HVIA members are calling for a national heavy vehicle modification system that is fair, consistent and ensures vehicles are modified and inspected to a high safety standard.
As the heavy vehicle industry has a dedicated regulator (NHVR) for vehicles and combinations greater than 4.5 tonnes, it is logical the administration of a HV modification scheme should also be national and that entry requirements for Approved Vehicle Examiners (AVEs) are consistent across states.
In the latest member submission, available here, HVIA is calling on the NHVR and state regulatory authorities to take five key actions, with addressing inconsistencies in state-based schemes the most urgent. The other four actions are:
- Implement a truly national HV modification scheme.
- Digitise the HV modification scheme.
- Create a pathway for supplier AVE entities.
- Provide relevant risk-based education for dealers and workshops.
The submission argues it is imperative the inconsistencies between current state-based schemes be addressed as soon as possible as they challenge the overall schemes’ integrity, safety and fairness.
It tables issues with all key states which fall under the NHVR’s jurisdiction, and calls out the most severe deficiencies, such as Queensland not requiring state records of major modifications, insurance or performing regular auditing of AVEs (known as Approved Persons in Queensland).
Another notable issue identified is Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales not accepting new applications for AVEs, creating business pressures when one AVE leaves and contingency cannot be readily put in place.
In addition, auditing concerns exist in most states and generally state-based schemes are felt to be inconsistent and frustrating to navigate both across borders and within.
As part of a future national scheme, the submission calls for modification registrations to be digitised and easily accessible via an online system like the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV).
HVIA sees an opportunity to link the RAV with a Heavy Vehicle Register of Modification (HVRM) and Written Off Vehicles Register (WOVR) to provide a rich and cohesive national data source.
As different regulators and state departments look after these registers, harmonising them is believed to be impossible. To this end, HVIA Chief Engineer Rachel Michaud says, “Industry outcomes such as safety and productivity are unaffected by internal departmental boundaries.
“Whole-of-life vehicle data is the appropriate solution and will provide a rich resource which at minimum will benefit road safety investigations, safer vehicle design, productivity and compliance.”
HVIA suggests the NHVR set up a stakeholder engagement group which includes AVEs and other key players from across all states as well as the Northern Territory. It’s critical that the final systems and processes should be informed and road tested by industry prior to release.
What’s more, HVIA is also keen for a pathway for supplier AVE’s fitting prescriptive components to new vehicles, such as fifth wheels. This could be facilitated through an amendment to make and model provisions in the second stage manufacturer pathway, or by creating a ‘supplier modifier’ provision which would mimic the SSM process, but without make and model impact.
Finally, it was highlighted that with industry shortages in trades such as diesel mechanics and auto electricians, as well as increasing vehicle technologies and growth in the vehicle PARC, workshops are struggling to keep up with growing requirements.
To help address this, HVIA has suggested a NHVR educational road show targeted at ‘risk-based’ topics where industry knowledge is lacking. Simply expecting a document like VSB6 (the national code of practice for heavy vehicle modifications) to inform industry is not enough; in-person contact and touch points are needed especially for workshops in remote locations.
In addition, HVIA is keen to see in-person HV modification training run in all key states for both new AVEs, interested workshops and practicing AVEs who may wish to brush up on their knowledge. HVIA will investigate running a pilot to demonstrate the possibilities and welcome feedback on this.
Notably, there was feedback regarding the growing list of missing or out-of-date information in VSB6. HVIA is in the process of collecting topics of concern regarding VSB6 so we can work with the NHVR on the necessary amendments.
HVIA members wishing to contribute to this topic can still do so by joining the HVIA Heavy Vehicle Modification Working Group. For more information on this submission, comments or enquiries, or to join the group, contact HVIA Chief Engineer Rachel Michaud at r.michaud@hvia.asn.au.