Waste Line

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 ofclasses 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.

W

ASTE LINE

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 KTRANS’ ABILITY TO CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO, WORKING WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MAIN ROADS AND MANUFACTURERS HAS PROVIDED AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION WITH PRODUCTIVITY GAINS.

Three 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 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 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

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 ofoutstanding. “Their continued support is to an excellent standard and we look forward to continuing our partnership,” he says.

ENTE R

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.

It 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 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