ATA, News, NHVR, TCA, VTA

Accreditation Review, EWDs, OBM and Wage Levels

In Diesel News this week, read about the NHVR Accreditation Review, EWDs, OBM and Wage Levels.

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has commissioned an independent review into heavy-vehicle accreditation schemes to support improved road safety.

“Heavy-vehicle accreditation schemes have proven benefits for road safety across a number of heavy-vehicle sectors, including trucks, cranes and buses,” said Sal Petroccitto, NHVR CEO. “The national roadworthiness survey released earlier this year showed major non-conformities for vehicles in accreditation schemes dropped from 13 per cent to nine per cent.

“That said, I believe it is time to independently review the systems and processes to ensure they deliver the future safety outcomes our growing industry requires. The review will look at a range of factors, including governance and oversight, rules and standards, as well as examining associated assurance activities.”

The review will kick off with a marketplace scan to identify the best-practice approach for accreditation schemes, and identify inconsistencies that exist between schemes. The independent review will examine schemes such as Western Australian Heavy Vehicle Accreditation and the NHVR’s National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS), as well as industry schemes such as TruckSafe.

“Thank you to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester, for listening to our calls to review truck safety accreditation programs,” said Geoff Crouch, Chair of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA). “Operators, industry, government and regulators need to work together on truck safety. Recognising safe practices should not be an unbalanced competition between government and industry like the ATA’s TruckSafe program.”

EWD Standards

The NHVR has engaged professional services firm WSP Australia to develop new performance-based standards for Australia’s Electronic Work Diaries (EWDs), which are being introduced as a voluntary alternative to the written work diary.

Geoff Casey, Executive Director – Productivity and Safety, NHVR, said that the NHVR will publish the new EWD Standards for industry consultation in December 2017, with system assessments anticipated to commence early in 2018.

On-Board Mass

Transport Certification Australia (TCA) has announced it has received five applications for type-approval of On-Board Mass (OBM) Systems.

“The number of applications we have already received since May 2017 is significant because it paves the way for establishing an open technology market for the supply of OBM Systems,” said Chris Koniditsiotis, TCA CEO. “This ensures that end-users will be provided with more choice, competitive pricing and innovative technology.”

Wages Bottom Out

There are signs the rate of wage increases in enterprise agreements negotiated in the road transport industry may have bottomed out according to the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO).

Speaking in his capacity of ARTIO Secretary & Treasurer, Victorian Transport Association (VTA) CEO Peter Anderson said a recent ARTIO review of hundreds of enterprise agreements lodged in the Fair Work Commission in the road transport industry since the second half of 2011 showed a slight uptick in the rate of wages growth in 2017 to date (compared to 2016).

TruckSafe Directors

Two new directors have been appointed to the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) TruckSafe board. Nathan Cecil and Peter Elliot will work with other board members to underscore safe and responsible operations in the industry and help deliver the TruckSafe safety accreditation program.

Cecil is a Partner in Holding Redlich’s national transport team. He specialises in shipping, logistics, road transport and trade law, and has particular expertise in heavy-vehicle regulation and chain of responsibility (CoR) laws.

Accreditation Review, EWDs, OBM and Wage Levels
Peter Elliot.

Elliot has been part of the trucking industry for more than 40 years and has worked across numerous operations and industry sectors. For the past decade, he has specialised in compliance, both as an operator being audited, and as a manager of compliance schemes.

NHVR Directors

NHVR has appointed two new directors, in the Regulatory Compliance and Productivity and Safety divisions. Tony Martin will be the Director – Regulatory Compliance and Assurance, while Greg Fill was appointed to the role of Director – Safety Standards.

Accreditation Review, EWDs, OBM and Wage Levels
Tony Martin.

Martin has been with the NHVR since 2011 in the role of Manager Regulatory Compliance. He has leadership, business management and operational experience in the heavy-vehicle regulatory environment, including 15 years with the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services in a variety of management and heavy-vehicle compliance operational roles.

Greg Fill.
Greg Fill.

Fill also has an extensive career in the transport industry, specialising in the development and implementation of transport-related safety management systems, undertaking safety incident investigations, and building assurance frameworks.

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