LOOKING FOR CLARITY OVER ACCESS

Talk to operators trying to run higher productivity vehicles just about anywhere in Australia and you be told that the are looking for clarity over access and are unsure what can and cannot be done. PowerTorque tries to find some answers and some clarity.

One of the issues which has dogged the task of trucking operators looking to improve productivity has been the issue of monitoring trucks, their loads and their routes. Schemes like the Performance Based Standards scheme may specify the Intelligent Access Program (IAP). In fact, for many road managers specifying some form of monitoring of trucks has become a go-to condition of a number of permits and productivity schemes.

The fact that the IAP has proved so expensive to run meant, only those making very substantial productivity gains could justify the expense. There was a need to make it easier for operators to demonstrate their compliance with whatever requirements were set on particular combinations and specific routes.

The gains possible in each state still vary considerably, but operators have been able to utilise a Telematics Monitoring Application instead of the the IAP and this has proved to be a useful, lower cost and more flexible option for many operators. This has been widely picked up by operators involved in the High Priority Freight Vehicles (HPFV) in Victoria.

HPFV and some other state jurisdictions will also accept the use of what is called Smart OnBoard Mass (Smart OBM). This utilises the latest development of OBM units in the past few years. The OBM uses sensors mounted on the truck and trailer to ascertain the gross mass of the the combination and the masses on individual axles. These systems can utilise the air suspension, the electronic braking system (EBS) or calculate mass using other mass sensors.

When these OBMs generate digital mass data, this can be used by telematics systems to distribute the data remotely. Only OBM systems

approved by Transport Certification Australia (TCA) can be SmartOBMs. So far five OBM systems have been approved for use as Smart OBMs: Airtec Corporation, Loadman, Right Weigh, e-max and Tramanco.

Of course, there’s more, the Smart OBM needs to be paired with a certified service provider. The definition of this can be quite broad.

From the operator’s point of view one of the advantages of the Smart OBM scheme is the strict control on access to the data generated by the OBMs. Data from the Smart OBM is sent to the TCA and only certain aspects of the data will then be released to the jurisdiction involved.

Most of the time the data will be aggregated and anonymised. The authorities will know there were 75 A-doubles at 85 tonnes which travelled along a particular road this week, but they won’t know whose they were.

SENDING THE DATA For a transport operator wanting to make use of the Smart OBM rules to get permission to run a heavier or longer combination on a particular route, the Smart OBM system, which is relatively straightforward to fit on the truck, needs a way to communicate its data over the mobile phone network to the TCA servers monitoring the truck.

For the operator who already runs some form of telematics in their vehicle it is often possible to use the data stream from that telematics system to send the data through to the TCA system, for aggregating and recording.

However, for many smaller operators which either don’t want or can’t afford the full suite of services in a fully blown telematics system to run the fleet, there are alternatives emerging. These are much more simple data communicators designed specifically to process and send data to a required location, with no input required by either the driver of the operator.

One example of this is the the Drive Easy Tag from V-DAQ, which is about the size of a thick credit card and can be stuck to the windscreen. The unit collects data directly from the Smart OBM system and sends it through to the relevant portal for each productivity scheme.

“We’re seeing the beginning of the roll-out of these systems for productivity reforms,” says Gavin Hill, TCA General Manager, Strategy and Delivery. “We are at the beginning of the journey and many people, probably, don’t have a good strategic view of the way Smart OBM will work.

“The initiatives which are taking place around Victoria with HPFV and opening up networks and making allowances for access over structures which were previously off-limits, is a really good case study. It presents a way forward for the industry to understand what is possible. Where there used to be a ‘No’ response, mass data changes the paradigm.”

VicRoads understand that the data they get through these Smart OBM systems help them as a road agency. It enables them to make a case to the Victorian Treasury to make infrastructure upgrades. The vehicles and the data they send into VicRoads enables them to help the trucking industry by improving the roads where they are getting the most use.

Bridge engineers are able to reduce the safety reserves they build into assessments of structures, because they have good data on the actual real life usage and are not making very conservative guesses on the strain on the bridges etc. This will tend to reduce those safety reserves and often opens up parts of the networks to the HPFVs.

The advantages of the Smart OBM set up is that it is a nationally agreed system and can be used across borders.

“One of the key things, is that the operator only needs one system,” says Gavin. “Jurisdictions have agreed, there is one system and one form of recognition. How they use the data is up to the individual road agencies.

“I think the development of the Smart OBM concept will generate its own momentum. The way that Victoria have seized this and taken it up, will be the model other jurisdictions will be following.”

Road agencies in the Eastern States are already specifying Smart OBM and heading down this path. Something like Smart OBM will also have other benefits for the operator in terms of compliance and as part of accreditation schemes, chain of responsibility, particularly a mass management module.

“We have been trying to get the message out there about the value of Smart OBM,” says Gavin. “We are going through people like the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association to help them

Gavin Hill, TCA General Manager, Strategy and Delivery.

inform their customers about the value of these systems. They are making the higher productivity vehicles which will go into these schemes.

“The trailer manufacturer doesn’t necessarily have a good idea of what the end use of the trailer they are making is going to be. If you’ve got a particular kind of vehicle, PBS, for example, the trailer builder may want to ask the customer whether it will be used in certain scenarios, like HPFV in Victoria or the A-double run from Toowoomba to the Port of Brisbane.

“The trailer maker needs to find out, if they are fitting an OBM, is the customer fitting it for a regulatory concession. Before fitting the system it will be useful to ensure the fitment will make those regulatory benefits possible. No-one should end up with a system they regret.”

Often TCA will have operators who are trying to get information about specific routes and the requirements in terms of Smart OBM or other technology, and where these productivity gains can be achieved. This kind of information can be difficult to find and it can be dangerous to rely on hearsay, but there is no central knowledge base operators can rely on.

It is important for operators wanting to take advantage of the benefits of Smart OBM system to be as informed as possible about the system and its suitability fo the task in consideration.

The Smart OBM does offer an easier solution for many access issues than the IAP, but information about how it works and how to access it seems to be travelling by word-of-mouth, rather than being properly publicised by the state authorities.

There are a number of state government sites which are designed to give information about what kind of Smart OBM allowances are available where, but these are often confusing and only state by by state.

V-DAQ, is the supplier of the simple credit card sized plug-and-play road access solution which can communicate mass data from Smart OBM systems to the TCA, enabling operators meet compliance requirements for the various schemes.

It provides a comprehensive guide to the different allowances and benefits across Australia.

SCAN THE QR CODE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SMART OBM

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