Bulk hauler Riordan Grain Services increases payload by 10 percent after gaining HML access in NSW
October 18, 2010
Bulk hauler Riordan Grain Services is spruiking the Intelligent Access Program (IAP) after it helped the operator boost its payload by 10 percent in NSW.
Riordan Transport Manager Joe Strawford says the company has been able to carry more freight per load and improve vehicle and employee productivity by using the GPS monitoring scheme.
Companies that enrol in IAP in NSW are granted access to the state’s higher mass limits (HML) network, which permits heavier payloads on select routes.
Under IAP, trucks are monitored via GPS to ensure they do not stray onto non-HML routes.
“Because grain is a dense product there were significant advantages to be gained by acquiring HML access,” Strawford says.
Because of the ability to carry more freight per load, Strawford says Riordan’s truck trips in NSW and vehicle emissions have declined 10 percent.
Since enrolling in IAP, Riordan has been given HML access to grain receival sites and storage facilities. Strawford says about 25 percent of Riordan’s business is conducted in NSW.
“The gains grew as we acquired access to a greater number of sites, meaning a higher proportion of truck trips in NSW could be undertaken under HML,” he says.
Enrolling in the IAP did come at a cost, however, with Riordan forced to scrap its existing flee tracking technology because it was not compliant.
However, Strawford says the program has improved the company’s management system and improved its bottom line.
The operator’s experience contradicts that of companies such as Baxter Transport, which are denied HML access despite being promised access in return for installing IAP technology.
Baxter Transport spent $20,000 installing compliant GPS devices in its vehicles, but cannot gain a return on its investment.
Local governments last year complained they could not grant HML access due to a lack of funding.
The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) was accused of telling councils to charge trucking operators the cost of assessing roads for HML suitability. The RTA denied the charge.