HVIA congratulates Rachel Michaud, previously of Knorr-Bremse Australia, on her recent appointment to the role of Lead Engineer for the NHVR’s Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme, effective August 18.
Rachel is well-known to many from her 13-year stint in various technical and management roles at Knorr-Bremse, and through her tireless efforts to champion initiatives aimed at increasing uptake and awareness of advanced braking systems in heavy vehicles, and rollover prevention technology.
Rachel was also heavily involved in the development and local roll-out of Knorr-Bremse’s award-winning iMass system, an on-board mass monitoring system that integrates the mass measurement technology into the vehicle’s electronic braking modules.
Adam Ritzinger, HVIA’s Chief Technical Officer, reflected on Rachel’s incredible impact on the industry, and looks forward to seeing what her next chapter delivers.
“I think you would struggle to find anyone in our industry who doesn’t know who Rachel is and what she stands for,” he says.
“From our perspective, we are sad to be losing such a passionate and skilled technical leader from our member’s ranks, but can’t envisage a more appropriate person to lead the PBS scheme at the NHVR.”
Rachel herself is thankful for the times she shared with her Knorr-Bremse colleagues, but also looks forward to the future.
“Tears were shed, and I can’t list everyone, but a big thank you to my Knorr-Bremse family both locally and abroad,” she says. “Luckily I am not going too far and will still be advocating for technology advances and improvements in road safety.”
Australia’s Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme is globally unique, as it allows heavy vehicle combinations to exceed regulated weight, length and configuration limits, if they meet specified performance levels across a set of 16 safety and four infrastructure standards.
It currently comprises tens of thousands of vehicles operating in Australia and encompasses dozens of HVIA members across truck and trailer OEMs, equipment providers, and engineers and consultants.