Container Swinglift is the latest operator to make use of performance based standards (PBS) for improving container operations
August 26, 2011
Container Swinglift is the latest operator to make use of performance based standards (PBS) for improving container operations in and out of the Port of Brisbane.
With non-PBS B-double combinations limited to either one 40-foot and one 20-foot or three 20-foot containers, Container Swinglift Managing Director Stephen Tapper says the PBS-specification allows the company to carry two 40-foot containers.
Under PBS regulations, Tapper’s design meets stringent regulations governing a number of factors, including overall length, which also influenced his choice of Volvo FH16 prime movers.
“Our preferred design wasn’t possible with our current prime movers, they were unable to do the GCM we required,” Tapper says.
“The Volvo trucks went up to 120 tonnes, so it will never be an issue. Plus, there’s the length restriction. We had to fit inside 30 metres and the Volvos came in at 29.7 metres.”
The new design will make Container Swinglift the first operator to take a 40-40 B-double off the Port of Brisbane island.
As well as meeting the PBS rules, Tapper says the FH Volvos provide a sense of “overkill” in the safety department, something that he is not unhappy about.
“When you’re doing a PBS application you almost want the truck to be overkill, and the Volvos had all sorts of features as standard that made a big difference, like EBS brakes and front under-run protection for example,” he says.
Container Swinglift have been in business since 1986, when Maria and Roger Tapper started out with just three trucks. Twenty-five years later, Stephen Tapper has taken the family’s fleet up to 26 trucks and counting.
“We hit 37 a few years ago, but the GFC had a major effect on business for a while. It’s picking up again now, and we’re seizing the opportunity to start a whole new way of carrying containers,” Tapper says.