Prime Mover July 2019

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July 2019

Lopez Bros

Here for the Long Haul

JULY 2019 $11.00

ISSN 1838-2320 07

9 771838 232000

Industry Fleet: Direct Freight Express Event: 30 years of AFIAs Feature: 2019 Brisbane Truck Show Benchmark Test: Shell Rimula

Innovation Fleet: Future Recycling Product: JOST JSK37CXW Final Mile: Isuzu Take Away Test Drive: Volvo Dual Clutch

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 deliver the BESTyou need the BEST TRUCK” “With 85,000 kilometres covered every day, we put our 150+ UD Trucks in some of the harshest places, and they work day in day out. We commit to being the best for our customers; to deliver the best, you need the best truck.”

Mark Tobin

Managing Director Followmont Transport

New 8-litre Quon now with up to 2 years FREE scheduled servicing* Offer ends 31st August 2019.

Going the Extra Mile To find out more, contact your UD Trucks dealer on 1300 BUY A UD or visit udtrucks.com.au/offers *2 years or 200,000 kms (whichever occurs first from date of delivery) free scheduled servicing is available at participating UD Trucks dealers for all new Quon 8-litre models purchased by 31 August 2019 and delivered by 31 December 2019. Scheduled servicing excludes fair wear and tear items and any additional work or components required. Not available in conjunction with any other offers or to fleet, gov’t and rental buyers. UD Trucks may change or extend this offer. Full terms, conditions and exclusions are available at udtrucks.com.au/offers.

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July 2019

J U LY 2 0 1 9

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.

Lopez Bros

Here for the Long Haul prim e m ove r m ag.c om .au

John Murphy | Managing Director

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.

Luke Applebee | Managing Editor, Transport Group

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.

JULY 2019 $11.00

ISSN 1838-2320 07

9 771838 232000

Industry Fleet: Direct Freight Express Event: 30 years of HVIAs Feature: 2019 Brisbane Truck Show Benchmark Test: Shell Rimula

Innovation Fleet: Future Recycling Product: JOST JSK37CXW Final Mile: Isuzu Take Away Test Drive: Volvo Dual Clutch

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

managing director

John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

editor William Craske

william.craske@primecreative.com.au managing editor,

transport group

Luke Applebee luke.applebee@primecreative.com.au

senior feature Peter Shields writer peter.shields@primecreative.com.au

Terry Wogan terry.wogan@primecreative.com.au

0417 474 752 advertising sales

business

Sarah Leptos

development sarah.leptos@primecreative.com.au manager

0403 485 140

William Craske | Editor

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.

Peter Shields | Senior Feature Writer 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.

art director Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au

design

Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty

journalist Paul Matthei paul.matthei@primecreative.com.au

design production

manager

Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

client success manager

Justine Nardone justine.nardone@primecreative.com.au

head office 11-15 Buckhurst Street

South Melbourne VIC 3205

P: 03 9690 8766

F: 03 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au subscriptions

Sarah Leptos | Business Development Manager

Sarah comes from a corporate background, having worked very closely engaging and growing some of Australia’s small to medium sized businesses while working in financial services. She has experience in client relationship management and business development with a strong focus on investing time into improving client business growth.

www.primemovermag.com.au

03 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Prime Mover magazine is available by subscription from the publisher.

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articles

All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher.

The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

copyright

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 July 2019

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COVER STORY “It’s great if clients can share our outlook and the values of personal contact, and our commitment to a high quality of service. Very occasionally someone may remark that a particular job was too dear but we’ve never had anyone tell us that a job wasn’t good enough.”

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SHOW TIME

Prime Feature Stories FLEET FOCUS

26 Here for the Long Haul Few Australian transport companies can claim a history stretching back 90 years, yet after being established in 1929 Sydney’s Lopez Brothers Transport is able to do exactly that.

36 Edge of Tomorrow Future Recycling, Australia’s only carbon neutral waste management business, has added a $4.5 million transfer station to its expanding operations. It uses Scania commercial vehicles in both hooklift and tipper applications on contract maintenance programs as part of its commitment to realising a greener economy.

TRUCK AND TECH

40 Testing Times The transport industry continually strives for efficiencies as operating costs increase. For truck fleets of all sizes a major cost input is fuel and lubricants. Viva Energy, the licensee of Shell products in Australia, set about an extensive research study to identify direct fuel economy benefits from using synthetic lubricants.

INDUSTRY

50 Night Moves The Australian Freight Industry Awards have been an institution for three decades in Melbourne. This year

marks the 30th anniversary of a long standing tradition in which the hard working men and women of the road transport sector celebrate their achievements.

TEST DRIVE

56 Twice the Smoothness The term smoothness can be applied to many things, from razor blades to the human voice, and seldom seems to be associated with a commercial vehicle. Volvo’s dual clutch transmission adds another dimension to the term with the remarkable performance available from this development of the I-Shift transmission.

Regular Run 06 From the Editor 08 Prime News 60 Final Mile 62 Personality 66 Australian Road Transport Suppliers’ Association 69 Australian Trucking Association 70 Australian Logistics Council 72 Truck Industry Council 73 Victorian Transport Association 74 Peter Shields’ Number Crunch

FROM THE EDITOR

Brave New World

William Craske Editor

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Industries dominated by manual processes are being changed, with escalating demand, by automation.

That shouldn’t come as news to anyone.

It’s been the case since we moved from an agrarian society to an industrial one in varying stages for the past 200 years.

Research and advisory company, Gartner Inc., estimates more than 60 per cent of companies in the United States are using digital-workplace strategies, but only about a quarter of these efforts will succeed in changing the way the employees do their jobs. Humans, for the most part, are notoriously difficult creatures to herd, given our cognitive factors, free will and general reluctance to change behaviour as behaviour changes are not immediately rewarding.

Even so automating repetitive tasks is by now an unavoidable reality for a majority of industries. The gains in efficiency, productivity and safety in sectors reliant on heavy machinery and the transportation of goods and passengers are well storied. On the average commercial vehicle combination high tech sensors monitor most key componentry these days, as real time correctives that anticipate and help forestall costly delays on a job. Our increasing reliance on connecting to systems while working long hours in repeated isolation can, insofar as they are designed to help us, generate through decreasing consciousness driver distraction incidents. Much is still to be learned from the role personal communication devices play as a constant in our lives. The term social acceptance, more recently, has been creeping into the language of spokespeople from divisions dedicated to autonomous technologies in the commercial vehicle space.

Given most working autonomous commercial vehicles do so in controlled environments at intermodal facilities,

shipyards and mining sites, the actual social part of its acceptance might well portend, for those attuned to dog whistles, to preparing people for an environmental and economic landscape never seen before.

As artificial intelligence supposedly fast forwards us through the history of progress in ways many of us can’t yet imagine and some dare not, whole sectors of business – not just road transport – are going to be impacted at scale, by as soon as 2030. Like all revolutions the upheaval shall not discriminate. Top tier jobs attained from tertiary qualifications printed by attending prestigious universities are unlikely to go unscathed. The magic bullet is not just coming for the financial and health services.

Lawyers, doctors and accountants are set to suffer the same fate as fast food workers, call centre operators and truck drivers. Leading consulting firm, Bain, projects automation will disrupt jobs at about three times the rate of the Second Industrial Revolution. As market imperatives to reduce labour costs underwrite the demand for artificial capabilities the eventual and resultant outcome, thirty years from now beckons an entirely new economic system to which four million Michigan factory workers have already seen the preview to the main feature. In this sci-fi-horror movie skilled workers become obsolete.

Automation, it goes without saying, will also make immigration a thing of the past. But this, as they say, is a worst case scenario. A bad dream informed by fear and insecurity. Now excuse me while I run the antivirus software on my super computer.

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PRIME NEWS

>VIC Govt favours rail over trucks in transport blitz The Victorian Government has extended its Mode Shift Incentive Scheme (MSIS) as it looks to keep its promise of decongesting local roads by eliminating trucks it has revealed.

As part of its Suburban Transport Blitz the Government has announced it will allocate $4 million in extended funding for the scheme as reported in the 20192020 Budget.

This underscores the Government’s $8 million investment to remove trucks from local roads in favour of rail transport.

In a statement released today the Andrews Government said it would “help Victoria’s truck drivers to be safer and more skilled on our roads.”

“Extending the MSIS will increase efficiency and cost effectiveness in the

freight sector and reduce congestion on roads in and around freight and port precincts,” it continued.

“Along with the Port Rail Shuttle Network, these initiatives are helping better use our rail freight facilities and gives more companies incentives to shift from road to rail.”

Minister for Ports and Freight Melissa Horne said the Government was delivering on its promise to take thousands of trucks off the roads each year, which was making a difference for commuters who use Melbourne’s increasingly busy roads every day.

“With more and more freight being moved every year, we’re making it more efficient for the freight sector to move containers from road to rail,” she said.

Melissa Horne.

>Behemoth Western Star 6900FXC delivered to Neil Mansell Group A new Western Star 6900FXC previewed at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show has been delivered to the Neil Mansell Group. The prominently displayed mustard yellow prime mover was one of the hero units showcased as part of the

Western Star 6900FXC. 8

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Penske Commercial Vehicles exhibit.

It is has since been delivered to the Queensland oil fields where its reputation as a truck suited to the toughest of conditions will be tested in the outback on triple road train

configurations. Rated at a concessional gross mass of 155 tonnes, the 6x4 unit is powered by a colossal Cummins 600hp engine with 2,050 lb-ft of torque at 1,200 rpm.

It was received by the Neil Mansell Group in a ceremony with a 54’ stratosphere sleeper.

National Sales Manager Penske Commercial Vehicles Dale Christensen said the Neil Mansell Group had purchased 80 Western Stars to date, representing a quarter of its fleet.

“We look forward to continuing this long‐standing relationship,” he said.

The cabin comforts of the 6900 were instrumental in the decision-making process according to Neil Mansell, founder of Neil Mansell Group.

“I’m sure our drivers will really enjoy the roomy, big, wide cab,” he said.

“I’ve been a Western Star enthusiast for a long time. In addition to great trucks, we also receive great support,” said Mansell. “Errol Weber and the local dealer team at Penske Power Systems Brisbane have been fantastic, as has the team at Penske Commercial Vehicles.”

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PRIME NEWS

>ATA and MaxiTRANS partner on proof of concept Leading Australian trailer builder, MaxiTRANS, has partnered with the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) on a new project it hopes will lead the way in innovation.

The proof of concept involves the development of a rigid drawbar converter dolly following discussions by members of the ATA Industry Technical Council in relation to brake relativity and tyre wear resultant from issues prompted by hinged drawbar converter dollies.

ATA Chief Engineer Bob Woodward said manufacturers and suppliers were looking for safer designs and operators sought continued improvements in productivity with safer outcomes.

“With immense support from MaxiTRANS and ITC members Hendrickson, Alcoa Wheels, Bridgestone, JOST and WABCO, the project is a collaboration of the resources and knowledge of manufacturers, suppliers and operators all working towards a

Bob Woodward.

common goal,” he said.

MaxiTRANS recently previewed the converter dolly project at its Brisbane Truck Show exhibit. According to Andrew McKenzie MaxiTRANS Group General Manager Sales and Marketing, the display generated an extraordinary amount of interest over the four day event.

“Despite being an essential part of the trailer combination, it is sometimes

neglected or overlooked,” he said.

“However due to the advent of A-Doubles, it has certainly become increasingly important,” said McKenzie.

MaxiTRANS, who have been working on the concept for quite some time with the ATA, understood the rigid drawbar was not suited to every combination but that initial trials had already proven the safety benefits it would deliver for the wider transport community. ITC members and MaxiTRANS customers and support companies would trial the dolly next.

Interest in the dolly project, according to Woodward, has been overwhelming, with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator recently requesting to participate in the trial.

“The project and trial play an important role in enhancing safety and productivity,” he said. “The needs of our industry are constantly changing, and the ITC is essential to ensuring operators and businesses stay up to date with best practice.”

> Renault strengthens Australian operations with MD appointment Commercial vehicle manufacturer, Renault, announced the appointment of Anouk Poelmann as the company’s new Managing Director in Australia earlier this month. Poelmann commenced the appointment on 6 May 2019 and has held numerous senior leadership and management positions across Europe Renault Trafic.

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and internationally. She joins Renault Australia following a two year role as a member of the Inchcape Australasia Executive Team and Managing Director Peugeot Citroen Australia where she gained an in-depth understanding of the Australian automotive distribution, retail and importation landscape, giving her a broad commercial and marketing skills base for the role at Renault.

Poelmann has accrued a wealth of experience in general management, change management, marketing and sales in international and small/mediumsized companies, having worked with both wholesale and retail organisations.

She previously developed an experience of both operational and strategic management and she managed business turnarounds and disruptive transformations in Switzerland and Russia. Holding a Masters’ degree in Finance and Commercial Economics

Poelmann is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

“We are very pleased to welcome Anouk to the Renault Group,” said Renault AsiaPacific Director of Aftersales, Network & Service Quality, Xavier Kaufman. “She joins us at a crucial moment as we strengthen and grow the presence of the Renault brand in Australia.”

Poelmann said she is delighted to join Renault and lead the brand’s Australian operations.

“Renault has a strong history and appealing core values, underpinned by outstanding product, committed dealers and passionate staff and I am looking forward to continuing the brand’s journey in the evolving Australian marketplace,” she said.

Earlier this year, Renault added an 85kW long-wheelbase (85LWB) variant to its popular and versatile Trafic mid-sized van range.

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PRIME NEWS

>UD Trucks commits to medium duty market with new Croner Croner will be available in two variants: PK 4x2 and PD 6x2.

Commercial vehicle manufacturer, UD Trucks, has announced it will release a new medium duty vehicle slated for launch Q1 2020 on the eve of the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show.

Speaking at an event for media, UD Trucks Vice President, Mark Strambi, prefaced the unveiling of the Croner by acknowledging the company was upfront in moving its focus to the bottom end of the heavy duty market but was committed to empowering its customers with offerings that helped them deliver smart logistics solutions to their own clients.

To achieve this it would continue to utilise the best of three worlds as a Japanese truck maker with a very proud heritage of quality and innovation.

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The tradition of Japanese brands using a medium duty platform in which to develop a heavy duty offering continues, according to Strambi.

“Right now we have the best product line-up that I think we’ve ever had,” he said.

Over an 18-month period, the Japanese design team worked with Australian engineers to deliver a truck prepared for Australian and New Zealand conditions. It will offer two model variants in the PK 4x2 and PD 6x2 with a variety of wheel bases and suspension options.

“We’ve been upfront about the fact that our journey is moving from a medium duty market to be more focused on the bottom end of the heavy duty market,” said Strambi. “It’s about products and

services being efficient and safer and more productive for our customers That doesn’t mean we can’t use our local engineering to enhance the offer we have. That’s exactly what we’ve done with the trucks we are revealing over the next couple of days.”

Named after the Greek god of mythological lore for time, the Croner has been developed for the improvements UD Trucks believes it will offer in uptime.

Strambi acknowledged the strong dealer network in Australia. At current that was represented by 81 service points nationally with another 24 in New Zealand.

UD Trucks has also debuted a new 8-litre Quon, expanding upon the range it launched in 2017.

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PRIME NEWS

> Volvo celebrates 25th anniversary of FH model with limited edition Now 25 years on from its global launch, the Volvo FH has received a limited edition model unveiled on the opening day at the Brisbane Truck Show.

The commercial vehicle manufacturer revealed the locally built FH25 in tribute to its customers and drivers who have helped to make the FH an iconic and innovative part of Australian trucking it said in a statement.

In addition to its standard Full Active Safety Pack, the FH25 also comes with I-Shift Dual Clutch, the first and only dual clutch transmission in commercial heavy vehicle and i-See smart technology, a fuel saving topography predictor and Volvo Dynamic Steering.

“The Volvo FH is one of the industry’s most successful models and is credited with changing the perception of modern trucks,” said Tony O’Connell, Vice President of Volvo Trucks in Australia.

“This special edition truck continues to set new standards in trucking with Tony O’Connell.

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state-of-the-art technology and highlights how Volvo Trucks is driving progress and delivering safety and fuel performance,” said O’Connell.

“It is proudly Australian Made at our factory in Wacol, Brisbane for the unique Australian conditions and is built for our customers to succeed.”

The newly promoted Vice President of Volvo Trucks Australia also unveiled the Volvo FE Low Entry Cab (LEC).

Developed as a refuse solution in the UK for increasing urbanisation and suited for airport application, designed low enough to fit under commercial passenger jet wings, the FE LEC, according to O’Connell is afforded with superior all-round visibility with the low vantage point reducing blindspots to keep vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians safe.

“The city of London is recognised globally as a leader in direct vision requirements for heavy vehicles in urban

areas,” he said. “It’s a fantastic pedigree to draw upon.”

A lower step for drivers who are required to leave the cab multiple times during tasks mitigates the chance of missing a step when entering or exiting the vehicle.

With a kneeling function that lowers the cab entry by a further 90mm, the FE LEC can be, as part of its versatile cab configuration, specified with up to four seats and flat cross cab access or a more traditional two seat layout with an internal instep.

“This new truck has class leading driver visibility and improved driver ergonomics and most importantly, the FE LEC features Volvo Trucks world-class safety and technological innovations, including emergency braking as standard,” said O’Connell.

“Additionally the cab has been crash tested to comply with the toughest European standards, including the rigorous Swedish BOF 10.”

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PRIME NEWS

> New Ministry focus on freight welcomed by ALC Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been congratulated by the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) after he made freight transport a specific responsibility of the Federal Government’s revamped ministerial group.

ALC CEO Kirk Coningham said the Prime Minister was sending an important message to the road transport industry and to the wider community with this week’s announcement.

The ALC, according to Coningham, welcomed the recent appointment of Scott Buchholz as Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport.

“It is significant that freight transport is now a specific portfolio title within the ministry, and highlights that enhanced supply chain performance will be a priority for the re-elected Coalition Government,” he said.

“ALC also congratulates Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Michael McCormack MP on his re-appointment as Minster for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, and Hon. Alan Tudge MP on his elevation to Cabinet as Minster for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure. We also welcome Hon.

Sussan Ley MP as Minister for the Environment, and congratulate Senator Hon. Matt Canavan on again being appointed Minster for Resources and Northern Australia.”

The ALC also took the opportunity to remind industry it had released Freight: Delivering Opportunity For Australia, a report advocating 39 priority actions addressing challenges and opportunities in all modes of freight transport for the incoming Federal Government during the election campaign.

“ALC will be pursuing the matters contained in this publication with the re-elected Coalition Government, and ensuring that supply chain efficiency and safety is appropriately prioritised in government policy making,” said Coningham. “The most urgent priorities are the finalisation the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, establishing the National Freight Data Hub, making certain that electric freight vehicles form part of the National Electric Vehicle Strategy the Government has committed to develop, and doing more to enhance freight infrastructure

Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

in Northern Australia, so we can take advantage of the region’s proximity to growing export markets.”

The ALC also congratulated Anthony Albanese on his appointment as the Leader of the Opposition.

“Given his vast experience in dealing with infrastructure related matters, there is now a genuine opportunity to build a long-term approach to infrastructure planning and investment that is truly bipartisan in nature. ALC hopes to work closely with both the Government and the Opposition in furtherance of that objective,” said Coningham.

> One in five new heavy vehicles PBS approved: Report The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and the Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) today released a joint report that finds one in five relevant new heavy vehicles manufactured in Australia are now Performance-Based Standards (PBS) approved.

NHVR CEO, Sal Petroccitto, said the joint report demonstrated the success of Australia’s world-leading PBS scheme.

“In 2017, 17 per cent of relevant new heavy vehicles were PBS approved, in 2018 we saw that increase to 20 per cent of relevant new heavy vehicles,” he said. “PBS vehicles deliver significant benefits to productivity and have been shown to be involved in 46 per 16

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cent fewer crashes than conventional vehicles. The success of the scheme over the past decade is a clear statement of the industry’s desire to be safer, smarter and more innovative.”

The report shows one in five relevant new heavy vehicles manufactured in 2018 were PBS approved, up from one in six in 2017; and an additional 1,900 new approvals for new PBS combinations in 2018, an increase from around 1,400 in 2017.

In the last five years total new PBS combination approvals have doubled, while the heavy vehicle market has only grown by 20 per cent over the same period.

More than 55 per cent of PBS approvals are for truck and dog

combinations.

PBS approved prime mover and trailer combinations have doubled in the last five years.

ARTSA Chair, Martin Toomey, said the PBS scheme was encouraging heavy vehicle renewal nationwide.

“One of the key benefits of the PBS scheme has been to accelerate the renewal of the heavy vehicle fleet nationwide,” he said. “The median age of PBS vehicles is four years compared to 12 years for the entire heavy vehicle fleet. New equipment has the benefit of more modern safety systems, including better braking and improved stability. By encouraging the uptake of PBS vehicles we can make our roads safer for everyone.”

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For your nearest IVECO Dealer call 1800 4 IVECO or visit www.iveco.com.au

PRIME NEWS

>Melbourne manufactured Stralis X-Way en route to dealerships IVECO display at BTS.

The first locally produced group of Stralis X-Way models have rolled from the manufacturing facility to dealerships across Australia.

Commercial vehicle manufacturer, IVECO, announced its Euro 6 emissions friendly heavy duty truck in prime mover and rigid variants had been extensively tested and developed for Australian conditions ahead of its public unveiling at the recent Brisbane Truck Show.

New technology that includes the most comprehensive safety suite yet offered

by IVECO, includes an Electronic Braking System (EBS), Brake Assistance System (BAS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP),

Hill Holder, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) and daytime running lights as standard.

Optional equipment such as a hydraulic retarder, Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Driver Attention Support (DAS), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and Bi-Xenon headlamps can also be specified.

The Melbourne factory will allow IVECO customers greater input on special needs specifications to suit the nuances of their end application.

Prime mover models have been rated for a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 25 tonnes are offered in 6x4 AD/AT. The rigid variants of the Stralis X-Way come in 6x4 AS, 6x4 AD/AT, 8x4 AD/AT and 8x4 AS and range between 25 and 30 tonnes GVM. Cabin options include a ‘Day’, ‘Sleeper’ and ‘Active Space Sleeper’.

Powered by Euro 6 compliant IVECO Cursor 9, 11 and 13 common rail engines that range between 310 hp and 1300 Nm for the entry level Cursor 9 to 510 hp and 2300 Nm for the Cursor 13, the Stralis

X-Way models have been paired with a new HiTroniX automated transmission and a 12-speed, direct drive unit for fast gear changes.

IVECO ANZ, SEA and Japan Product Manager, Marco Quaranta said the company is a global leader in low emission technologies and the Stralis X-Way, like its other offerings at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show, showcased the low emission capabilities of the new model range.

“Increasingly our customers both in the private and government sectors, are requesting vehicles that meet stringent environmental standards, even before being officially mandated through legislation,” he said. “IVECO is very pleased to be able to provide an extensive Euro 6 product offering across vans, minibuses and its light, medium and heavy duty truck ranges,” said Quaranta.

Additional stock has arrived at dealerships to fulfil what the company has called a successful forward-order program amid growing buyer interest in the new model range.

> VTA supports heavy vehicle driver training A commitment of $4 million over four years to fund the training and instruction of 800 new heavy vehicle drivers has been welcomed by Victorian Transport Association (VTA).

The Victorian Government has fulfilled a pledge it made prior to last year’s state election by allocating funds to the Association as it continues to provide competent and skilled commercial vehicle driver training at a time when industry faces critical driver shortages.

The driver training funding commitment was just one of many measures contained in the 2019-2020 Victorian Budget delivered by Treasurer Tim Pallas that the VTA said will benefit freight and logistics operators.

Other measures include further investments in road and rail infrastructure 18

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across the state, reduced payroll tax for business and land transfer duties for regional commercial and industrial properties, and other initiatives that will help to attract strategic investment in Victoria to create jobs and growth across the Victorian economy.

The Suburban Transport Blitz unveiled in the Budget provides record road and rail funding that will help to slash congestion. Of the $27.4 billion granted for the program $15.8 billion has been allocated to fully fund and build North East Link with $608 million for upgrades and improvements to local roads.

For the fourth year running, the Victorian Government has promised payroll tax cuts for regional businesses that will keep it the lowest in the nation outside of infrastructure.

The VTA said the strategy would help make regional Victoria more attractive for doing business.

“Through this budget the Government has delivered on its promises and the VTA and transport industry look forward to working with the Premier and his team to help deliver the projects we need to keep our state the most attractive place in Australia to live and do business in,” said Anderson.

The Victorian Budget benefits logistics and freight operators.

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PRIME NEWS

> ARTSA and NBTA debrief on Brisbane Truck Show meeting

ARTSA and NBTA debriefing.

The Australian Road Transport Suppliers Association (ARTSA) and the National Bulk Tanker Association (NBTA) have debriefed on their Brisbane Truck Show meeting, which covered a range of industry talking points from PerformanceBased Standards and the Intelligent Access Program (IAP) to Dangerous Goods (DG) regulations and compliance.

Dr Peter Hart of ARTSA facilitated a discussion between National Heavy Vehicle Regulator CEO, Sal Petroccitto, NBTA Chairman, Justin Keast and ARTSA Chair, Martin Toomey, on big issues and where the industry can help the Regulator.

The panel agreed PBS is productive, better and safer, and that it is a ‘must deliver’ outcome for industry and the community. Future opportunity for PBS, it was felt, would see it move more towards prescription. For this to happen the immediate issue of ensuring PBS vehicles can continue to be used beyond the initial PBS approved application must be addressed.

The audience sought from the panel an answer to how it might further capitalise on one in five new vehicles being PBS approved. Simplifying access and descriptions of type classes with explanations as to what the combinations can do was also raised as an aim by those present in the audience.

The panel agreed that there is a need to improve access and provide a minimum level of guaranteed access. There are limitations, and the National Heavy Vehicle Law (NHVL) review will need to 20

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address this issue going forward.

On the subject of moving into a prescriptive domain, the panel explained that it is a Ministerial area and could possibly be progressed through the NHVL review.

At present, 9,000 PBS vehicles risk becoming an ‘orphan child’ once approval for specific use elapses.

Despite being considered safer and more productive and deserving of a life after their initial PBS use is finished, better use of these vehicles going forward was tabled as an appropriate topic for the NHVL discussion.

The NHVR elaborated on its plans for the next 12 months to deliver a harmonised national approach, with offices in Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory opening soon and Victoria at the end of 2019.

This, according to Petroccitto, will offer the opportunity for a more consistent regulatory approach.

The NHVR will work with New South Wales for October 2020 and then Queensland later to achieve their transition as well.

Petroccitto agreed that NHVL review offers many opportunities for improvement. There is an opportunity to simplify the law with consistent powers rather than the current set of laws which are very complex.

In regard to front axle mass, 6.5-tonnes is no longer considered relevant, with it generally agreed up that 7.2-tonnes offers the industry what it wants including safety features. For this to occur, there needs

to be a fact-driven argument around the extra 700kg.

A joint report authored by NHVR and ARTSA Data on the uptake of PBS vehicles was released by Petroccitto.

The report shows PBS now has a market share of around 20 per cent of eligible heavy vehicles. This is a huge measure of support for this scheme and the safety and productivity benefits it delivers.

Adam Gibson of National Transport Insurance (NTI) said truck fires are also a major claims issue and repeat issues need to be identified and addressed.

He reported that 12 per cent of claims were fire related with around 75 per cent being wheel-end fires exacerbated by mudguards. The industry, according to Gibson, is “on trend to zero fatalities in 2032 – of course, this is a perfect outcome but the trend is positive,” he said. “Over a thousand lives have been saved through improved safety performance.”

He noted the bulk tanker sector can struggle with public confidence following major incidents, according to Gibson.

“We need to make sure that the performance is both measured and improved, and there is scope to better manage the relationship with safety agencies,” he said.

Jason Stables reported on the review of tanker standard AS2809 and confirmed parts one, two and three of AS2809 are due for publication this year.

He said some electrical items need resolution and will release by end of the year.

“It then needs to be picked up by legislation which will be around March 2020,” he said.

Stables said that exhaust shielding will be changed to align with Euro standards.

Hatch sizes will change to allow better entry, and the review of the bitumen and cryogenics parts of the Standard will start later this year.

The NBTA’s Bulk Tanker Day on 5 September will also feature a walk around demonstration of the differences in the new standards.

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GLOB AL NEWS

> UPS makes biggest commitment to natural gas in US history UPS has agreed to purchase 643.5 million litres of renewable natural gas.

Courier specialist, UPS, has placed it’s largest order of renewable natural gas in its history. The announcement comes amidst heightened interest in electric vehicles among industry in North America. Natural gas, is, according to the company, very much a long term priority after it committed to a purchase of 643.5 million litres over seven years from Clean Energy Fuels.

The deal, as reported, will extend through 2026 with UPS announcing that it expects to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than a million tonnes.

It remains the largest commitment for use of renewable natural gas to date by

any company in the U.S. According to the company, UPS consumed nearly 106 million litres in its ground fleet since 2014.

It now intends to use nearly that much each year.

According to Mike Casteel, UPS Fleet Procurement Director, the world has major issues with trash and emissions.

“Renewable natural gas, produced naturally from bio-sources such as landfills and dairy farms, not only turns trash to gas, but it turns it into clean gas,” he said.

“Since RNG is supported by existing national infrastructure used to transport natural gas, it’s a winning solution that

will help UPS to reach our ambitious sustainability goals,” said Casteel. “At the same time, we hope our unprecedented seven-year commitment serves as a catalyst for wider adoption of RNG by other companies.”

UPS has 18 company-owned RNG stations across 12 states.

The California Air Resources Board Low Carbon Fuel Standard program has shown in recent data that biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel use reduced 4.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in California last year, more than any other fuel type of fuel, including ethanol and battery electric power.

> Volkswagen plans IPO for Traton German manufacturer, Volkswagen, aims to pursue an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for its Traton truck division. The IPO is expected to be before the European 2019 summer break and is subject to further capital market developments.

Volkswagen Board Member, Frank Witter, explained that the business has reiterated its intention to pursue an IPO and current market assessments encouraged the Board to make this decision.

“Traton SE and our entire team are very well placed to resume preparations 22

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for swift IPO,” said Traton CEO and Volkswagen Board Member, Andreas Renschler. “Our groundwork has been excellent and we are now fully focused on a potential IPO before the summer break.”

Traton’s vehicle sales were up 7.4 per cent for the current quarter compared with the same period in the previous year. Worldwide vehicle deliveries for the Volkswagen Group amounted to 866,400, down 6.6 per cent from April 2018.

Volkwagen Head of Group Sales, Dr

Christian Dahlheim, said in many major countries, the overall market experienced a downturn in April.

“In our single largest market of China, the customers of many brands continued to be reluctant to purchase despite the reduction in the VAT rate,” he said.

Volkswagen is also investing around a billion euros in an electric battery cell plant in Germany.

Last year, Volkswagen Truck & Bus announced it would change its name to Traton Group.

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TECHNOLOGY MINDSET

FACE VALUE PETER JONES Peter Jones is the Fleet Solutions Director in the Goodyear Dunlop Commercial team. He has over 15 years of engineering experience working in automotive manufacturing prior to moving into the tyre industry. He is working with Goodyear’s Global innovation teams to introduce new technology into the Australian market and ensure future innovations address local requirements.

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I

n nearly every aspect of modern life we are seeing increasing levels of technology with no sign of it slowing down. When it is done well we only notice the benefits, adapt to it quickly and wonder how we used to live with out it. Smartphones are a good example of how quickly and easily technology can be adopted. New features are added almost continually but we don’t have or need user manuals to explain them. This demonstrates a design focused on the user experience which for the most part works the way we already expect it to. The same approach is required for any innovation if it is going to be readily adopted.

Coming from the automotive industry I experienced firsthand how many different technologies need to interface and work together.

Mechanical, structural, electrical and software systems all need to function correctly for the vehicle to perform as designed. The user does not need to understand or be aware of the internal complexity and if it is executed well only experiences the intended result.

Having moved to Goodyear and now working with truck fleets it is clear there are many technology similarities between passenger cars and trucks. Over the past few decades cars have evolved from being mechanical machines with some computers to effectively being a computer with some mechanical systems attached. Commercial trucks are quickly going down this path and as a result are becoming easier to operate but more complex to understand.

Repairs are more likely to be done with

a laptop and software patch than with a socket set. This has significant benefits for safety, efficiency and emissions but needs to be carefully balanced with maintaining reliability and robustness.

As a tyre company we are expecting changes in trucks however we are confident they will still need tyres. The idea of using rubber, reinforcing and compressed air to interface between a vehicle and the ground is over 130 years old and has proven to be hard to beat. In that time a huge number of improvements have occurred, however the basic concept is unchanged. At Goodyear we are determined to look forward, anticipate changes and ensure we are ready for opportunities. The transport industry is facing some potentially revolutionary changes ahead which we summarize with the acronym F.A.C.E, Fleets, Autonomous, Connected, Electric.

Fleets. The rise of subscription services in passenger vehicles could threaten traditional car ownership. In the same way that people are more likely to subscribe to a music stream service rather than buy a CD, it is foreseeable that the whole economics of personal mobility could look very different in the future. We expect this with passenger vehicles first, but it is worth considering how this could translate into commercial transport and how it might look. Without direct ownership of the vehicle the expectations of the tyres will be different. The tyres will have to perform correctly without being able to rely on checks or interventions from the driver or passengers.

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Autonomous. Progress in autonomous vehicles is rapidly advancing with many cars on the road today already having the necessary hardware in place. Full autonomation may take time to introduce but once perfected would quickly bring an irreversible change to road transport.

This will have significant flow on effects throughout society but purely from a tyre perspective it will require an autonomous tyre. With no option of a driver to check the tyres an automatic feedback system will be required to identify issues and allow preventative actions.

Connected. The world is becoming more connected and we see future vehicles are being part of this network. Real time data will be flowing between components, vehicles and infrastructure. As the only

component that touches the ground tyres can add valuable information to the wider network. An example of which might be providing feedback of road condition or advising nearby vehicles of hazards.

Electric. Electric vehicles have been rapidly improving their value proposition lately. They are becoming a mainstream option in passenger vehicles and are very close for some trucks. Metro deliveries and stop start applications such as waste collection and bus fleets are likely to be the first to adopt electric powertrains.

Again, the expectations of the tyres will be different. Electric motors can deliver high torque from a stand still requiring tyres with a stronger sidewall and bead area. Another example is in maximizing

the range of electric vehicles. Low rolling resistance and lightweight tyre will have a direct impact on improving range as well as efficiency. For the same reason pressure maintenance will also become increasingly important due to the negative impact of underinflation on rolling resistance.

Goodyear is actively looking for ways we can help fleets transition into smarter vehicles. This will require not only smarter tyres but better methods of acting on the data collected. It is clear to us that fleet operators do not need more data but will need more solutions. We are aiming to ensure that new tyre technology is easy to adopt, does not add to the complexity and ultimately helps simplify the task of keeping vehicles rolling.

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25

COVER STORY

HERE FOR THE

LONG 26

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Most Lopez Brothers UD drivers prefer the Escot-VI automated manual transmission.

HAUL FEW AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT COMPANIES CAN CLAIM A HISTORY STRETCHING BACK 90 YEARS, YET AFTER BEING ESTABLISHED IN 1929 SYDNEY’S LOPEZ BROTHERS TRANSPORT IS ABLE TO DO EXACTLY THAT.

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

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COVER STORY

B

rothers Jack and Felix Lopez purchased their first truck in 1929 to pick up fruit and vegetables from the markets to be delivered to the family’s shop run by their parents in Gladesville, in Sydney’s northwest. Additional opportunities quickly arose to use their new truck and they found themselves in the transport industry. They added more trucks throughout the 1930s. By then, Jack and Felix’s parents were no longer in the fruit and vegetable business yet continued helping with their sons’ transport operation in the yard and with book keeping.

As a reflection of the type of man Phil’s father, Jack Lopez was, when hard times hit during the Great Depression he knew he would be unable to make the repayments on a truck so he offered to return it to the

dealer HW Crouch, which was located back then in Wentworth Avenue near Sydney’s CBD. Due to the devastated economy there was virtually no market for trucks so Mr Crouch told Jack to bring in whatever cash he could afford, and if he couldn’t afford anything he was to keep the dealership informed of how he was fairing. This remarkable support was duly honoured by the Lopez Brothers and they continued to buy their trucks from HW Crouch once finances improved.

The industry has seen many changes over the successive generations and a major contributor to the Lopez Brothers success story has been the family’s personal involvement and ‘hands on’ approach to their business which is now operated by Jack’s son Phil and his wife Ann. Phil’s brother John was also involved up until 2011, dividing his attention between the

transport operations and his farm in the Southern Highlands. Phil says he still uses John as a regular sounding board to discuss business matters. Phil and Ann’s son Ben is a qualified diesel mechanic and represents the fourth generation in the business.

Operations were relocated to the current depot in the freight hub suburb of Enfield in 1998. The unassuming street frontage belies the large drive-through warehouse and extensive hard stand area beyond.

The majority of operations focus on transporting shipping containers as well as some general deliveries. These are mostly associated with goods from Lopez’s inhouse container unpacking service which is carried out in weather proof conditions within the expansive warehouse.

Container freight is as competitive as any other category of road transport

Head office is located in Enfield, NSW. 28

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COVER STORY

Peter Shields with Phil and Ann Lopez.

and brings with it all the challenges of negotiating congested urban roads and the sometimes complicated dealings with operations at the ports.

“An important aim for us is finding clients with the same values as we have and are prepared to pay a fair price for a good job,” says Phil. “Our prices are mid-range – there are always some cheaper and others more expensive.”

Phil and Ann’s hands-on approach sees them contactable at all times and their decades of experience provides clients with a wealth of expertise which can invariably provide solutions to sometimes difficult circumstances.

“It’s great if clients can share our outlook and the values of personal contact, and our commitment to a high quality of service.

Very occasionally someone may remark that a particular job was too dear but we’ve never had anyone tell us that a job wasn’t good enough,” says Phil.

The dedication to excellence remains key to the Lopez Brothers’ continued success in a tough market.

“We pride ourselves upon going up and beyond expectations,” says Ann. “People have to make their own business decisions and with our own values and who we are we can’t do something half-well.”

Until 2002 Lopez Brothers had always 30

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operated American trucks, starting out with the Federal brand through the 1930s, moving to Diamond T and International as their first prime movers in the 1950s and then to White, Kenworth and Western Star trucks in the 1980s and 1990s. When the first Hammar sideloader trailer was obtained in 2002 one of the company’s drivers suggested that a cab over prime mover would be a better choice for that particular application.

Phil looked at the available brands which had suitable specifications and was offered a UD demonstrator for a week.

“It was different to a White 4000 – it had a turning circle,” he says wryly. The UD quickly proved that it was more suited to the type of work expected of it and in 2007 when a second Hammar sideloader was added another UD was the logical choice to connect to it as the prime mover.

The suitability to the task of the UDs and their overall performance has resulted in the fleet being progressively changed over to the Japanese brand and the fleet currently numbers ten UDs with the likelihood of more as the remaining few American trucks are replaced. Most drivers now prefer the Escot-VI automated manual transmission which has proved ideally suited to the tasks expected of it, especially when negotiating Sydney’s notorious

traffic congestion. The forward control configuration also enhances the drivers’ vision of the surrounding traffic.

“Different drivers suit different trucks,” says Phil. “Some drivers don’t even want to sit in a UD or any other Japanese truck for that matter, while others don’t want to get out of them. The first thing to learn is they are all different so we try to match the equipment to suit both the job and the operator.”

The rich red Lopez Bros livery retains the blue and gold ribbon logo first seen on a company truck headboard decades ago.

The traditional hand pin-striping enhances the cabs’ lines and brings a genuine touch of heritage to the modern UD prime movers.

Lopez Brothers Transport achieved long ago the critical mass of recognition of its good name by customers, and even other operators, by the way in which they take on board customers’ problems and by always engaging in strong communication.

“It can be as simple as knowing with confidence when their containers will turn up,” says Phil. “There’s a lot of value placed on a factor such as that and we strive to make that a genuine point of difference.”

The Lopez family values also flow through to the staff, with a core group of drivers who have five and more years of service.

The employee record sits at 45 years which is a testament of the familial culture at Lopez Brothers. The industry shares a common challenge in finding good staff, yet conversely Lopez Brothers has very little trouble retaining members of its dedicated operational and clerical staff who form an effective and loyal team.

Phil is disappointed that there isn’t sufficient value placed on the road transport link of the import-export process and despite the business providing equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and expert operators, some casual customers often seek what seem to be petty discounts.

“If you need a washing machine fixed the repairer will quote a call out fee plus an hourly rate when they get there. You don’t ring around four or five times to see if

someone is $10 cheaper. Yet some people who want a container moved either locally or interstate will go to great lengths to obtain the cheapest price,” says Phil.

Phil uses taxi cabs as an analogy for this situation common across most sectors of the road freight industry.

“Call a taxi, have him take you somewhere, wait for an hour while you conduct whatever business you need to, and then return you home. We can be expected to charge not much more yet we’re providing a vehicle combination worth $350,000 with a trained professional operator and not a car costing $60,000. We and our staff have to make a living and at the same time justify the investment in the equipment.”

The complex paperwork and legislative obligations need to be fully appreciated across the industry as well, and the varying shades of commitment of some operators affects fair competition when bidding for work. Yet Phil remains optimistic

“We pride ourselves upon going up and beyond expectations... People have to make their own business decisions and with our own values and who we are we can’t do something half-well.”

Ann Lopez Lopez Brothers Transport

and welcomes the advent of the latest Chain of Responsibility legislation and its likely effect on imports.

“There is now a lot of CoR awareness but outside of the carrying industry it continues to be seen as only a road transport problem and is not fully understood. If a container is poorly packed at its overseas point of origin which leads to a problem when it arrives in Australia then it shouldn’t just be us held to account.”

Ann and Phil are active members of their state industry association, Road Freight

New South Wales. In recognition for her contributions to the industry in 2016 Ann was presented with the inaugural RFNSW Woman of the Year award which she dedicated to all of the women who work behind the scenes, often in support of their husbands and partners.

Phil and Ann Lopez are optimistic about Lopez Brothers Transport continuing its success over the coming decade.

“We are confident as new opportunities present we can meet whatever challenge is needed,” says Phil as he and his team head towards 100 years of transport service.

FAST FACT

Ann, Ben and Phil Lopez.

Phil Lopez supports the push for scales to be available at the wharves so that carriers can check their axle loads. This will also contribute to a more level playing field as it will identify overweight trucks whose operators may be prepared to run the risk of being randomly picked up by the road authorities. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

31

FLEET FOCUS

DELIV THE GOODS

IVECO Stralis AT 4x2.

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ERING

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FLEET FOCUS

NATIONAL CARRIER DIRECT FREIGHT EXPRESS RUNS MULTIPLE COMBINATIONS AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLE APPLICATIONS ACROSS ITS FLEET. IN ORDER TO SATISFY ITS GROWING METRO OPERATIONS, THE COMPANY, AS IT SEEKS COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS WITH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, HAS TAKEN DELIVERY OF SEVERAL IVECO STRALIS 4X2 LOW ROOF AT MODELS.

T

rucks that make compelling cases for ease of operation and low maintenance in urban delivery applications are half way themselves to delivering the goods for logistics and transport companies like Direct Freight Express, for which that very role is often the sole, unwavering focus.

Having celebrated 25 years in business last year, Direct Freight Express has been riding an arc of growth since it first opened its doors for business out of a hangar in Mascot, NSW, back in 1993. With that growth curve has come expansion. The company runs 48 depots nationwide having added another five in the last 18 months. As it specialises as an express carrier with over 1000 units of commercial vehicles and trailing equipment in operation, Direct Freight Express is an early adopter of the latest technology with single, B-double and B-triples dispatched across the country multiple times a day. The company is also committed to Performance-Based Standards, more recently debuting a new 42 metre long B-triple approved for Level 3 access developed specifically for the transit lane between Perth and Adelaide, where nominal vehicle length

Direct Freight Express operates over a 1000 units of transport equipment.

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The IVECO Stralis are highly suitable for mid-distance intrastate tasks.

on the route is 36 metres.

For single trailer application in densely populated metro areas Direct Freight Express has recently taken delivery of ten new IVECO Stralis 4x2s, bringing its total of these units in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to 15.

National Operations Manager Jason Elliott, who has been with the company since 1998, says cost savings and fuel usage are paramount considerations for finding commercial vehicles

suitable for mid distance deliveries of palletised product.

“It goes without saying emissions controls and fuel savings are a high priority for any segment of a working business like ours,” he says. “The IVECOs are already set up with the EBS and airbags and air suspension seats.

As an around town truck, for the money asked, I think they make your dollar go further.”

Running costs on a national operation like Jason’s means he is always mindful of striking a balance between outlay, innovation and upkeep, without sacrificing quality. Not unlike its customers, Direct Freight Express is both driven by service and price.

This is reflected in its investments in new equipment.

“When you have a lot of trucks in your fleet you’ve got to try and find what keeps your pricing right and that gives you all the features that you’re after,” he says. “From a local prime mover point of view I think the IVECO embodies what is now essential on a modern prime mover.”

Moving palletised goods under 45 tonnes intrastate requires steady operation and a punchy engine. The IVECO Stralis offers a torquey Series II Cursor 13 engine producing 460hp, and 4-bag ECAS (Electronically Controlled Air Suspension), itself another non-negotiable prior to purchase – given the requirement. ZF provides the 12-speed Eurotronic Automated Manual Transmission.

As the Stralis 4x2 with low cab has been entirely tasked with local deliveries in urban centres, strong visibility and agile, responsive movement on a short wheelbase are areas, to name but two, in which it excels according to Jason.

“The turning circle is very good as you would expect it to be,” he says. “The drivers like them. They’re very comfortable.

They’ve got plenty of the bells and whistles that you mightn’t get in a lot of the other lower priced prime movers in the market.”

Prior to the introduction of the new IVECOs, Direct Freight Express, according to Jason, was relying on a different European brand for the same application. He defers to European trucks on a single trailer in single drive capped at 44 tonne loads in large part because of the advanced safety features they offer which he says makes the prime movers a more compelling package in the low cab category. Jason who runs all terminal, linehaul and workshop operations from head office in Warwick Farm, has been working in the transport industry since he was 18. He was, previous to this, the Sydney Operations Manager at Direct Freight Express. The company, which is still family-owned has grown its regional distribution network in recent times through a service commitment to customers, which remains one of its core values.

Compliance in more recent times has become the industry trend foremost in mind for transport operations managers given the multi-faceted and comprehensive implications it holds for transport companies when it comes to safety and OH&S says Jason.

“There’s obviously many sides to it and in making sure vehicles are safe for operators to use with good access up and down off the prime movers and how and when you load your freight,” he says. “I think the IVECO is a good safe vehicle that offers the drivers what they need and offers a performance in keeping with the service we provide.”

Caveat: Direct Freight Express handles up to 90,000 freight packages daily.

Northeast Dealers in Adelaide recommended the vehicle knowing Jason had stipulated he wanted an affordable prime mover that didn’t overkill the requirement which was limited to express deliveries. IVECO, he says, has since stepped in to fill that major role in his operations.

“They do the job that any gamut of prime movers can do but they do it at a better price point,” he says. “So far I’ve had very good reliability from them and the Stralis is easy to maintain.”

Not currently manufactured locally, its only failing, according

Direct Freight Express maintains 48 depots nationwide.

to Jason is the availability. He wants to able to purchase a dozen at a time off the lot having, so far, picked up units here and there where he can find them.

“As IVECO get more popular over here that will no doubt change. They’ll start carrying more stock in Australia,” he says.

“For me when you compare it to the other options I think you get a lot more bang for your buck.”

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35

FLEET FOCUS

EDGE OF

TOMO

FUTURE RECYCLING, AUSTRALIA’S ONLY CARBON NEUTRAL WASTE MANAGEMENT BUSINESS, HAS ADDED A $4.5 MILLION TRANSFER STATION TO ITS EXPANDING OPERATIONS. IT USES SCANIA COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN BOTH HOOKLIFT AND B-DOUBLE APPLICATIONS ON CONTRACT MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS AS PART OF ITS COMMITMENT TO REALISING A GREENER ECONOMY.

S

ince venturing into full resource recovery and waste management, Future Recycling has accumulated a reliable fleet of Scania commercial vehicles, dedicated to the transfer and delivery of recyclable materials in and around the outskirts of Melbourne where it runs four facilities, the company’s first, based in Shepparton in Central Victoria. Its most recent additions, a pair of Scania V8 R620 6x4s, which lug

Tyrone Landsman.

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tippers although both can be interchanged for linehaul B-double work, are full contract maintenance purchases. They are powered by Euro 5 compliant engines and work between the yards, where they consolidate recyclable materials before carting it away for it to be reprocessed.

Future Recycling also has a major logistics contract it maintains across various Visy Recycling Sites servicing compactors and delivering bins of recycled cardboard. As

the company doesn’t run a workshop, according to Managing Director Tyrone Landsman, all maintenance is done off-site and in future the business will opt for full contract maintenance from day one on all new vehicles. In 2012 Future Recycling commenced its association with Scania, having purchased the first of ten 8x4s equipped for hooklift application.

“We bought the whole package from Scania rather than have a hooklift fitted contracting various service providers to fit the hooklift, fit the automatic tarp and so on to save the time and expense” says Tyrone. “The Scania package was attractive for a business like ours that prioritises turnaround and working as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible.”

Tyrone has been in the waste industry for 30 years. He joined Future Recycling in 2008. His business partner at the time gave Tyrone the opportunity to leave a corporate organisation and work for himself on the basis that one day he would buy him out. That happened in 2018 under an agreed succession plan. Tyrone, now the company’s sole director, hasn’t wasted any time improving the business resources and infrastructure. In 2018 the company commenced upgrades on the Transfer Station it purchased in 2016. This refurbished state-of-the-art $4.5 million waste transfer site in Pakenham was

RROW Scania R620 V8.

opened in March of this year and includes a computerised weigh-station. As it diverts 70 per cent of its materials from landfill, Future Recycling sorts waste, once it is unloaded, manually to ensure anything that can be recycled is designated to extract as much reusable material from the waste as possible. Copper wire is granulated, separating the insulation from the copper; aluminium is compacted into bails; while steel is separated with other metals to be recycled. Bricks and mortar are sent for road base; green waste is sent for garden mulch; and metals are safely transported to the facility in Dandenong where they

are separated into ferrous and non-ferrous streams. To reflect the complete waste management solutions it now provides, the company rebranded from Future Metals Recycling to Future Recycling in 2018.

“From day one we set out to be an accredited business and to be more efficient and to deliver greater customer service satisfaction,” he says. “But as a small-medium size business we wanted to have a corporate look, with good family business productivity and values.”

Future Recycling first went carbon neutral on a voluntary basis in 2014. Its first certification covered it for quality, safety

and environmental standards. Soon after it progressed with the ambition of being completely carbon neutral. By the end of 2018 Tyrone says the company registered with the Federal Government.

“We wanted to reduce our carbon emissions so we completely certified the carbon neutral waste under the National Carbon Offset Standards (NCOS),” he says. “It was important we were accredited and that involves all of our processes, equipment and purchases. I believe we’re the only waste company in Australia that is carbon neutral.”

Future Recycling employs 70 staff. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

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FLEET FOCUS

That includes both people on salary and wages and owner-drivers who work directly for the business. It keeps a mixture of company drivers and owner drivers. Owner-driver productivity sets a good benchmark, according to Tyrone, but it’s always good having a blend to keep everyone on the same level.

The relationship with Scania has now lasted over ten years dating back to when Future Recycling acquired an existing automotive operation that performed maintenance on Scania commercial vehicles in Shepparton. Opting for a full contract maintenance program has suited the business needs according to Tyrone and it keeps his drivers happy.

“They always enjoy driving the Scanias and at close of business they’re in the vehicle nine and ten hours a day and you want them to be comfortable,” he says. Aside from the original location in Shepparton, Future Recycling runs facilities in Packenham, Hallam and Dandenong South, in addition to a nearby satellite site, where they park up the trucks.

With so many vehicles attending the recycling plants, Future Recycling

Aluminium bails are compacted for transfer on site.

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manages its site traffic and logistics with a RAM Pro10 software program having gone completely paperless as recently as June. That now provides the business instant access to customer details and enables deliveries to occur with greater accuracy. Every truck now has a tablet with a GPS system.

“We now know exactly which job the guys are on and which job they have finished for the day and, what’s more, the next job a driver has been assigned,” Tyrone says.

“The onboard software allows us to track drivers and we can alter routes and reports and sort GPS real time data.”

Although the program has been up and running for some time they have now moved to a completely computerised system.

“At the end of the day it’s going to save us a lot of time. From the time a customer calls up and once the job goes out with a driver and when it gets back to the office it’s just a matter of verifying the information of what services have been provided to ensure the invoice will be correct,” explains Tyrone.

Quantities for what is delivered are all checked on the computerised weighbridge

which assigns a docket. At the end of the day the driver hands in the weighbridge docket and they are compared with a front of house record before the waste is connected to the appropriate location.

For the moment Tyrone, who has steadily grown the business, is satisfied with its current trajectory. He hopes one day that his children, when grown, might continue its legacy.

“We’ve been mindful to ensure that our margins remain where we want them to be,” he says. “You can always grow your volume substantially in Melbourne by just dropping your prices, but we’ve been pretty careful about that as well. I’m happy to get a reasonable growth rather than an aggressive growth as such.”

Future Recycling, unlike many operations with transport dedicated business models, monitors its litres per hour.

“I know most companies that have a transport component obviously do it on a kilometres per hour basis but we monitor it on a litres per hour so we can watch our tonnages and fuel per tonne, thereby reducing our environmental footprint” Tyrone says. “ That’s kept us competitive as well.”

TRUCK & TECH

TESTING THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY CONTINUALLY STRIVES FOR EFFICIENCIES AS OPERATING COSTS INCREASE. FOR TRUCK FLEETS OF ALL SIZES A MAJOR COST INPUT IS FUEL AND LUBRICANTS. VIVA ENERGY, THE LICENSEE OF SHELL PRODUCTS IN AUSTRALIA, SET ABOUT AN EXTENSIVE RESEARCH STUDY TO IDENTIFY DIRECT FUEL ECONOMY BENEFITS FROM USING SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS. ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY, THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN UNPRECEDENTED.

Real world conditions for the lubricant study were simulated in a controlled environment.

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TIMES T

here have been a number of evalations targeting fuel efficiency through the use of different lubricants in recent years, with most, if not all, conducted in Europe or the US thus limiting the

relevance to the unique conditions transport companies face daily in Australia.

Viva Energy set out to do something about this by investing in building a credible research model to test Shell mineral and synthetic transport engine and drivetrain lubricants in a controlled environment. The ultimate aim was to provide a focus whose relevancy applied to transport company owners and decision makers in this country.

The theory behind the research brief was relatively straight forward but involved some challenges in the application.

It was decided that a series of chassis dynamometer tests on a heavy duty highway truck would offer the best grounds in which to determine whether a fuel consumption benefit can be derived from the replacement of mineral based engine, transmission and axle oils with synthetic alternatives.

According to Viva Energy’s Product Support Engineer Paul Smallacombe the Shell Lubricants team devised a wide ranging research study that was totally focused on Australian driving conditions.

“We took the step to commission the work after highly credible partners were identified to independently oversee the research,” he said. “As the licencee of Shell Lubricants in Australia, the importance of rigorously testing the full range of Transport Lubricants was an important step to allow us to further understand the performance of the Shell Synthetic Lubricants range across a broad range of conditions.”

Working with industry specialists who have a track record and equipment in identifying potential fuel efficiency gains, Viva Energy engaged Melbourne-based Kangan Institute Automotive Centre of Excellence to supply the chassis dynamometer together with expertise

on the operation of the sophisticated dyno. The transient drive cycle selected provided a representative mix of Australian congested city, urban fringe and highway driving. The test, it was agreed upon, should be conducted by a specialist research company and ABMARC, an independent team of highly experienced engineers and research staff offering a broad range of services in the transport and energy sectors came aboard.

As specialists in precisely measuring fuel efficiency improvements, ABMARC has a long history of similar projects in the industry.

“Viva Energy approached ABMARC with a brief to better understand the real-world performance of synthetic lubricants as an influencer on fuel consumption when compared with traditional mineral lubricants,” says James Payne, ABMARC Environment & Technical Services Manager. “The design of the study simulated real world conditions on a heavy vehicle but in a controlled laboratory environment. The fuel measurement technology we used is the only one of its type in Australia and provides the most precise measurements possible. Our test methodology delivered excellent repeatability and statistical significance, which gives Viva high confidence in the results”.

Rather than utilising a brand new low km vehicle, Viva Energy elected to use a representative on-highway configuration truck for the testing – a Western Star 5800SS, running a Detroit Diesel 14.8L engine with 370,000km on it before clear parameters for the testing commenced.

The overall strategy of the testing program consisted of multiple repeats of drive cycles, with the engine starting from a warm condition. Drive cycles were configured to replicate Australian p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

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A process was devised during testing to remove cross contamination of products.

driving conditions akin to those a typical truck operator would encounter. A mix of metro stop-start, outer urban and highway running were repeated to reflect road conditions.

Fuel consumption in transient conditions and simulating driving the heavy duty on-highway truck in an Australian environment served as the basis for assessments predicated on the impact of changing the lubricants. The fuel measurement system was connected to the three fuel lines. These included fuel flow from the tank at the exit of the pre-filter, fuel flow to the engine at the entry to the main filter and fuel return from the engine at the tee. By allowing the new fuel consumption to be measured with a single fuel flow meter, test measurement accuracy and repeatability was improved.

In order to simulate the test vehicle towing a trailer under load to the degree it provided the closest realistic indication of the fuel consumption in the real world, the maximum inertia possible was simulated by the dynamometer while minimising tyre slippage on the rollers.

Simulated vehicle inertia, representing the gross vehicle mass recreated during testing, was 25,000kg.

Critical to the testing regime outcomes were the Shell Transport Lubricants used.

Test cycles were undertaken with mineral oils and repeated with synthetics. All lubricants, according to Viva Energy, were filled to the dipstick maximum in the case 42

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of the engine oil and filled to level via the transmission and axle fill points. To limit the effect of carry-over from previous oils used in the Western Star, a process was devised for oil changes to remove any chance of cross contamination of products despite the mineral and synthetic lubricants having been approved for use by original equipment manufacturers. In the process previous oils were drained and filled to level with fresh oils, while engine and transmission oil filters were replaced. The vehicle was then warmed up and flushed by operation on a transient cycle whereupon the oil was drained and a final fill with fresh oils was administered before again replacing engine and transmission oil filters. The first round of tests was conducted with Shell mineral oils then substituted with Shell Synthetic oils. All testing was conducted to the same parameters and conditions by ABMARC at the Automotive Centre of Excellence.

The results pointed to a potential fuel economy benefit of up to 2.5 per cent, when using Shell Synthetic Lubricant products, which accommodated delivery of potential fuel efficiency improvements and better component protection including reliability over longer oil drain intervals. Conclusions were drawn from 16 tests evenly divided between mineral and synthetic evaluations. Based on the drive cycle tests, there was on average a 2.5 per cent reduction in fuel consumption using the Shell Synthetic

Technology Oils in the Western Star test vehicle compared to using the mineral based oils. ABMARC’s report confirmed with 95 per cent confidence that this fuel consumption reduction can be attributed to replacing the mineral engine, transmission and rear axle oils with the Shell Synthetic Oils.

“The fuel consumption saving results achieved in the testing were impressive.

The Shell Synthetic Lubricants range of products performed faultlessly throughout the testing regime and this research offers real substantive benefits to the Australian transport industry,” Paul says.

“A 2.5 per cent reduction in one of the largest cost components of transport operators is significant.”

The series of testing and monitoring on the chassis dynamometer coupled with the high sophisticated fuel measurement system utilised for this study has provided, according to Viva Energy, new data that is a potential first in testing on Australian driving cycles.

The new Volvo FH XXL Redefining the space race down under

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The all new FH Globetrotter XXL Cab redefines interior space and comfort. Featuring one of the biggest beds in the business, the XXL takes driver comfort and fatigue management to all new levels. Beyond a bed the size of a King Single, we have added huge amounts of extra storage space to compliment our famous FH ergonomics and creature comforts.

Proudly Made in Australia and locally customized for our tough conditions, the XXL is light years ahead in the race for driver space.

volvotrucks.com.au

TRUCK & TECH

TA K I N G T H E

STRAIN AT THE RECENT BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW, JOST SHOWCASED ITS NEWLY-RELEASED HEAVY-DUTY JSK37CXW GREASELESS 50MM FIFTH WHEEL, AVAILABLE AS EITHER A FIXED ASSEMBLY, LOW-PROFILE BALL RACE OR DOUBLE-ROW BALL RACE ASSEMBLY.

R

ated at 240kN, JOST’s JSK37CXW fifth wheel has been specifically designed for arduous Australian applications including tanker, stock-crate, off-road, container, logging and multi-trailer combinations. The design of the fifth wheel coupling plate provides extra load capacity, making it an ideal solution for Performance-Based Standards (PBS) applications requiring additional imposed load ratings.

According to JOST General Manager Sales and Marketing, Corey Povey, the heavyduty JSK37CXW unit was developed

EverShine

in response to the changing needs of the market. This called for a fifth wheel capable of handling higher imposed loads and king pin/ jaw forces (D-value) exerted by the combination of higher gross vehicle weights and greater engine horsepower and torque ratings.

“We have the standard JSK37CW 50mm greaseless fifth wheel which has been doing sterling service for over 20 years,” Corey explains. “However, with the recent sharp rise in numbers of PBS-approved longer and heavier combinations, which impose much heavier loads on the fifth wheel plate, we realised the

need to develop a heavy-duty version of the JSK37CW.” Corey says the new JSK37CXW is ideal for PBS applications because it has an imposed load rating of 24 tonnes, four tonnes more than the CW, and a D-value of 240kN compared with the CW’s 190kN. “For applications like quad-axle super B-doubles running containers to and from the wharves, the D-value can be relatively low but the imposed value can be extremely high.”

The new CXW fifth wheel has been undergoing testing for more than 12 months in a variety of arduous

applications on trucks and B-double lead trailers hauling tankers, logging and livestock trailers. These applications are known for being among the harshest on fifth wheels and associated componentry.

Another feature of the CXW fifth wheel that endears it to tough applications is the C-type cushion foot mounting bush which allows a degree of forced oscillation to mitigate stresses during off-road operation.

The large size of the bush means the forces are absorbed over a larger surface area than typical mounts. Corey explains that for tankers, tippers, logging and livestock trailers this is a far better option than the traditional pin and bush mounting system.

“The applications that involve off-road work obviously put a lot more twisting stresses on the fifth wheels and trailers, which is the primary reason JOST has developed this product,” he says.

A critical element in engineering the new unit for its heavy-duty status was the redesign of the cast iron plate. Corey says that finite element analysis (FEA) was used to determine stress points and the plate was accordingly beefed up to cope with the higher imposed loads. “As a result, the engineers had full confidence that when the product was manufactured it would be well up to the task,” he says. In order to

protect its components from the ravages of the environment, the JSK37CXW fifth wheel assembly is finished using JOST’s E-Coating paint process. This highly efficient coating system starts with a zinc phosphate pre-treatment followed by a high edge paint finish optimised to provide the highest corrosion protection on all surfaces. Corey explains that the unit is also available with JOST’s onepoint LubeTronic system as an extra cost option. This eliminates the messy and time-consuming chore of having to unhitch the trailer to lubricate the jaw components manually.

LubeTronic features a timer that triggers a shot of grease at regular intervals to lubricate the jaws and kingpin. The grease cartridge, which is said to last for three years, is mounted unobtrusively beneath the plate where it is out of harm’s way.

When asked if he would describe the new JSK37CXW as the benchmark for the industry moving forward, Corey believes, in regard to transport related componentry, it’s a matter of horses for courses.

“In the harsher applications I’ve described I would say yes, but not across the board,” he says. “There are a lot of distribution type roles where this product would be overkill and therefore not a cost-effective

JSK37CXW greaseless 50mm fifth wheel.

option. It’s worth pointing out that 20 to 30 years ago there were generally one or two fifth wheel types that were standard across all applications.”

He adds, “Whereas nowadays the trucks and trailers are more specialised, which means the various components need to be more specialised also. You can have lightweight fifth wheels for distribution work but when you get into the heavyduty stuff you need to have fit-for-purpose products such as what JOST offers with the JSK37CXW.” In sum, with the wider uptake of PBS combinations hauling heavier loads, it may now be more important than ever to spec trucks with applicationspecific components.

INDUSTRY

SHOW

TIME

THE BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW ATTRACTS VISITORS FROM ALL OVER AUSTRALIA AND CREATES A UNIQUE FORUM IN WHICH INDUSTRY INSIDERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC COME TOGETHER IN A CELEBRATION OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY. PART OF ITS ONGOING APPEAL, AS VALIDATED

BY THIS YEAR’S STRONG TURNOUT, IS REALISED FROM THE INCLUSIVE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS AND INNOVATION THAT IT CREATES AROUND SURROUNDING EVENTS AND PRODUCT LAUNCHES.

D

espite the long awaited federal election falling on the Saturday of the four-day event, crowds of nearly 37,000 people passed through the doors of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre where the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show offered the latest product innovations from original equipment manufacturers in trailing equipment, componentry and commercial vehicles.

From the Narva stand on one side of the

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Main Hall to PACCAR World at the other end, the exhibitors and major attractions at the event were spread across three levels of more than 35,000m2 with everything from live bottom trailers, sideloaders, proprietary drivetrains and biofueled commercial vehicles in between. Not only does the biennial event bring together leaders and stakeholders from across the commercial fields, private industry, and government, the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show delivered a renewed focus on

information sharing and career paths, offering presentations from the likes of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and the Australian Trucking Association in addition to a Jobs Hub. Forums that covered the latest in safety, financing, telematics and insurance were balanced with practical demonstrations from aftermarket and logistics sectors and the tense finals of the HVIA National Apprentice Challenge – taken out by the Southern Zone team of James Greig and Brett Holland.

Since 2013 crowds at the Brisbane Truck Show have steadily increased. This is good news especially for companies looking to reach as many people as possible with message driven campaigns. Scania was one of them.

Launching a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) commercial vehicle, a P 340 rigid, Scania Australia Managing Director Mikael Jansson announced it was time for Australian operators to make a statement on trucks that fell below a Euro 4 engine emissions rating. Speaking to a media contingent, Jansson said the time was right for operators to decline using these vehicles in densely populated areas.

“Old, dirty trucks should not be retired into the city,” he said. “They should be pensioned off, for good. We can no longer turn a blind eye to their continual emission of dirty fumes and excessive Co2 where our children walk and play.”

Along with the P 340 CNG rigid, Scania unveiled another P 280 rigid with a 7.0 litre diesel engine, as part of its alternative offerings aimed at improving business sustainability. Both vehicles, according to Jansson, would reduce running costs, fuel

consumption and emissions as compelling options for operators committed to Total Operating Economy.

The gas truck, developed specifically for urban distribution, as reported by Scania, reduces Co2 by up to 90 per cent while the new 7.0-litre 6-cylinder diesel engine, fitted to the low entry P-series cab, is now 360 kg lighter over the front axle. Scania, whose impressive ivory white exhibit would not have looked out of place with cabinets displaying eau de parfum, might well have been a benchmark of sorts for commercial vehicle manufacturer IVECO, who also invested heavily in a gallery-like clean well-lit space.

With sustainability a major focus, IVECO chose to showcase a new range of Euro 6 engine powered vehicles across light, medium and heavy duty weight categories.

The locally-made emission-reducing Stralis X-Way, making its first official appearance in public, was on show in prime mover and rigid variants, and along with a new model ACCO and a recently updated International ProStar Plus. The latter has been improved with an Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and paired with

Bendix Wingman Fusion. The collision avoidance system has been integrated into the ABS package and moving forward will be standard fitment on models specified with the Eaton Ultrashift Plus automated manual transmission and is optional on Eaton 18-speed manual transmissions according to IVECO. Japanese manufacturers Fuso and UD both unveiled compelling new trucks in the light heavy duty application. UD, on the eve of the show, had unveiled two new trucks including the 8-litre Quon which expands upon the range it launched in 2017. Two years on from introducing its 11-litre Quon, UD confirmed it will continue to focus on heavy duty product with a smaller engine that it anticipates will offer major gains in payload capacity having reduced the weight of the vehicle also, per the current industry trend, by another 300 kilograms. The initial offering will involve both CD 6x2 and CW 6x4 models powered by a 360 horsepower, high torque engine that delivers 1428Nm at a range of 1200 to 1600 rpm. UD also unveiled a new medium duty vehicle slated for launch in Q1 2020 called the Croner.

PACCAR punch: Kenworth again proved a popular brand with the crowds. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

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The Fuso Shogun, as it has been named, one of the event’s true showstoppers, is powered by a recently developed Daimler OM470 11-litre in-line six cylinder common rail Euro 6 compliant engine.

Coupled with a 12-speed automated manual transmission, the engine will be made available in two ratings of 395hp and 455hp with additional outputs and displacements currently under consideration.

Parent company Daimler, whose luxurious exhibit suggested at once an alpine spa retreat and perhaps the future of customer service, unveiled its major showpiece, the new MirrorCam Actros, a system that uses aerodynamic cameras connected to two large screens in the cabin to provide the driver with enhanced vision. The sharply designed vehicle embodied, in part, the company’s unofficial campaign geared around continued driver-focused improvements. The MirrorCam, according to Mercedes-Benz, is currently undergoing evaluation in local conditions. Stablemate Freightliner debuted, at least to the general public, its next generation linehaul prime mover the Cascadia, which is undergoing a reported $100 million testing regime both here and in head office Portland. It also revealed its first right hand-drive Cascadia 126 model in Australia in a 36-inch XT sleeper. The new 15.6 litre on-highway Detroit DD16 engine with 600hp pulling power it is paired with was given its

own historic appearance in Brisbane. A Cascadia 116, also in the navy blue digital camouflage pattern now associated with the truck since it was unveiled last year, was shown in left-hand drive.

The Cascadias were adjacent, almost in a standoff, to the newest bonneted units revealed recently by Kenworth. The T410 and T360, launched prior to the Brisbane Truck Show, attracted much attention from the crowds as did the K200 with King Suite sleeper bunk, an increase of over 48 litres of storage space making it the biggest beds, according to PACCAR, on the market.

PACCAR World where DAF also had a presence included a PACCAR MX-13 engine display corresponding with the various commercial vehicles it currently powers at the company including the Kenworth T409 and DAF CF85 and XF105.

For Hino, the event culminates a yearto-date defined by its new 500-series product launches and the company offered highlights of the 54 variants it is making available to customers. The FE1426 and FD1124 represented the 500 Series Standard Cab while a FM2632 wide cab model was also present. Speaking at a media briefing Hino Australia’s General Manager of Brand and Franchise Development Bill Gillespie said the 500 Series Standard Cab boasts the most comprehensive active safety package available from a Japanese manufacturer in the medium duty market.

It’s a gas: Scania promoted its new CNG prime movers.

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“Safety credentials aside, this truck also sets new benchmarks in comfort, technology, operational efficiency and its green credentials,” he said.

Isuzu, whose new Director and CEO Andrew Harbison, addressed media at one stage flanked by two female models, had 11 trucks in total on show including the N-Series Ready to Work range and the Giga CXY Tipper. Celebrating its 30 years as a market leader, Isuzu, projected a scrolling timeline of events from the last three decades as part of its digital display.

The company exhibited its latest models for waste management, emergency services and final mile application and the EV prototype it has been developing with SEA Electric.

Driveline component manufacturer, Dana, delivered its own all-electric driveline at the show minus the usual attendant fuel system, hoses, fuel filters, pumps or gears.

Chinese manufacturer Foton and Czech commercial vehicle company Tatra also had a presence at the show with exhibits featuring their latest commercial vehicles.

The industry trend that sees OEMs providing bigger bunks and cabs as part of commitments to enhancing driver comfort, was made manifest by Volvo Trucks who improved upon its existing FH sleeper by nearly 40 per cent volume and bettered the XXL cab by another 13 per cent with its XXL FH Globetrotter. Extra C-pillars have been fit to the cab to meet Volvo’s Swedish Cab Strength Test safety standards and informed by the roll over simulations of the latest European Cab Strength ECE R29-03.

“We wanted to design a bigger cab that has the strength to withstand Volvo’s front impact tests, but without adding too much weight,” said Tony O’Connell Volvo Group Australia Vice President.

Nearby the chiselled Mack Anthem was also on display, outside media events, for the very first time in Australia. The event was also leveraged by Mack to help launch its 100 year anniversary locally which was further amplified by an off-site historical popup Museum showcasing many of its iconic vehicles built for spec in many of the industries that have helped to build Australia.

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INDUSTRY

NIGHT M THE AUSTRALIAN FREIGHT INDUSTRY AWARDS HAVE BEEN AN INSTITUTION FOR THREE DECADES IN MELBOURNE. THIS YEAR MARKS THE 3OTH ANNIVERSARY OF A LONG STANDING TRADITION IN WHICH THE HARD WORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT SECTOR CELEBRATE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS.

P

icture a golf cart headed towards a stage in an enormous room, as it winds its way through a crowd of 3000 people, most of whom are seated, dressed in evening wear.

While in transit to collect an award, the mic’d up passenger is being interviewed on a live broadcast seen on one of several giant television screens mounted, by one of the 76 riggers who has been employed to create the sprawling production, on the walls of the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. The year is 1999.

In just ten short years the Australian Freight Industry Awards Gala Presentation has escalated to the point of having three dedicated kitchens each catered to serve 1000 people. It wasn’t originally conceived to be this big according to long time organiser and former Victorian Transport Association CEO, Phil Lovel, who VTA CEO Peter Anderson.

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hosted and helped co-ordinate the event during its first 28 years.

“As far as we were concerned it was an event like no other and, at the time, we could not have foreseen it getting so big,” recalls Phil. “Not given its humble origins.”

It began in 1989 as a party to culminate an annual conference for what was then called the Australian Road Transport Federation (ARTF). Bob Hawke was in his fourth term as Prime Minister.

Phil, on the suggestion of then Marketing Manager Alan Pearce, moved the conference to Singapore to get around a long standing industrial dispute between domestic pilots and airlines that had crippled all interstate travel by air. So along with 470 couples, he headed overseas to get around it. At the completion of the conference a celebratory dinner with presentations concluded on the

weekend. Rolf Harris hosted.

Upon return Phil got to talking with Allan Jones, a senior executive at TNT in the UK, who made mention of an annual awards ceremony in England he attended that attracted nearly 1000 people.

That’s how, according to Phil, the AFIAs got officially started.

The first event, under the new banner, was held in September of 1990 with 350 guests in attendance.

“No one really saw the transport industry in any great light at that time,” Phil says.

“We were just truckies in the eyes of many.”

In 1991 it was decided that it would be a black tie event. The crowd grew in size to around 500 people. People came from interstate on the strength of its growing reputation. Guests, in turn, started bringing their customers to flaunt the new, sophisticated image of the transport industry. With every subsequent year, until the apogee of the golf carts and a football crowd, the event had precipitously grown in size and popularity.

“Having all the truckies, the drivers, the sales reps and couriers in black tie helped change the perception of the rough, soiled blue singlet and shorts image that had long been associated with the profession,” Phil says. “It was a real commemoration of the work and effort that went into the road transport industry and many people wanted to be part of it.”

Glen Cameron, Managing Director of Cameron’s, one of Melbourne’s largest freight carriers, was among them. The inaugural winner of the Fleet Operator of the Year Award in 1990, Glen says his

OVES

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the awards.

memory of attending his first awards evening is still vivid.

“I remember distinctly checking into the hotel that day and bumping into Phil Lovel and Gavin Murphy and other people who were setting up the hall and thinking how wonderful it was going to be part of the industry getting together,” he says.

“Then winning it that night took me by complete surprise.”

Having worked out of a phone box when he first started out, Glen over the next 14 years built the Transport Group now synonymous with his name to a reasonably sized operation in 1990 but it was not yet comparable to the likes of TNT and IPEC, who were at the time, the dominant forces in road transport in Victoria.

“We were in a pretty difficult position in those years with high interest rates, coming

“Having all the truckies, the drivers, the sales reps and couriers in black tie helped change the perception of the rough, soiled blue singlet and shorts image that had long been associated with the profession,” Phil says. “It was a real commemoration of the work and effort that went into the road transport industry and many people wanted to be part of it.”

Phil Lovel Former Victorian Transport Association CEO

off a bit of an economic depression and different things happening so it was a tough period,” he says. “The Australian Freight Industry Awards were a great encouragement to a lot of people.”

Since then Glen has been nominated

for Best Fleet of the Year a further four times and won it on three occasions.

In 1993 he was recognised as the Personality of the Year.

The essence of the awards, according to VTA CEO Peter Anderson, who has been p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

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charged with running the event over the past five years, is to help provide recognition for those people that have gone above and beyond their normal duties and responsibilities.

“It’s really recognising the fact that some people stand out from others and along the way the good that they’re doing is acknowledged,” he says. “Why does a customer buy from one service and not another? The industry is about creating a differential and the awards give us an opportunity to mark those differentials that really stand out against competitors.

The industry is full of good effort and people who are trying to go above and beyond.”

From its inception, it was Alan Pearce who developed the concept of the event with Freight Congress in 1989 – and expanded it. His long term vision helped to elevate the industry’s profile with the general public.

“We made the move to black tie to make a statement,” says Pearce. “It was about showing how the industry was a class act. That meant demonstrating it was about safety and responsible road management and we built the awards around those criteria.”

From that launching pad he pushed The room before the 1999 event.

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the event aggressively within the trade magazines, the Herald-Sun and the Weekly Times. Word soon spread.

According to Alan it was the catalyst to lift morale and standards within the road transport community even though the concept of OH&S was only in its infancy.

“Everything hinges on timing and it was so well accepted that the event rapidly grew in the first few years to the point we were having trouble trying to accommodate it,” he recalls. “The legacy from the awards and accolades that flowed from it was that everyone who attended had a bloody good time.”

In the early years the awards found a home at the Ballarine Banquet Hall which was part of the old World Trade Centre and home to the first incarnation of Crown Casino. Many of the popular Australian acts from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s performed live at the event thanks to the involvement of one of Australia’s top show-biz promoters, Wally Bishop. These included the Seekers, Normie Rowe, Glen Shorrock, Billy Thorpe, Daryl Braithwaite and others. The ages of those in the audience was broad, spanning from 25 to 75, making it an inclusive gathering which became the yearly event to attend in the industry from both a social

Trevor Marmalade with Phil Lovel.

and business perspective.

“We were trying to get people together who spoke the same language and to create an atmosphere they wanted to be part of while delivering a message that safest practice was best for their business and the industry,” says Alan. “And it worked. They were receptive. If it was about just getting together to party then it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Bumping into the old Convention Centre with B-doubles required some finessing. Alan got together with some of the technical brains of the Victorian industry to get around a conundrum.

What weight per square centimetre would an unladen B-double with a 12.5 tonne Kenworth attached to it do to the underground carpark?

Surprisingly, when factoring in the number of tyres, sharing the load, it wasn’t that much. “It’s less weight than what a stiletto shoe holds in the same area,” says Alan. “We had to run the trucks in unladen after that.”

In 1999, for its tenth anniversary and finale in partnership with Freight Congress, Phil and Alan’s team needed to create a ballroom out of an “empty shed”, per Alan, to seat over 3000 people. The VTA, by then, had since moved to the newly built Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, where among an array of monumental challenges, they needed to dress, light and stage the room. It took seven B-doubles of equipment and

a full week to bump in carpet, drapes, lighting and staging according to Alan.

The biggest problem, in a room that size, he says was the feedback.

“If you stood in the centre of the undressed 4000 sqm area and clapped your hands you would get seven echoes before it stopped,” he recalls. “In the perfect sound environment you’ve only got two. We had to curtail the reverb effect if we had any chance of getting the music across through the massive sound system so the people in the back didn’t experience that relay effect.”

The next major obstacle was how would they feed everyone remembers Phil.

“The meal had to be on time and A-grade quality,” he says. That required, simply, establishing three separate kitchens and bringing in addition to the food, the staff to cook and serve it and the cutlery.

All totalled 18,000 glasses were ordered.

“There was,” says Alan, with a touch of pride, “not one complaint about the food.”

Then there were those golf carts.

“I’d announce the winner on stage and the golf cart which had a camera mounted to it would go down and pick them up and on the way they would get interviewed, they’d come up on stage be presented with their award and disappear again,” Phil says.

He even paid two doctors to monitor the audience from above in case anyone needed medical assistance.

Denise Drysdale and Ernie Sigley were the co-hosts that night. Dragging Ernie away from back stage where he was glued to a TV broadcast of the qualifying final, with his beloved team the Western Bulldogs, proved yet another challenge.

The event was eventually moved from the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre to its current home in the grand Palladium Room at Crown.

“There was no other venue in Melbourne that could seat the numbers we needed in a pillar-free environment,” says Alan.

More recently the VTA has built the AFIAs around a theme. Last year it was The Greatest Show on Earth and

“It still remains a huge event to have been kept going for 30 years and we’ve kept it going because of what it means to the industry.”

Phil Lovel Victorian Transport Association CEO

Jersey Boys perform at the AFIAs.

for the 30th anniversary the event will celebrate the music of Queen following the popular biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. A rotating stage, prominently situated in the middle of the room which was introduced in 2017, will return. Last year it accommodated 80 professional dancers.

The event, according to Glen Cameron, is a great opportunity to catch up with compatriots in the industry and have some fun. He says the VTA don’t do anything by halves.

“The VTA has always been a great organisation to work with and represent the industry,” he says.

“They’ve always given me individually and as a business great advice all through the last 44 years. I trust them and think they’re a very competent organisation.

It’s been a great initiative. They’ve done a great thing.”

Staging the event is like a military operation according to Anderson. The team is well practiced. He recalls back in

the ‘90s sitting in a giant adjoining room that the organisers booked to augment the main gala which had been sold out before tickets had even gone on sale, causing a spill-over. It was the first Freight Industry awards Anderson attended.

“I’m not sure we’ll ever get back to the heady days of three and half thousand people again. That was just madness,” he recalls fondly. “It still remains a huge event to have been kept going for 30 years and we’ve kept it going because of what it means to the industry.

As the CEO it gives me the opportunity to say thank you to all of those people who have helped us along the way.”

This year’s awards scheduled for Saturday 7 September at Crown Palladium will recognise the Personality of the Year, Young Achiever Award, Sustainable Environment Award, Application of Technology Award, Best Practice Safety Award, and Investment in People Award.

Tickets can purchased from www.vta. com.au p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

53

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TEST DRIVE

TWICE THE

SMOOTHNESS

Volvo is the first manufacturer to offer the dual clutch in its trucks in Australia and New Zealand.

THE TERM SMOOTHNESS CAN BE APPLIED TO MANY THINGS, FROM RAZOR BLADES TO THE HUMAN VOICE, AND SELDOM SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE. VOLVO’S DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION ADDS ANOTHER DIMENSION TO THE TERM WITH THE REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE AVAILABLE FROM THIS DEVELOPMENT OF THE I-SHIFT TRANSMISSION.

O

riginally developed for motorsport applications, dual clutch transmissions have been utilised in road vehicles as diverse as the VW Golf and the Bugatti Veyron. One of the first commercial vehicles to adopt the dual clutch technology has been Fuso which developed the Duonic transmission for selected Fuso Canter light truck models. Transmission manufacturer ZF has a dual clutch version of its TraXon truck transmission but Volvo has been the first manufacturer to offer the dual 56

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clutch setup in its trucks in Australia and New Zealand.

It’s important to acknowledge the distinction between a twin clutch and a dual clutch driveline. Twin plate clutches

FAST FACT

The dual clutch I-Shift is less expensive than a full automatic with similar torque capabilities and is without the disadvantages of excess weight and heat generation.

involve two friction discs sandwiched between the clutch pressure plate surface and the engine’s flywheel, with a floater plate in the middle. The intention is to spread the torque load over a larger surface area and such arrangements have been employed for decades in vehicles ranging from heavy trucks to performance cars. A dual clutch setup, however, is much more than what it says – not only does it involve two independent clutch assemblies but a significant re-engineering of the gearbox as well.

In the Volvo dual clutch I-Shift, the two dry clutches operate independently of each other and each drives one of the concentric input shafts of the 12-speed transmission. Unlike the conventional I-Shift, the dual clutch version is essentially two parallel gearboxes in the one transmission case. One clutch connects to the odd numbered gears while the other is used when engaging the even numbered gears. The basic difference in function of the dual-clutch transmission is that it pre-selects the next required gear while still driving in the current one. The fundamental benefit of this arrangement is that while one clutch and gear is engaged the next gear in the sequence is already selected and ready to accept the driving forces. As one clutch disengages, the other engages the next gear and the process is repeated sequentially either up or down the ratios.

Gear shifting occurs in a fraction of a second without interrupting the power delivery and the result is an almost seamless delivery of torque as the driveline between the engine and the tail shaft is constantly connected or ‘locked up’. The only exception is on the shift between sixth and seventh gears as this is the ‘range change’ and a conventional shift is required.

The ‘standard’ Volvo 12-speed I-Shift is noted as already one of the smoothest automated manual transmissions on the market and in recent years has become available with crawler and ultra-low crawler ratios and this latest dual clutch innovation brings a new dimension to the transmission’s ability to extract the maximum efficiency from the engine and deliver tangible benefits to the operator.

We had the privilege of experiencing a Volvo FM equipped with the dual clutch I-Shift transmission in Sweden just over 12 months ago and again in a Volvo FH at Queensland’s Mt Cotton truck testing facility several months later. After being impressed with the performance of the transmission on the closed test tracks we were presented with the opportunity to take a relatively extended drive on

The dual clutch I-Shift is two parallel gearboxes in one transmission case.

Australian roads with a realistic gross vehicle weight.

The inherent design of the dual clutch I-Shift with its concentric twin input shafts dictates that its maximum torque capability is 2,800Nm which results in it being limited to 13-litre applications and the dual clutch I-Shift is not currently available with Volvo’s larger 16-litre engine. The Volvo FH prime mover for this test is powered by a 13 litre engine Euro 5 engine rated at 540HP. The dual clutch transmission is also available with the same engine rated at 500HP. The dual clutch version of the Volvo I-Shift adds 100kgs to the truck’s weight and the overall transmission is 120mm longer than a standard version.

For this test drive the trailer set is ballasted to give us a GVM of 55 tonnes and our total trip length of 363 kilometres on various Queensland roads includes travelling up the Toowoomba Range and descending Cunningham’s Gap. This particular unit has a 0.78:1 overdrive ratio for its top gear combined with a 3.4: 1 final drive ratio. At the

conclusion of our trip the electronics show an average consumption of 61.7 litres per 100 kilometres which translates to 1.62 kilometres per litre. As our standard assessment drive practice is to not consciously aim for the most efficient consumption, preferring to put each truck ‘through its paces’, this is an impressive result considering the load, terrain and traffic conditions.

This transmission always starts in first gear and on the flat the difference in shift quality is immediately noticeable even when automated skip shifting is possible under reduced throttle application when rolling with the traffic. It is when we start pulling up the slope of the Gateway Bridge and the transmission begins upshifting under more load the effect of the power shifts is astounding.

As we travel further into the countryside and become more familiar with the box’s characteristics that we can take advantage of the constant delivery of torque to the drive wheels and can confidently change gears in the middle of a bend without upsetting the stability of the vehicle. Because the power is transferred continually to the wheels the risk of getting stuck or losing traction in slippery conditions is also greatly reduced. The almost constant torque combines with high turbo pressures so engine revs can be kept at lower levels which contributes to reducing fuel consumption and noise. As with a regular I-Shift this AMT generally performs best in its own ‘auto’ mode and for circumstances where driver intervention is required there are up

FAST FACT

Fuel consumption on flat terrain will most likely be similar to that obtained in the same circumstances as the traditional I-Shift. Volvo say that fuel consumption benefits of between three and five per cent should be easily realised when travelling on undulating roads. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

57

TEST DRIVE

Gear shifting occurs in a fraction of a second without interrupting the power delivery.

and down override buttons on side of the shifter. There is also a ‘limp’ button on back of shifter which can be used to drive the truck to a safe parking situation should the electronic transmission management have an issue. Typical of Volvo to include this fail-safe feature even though it is unlikely ever to be required. Due to external factors beyond our control and with little warning we are reluctantly forced to stop on the steep grade just above the ‘saddle’ on the uphill section of the highway on the Toowoomba Range. Ordinarily this would have proved to have been somewhat of a minor challenge in a traditional three-pedal truck equipped with a crash box but by sticking to the correct protocols we hardly raise a sweat.

FAST FACT

Globally the dual clutch I-Shift transmission has been quickly accepted by the markets with Volvo reporting around 4,000 of its 13-litre trucks being ordered during 2018 with the transmission.

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And neither does the Volvo.

It’s just a matter of selecting the hill hold function to hold the brakes, manually selecting first gear using the buttons on the shifter and then simply pushing down on the accelerator. The driveline smoothly delivers full torque to the drive wheels and once we start moving we can quickly manually click into second gear and then progressively go up through the ratios to sixth gear with no interruption to the truck’s momentum thanks to the dual clutches. We ease off the throttle slightly and continue to manually hold sixth gear because, although the Volvo seems more than willing to keep upshifting, the momentarily longer ‘range change’ between sixth and seventh gears may affect the momentum and lug the engine below 1,000 rpm. We probably could have just as easily started off in ‘drive’ and let the electronic transmission management take over the up-changes, but this is a good opportunity to experience the smoothness of the transmission when using the manual control.

Returning to Brisbane via the steep descent through Cunningham’s Gap we are able to take full advantage of

the three stage engine brake and as the transmission automatically downshifts to boost the effect of the retardation provided by the engine those shifts are as instantaneous as the upshifts.

The dual clutch is particularly suitable for applications that involve sensitive freight including livestock and will be a definite advantage in carrying liquids by reducing the ‘slosh’ effect due to the almost imperceptible gear changes. The additional stability will also be favoured by carriers moving loads with high centres of gravity.

The advantages of the dual clutch I-Shift are many. Driver comfort and load stability are obvious, as is improved fuel efficiency in most applications.

Long term maintenance costs are kept in check as well with transmission oil changes stipulated at 450,000km and as each clutch is only performing half of the shifts the service life of those components are extended significantly as well.

The ‘I’ in I-Shift probably stands for ‘Intelligent’ but in the case of the dual clutch derivative of Volvo’s automated manual transmission it can just as easily stand for ‘Instant’.

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FINAL MILE

DO YOU WANT

F R I E S W I T H T H AT ?

IT HAS BEEN 16 YEARS SINCE ISUZU FIRST OFFERED ITS ‘TRADEPACK’ TRUCK TO THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET AS A READY TO GO UNIT RATHER THAN JUST A BARE CAB/CHASSIS. THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM IS EVIDENCED BY THE RECENT EXPANSIONS OF THE ‘TAKEAWAY TRUCK’ RANGE. Isuzu Servicepack with gull wing locker.

I

suzu has responded to customer feedback and its range of ‘takeaway trucks’ has continued to grow, especially following the demise of the locally produced utes manufactured on passenger car platforms, which had been the work vehicle of choice for many tradespeople. Isuzu’s strategy to have a menu of complete and ready to work trucks available through its dealers has been welcomed by buyers who have recognised the advantage of taking delivery of their new vehicles within one 60

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or two days of their purchase decision, rather than waiting weeks or months for their new trucks to go through the process of having a custom body built and fitted.

The current ‘Tradepack’ series incorporating an aluminium drop side tray body replete with pipe racks has been expanded with three wheelbases available for the NLR 45-150. Isuzu have added a ‘Traypack’ version to the NNR crew cab range which can accommodate six passengers plus the driver.

The Isuzu NLR Series factory tipper can

be obtained in either a conventional rear tipping configuration or with the innovative three-way tipping function with either a 4,500kg or 5,500kg GVM. The additional carrying capacity allows the NLR to comfortably and legally transport equipment such as mini excavators.

Isuzu’s toolbox on wheels, the ‘Servicepack’ came onto the market in 2016 with its multiple swing opening locker doors and has since had versions with gull wing locker

doors and adjustable shelving added.

These are termed the ‘Servicepack X’ in recognition of the trucks’ resemblance to X wing vehicles in sci-fi movies when the locker doors are fully opened.

The various ‘Servicepack’ models have found significant favour with purchasers including tradies, councils and miners.

The latest expansions to its range include 4x4 models up to a 4x4 crew cab complete with Servicepack body with a 7,500kgs GVM. In response to the demand for light trucks that can fulfil the roles being taken up by the Asian and European single and dual cab utes, the Isuzu N Series range now has additional models fitted with an independent front suspension designed to offer a ride more associated with a passenger vehicle than can be provided by a beam axle/leaf spring truck style suspension.

For carriers requiring a more traditional pantech body, Isuzu has developed the ‘Vanpack’ range.

To add more appeal to the argument for an Isuzu light truck over a ute there is a widened availability of two pedal automated manual transmissions (AMT) including for the NPS 4x4 models which were the first 4x4 trucks in the Australian light duty category to be made available with an AMT. The obvious advantage of specifying an AMT for an off-road application such as rural fire services is the volunteer and often inexperienced drivers are able to concentrate on steering in rough terrain and not concern themselves with operating a clutch and shift lever. With both low range and 4x4 selected the AMT operates as a clutch-less manual and will keep engaged whatever gear is selected by the driver which is a benefit when descending steep dirt track inclines. The addition of a kick down switch linked to the accelerator pedal as well as a functional ‘park’ position add to the car-like driving experience and the use of a torque convertor in the AMT’s fitted to NLR and NNR models maximises the effectiveness of the entire driveline.

Two four-cylinder engines are available to power the N series. The 3.0 litre

Isuzu has expanded the Tradepack series with three wheelbases available for the NLR 45- 150.

To add more appeal to the argument for an Isuzu light truck over a ute there is a widened availability of two pedal automated manual transmissions (AMT) including for the NPS 4x4 models which were the first 4x4 trucks in the Australian light duty category to be made available with an AMT. 4JJ1develops 110kW and 375Nm and kicks off the range in the 4.5 tonnes GVM NLR 45-150 model and runs through to the 6.5 tonnes GVM NNR 65-150.

The 5.2 litre 4HK1 engine has a higher torque capability at 419Nm with a marginally higher 114kW of power in the 4.5 and 5.5 tonnes GVM NPR models and is also available with a 140kW rating with 513Nm in the 7.5 and 9.7 tonnes NPR 190 models.

Both engines are equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst exhaust emission system which is maintenance free for the life of the vehicle with no filters to change and no AdBlue required. A change in the design of the exhaust brake has also added to its effectiveness over previous models

The success of the Isuzu light duty takeaway trucks has now lead to the creation of the ‘Freightpack’ based on the medium duty F Series cab chassis.

Launched at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show the ready to work ‘Freightpack’ is available straight from dealers with 10, 12 or 14 pallet curtainside bodies.

As with the lighter N series, the three year truck warranty extends to the body, further adding to its appeal.

Isuzu has considered the common denominators or ingredients, if you like, which are important to its potential customers and now offers a number of factory backed ‘packages’ that capitalise upon its broad model line-up and make the purchase, delivery and aftermarket functions as seamless as buying a burger with cheese and some fries on the side. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

61

PERSONALITY

PAY I N G I T

FORWARD

DAVE WHYTE WON THE INAUGURAL SCANIA YOUNG AUSTRALIAN TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR IN 2007, WHEN FIRST PRIZE WAS A NEW SCANIA PRIME MOVER AND 5000 LITRES OF SHELL FUEL. IN THE ENSUING YEARS DAVE HAS OPERATED HIS OWN TRANSPORT BUSINESS, PARTICIPATED IN A REALITY TELEVISION SERIES AND FOR A TIME WROTE VEHICLE REVIEWS FOR TRUCK MAGAZINES. HE NOW HAS THE ROLE OF DRIVER TRAINER AT SCANIA AND WAS A KEY PRESENTER AT THE JOBS HUB AT THE BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW. Dave Whyte.

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PM: What brings you to be speaking with young people about the employment opportunities in the road transport industry?

DW: As you know, I’ve been lucky enough to experience almost every aspect of the industry and loved every minute of it. There’s more to the transport industry than many young people would appreciate, so I think we need to be proactive in engaging them and, hopefully, convincing them to become part of the industry.

The jobs hub at the BTS does exactly that.

level of tech aboard modern trucks, but don’t have a full appreciation of it. Some of our Scania trucks have over 15 different computers on board, managing everything from the Engine Control Unit to braking and cruise control. The safety systems alone such as ABS, EBS, traction control, AEB, and lane departure warning use computing power that is mind boggling. When you consider the ECU can control a fuel injector to make up to five separate fuel injections in a single firing, you start to understand just how smart these things are. When I start explaining this stuff to people outside the industry, they are usually very surprised.

Whyte at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show.

PM: As a driver trainer what does a typical day involve?

DW: There’s no such thing as a typical day. I might be with tipper drivers one day, livestock carriers the next. We train the drivers in their own trucks, on their own jobs, wherever they may be around the country. A lot of my job is to show them the technology, explain how it works and how to get the most benefit from it.

PM: Do you think the public understands the technology present in today’s trucks and trailers?

DW: I think people know that there is some

PM: Do you think truck driving should be recognised as a trade?

DW: In my opinion, truck driving should be considered a profession.

Anyone can obtain a license, but the difference with most truckies is that they are professional drivers. The skills developed through time behind the wheel can’t be taught, they need to be learned the hard way. Importantly, being a truck driver doesn’t mean you just drive trucks: loading, load restraint, knowledge of road laws, vehicle maintenance, customer service, and road safety all form a big part of a truck driver’s role.

PM: What should young people do to get into the industry?

DW: If people have a passion for anything automotive there is a role in the transport industry for them. People should think of themselves as more than truck drivers and consider the career opportunities that the greater road transport industry offers.

I recommend that young people register their interest by putting their names down with the better companies and chase any opportunities.

PM: Where do you see the industry in five years’ time?

DW: The heavy vehicle industry is always going to be there. We’re always going to need trucks. We’re always going to have freight to move. If people are interested in becoming a driver or working in the office or being a mechanic the opportunities are always going to be there. Five years is a long time in any industry, but one thing is for sure, this industry will still be going strong.

PM: Any last advice to young people looking at coming into the industry?

DW: Don’t discount the transport industry as just being rough old guys in rough old trucks. We are a lot more than that.

In Australia we have the most modern and productive transport industry in the world. We adopt new technologies and methods every day to ensure we can keep up with demand. Some of that technology, whether it be in terms of alternative fuels, safety equipment or automation, is still being developed, or maybe not even thought of yet. The young people of today stand to be the experts of the future if they get on board early. It may not be Formula One, but the transport industry is right up there in terms of development, technology, and efficiency.

And like Formula One, for every driver you see out there, there is an army of people in the background working hard to keep them on the road. The opportunities this industry offers are immeasurable so come along and be part of it. p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

63

PRIME MOVERS AND SHAKERS

LIVING THE

DREA CORALIE CHAPMAN WAS IMBUED WITH THE IDEA OF WORKING IN THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY AT THE AGE OF 19. SHE CURRENTLY WORKS FOR LINFOX AND WAS RECENTLY AWARDED THE AUSTRALIAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION’S (ATA) WOMAN OF THE YEAR FOR 2019.

C

oralie Chapman went through school not really knowing what she wanted to pursue career-wise.

After leaving school, with no tertiary qualifications and having been out of work for nearly 12 months, she enrolled in a program designed to enlighten people about prospective career paths, one of these being road transport.

She explains that she’d previously not seriously entertained the idea of working in the transport industry but was open-minded about the possibilities available, which was the reason she decided to do the course.

“On the first day we had a guest speaker, Mick Best (Linfox Fleet Manager), who did a superb job of highlighting the challenges and rewards of a career in transport,” she says. “His passion and enthusiasm for the industry was 64

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infectious and at that moment I decided I wanted that same feeling. Since that day I have been grateful for Mick’s advice which prompted me to start on the career path I chose.”

And that career path commenced, not surprisingly with Linfox.

Coralie worked with Linfox as a Transport Scheduler for three and a half years before leaving to work for a number of other trucking companies including Wettenhalls, SCT Logistics, Finemore Transport and her exhusband’s transport company.

Three years ago, turning full circle, she returned to Linfox and resumed her transport scheduling role. According to Coralie, there have been many memorable moments during her time in the industry, but the biggest highlight for her so far is being awarded the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA)

Coralie Chapman.

M Chapman has been involved in road transport for 20 years.

my love of trucks. The people, the things we do, the freight we move, how we do it – virtually everything about this industry makes me feel extremely lucky that I am a part of it.”

She adds, “It is certainly a big part of me and it would take something pretty huge for me to leave.”

Turning to the topic of women and the roles they play in the industry, Coralie says she thinks it’s important to promote female-focused events and she enjoys being on the board of Transport Women Australia Limited, but she also believes it’s extremely important to involve men as well.

She contends if it wasn’t for Mick Best and his engaging presentation she wouldn’t be working in the best industry, in the best country in the world.

Coralie notes that female-driven events weren’t around when she started and that was only 20 years ago.

“The amazing women before me who are still here today are testament to the fact that you can do anything if you put your

mind to it,” Coralie says, adding that inclusion for all – both men and women – is important as it takes a lot of people with a wide variety of skills to make road transport work.

Individuals and companies in the transport industry, of course, can better promote transport as a career choice for both men and women, according to Coralie. She observers more can be done to encourage people, from other fields, to use their skills within the industry, citing examples of a graphic designer working for a truck manufacturer and a lawyer specialising in transport contract law. “Someone who has a passion for media can work within one of the most passionate industries in the country and meet and document the stories of people on the ground,” she says. She also believes every company would have at least one female who loves what they do and wants to share their passion.

“Find that person,” she says. “Get them out there to promote what they do and what others can do in transport.”

2019 Woman of the Year.

“What an honour to be placed in the same category as the incredible women who have received this award before me really blows me away,” Coralie says, adding that she felt privileged to be sitting with three previous winners of the award: Nola Bransgrove, Pam McMillan and Carol Single. Besides the fact I was so nervous I forgot to thank the sponsor, Cummins, and the ATA, it really is the highlight of my career so far.”

Coralie believes she has plenty more years ahead of her in what she describes as a wonderful industry, and that she intends to use them wisely. When asked what she thinks is the best thing about the transport industry, her response is ‘everything’.

“There is so much you can do,” she says.

“I personally have concentrated on road transport but that would be because of p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

65

INSIGHT | VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

A plan to reduce heavy vehicle fire risk

T

he National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) recently convened a ‘Fires round table meeting’ of industry leaders to discuss the level of and causes of heavy vehicle fires. The trigger for this meeting was the petrol tanker fire that occurred on the Pacific Highway in Wollongong on the third of January 2019.

There is no national register of heavy vehicle fires. The industry relies upon the National Transport Insurance (NTI) report on serious-incident insurance claims as a guide to the non-impact fire-risk performance of the fleet. The 2019 NTI report was recently released.

It is based upon the 2017-year claims.

A large loss is defined as an insurance claim of $50k or more. There were 756 large-loss claims in the 2017-year data. The NTI report finds that about one in 400 heavy vehicles will have a large loss claim in any year, and that proportion has remained constant for the past five reports.

The bar graph shows the proportion of non-impact fire claims over the five NTI reports. There has been a reduction for the past two reports.

Assuming the fire claims are about eight per cent, then the chance that a heavy vehicle insured by NTI will catch fire in the next year is about one in 5000.

The NTI assessment of fire causes is shown in the Table below. Fires due to electrical causes account for about

PROPORTION OF NTI LARGE-LOSS

2. Exhaust Pipe Fires

33 per cent of fires. Wheel-end fires also for about one third of fires. Fires due to fuel line, oil line, turbocharger and exhaust failures account for about 25 per cent. The remaining ~ 10 per cent of fires started on the trailer due to refrigeration unit failure and mechanical vibrations disturbing the load.

I presented at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) round table meeting about the causes of heavy vehicle fires. I have developed a guide to reduce the risk of heavy vehicle fires substantially. The guide is directed to manufacturers, operators and drivers.

It is presented in rank order:

Manufacturers: Keep combustible material at least 200 mm away from an exhaust pipe or turbocharger. Add a metal shield if this is impractical.

Orient oil lines, fuel lines and power steering lines so that failure at a fitting will not squirt oil onto the exhaust pipe.

Drivers: Look out for road debris that could lodge onto the exhaust pipe. Do not ignore burning smells around the engine compartment.

Operators: Air leaks from the air-intake pipes or intercooler will probably result in the engine controller overfuelling the engine. The turbocharger will feel the extra heat. Measure the air intake turbo boost at each A-service.

Repair as necessary.

1. Fires on main electrical cables

3. Dragging Spring Brakes

Manufacturers: Do not distribute the electrical system from the starter motor positive terminals.

Use plastic conduit with flame retardant properties.

Give routing of main cables priority.

Ensure main cables are in the middle of a cable bundle.

Use rubber block clamps rather than steel-spined clamps.

Install circuit breakers or maxifuses in the alternator, cabin supply and trailer supply cables at the battery-box end.

Only the battery-to-starter-motor cable is excluded from the need to have CB or fuse protection.

Operators: Add main electrical cable inspection to the A-service check list.

Manufacturers: Mounting actuators or brake hoses below axle level is asking for road-strike damage. If this can’t be avoided, install a shield.

Drivers: Stop soon after driving over road debris and check that it has not damaged the brake actuators or hoses.

Operators: Add air-brake-valve refurbishment to D-service checklist.

At each A-service visually inspect the air hoses at the spring brake actuators for signs of pending failure.

4. Tyre Fires Drivers: Feel the temperature of each of the tyres when you stop for a break.

Report flat tyres to the workshop

8%

CLAIMS

SUB-CLASSIFICATION

BREAKDOWN OF FIRE CAUSES

66 66

nj uove ly 2mbe 0 19r 2018

ENGINE /

ENGINE /

WHEEL END

WHEEL

WHEEL

WHEEL

TRAILER

TRAILER

CABIN FIRES

CABIN FIRES

FIRE (TYRE)

END FIRE

END FIRE

END FIRE

FRIDGE

LOAD

(ELECTRICAL)

(MECHANICAL)

(DRAGGING

(UNKNOWN

(BEARING

MOTOR

CAUGHT

BRAKE)

CAUSE)

FAILURE)

FIRE

FIRE

10%

8%

5%

3%

7%

32%

25%

10%

ARTSA TECHNIC AL COLUMN

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manager by phone.

Take note of leaning vehicles. The air suspension hoses might have failed.

Stop and investigate.

Operators: Have a clear tyre inflation pressure policy. Make someone responsible for checking the tyre inflation pressures once a day.

5. Wheel bearing failures Operators: Introduce scheduled replacement of wheel bearings.

The ‘replace-upon-failure’ mentality is unacceptable.

Ensure that drivers report driving through water over the road.

Re-lubricate bearings every time a truck or trailer drives through water.

Ensure that trailer wheel ends are regularly serviced. Trailers often get forgotten.

At every service, lift each wheel and shake it. Investigate each case of rocking wheels.

Ensure that mechanics are trained to assess wheel bearing condition.

The difference between an optimum setting and a fire-risk setting is about six thousands of an inch!

Be very careful using offset wheel rims.

The bearings might not like them!

Drivers: Touch the wheel hubs on the vehicle when you stop for a break. Wheel bearing problems cause heat and temperature! Report abnormally hot bearings by phone to the workshop manager.

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Courtesy: NTI

6. Fuel Line Failures Manufacturers: Keep fuel lines at least 250 mm away from exhaust pipes.

Protect polyamide fuel lines with a wrap or conduit to prevent rubs against sharp edges.

Ensure that fuel lines are clamped / strapped every 300 or 400 mm.

Drivers: Do not ignore fuel leak puddles. The leak may become a spray onto the exhaust pipe.

Operators: Add inspection of fuel lines to the A-service checklist. Look for fuel lines (go and return) rubbing on metal corners. Tie-up drooping fuel lines.

Inspect fittings for signs of pending failure.

Keep the engine clean. Build-up of oil and glycol provides fuel for fire.

Dr Peter Hart, ARTSA

STOP PRESS

Running fuel lines near to exhaust pipes creates a risk location.

ARTSA Heavy Vehicle Fires – Causes, Response and Avoidance – Conference.

Royal Randwick, Sydney 15 August 2019.

Program and Tickets: www.arsta.com.au p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

67

....... TECHNOLOGY ......... SAFETY ......... PRODUCTIVITY ......... ENVIRONMENT ......... COSTS ......... CAREERS .......

2019

W!

NATE NO I M NO

Craig Rosenede r Award Prize: Trip Entries clos to the US! truck .nee 13 September

t.au/CR1 9

9 1 0 2 R E B O T C O 6 1 | 4 1 S D N A L K C O D E N R U O B MEL E EXCELLENCE T A R B E L E C U R N E T WO R K  O Y D IL U B OPS  H S K R O W L A IC N H C E T

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.......

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GEOFF CROUCH

F

or more than 20 years the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and PACCAR and its dealer network have collaborated to present the annual Technical and Maintenance Conference (TMC) – one of Australia’s longest running technical conferences. Our industry is changing fast, so in 2018 we were excited to relaunch as the Technology and Maintenance Conference, revising the program to include an increased focus on technology, as well as the key issues of safety, productivity, environment, costs and careers. TMC is a must-attend event for technology and maintenance professionals in the trucking industry and brings together maintenance technicians, apprentices, fleet managers and technical fleet professionals. Delegates will have the opportunity to embrace new ideas, while developing and maintaining real skills.

TMC 2019 will give delegates the opportunity to learn industry best practice through an interactive program of technical sessions, compliance and information forums, job-specific presentations, and practical workshops.

TMC is the ideal opportunity to build professional networks and develop relationships with suppliers, operators and technicians in the industry through exciting networking sessions and the PACCAR Parts Fun Night – a conference highlight.

TMC brings together a wide range of industry suppliers and brands, displaying

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ATA delivers new ideas and real skills “TMC is a must-attend event for technology and maintenance professionals in the trucking industry and brings together maintenance technicians, apprentices, fleet managers and technical fleet professionals.” the latest products and services in the exhibition space. Delegates will also have an exclusive opportunity to get hands-on with trucking technology in the interactive workshop zone. Whether you’re running a workshop or finalising your apprenticeship, TMC 2019 will benefit your business and your own career.

TMC is also a time to celebrate industry excellence, at the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner.

Each year, the ATA recognises an individual or organisation’s technical innovation and achievement within the Australian trucking industry, with the Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award.

The dinner also honours technical and maintenance excellence in the workshop with the Craig Roseneder Award. This prestigious award is a long-standing tradition of TMC and celebrates the professionalism of the men and women in the trucking industry’s workshops.

Each year, this award highlights the amazing calibre of people who work behind the scenes to keep our trucks safe on the road.

The winner of this award will not only receive national recognition for their outstanding achievement, they will also receive a fully paid trip to Atlanta, Georgia, USA to attend the US Technology and Maintenance Council’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.

Nominations for the Craig Roseneder award are now open, and I urge everyone in the trucking industry to nominate someone great. There are so many amazing men and women in the trucking industry, and I’m sure we all know someone who would be deserving of this award.

TMC 2019 will be held from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 October at the Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence, Melbourne Docklands.

Secure your space and register now at www. truck.net.au/TMC Nominate someone great for the 2019 Craig Roseneder Award at www.truck.net.au/CR19 Geoff Crouch Chair, Australian Trucking Association p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

69

INSIGHT | VICTORIAN AUSTRALIANTRANSPORT LOGISTICS ASSOCIATION COUNCIL

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HVNL Review must deliver a more modern industry

KIRK CONINGHAM PETER ANDERSON

A

s readers of Prime Mover will be aware, the National Transport Commission (NTC) is undertaking a thorough review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) during 2019. As part of this process, a series of discussion papers are being issued to stimulate industry comment.

The review is a requirement of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Heavy Vehicle Regulatory Reform, which came into operation five years ago.

However, in ALC’s view, the review process should be embraced by the industry as an opportunity to improve the efficacy and the consistency of the legislation that underpins safety in our sector – and is vitally important in protecting all road users.

ALC recently made a submission to the NTC on its first discussion paper, which primarily examined the legislative structure of the HVNL. Yet even within this narrow framework, there are opportunities to significantly enhance the HVNL in a manner that could deliver real productivity benefits to industry, and real road safety benefits for the wider community.

The consistent ALC position is that there should be a single law, administered by a single regulator operating across one national economy.

There has been some significant progress toward this outcome since the present regulatory arrangements came into 70

j u ly 2 0 19

operation half a decade ago. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has generally operated satisfactorily - and there are certainly no calls for the return of the previous state-based approach to regulation or legislation in this area.

That said, the current situation is still not ideal.

For one thing, the continued reluctance of Western Australia and the Northern Territory to agree to the HVNL limits its effectiveness. Furthermore, some jurisdictions which have agreed to the HVNL have nonetheless established derogations from it to suit their own circumstances.

Again, this inconsistent approach to regulation is creating needless confusion and administrative burdens for operators, and undermines the central goal, being one rule book for one national road freight network. ALC has accordingly recommended that the next Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC) meeting requests each jurisdiction to review each identified derogation from the Law to determine whether they remain a cost effective way to deliver intended productivity or safety outcomes.

ALC has further suggested that the preliminary findings from this review process should then be provided to industry to allow comment, with any derogation that is found to be of no material benefit removed – in the interests of national consistency.

In that same vein, ALC has recommended that an updated HVNL should also have improved productivity as an objective (in addition to safety), in line with the rationale provided for the introduction of the law in the first place.

Having productivity as an object will

also assist in the interpretation of legislation, should interpretation of the law prove necessary when considering the appropriateness of discretionary decisions made in relation to issues such as PBS design or vehicle applications, or road access consents.

The NTC’s discussion paper suggests that the HVNL must be able to respond rapidly to changes in operations, technology and risk-management options. This is a view with which ALC and many other industry participants readily concur.

In particular, industry must consider whether a continued reliance on paperbased systems is appropriate to an increasingly digitised world. ALC believes that heavy vehicles should carry telematics equipment capable of discharging identified statutory requirements. Such obligations could include – in the safety context – measuring speed and vehicle movements or work diary information.

Similarly, it is high time that those operating heavy vehicles in Australia be required to meet an agreed set of national operating standards, along the lines of those already operating in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and New Zealand. Within these standards, we must ensure that those operating heavy vehicles have sufficient capital to maintain their vehicles to proper standards and meet other safety obligations.

The HVNL review is an opportunity to deliver a safer, more productive and more modern road freight sector. It is not an opportunity our industry should be afraid to grasp.

Kirk Coningham CEO, Australian Logistics Council

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INSIGHT | TRUCK VICTORIAN INDUSTRY TRANSPORT COUNCIL ASSOCIATION

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Stop, revive, survive TONY MCMULLAN PETER ANDERSON

I

n 2018 it was pleasing to see that heavy vehicle fatal crashes fell compared to the previous year. This result was achieved by a combination of factors including, improved road infrastructure, education campaigns, a greater number of new trucks with more advanced safety features and enforcement activities. While the 2018 result should be applauded by all concerned with its achievement, the result comes at a time when the trend not just in Australia, but all over the world, sees an increase in road vehicle trauma. Two or more decades ago speed and drink driving were the biggest contributing factors to road vehicle deaths and while inappropriate speed remains the single biggest killer on our roads, a generational change lead by education and enforcement has seen positive outcomes with vehicle crashes resulting from alcohol. However as one cause diminishes, others are on the rise. Driver fatigue and driver distraction now loom as our greatest threats. While fatigue is not new, our understanding of its extent in the cause of vehicle crashes is now better understood and its role is significant.

More on that soon.

Distraction too, is a well know influencer in crashes, but has traditionally played a smaller role. However, with the advent of technology over the past decade, particularly personal communication devices, distraction is quickly growing as one of our greatest threats to road safety. Australia is one of the world

72

j u ly 2 0 19

leaders in vision technologies that can detect in vehicle mobile phone use, with successful trials underway by NSWRMS in Sydney. Initial findings show that multiple cameras are able to detect phone use within a vehicle and identify both the driver using the device and the vehicle. Seemingly while the technology exists, our laws lag. The debate about the introduction of these systems is not about the technology’s function, or ability to detect in vehicle mobile phone use, but privacy and ethical issues surrounding the use of the technology. In a world where political correctness appears to increasingly override common sense, I will watch with interest as the lawyers debate the issues of privacy and ethics verses the road safety of all Australians.

The National Transport Commission (NTC) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity (Alertness CRC) have recently released the results of what is hailed as a world-first study into heavy vehicle driver fatigue. The two-year scientific study used eye monitoring technologies to evaluate alertness and the impacts of work shifts on driver awareness. The project was headed by Alertness CRC Associate Professor Mark Howard, who detailed that slow eye and eyelid movements, longer blink duration and prolonged eye closure were reliable predictors of drowsiness and fatigue. The study also confirmed the scientific link between alertness and drowsiness patterns associated with specific work shifts for heavy vehicle driving. Key research findings included that greatest alertness levels can be achieved under current standard driving

hours for shifts starting between 6am8am, including all rest breaks. While the greatest risk of an increase in drowsiness occurs after 15 hours of day driving when a driver starts a shift before 9am; after six to eight hours of night driving when a driver starts a shift in the afternoon or evening; when driving an early shift that starts after midnight and before 6am; during the first one to two night shifts a driver undertakes and during long night shift sequences; after five consecutive shifts when driving again for over 13 hours; when a driver undertakes a backward shift rotation (from an evening, back to afternoon, or an afternoon back to a morning start) and; during nose-totail shifts where a seven-hour break only enables five hours of sleep.

The summary report containing all of the key findings and recommendations can be found at: https://www.ntc.gov.au/currentprojects/heavy-vehicle-driver-fatigue-data/ The Truck Industry Council (TIC) would encourage all truck operators, scheduling manages and drivers alike, to review this ground breaking research and to put into effect its findings. TIC members, the truck manufactures and importers, will in turn continue to develop fatigue monitoring systems that predict driver fatigue and alert the driver of their potential decreasing awareness of the driving task. Together we can work together to minimise fatigue as a major contributor in heavy vehicle road crashes, just as the prevalence of drink driving has decreased over time.

Tony McMullan CEO, Truck Industry Council

VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION | INSIGHT

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Victorian Government backs heavy vehicle driver training

PETER ANDERSON

T

he issue of heavy vehicle driver shortages is one that industry associations, transport operators and construction firms behind the biggest infrastructure projects in the country have been openly concerned about for some time. The reason for this is simple.

When we run out of qualified and trained heavy vehicle drivers, projects will grind to a halt, roads and tunnels will cease from being built and excavated, and construction timelines on new buildings and infrastructure will start to blow out.

The effects of such inactivity will flow right throughout the whole economy, impacting jobs and growth in all the major industry sectors.

This is one of the reasons the Victorian Transport Association has played a leading role in advocating for support from all levels of government for measures to attract new drivers to our industry. Our two-pronged approach has been to advocate for changes to licensing regimes to streamline the process for people who want to work in transport to get a heavy vehicle licence, without compromising training and skills, and to agitate for government support for training new drivers. On the licensing front the VTA, at the request of the Victorian Government, is leading a Committee that has been established to review the state’s heavy vehicle licensing regime, which has a strong focus on the road freight component of

driver licensing standards.

The Committee includes stakeholders from Australian Industry Standards, National Transport Insurance, Transport Workers Union, VicRoads/Freight Victoria, and Transport for Victoria, and is a unique opportunity to improve standards and attract young people to our profession, through sensible reform.

On the training front we are continuing to introduce new drivers to the industry through our Driver Delivery program, which provides intensive and handson practical instruction and, most importantly, a job in transport on completion of the program.

The Victorian Government has recognised the success of the program in its recent state budget by allocating $4 million over four years to the industry to train 800 new heavy vehicle drivers.

This welcome announcement fulfils a commitment Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made prior to last November’s state election, and we congratulate the Victorian Government for recognising the value of the heavy vehicle industry through this funding and other budget commitments.

The funding will ensure the Association can continue to provide highlytrained, competent and skilled heavy vehicle drivers and, over time, help alleviate pressures being felt by current driver shortages.

The driver training funding commitment was just one of many measures contained in the 2019-2020 Victorian Budget delivered by Treasurer Tim Pallas that will benefit freight and logistics operators. Other measures include further investments in road and rail infrastructure across the state, reduced payroll tax for business and land transfer duties for regional commercial and industrial properties,

and other initiatives that will help to attract strategic investment in Victoria to create jobs and growth across the Victorian economy.

New infrastructure, and maintaining and upgrading roads, railways and bridges, continues to be a priority, with a Suburban Transport Blitz unveiled in the Budget providing record road and rail funding that will help to ease congestion.

The $27.4 billion program includes $15.8 billion to fully fund and build the VTA-backed North East Link, $6.6 billion to remove 25 additional level crossings, $3.4 billion on upgrades to key Metro Rail lines, $608 million for upgrades and improvements to local roads, $300 million towards planning for the future Suburban Rail Loop, and $100 million towards the Western Rail Plan and separation of regional and metro rail services.

Regional roads will also benefit with $425 million earmarked for repairs and upgrades.

Away from infrastructure, the Government for the fourth consecutive year has promised payroll tax cuts for regional businesses that will keep it the lowest in the nation and make regional Victoria even more attractive for doing business. A 50 per cent discount on land transfer duty on commercial and industrial properties in regional Victoria will be welcomed by operators planning to acquire or sell property.

Through this Budget the Government has delivered on its promises and the VTA looks forward to helping deliver the projects we need to keep Victoria the most attractive place in Australia to live and do business in.

Peter Anderson CEO, Victorian Transport Association p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u

73

PETER SHIELDS’ NUMBER CRUNCH

Ruled by exception regardless which political party was given power, road transport and its suppliers can now focus on the next three years which are very likely to involve some more significant infrastructure projects which will boost the requirements for new trucks.

Not so far in the future, June 2019 can be expected to benefit from the orders cemented at the Brisbane Truck Show, an historic interest rate cut and the usual rush to obtain new and deductable assets before the end of the financial year.

The truck sales results for May demonstrate a mix of success and some disappointment across the various brands of cab chassis and prime movers available in Australia. The Truck Industry Council (TIC) statistics show a total of 2,945 trucks and 611 heavy vans were added to the national fleet during the month. Compared with April last year, this shows a reduction of 345 truck sales (-10.5 per cent) but perhaps 2018’s record results shouldn’t be considered in isolation and if the year before (2017) was regarded as a ‘good’ year for truck sales then 2019 is still tracking well. The May 2019 total is 223 units more than in May 2017 (+8.2 per cent).

The year-to-date total of 12,357 at the end of May this year may be 936 units less than at the same point in 2018 (-7.0 per cent) yet is still 1,680 more than at the end of May 2017 (+15.7 per cent).

Heavy Duty sales of 1,212 show that investment in big ticket assets such as prime movers remains in good shape overall when considered across the previous two years. The 2019 result is down 116 units on last year (-8.7 per cent) but remains an impressive 198 more than for April 2017 (+19.5 per cent). The supply issues which affected some OEMs in the middle part of last year have been resolved and Scania in particular is on a roll recording for the first time 100-plus units for each of the preceding three months.

This year-to-date is looking good for the Swedish manufacturers with Scania up 31.5 per cent, admittedly, coming off last year’s supply affected low base, and Volvo up 12.6 per cent on last year.

Medium Duty sales during May of 734 units are just 13 less than in May last year and actually 97 more than in May 2017. The 2019 year-to-date accrual shows 2,979 for the category, down 210 on last year but up 401 on May from the year before. The Light Duty sector result of 999 is 216 less than in May 2018 (-17.8 per cent) and 72 units less than in April 2017 (-6.7 per cent).

The Heavy Duty van category remains in positive territory at the end of May at 2,460 units, up 14 units (+.06 per cent). May’s own result of 611 was boosted by a particularly good month for Volkswagen with its 136 vehicle contribution.

May 2019 was always going to be an interesting month due to the federal election. The return of the Morrison Government was probably good news for many in the transport industry and 74

j u ly 2019

May-19

YTD

% Change

ISUZU

805

3331

-9.0%

HINO

482

2118

1.3%

FUSO

294

1438

-10.9%

KENWORTH

206

952

-10.4%

VOLVO

250

891

12.6%

IVECO

166

616

-17.9%

MERCEDES-BENZ

163

585

-13.7%

SCANIA

117

467

31.5%

MAN

111

444

-24.2%

MACK

104

435

0.2%

UD TRUCKS

59

260

-26.3%

DAF

39

170

-0.6%

FIAT

44

170

-6.1%

WESTERN STAR

22

123

-16.3%

RENAULT

22

118

26.9%

FREIGHTLINER

25

92

-49.2%

FORD

13

56

40.0%

HYUNDAI

10

51

112.5%

INTERNATIONAL

4

21

-4.5%

DENNIS EAGLE

4

11

-59.3%

VOLKSWAGEN

5

8

0.0%

CAB CHASSIS/PRIME

2945

12357

-6.9%

M-B VANS

296

983

-1.9%

RENAULT VANS

76

430

-19.0%

FORD VANS

61

382

-2.3%

FIAT VANS

24

171

-18.6%

VOLKSWAGEN VANS

136

339

72.1%

IVECO VANS

18

155

34.8%

611

2460

0.6%

3556

14817

-5.7%

TOTAL

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