ALRTA News – 4 June 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR NATIONAL SPONSOR
NTI

VICTORIAN TRUCK STOPS ADDED TO COVID-19 EXPOSURE SITES

Several truck stops in Victoria have been added to the list of COVID-19 exposure sites. These are:

  • Glenrowan:  BP Truckstop, Southbound Carriageway, Hume Freeway.
  • Euroa: BP Euroa, 29 Tarcombe Street.
  • Wallan:  BP Truckstop, 1050 Hume Freeway.

If you have visited any of these locations, please urgently check the NHVR website for instructions concerning testing and isolation.
 
More Information
For the latest summary of border rules and testing sites click here.

RAMPS COMMITTEE WINS NATIONAL AWARD

ALRTA is pleased to announce that the committee responsible for drafting the Australian Standard for Safe Design of Livestock Ramps and Forcing Yards (AS 5340:2020) has won the ‘Outstanding Committee’ award in 2021 Standards Australia Awards.
 
ALRTA National President Scott McDonald said the award recognised both the importance of the ramp standard and the significant contribution of committee members.
 
“The publication of a national ramp standard has been a long-held goal of the ALRTA and or state member associations,” said President McDonald.
 
“The process commenced more than a decade ago in Victoria with the ALRTA later engaging with the entire supply chain and community representatives to publish a national guide in 2015. Following a coroner’s recommendation in 2017, ALRTA formally asked Standards Australia to develop a national standard, offering our guide as a template.
 
“Standards Australia accepted our proposal and in 2019 established the committee SF-054 to progress technical drafting and public consultation. The committee included representatives from across the supply chain.
 
“I would particularly like to recognise the contribution of Mick Debenham, John Beer and Kevin Simmonds who were nominated to the committee by ALRTA and ATA.  These representatives brought their considerable road transport and workplace safety expertise to the table and helped to establish strong workable relationships with other supply chain parties.
 
“We have these individuals to thank for the high quality document and high level of acceptance of the now published standard across the livestock supply chain. 
 
“However, there is still a lot of work to do in raising awareness of the national standard.
 
“ALRTA has recently acquired 100 copies of the standard to be made available to our members, along with 10,000 promotional brochures for wider distribution.  We call on all members and other interested parties to help us make our industry safer by telling others about the standard and where to find more information,” said President McDonald.
 
Read more about the 2021 Standard Australia Awards here.

RAMP STANDARD A MAJOR SAFETY BOOST

By Melissa Weller, Australian Trucking Association Safety, Health and Wellbeing Director

Loading and unloading animals can be the most challenging part of the livestock handling task, and hazardous situations can place farmers, agriculture, and transport workers at risk.

These high-risk situations can occur anywhere from farms, roadsides, and saleyards, to feedlots, abattoirs, and depots. That’s why strong practices that support driver health and wellbeing play a crucial role in making sure all workers remain safe.

To support livestock handlers and keep workers safe, Standards Australia have released the Australian standard for livestock loading/unloading ramps and forcing pens. The standard is the first of its kind and provides the missing guidance about safe design and practices that livestock transporters and agricultural businesses across Australia need.

This standard is a major step forward in fostering better and safer conditions for agricultural and transport workers and livestock and aligns closely with the animal welfare standards that exist within the TruckSafe accreditation scheme.

READ MORE HERE

SAFEWORK SA LAUNCHES LIVESTOCK SAFETY BLITZ

Following strong advocacy from the ALRTA and our state member associations, SafeWork SA has commenced a compliance campaign focussing on risks associated with livestock handling and transport.
 
In June 2021, SafeWork SA inspectors will be auditing feedlots, saleyards, abattoirs and livestock exchange facilities to determine if adequate safety control measures are in place to protect workers from injury, including training, manual handling techniques and the provision of appropriate plant and systems of work to separate workers from animals.
 
ALRTA has written to SafeWork SA offering assistance in campaign promotion and risk identification.

NATIONAL CLASS 3 ROAD TRAIN NOTICE

The National Road Train Prime Mover Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice 2021 came into effect on 1 June 2021.
 
The Notice gives road train prime movers access to more networks when operating in combinations other than a road train, such as B-doubles and single semitrailers, or on their own.
 
The Notice will apply in all states and territories operating under the Heavy Vehicle National Law, except Tasmania.
 
The Notice impacts decoupling, steer mass limits and combination lengths.
 
Decoupling: The Notice provides flexibility for operators when decoupling their road train to continue their travel. The additional length and mass limits allow larger road train prime movers to be used in smaller combinations, such as B-doubles, single semitrailers or on their own (operating ‘bob-tail’). This avoids operators having to use a different, smaller prime mover after decoupling and will reduce traffic movements.
 
Steer mass limits: To date, road train steer mass limits have been restricted to prime movers being used in a road train configuration. The Notice enables road train prime movers to operate at road train steer mass limits when used in all eligible combinations listed in the Notice.
 
Longer combinations: The Notice allows longer total combination lengths, including the 20m prime mover and semitrailers, 27m B-doubles, and 26m prime mover semitrailer and unladen converter dolly combinations. The increase in combination lengths is to accommodate the additional length of road train prime movers. The Notice does not provide any increase to trailer dimension limits.
 
The Notice allows 27m B-doubles on road train networks, but not B-double networks.
 
The new Notice will provide road train prime mover operators with greater flexibility in managing their fleets, by allowing:

  • more efficient use of vehicle types, including bonneted prime movers
  • increased use of standardised trailer sets
  • more-productive decoupling processes
  • increased use of bull bars and other front-end protection devices
  • future investment in prime movers with larger sleeping cabs to improve driver comfort and better manage fatigue.

The National Class 3 Road Train Prime Mover Dimension and Mass Exemption Notice 2021 and supporting information, including the online operator’s guide, can be accessed online at https://www.nhvr.gov.au/C2021G00386.

JBS PLANTS OFFLINE

In the news this week there were reports of JBS being offline in the wake of a vicious cyber attack, the source of which remains a mystery, on Australia’s largest meat processor along with JBS plants in the United States, livestock this week had remained locked out of deliveries to the company’s abattoirs. 

The Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland’s Mark Collins said a directive from JBS had been issued saying no movement on their cattle until further notice. There were no animal welfare issues at all, he said, with plenty of feed in paddocks at the moment.

For transport operators whose only customer is JBS, it’s very concerning but most have numerous clients, he said.  Lot feeders have also issued reassurances there were no animal welfare concerns, with plenty of capacity to hold stock longer.

NATIONAL ROADWORTHINESS SURVEY

ALRTA has received a briefing from NHVR about progress of the National Heavy Vehicle Roadworthiness Survey. In summary:

  • The survey has been underway for five weeks.
  • Around 5,000 inspections have been undertaken against a quota of 8,000.
  • Progress is between 30-90% complete in various states with NSW almost finished.
  • Inspections were suspended in Victoria following the COVID-19 outbreak but will now recommence in regional areas.
  • Driver have been cooperative and on average, inspections have taken 30 min.
  • As expected, due to the nature of the testing equipment, most defects have related to brakes and steering.
  • Thus far, overall results have been good with no surprising issues requiring broader intervention.
  • Inspections will discontinue when quotas are reached in each jurisdiction.

If you experience any problems with the inspections please contact ALRTA or your state member association.

FREE TRAINING FOR TRUCK DRIVERS

A free online training program is now available for new heavy vehicle drivers to help them better understand their obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

Developed by Shift Training, the 4 Points of Contact course will train and assess participants in fatigue management, vehicle inspection, load restraint and chain of responsibility.

The course was funded by the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), with support from the Federal Government.

Click here to learn more and register

NTI SETS FUNDRAISING RECORD 

A new fundraising record has been set for a classic 1946 Jailbar truck, restored by Australia’s leading transport and logistics specialist insurer, NTI, to help raise much-needed funds for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.
 
The classic truck, dubbed “Jolene”, raised $235,000 from more than 27,000 raffle ticket sales. NTI has committed an additional sum to take the total funds raised from the initiative to $335,000. Every dollar raised will go directly to MND research to help find a cure or effective treatment for the debilitating disease.
 
NTI’s CEO Tony Clark said the company was thrilled with the new record set by “Jolene”, the third Jailbar and fourth truck to be restored by NTI.
 
“Elizabeth Fritsch from Aldavilla, New South Wales, was announced as the lucky winner and new owner of “Jolene”. She was shocked and excited when I rang her from the Brisbane Truck Show with the news of her win,” Mr Clark said.


Jane Milne, MND & ME Foundation CEO, Elizabeth Fritsch, Jolene Winner, Alan Hasted, NTI General Manager, Direct

READ FULL MEDIA RELEASE

HAVE YOUR SAY

Working in the Live Export Supply Chain
 
LiveCorp is seeking live export supply chain participants willing to share their thoughts on being involved in the industry, its changing practices and improved performance.
 
Fill in the industry survey here to help LiveCorp understand ways to support industry participants to speak up and tell their story.
 
This is part of LiveCorp’s ongoing community sentiment research amongst the broader Australian population. For more information, contact livecorp@livecorp.com.au
 
Workplace Psychological Survey
 
Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (HHST) is asking all organisations in the road transport, warehousing and logistics industries to complete a short online Workplace Psychological Safety Index (WPSI) survey.
 
Your participation in the survey will help inform how HHTS will support the psychological and physical health, wellbeing and safety of everyone in the heavy vehicle industry.
 
Click here to start the survey

FRIDAY FUNNY

Jack lives in a semi rural area.

He recently had a new neighbour call the local council office to request the removal of the SHEEP CROSSING sign on the road.

The reason: ‘Too many sheep are being hit by cars out here! I don’t think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.’

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2021

LRTASA Conference – Adelaide SA – 18-19 June 2021 – Register Here
LRTAQ Conference – Roma QLD – 16-17 July 2021 – Register Here
LRTAV Conference – Bendigo VIC – 20-21 August 2021
LTAT/National Combined Conference – Hobart TAS – 22-23 October 2021