ATN #418

REGULATORY ROUND
NHVR’s plan for productivity
Advances are crucial as the freight task grows inexorably
SAL PETROCCITTO
is CEO of the
National Heavy
Vehicle Regulator
During the past 18 months, our industry
has faced unprecedented change. This
is why the National Heavy Vehicle
Regulator (NHVR) remains focused on safety
and productivity goals.
Right now, we’re grappling with the pressures
of Covid-19, as well as a rapidly growing national
freight task – set to increase by another 80 per cent
by 2030.
As we progress a safe, efficient, and productive
heavy vehicle industry to support a strong and
prosperous Australia, a key roadmap is our Heavy
Vehicle Productivity Plan 2020–25 (HVPP).
The HVPP outlines how we will work with industry
and government to identify and deliver on noninfrastructure
productivity solutions.
Close to one year since releasing the HVPP, the
NHVR has completed or significantly progressed 30
of our outlined goals.
One key initiative is the Strategic Local
Government Asset Assessment Project being
delivered in partnership with federal government and
local governments. It will help road managers assess
key infrastructure assets along regional and remote
freight routes.
Together, we’ve delivered some
great productivity outcomes over
the past year
The project enables a higher level of identification,
assessment and reporting of bridges, road and
culverts, in order to improve access for heavy
vehicles across regional freight routes, focus on
priority routes to connect regions and provide
seamless access across jurisdictions and build
capacity of local government to conduct risk-based
assessments and optimise network use.
It will also provide asset information to heavy
vehicle operators to enable transparency of access.
An example of the benefits and productivity
of standard assessments can be seen with the
Bega Valley Shire’s Greendale Bridge, which
travels over the Brogo River and connects to
the A1 Princes Highway.
Following assessment, NHVR officers and
local road managers determined that the bridge
can safely carry A-double milk tankers – enabling
greater access and improving productivity through a
shorter available route.
I’m proud to say that the federal government
has agreed to extend funding to the program for
another three years to deliver up to 1,000 asset
assessments and continue to drive productivity and
access for the industry.
We’ve also been working in partnership with
government, industry and local farmers to deliver
productivity improvements for the agricultural sector.
We recently developed a new notice – the National
Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combination Mass
and Dimension Exemption Notice – which allows
farmers to perform a simple braking test using
everyday equipment, enabling them to carry heavier
loads, safely.
This year, we also delivered a new National Road
Train Prime Mover Notice, which allows road train
prime movers to access more networks and complete
their journey while operating in combinations other
than a road train.
This Notice allows drivers a smoother, more
productive decoupling process and a consistent
approach to regulation between the states and
territories.
Improving heavy vehicle and access and route
planning is also a key focus for our plan to improve
productivity, which is why we’re developing a single
national mapping solution for industry.
Through the NHVR’s spatial program, industry will
have access to important information on approved
routes and road conditions in one location for the
first time, and road managers will be able to better
manage their gazetted and pre-approved networks.
The spatial mapping solution will improve
productivity through intelligent route planning to
better match vehicles to the right roads and road
manager self-service capabilities will assist to
accelerate network growth.
Together, we’ve delivered some great productivity
outcomes over the past year, but there is a lot of
important work still ahead of us. We will continue
to rely on data, technology, policy and innovative
practices to deliver productivity outcomes for
governments and industry.
I encourage you to reach out to the NHVR if there
are productivity measures not captured as part of the
HVPP. We all have a role to play in creating a more
productive and efficient road network; keeping safety
at the heart of everything we do.
36 ATN July 2021 FULLYLOADED.COM.AU