illegally modify vehicle systems may also encourage drivers to speed in direct contravention of their safety duties under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. The NHVR detailed that penalties for these serious criminal offences are up to five years imprisonment for an individual and up to $3,000,000 in fines for a company, if found guilty. TIC applauds the work and cooperation shown by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, as well as the State and Territory agencies in detecting and bringing to justice those individuals and organisations who choose to illegally modify heavy vehicles. TIC believes these recent actions send a clear message to those wishing to illegally tamper with trucks safety and emission systems. TIC along with our members, will continue to work with officials to catch out those persons who make a conscious decision to cheat the system and in turn jeopardise the safety for road users and the health of all Australians. Tony McMullan CEO, Truck Industry Council

VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION | INSIGHT

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Positive change and reform a constant in 2019 PETER ANDERSON

s 2019 draws to a close, it’s timely to reflect on key achievements and milestones attained over the last 12 months, and set the scene for policy, legislative and regulatory aspirations for the future. It also provides the chance to remind operators of the importance of ensuring they do not lose sight of the health, safety and general wellbeing and duty of care they have for employees across every level of the supply chain during what is shaping up as another busy festive season. The key areas of focus for the VTA this year were centred around improving road safety and operating standards via training and education and increasing awareness among operators and advocating for sensible changes to heavy vehicle licensing regimes and national heavy vehicle law. I’m pleased that we’ve delivered on these and other goals, especially over the last 12 months where we’ve introduced a range of new initiatives and made significant progress on important proposals that will improve conditions for the industry. Training and education were at the forefront for the VTA, as both an important revenue stream, and as a critical part of improving standards, attracting and retaining new drivers, and addressing driver shortages. Our Driver Delivery program has so

far trained close to 100 new men and women drivers, directly placed them into employment and more importantly has placed them in a lifelong career in transport. This program was so successful the Victorian Government committed $4 million to fund 800 new drivers over four years, so we look forward to collaborating with the government to see this through. Our ongoing commitment to improve safety was also recognised in the Association’s appointment to lead the Victorian Heavy Vehicle Licensing Review – which reviewed the state’s heavy vehicle licensing processes in a bid to improve skills and training, safety standards and attract young drivers to the industry. Another calendar highlights this year was the VTA State Conference, themed ‘Keeping up with Transport Reforms.’ Understanding the huge infrastructure projects within Victoria, development of road user changes, defining minimum standards and heavy vehicle national law were some of the issues discussed at the conference, which provided a unique opportunity for operators to discuss how change may impact interactions with customers, suppliers and employees in the supply chain. These and other issues including industrial relations, infrastructure, training, education and taxation will be on the radar at our next State Conference, to be held from 1-3 March 2020, at Phillip Island. I urge you to save the date in your calendar for another must-attend VTA State Conference. We were also pleased to announce the Cleaner Freight Initiative in conjunction with the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group. This program is improving

safety and amenity outcomes for inner west residents by incentivising the use of modern, lower emission trucks as a condition for drivers being able to travel through these areas for longer hours on restricted roads. Other notable calendar events included our annual Port Outlook Seminar, annual Women’s Lunch and the 30th Australian Freight Industry Awards where the industry came together to celebrate the industry’s best performers. We also elected a new President and Vice President at our Annual General Meeting in late October, with Wettenhalls CEO Mike Lean elected President and Mick Rocke elected Vice President. Dennis Ryan was also re-elected Vice President. I would like to acknowledge and thank Cameron Dunn for the professionalism and enthusiasm he has brought to our Executive Council as President over the last three years. He has been a tremendous support to me and the Secretariat, tasked with implementing the strategic direction of the Council, and we are grateful for his years of dedicated service. As we approach the holiday season, I would like to thank you for your support of the VTA and our industry this year and wish you all a very merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. Please take every pre-caution to keep your workers, your family and yourself safe on the roads and elsewhere, and I look forward to continuing to advocate for our great industry on these pages well into the future. Peter Anderson CEO, VTA p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

PETER SHIELDSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; NUMBER CRUNCH

Bank Roll The Medium Duty segment fell short at 594, down from September 2019 (622), October 2018 (721) and October 2017 (652). As for the Light Duty division, it racked up 930 sales in October, which is a new low compared with September (986), 2018 (1,234) and 2017 (1,045). Heavy Vans also scraped in with 479 deliveries, minus 19 units on last September. In the lead-up to Christmas, will we see a spike in retail activity across the country? The numbers will reveal all in due course.

Sep-19

The outlook for the Australian economy, according to Reserve Bank Governor, Philip Lowe, is little changed from August. After a soft patch in the second half of last year, a gentle turning point appears to have been reached. The central scenario is for the Australian economy to grow by around 2.25 per cent this year and then for growth gradually to pick up to around 3.0 per cent in 2021. The low level of interest rates, recent tax cuts, ongoing spending on infrastructure, the upswing in housing prices in some markets and a brighter outlook for the resources sector should all support growth, Philip asserts. He adds that the easing of monetary policy since June is supporting employment and income growth in Australia and a return of inflation to the medium-term target range. Given global developments and the evidence of the spare capacity in the Australian economy, he expects that an extended period of low interest rates will be required in Australia to reach full employment and achieve the inflation target. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank Group Chief Economist, Alan Oster, shared his commentary on a quarterly business survey from September, claiming that business confidence saw a sharp fall in Q3 however an increase in conditions was driven by a rise in Western Australia and New South Wales along with a small increase in Queensland. Victoria and South Australia reportedly saw a small deterioration while Tasmania, which can be volatile, fell in Q3. The services sector continues to report the most favourable conditions whereas retail and wholesale remain weakest. Alan agrees that consumption growth is expected to remain weak and the downturn in housing construction will continue, however, the outlook for business investment is important. Mining investment looks to be stabilising; Alan expects some spill-overs from the large amount of infrastructure investment to the nonmining sector, but echoing Philip, global uncertainty and weak demand are likely to see businesses become more cautious with investment decisions despite hire and capacity utilisation remaining above average. For the commercial road transport industry, how cautious are businesses in recent times investing in new cab chassis, prime movers and vans? Well, November saw 2,603 trucks added to the scoreboard, off by 69 units compared with September 2019 results. There is hope for Heavy Duty deliveries, though, following a monthon-month increase from 1,064 to 1,079, although compared with the past two years there is a notable decline (2018: 1,398; 2017: 1,188). 78

d e c e mbe r 2019

YTD

% Change YOY

ISUZU

684

7255

-26.00%

HINO

453

4546

-11%

FUSO

251

2822

-36.00%

KENWORTH

234

1922

-16%

VOLVO

219

1896

22%

1388

-55.40%

190

1375

-22.80%

SCANIA

951

22.60%

MAN

892

-20%

MACK

851

-35.40%

UD TRUCKS

551

-53%

FIAT

482

6.50%

DAF

388

-37.10%

RENAULT

244

-27%

FREIGHTLINER

241

WESTERN STAR

233

-27.60%

HYUNDAI

FORD

-62.50%

DENNIS EAGLE

-50%

INTERNATIONAL

-66.70%

VOLKSWAGEN

200%

2603

26,350

-22.40%

M-B Vans

196

2323

20.40%

RENAULT Vans

130

966

27%

FORD Vans

707

-40%

VOLKSWAGEN Vans

657

56%

FIAT Vans

353

-42.40%

IVECO Vans

276

-25.90%

479

5282

10.60%

3082

31632

-18.50%

MERCEDES-BENZ IVECO

CAB CHASSIS/PRIME

HD VANS TOTAL

UNDERSTANDING THE AFTERMARKET ADVERTISE IN OUR FEBRUARY 2019 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE. Congestion in Australian cities is a mounting challenge for logistics companies as they attempt to meet the demands of a burgeoning freight task while navigating increasingly busy roads. Driving in constant trafﬁc congestion can mean more starting, idling and stopping on crowded arterial routes which also increases the likelihood of a collision. Figures released as part of a report by the National Truck Accident Research Centre indicate that in multi-vehicle accidents, a third-party vehicle is at fault nearly 83 per cent of the time. Braking comes under greater scrutiny in conditions such as these, with the statistics highlighting the importance of using premium components developed and engineered to provide consistently high levels of performance at every stop. No OEM or equipment brand can survive without a strong aftermarket and spare parts division. Prime Mover’s February Showcase Special is the perfect opportunity for you to shed light on brakes and the increasingly complex environment known as the ‘aftermarket.’

BOOKING DEADLINE

19 DEC 2019

December 2019

League of their Own

Glen Cameron Group

IN CO-OPERATION WITH

DECEMBER 2019 $11.00

ISSN 1838-2320

9 771838 232000

Industry Feature: PBS Special Report Fleet: Food Bank Personality: Adam Ritzenger Showcase: Detroit US Tour

Innovation Fleet: KTrans Technology: Tokyo Motor Show Test Drive: Scania R500 Final Mile: Fuso eCanter

T H E P E O P L E & P R O D U C T S T H AT M A K E T R A N S P O RT M O V E

TO BOOK IN PRIME MOVER CONTACT ASHLEY BLACHFORD NOW ASHLEY.BLACHFORD@PRIMECREATIVE.COM.AU | 0425 699 819

Prime Mover December 2019

Articles inside

Truck Industry Council

Personality

Australian Trucking Association

Here to Help

Enter Sand Man

Open Range

Final Mile

Waste Line

Feeding the Five Thousand

From the Editor

League of their Own