As for the most popular Performance-Based Standards (PBS) vehicles hitting the road, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has seen the re-introduction of PBS A-doubles which appear to be an emerging trend.
In 2021, truck and dogs reportedly represented half of the approved combinations and A-doubles were around 18 per cent.
Last year, truck and dog, according to NHVR Chief Engineer, Les Bruzsa, was around 41 per cent, while A-doubles spiked to about 32 per cent.
A-doubles are becoming increasingly popular especially in those jurisdictions where access has been improved for these combinations.
New South Wales and Victoria have been extremely proactive in the introduction of A-doubles and B-triples according to Bruzsa.
In recent months he has seen more A-doubles being approved than truck and dog combinations.
Bruzsa’s engagement with industry, particularly with trailer manufacturers and transport operators, confirms that the rise in A-double uptake over standard B-doubles is certainly on-trend.
Bruzsa also observed that some jurisdictions are prepared to look at A-double combinations for Level 2 which are longer than 30 metres.
“Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales are now looking at the length limit,” he said.
“If an operator needs to optimise a vehicle for a freight task and if it’s a little bit longer than 30 metres, but it still meets PBS Level 2 performance requirements, then the jurisdiction will investigate potential options for access.
“This could be a game-changer for A-doubles because using 45’ trailers under the 30m overall length limit can be difficult. But if the length is around 30-32 metres it’s just a small enough addition to enable an operator to utilise existing 45’ long trailers.”
There are more than 4,700 transport operators running PBS vehicles in Australia.
“If you think about this number, that’s not a niche small market anymore,” said Bruzsa. “We have a lot of operators on our books – it’s a big number.”
To support these PBS advocates the NHVR has committed to improving its administration processes including a boost in resourcing.
“We’re focused on making the submission of PBS documents easier, trying to digitalise all the documents, which is going to be very useful,” said Bruzsa.
“Especially when we are looking at access applications and vehicle design applications. We are trying to make the PBS scheme much more transparent and user friendly for the industry. And we have to do that if we want to manage this growth in PBS uptake more efficiently.”
Also, processing times have effectively halved.
“In 2020-21, we had really a difficult time with Covid and the impact it had on our team as well as the industry at large,” said Bruzsa.
“The pandemic demonstrated just how important supply chains are and the role the transport industry plays in that space.
“So, yes, we put lots of emphasis on reducing the response times and, yes, it’s true that we have to handle more applications.
“It’s a big challenge for the NHVR but you only need to look at a brand-new vehicle combination sitting in a yard, a serious fleet investment, to realise that each day of lost production is costing industry substantially more.
“We understand the implications of our response times and we want to provide a much, much better service to the industry.”
Bruzsa is excited to see PBS heavy vehicle designs creep into other transport niches, too.
“Initially, it was truck and dogs and container-carrying units but now we can see that the industry is optimising vehicles elsewhere,” he said. “Now we see innovation in fuel tankers, logging vehicles along with new prototypes and other technological developments such as split axle groups. PBS is providing the framework for innovation and that’s fantastic.”
Looking ahead, the NHVR is reviewing some Performance-Based Standards such as braking requirements and the pavement horizontal loading standards. Surprisingly, since the introduction of the high productivity scheme in 2007 there hasn’t been an official review of PBS. Bruzsa has teased work behind the scenes on a more strategic project, PBS 2.0.
“We’re trying to come up with future directions, particularly when it comes to policy and technical innovation,” he said. “We’re quite proud of the notices we have released, too, which enable more certainty regarding access for PBS combinations.”
It cannot be stressed enough how valuable the NHVR’s data is when reviewing safety performance of PBS-approved combinations.
“PBS vehicles are significantly safer than the prescriptive fleet,” said Bruzsa.
“Also, the PBS fleet this year would have saved, I predict, about 900 million truck kilometres due to the productivity and efficiency gains those vehicles offer.
“What does this mean? Well, in a sense we save lives with reduced heavy vehicle travel exposure on Australian roads, reduce fuel usage, cut emissions, minimise the environmental impact on roads and transport infrastructure. These are all benefits that should be emphasised when looking to grow the national PBS fleet.”
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Chief Engineer, Les Bruzsa.Bruzsa, known to many as the ‘Quadfather’, has been at the forefront of heavy vehicle innovation in Australia as well as Europe, boasting more than 30 years of industry experience.
His first local project was the introduction of 25m B-doubles.
With a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, a background in private consulting, about 18 years with Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads, as well as being a Fellow of Engineers Australia, it was his stint with the National Transport Commission pre-2007 that saw him work on the development of PBS.
Since 2013, Bruzsa joined the NHVR and his continued his important contributions to this area of regulation.
This achievement officially acknowledges the Chief Engineer’s contributions to the heavy vehicle industry, specifically leading the strategic development and improvement of the PBS scheme.
Five years prior he was humbled to receive the Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award for leading continuous improvement in heavy vehicle regulation and standards.
In terms of emerging trends in PBS, Bruzsa has his finger on the pulse.
“We are seeing significant growth in terms of PBS combination numbers,” said Bruzsa.
“By the end of October [2022], we had more than 15,600 PBS combinations on our register.
“That number is interesting because when the PBS review was completed in 2011 we predicted that we we’re going to have about 14,000 PBS combinations by 2030.
“So, now we are in 2022 and those combination numbers have exceeded all of our predictions which is fantastic and shows how well the industry is taking up these high productivity vehicles.”
On the other hand, Bruzsa said this has lead to a huge workload on the administration of the scheme.
In November 2022, the NHVR approved more than 1,920 combinations as opposed to 2,100 in the year prior.
“The trend is not slowing down,” said Bruzsa. “It is actually increasing.”
In related news, NHVR has reviewed its efforts to drive sustainable improvements to safety, productivity and efficiency across the road transport sector.
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