A new online safety tool called Payload Pilot allows users to calculate the static rollover threshold (SRT) and maximum payload height of heavy vehicles ranging from rigids up to A-triple type 2 road trains.
Launched late last month by Advantia Transport Consulting, the tool allows users to identify the SRT, which can help to increase operational productivity, compliance with industry codes of practice and can help to improve safety while out on the road.
Identifying a minimum SRT is becoming more commonplace in the industry, and is even included in the draft Timber Transport Code of Practise as well as the National Transport Commission’s (NTC) Load Restraint Guide.
While these codes of practice set an acceptable SRT, Advantia says they offer little to no guidance on how to determine a combination’s SRT.
“This highlighted an area of need for the whole heavy vehicle industry and led to the development of Payload Pilot,” said the company.
Advantia approached the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), which supported the project. Together with the Federal Government, the NHVR has provided funding to develop the tool as part of Round 7 of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).
To ensure accuracy in the calculations and results provided by the Payload Pilot, Advantia conducted a field trial validation of the SRT assessment to make sure what is presented in Payload Pilot matches the real world.
This testing was successfully conducted at the Australian Automotive Research Centre in Anglesea Victoria in early 2024, with a laden prime mover and semi-trailer combination (the largest combination able to fit on the tilt table).
The free Payload Pilot online tool has been designed for ease of use. “The tool is widely accessible to the heavy vehicle industry, particularly those without the technical background to generate their vehicle’s SRT but are required to comply with the technical nature of PBS and other similar requirements,” said Advantia.
“Payload Pilot encompasses a large variety of combination types to cover the increasingly diverse range of heavy vehicle fleets in Australia.”
Those using the tool can select whether they want to know the SRT of their combination in its loaded condition or how much payload height they can safely accommodate and achieve a given SRT.
The results are be presented in a pdf report which is sent to the user’s email address.
The report also identifies the maximum turning speeds for a series of turns so that the driver is aware of how their combination will handle curves at speed.
The Payload Pilot tool can be accessed here.