The Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Victoria (LRTAV) returned to the MOVE Museum in Shepparton for their annual conference on August 8-9.
Alina Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer of the LRTAV, addressed those assembled, highlighting efforts undertaken by the association over the past year.
“I wanted to take this moment to reflect not only where we have come from, but the paths we continue to forge together – whether that’s industry, operators, partners and community alike,” Alina said.
“Behind-the-scenes the association has been working tirelessly on multiple fronts to build a safer, more sustainable and more productive future for rural transport.
“We continue to push hard to things like national ramp standards to be embedded in legislation; because safe and efficient low-stress loading and unloading isn’t just good practice, it is the responsibility we all share.
“To protect people, animals and business reputations.”
Alina singled out effluent management as a hot topic in the LRTAV world.
“Also, the waste management in the bulk sector as well, so those two things can align. Our strategic work in mapping dump point infrastructure on our key freight networks is not just about compliance, it’s about dignity for animal welfare and the bio security of our agricultural sector.
“Similarly, we continue to advocate fit-for-purpose truck washes for both animal welfare and for drivers to be included in our long-term freight facility planning, especially the closures of the current sites that we’ve had.
Forward-thinking plans
Alina also said the association needs to ensure that the infrastructure serves the industry, both today and its needs for the challenges tomorrow.
“We are proud of the groundwork laid in some of the training programs that we have started, both in Victoria, New South Wales and now hopefully to be national, producing new drivers with the skills and safety knowledge our profession demands.
“From livestock handling, operating bulk equipment to routed navigation, we are setting the standard for what it means to be completely capable, trained and prepared for the tasks that we have to undertake.
“We have also been working alongside government departments and key stakeholders in the development of forward-thinking plans for our sector. From national freight priorities to bio security strategies and the inclusion of transport in emergency response protocols.
“This collaboration is critical in shaping the industry that has long operated with grit, and now requires recognition, resources and the right regulatory support. Some of our major wins have come to fruition – none more visible than the successful campaign of stock crates across the Melbourne CBD and going through the tunnels. An achievement that opens doors and roads for countless operators.
“The drought hay network, the higher productivity livestock vehicle network and the ongoing expansion of the PBS network – they all create greater productivity and reduce duplication and downtime for operators.
“Our industry doesn’t run on luck, it runs on sacrifice, resilience and heart. And heart is something we’re not short of.”
Agriculture represents two per cent of the workforce. It also represents 14 per cent of deaths in workplaces – not a great statistic.
Handling cattle, on trucks, at abattoirs and on ramps represents part of that figure. In fact livestock transport is rated third in the top 25 high risk workplaces.
The LRTAV has been working in conjunction with Worksafe on these areas, particularly ramps, both on-farm and at abattoirs to improve conditions for drivers.
They also work in conjunction with the Victorian Farmers Federation, the Property Agents Association, Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and other bodies to educate and raise ramp standards.
It is a sad fact that you can have a brand-new ramp out of the factory that is not fit for purpose. The LRTAV and the other state associations are pushing hard to push the new ramp standards forward.
At a farm there is at least, often a safety net of people – the farmer, his wife, farm workers. Equally as often at sales yards there is no one there and those facilities in particular should be fit for purpose.
The message to those present was to tell their drivers to report substandard facilities. If the authorities don’t know, they can’t fix it.
Agriculture Victoria’s Les Howard discussed driver’s responsibilities and duty of care towards livestock in the event of an accident.
“Unfortunately, truck rollovers involving livestock do occur,” Les said. “AgVic’s role in responding to these events is as a support agency. I want to stress it is if we have people available to assist.
“We may be requested to go to a truck rollover but we don’t always have people in the area and are not always able to provide that assistance, so we have been working with other agencies to come up with some alternatives to AgVic attending.
‘We have recently signed an agreement with a group called Vets for Compassion. A voluntary group, they have vets all over Victoria. We will be able to call upon them where we haven’t got staff available and they will supply vets to go out and manage the immediate welfare needs at the site.
“I should also stress that it is transport companies, and your primary role as driver to provide assistance and manage truck rollovers involving livestock in terms of managing escaped stock and destruction.”
“You have to have procedures in place to contact the right people: Alina (Hawkins) or Russell (Borchard) through the association, for example. Vets and dead meat men are scattered throughout Victoria. Make sure you’re familiar with the guys at Livestock Assist because they are trying to protect everyone and make the job a lot easier.”
Getting serious about training
Well-known livestock transporter, Anthony Boyle, attended as Executive Director of the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
“We are not just a livestock or rural transport industry,” Anthony said.
“We are part of a $90 billion agricultural sector which employs 300,000 people in Australia. They are amazing numbers. In my spare time – like at 2 o’clock in the morning – I thought I’m going to write a strategic planning document. Entitled ‘Gate to Plate’, it’s all the things that I think that we need as an industry.
“It is everything from maintenance, driver fatigue, driver health, network access and doing things right. The good operators in our industry need to be rewarded on more productivity.
“The only way you’ll be able to beat someone who is running cheaper and doing the wrong things is to be allowed to do what you do and do well but do more of it.
“More productivity, better networks. HPLV is a classic example of that. Good operators who are maintenance accredited, stick to safety systems get more access.”
Anthony also told attendees at this year’s LRTAV conference that it’s time the sector got serious about driver training.
“As an industry we have been very bad at it,” Anthony said.
“When I first started as a kid I went with the old man, my older brother and other drivers. We got to learn. These days you get a license, get chucked in a 909 and expected to do a thousand kilometre trip out of Dubbo. We need to get better at more training.
“People coming into the industry don’t have farm backgrounds and things like that. So, we need to give them skills.
“This is something I want to bring forward through an Academy and that will be the facilitation process. We won’t do all the training but rather we will connect you with Wodonga Tafe and similar organisations.
“There is no one more skilled in this industry than you guys, so we will give you skills as operators to train your own drivers and they can get the recognition that you and they both deserve.”
Other events on the agenda included NTI’s Adam Gibson who discussed the two biggest problems the livestock transport industry faces: falling over and falling asleep.
“Falling over represents about 43 per cent of our serious crashes in the livestock space,” he said. “We would have a B-double full of cattle laying over once a week somewhere in this country and it is getting worse not better over time.
“The risk that creates of some knee-jerk regulatory response is huge. Anyone who thinks that is exaggeration, only needs to look at Western Australia and sheep live exports to see that we could have an entire industry destroyed very quickly if we don’t get on top of it ourselves.
“With our 4.6m height and 2.5m width, and our contained – not restrained – load that moves around, this is a key risk for everyone in this room. It is a moral and safety imperative to get our people home safe and that we keep these trucks on their wheels.”
Brake systems expert
Adam’s presentation leads on to Air Brake Systems Shane Pendergast, one of Australia’s acknowledged experts in the field.
Shane points out that while ABS, EBS and ESC are lifesaving technologies, they are useless if not maintained properly – and that there is a massive lack of technicians available to ensure they are.
“It blows my mind when I see a million-dollar livestock rollover and it was an $86 cable that wasn’t plugged in, which is the difference between it happening and not happening.”
Shane’s workload is such that it took him 11 months to get to LRTAV President, Russell Borchard’s trucks after Russell requested his help, which illustrates the dearth of qualified people in that space.
“When I got to Russell’s fleet the amount of things we found wrong were very wrong. In an AB-triple not one single piece of componentry in that combination was working. Its EBS system was completely shut down, so nothing was braking together.
“There was no load sensing control, there was no ABS action and there was no role stability function in that combination whatsoever.
“I’ve never seen a centre of industry step up as the livestock industry has. Russell is now fully trained and certified to replace his own ECU’s. He went ahead and bought his own diagnostics: Haldex, WABCO, whatever was needed. And that is true leadership. Hopefully everyone else will follow through the way Russell has.”
In other programs on the calendar, Anthony Boyle discussed his personal journey on PBS approval and how, through the LRTAV no-one will have to spend the $300,000 it cost him to have 186 kilometres of road approved.
Thanks to his and the LRTAV’s efforts, PBS network approval is now available to any one via contact through the LRTAV almost instantly.
Bruce Gunter – well known for his Copy Southbound Podcast – also runs a business: Prodrive Compliance.
In his presentation he took the audience on a harrowing journey of what can happen to an operator who hasn’t ‘crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s.
He described one situation where a dismissed (justly) and disgruntled employee complained anonymously to the NHVR hotline.
The company received three pages listing and demanding access to every company record on every employee, dating back years in some cases.
A continuing nightmare for the company, Bruce’s message was simple: Use professionals to ensure you are compliant in all facets of your business, from employees to subbies and anything in between.
The Young Drivers Award went to Palmer Transport’s Alistair Palmer with Borchtrans’ Rennie Brown runner-up.
The two-day event wound down at the Saturday gala dinner MC’d by the hilarious Sam Kekovich.
Next year will be the LRTAV’s 40th and, by popular demand, will again be held at MOVE in Shepparton.