By Jonathan Thomson
CEO, NZ Heavy Haulage Association
As the scope for international companies working within New Zealand increases and contracts are formed with local companies by global logistics suppliers, there is an increasing need for harmonisation of standards and better communication globally.
This was the main driver for the World Crane and Transport Summit held in Amsterdam last year, and resulted in an alliance being formed to work towards these objectives.
The NZ Heavy Haulage Association (NZHHA) was fortunate enough to be invited to join in the alliance and was a signatory to this document that was officially agreed at the meeting.
The international heavyweight associations of the heavy haulage and crane industries were the main drivers for the alliance, namely the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association (USA) and ESTA, the European Specialized Transportation Association. In addition, the crane industry associations from Australia and Canada joined with the NZHHA in making up the initial partners to the alliance.
So what does this mean in practical terms?
Well, it’s early days yet, but one example from the crane sector strongly indicated to me the usefulness of such an alliance being formed to facilitate the communication flows. In basic terms, the issues discussed at the summit related to a significant difference of opinion about the override key in mobile cranes.
The New European Standard proposes changes to the standard, which the US crane industry objects to. Essentially if this situation continues then any crane destined for the US market will need to be spec’d differently to those for the European market.
Obviously this has impacts on when new or second-hand cranes are exported to or from the US/European markets.
For us, this could have an impact in the future on cranes imported into this country, and the operational procedures could vary depending on the market for the crane. Needless to say that the parties are working on a compromise, which was facilitated by the summit taking place.
In an example from the heavy haulage sector, an identified issue is the stability of trailers when carrying heavy loads with challenging centres of gravity (i.e. high). There was discussion about the development of a best practice guide for trailer stability, and it would be imperative that, if a cross-continent guide were developed, our association be fully involved.
The whole issue of the development of industry-led best practice guides was, for me, one of the significant developments to come out of the summit. Therefore it was with much pride that I was able to present some of the initiatives that the NZHHA has been developing over recent times. Be it the best practice guides for building relocation, safety manuals, simple guides to the rules for the transport of overdimension loads, or guidelines for traffic control, our association was right up there with the best in terms of these resources.
Another topic that came up regularly in discussion was the training, assessment, licensing and ongoing registration of the operators of cranes and specialised transport. It is clear that the crane industry is leading the sector in terms of the licensing of operators, but there are efforts within the transport sector to provide standards for training of drivers within the specialised sector.
Clearly while there can be local variations to cope with country-specific requirements for the operation of heavy haulage and crane companies, there is also huge value in standardising these requirements between countries, and this is where the alliance can perform a role over time. Whether it be the standardisation of components or equipment being imported into New Zealand, or the export to other countries of trailers and alike manufactured here, the closer the harmonisation the standards and specifications, the better for all parties.
Also take the example of the scarce skilled workforce for our sectors. It would be ideal if we were able to attract experienced operators to work in New Zealand on the basis that we have similar gear and operational procedures that they are used to working with, as well as their qualifications being recognised here with few significant variations. This can only work to strengthen our industry’s future.
The detail of the issues that will come forth to confront the alliance will be numerous, and will to some degree only multiply the huge variations that can currently be seen within Europe or between the different states in the US. However a global target could actually assist with the task of harmonisation within countries as everyone can keep their eye on the ball of a common goal.
This process may perceived to be ‘pie in the sky’, but as we all know in the advocacy game, if you don’t set the target and work a plan to achieve it, it certainly will never happen. So I can’t wait to see what outcomes can be achieved over years to come as the alliance heavyweights get into gear.
Contractor Vol.34 No.2 March 2010
All articles on this website are copyright to Contrafed Publishing Co. Ltd.
