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NHVR hails success of PBS pre-approval trial

Petroccitto says trial saw design approval turnaround time reduce from five weeks to three working days

 

The six-month trial of design approvals for certain Performance Based Standards (PBS) combinations has been successful, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) states.

The trial involved trying out a “simplified” design approval process for six- and seven-axle truck and dog combinations by the PBS panel.

Results of the trial showed reduced administrative burden on heavy vehicle operators and manufacturers, NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says.

“During the trial we saw turnaround times for 33 design approvals reduce from an average of five weeks down to three business days, which is a significant benefit for operators and manufacturers,” he says.

“These applications account for 30 per cent of all PBS design approval applications and 50 per cent of all new truck and dog applications.

“Based on the success of the truck and dog combination trial we will now look at a more simplified approval process for other popular vehicle types, including semi-trailer combinations and B-doubles.”

NHVR says as many as 1403 PBS combinations were approved in 2016-17, an increase of 23 per cent on the previous year.

“We believe it is important to give industry and road managers certainty about our plans for the PBS scheme,” Petroccitto says.

“As part of our continuous improvement process several areas of the scheme would be reviewed including the certification process, technology advances and the transition from the PBS to regulation.

“Over the next decade I envisage a PBS scheme that, while still delivering improved productivity and safety, will operate under a certification and standards framework that has evolved significantly.”

The PBS scheme offers the heavy vehicle industry options to achieve higher productivity and safety through new and optimised vehicle design.

The current scheme was implemented by the National Transport Commission in 2007 and has been operated by the NHVR since 2013.

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