Jonathan Bhana-Thomson, CEO of the Heavy Haulage Association, discusses the industry’s issues, opportunities and wishes as it recalibrates following Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. In association with Teletrac Navman.

The state of our industry has been surprisingly good since we came out of level 4 lockdown.

When we were under those restrictions, most of our members who service the construction industry saw their work grind to a halt. Building sites were closed, and many of the supporting services – for example, house movers – couldn’t get supplies to put houses on foundations. Councils couldn’t inspect those that were built, either. We were not seen as essential compared with the freight sector. So, when the lockdown was lifted, there was a lot of catching up to do.

This year, in particular, we see high demand for our services, as developers are ramping up work and needing large items to be transported from source to site. There have been some regional variations— the North Island being busier than the South generally. One-third of the HHA’s members are based in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, with the rest spread between Kaitaia in the north and Invercargill in the south.

Wins & challenges

Construction has led the way in demand for services to support housing and commercial projects and civil works. Some of them, such as Transmission Gully, are ongoing. Several of the association’s members have been involved in that from the beginning. Others are primarily requests from the house-moving sector — transporting recycled homes from one site to another or prefabricated new houses from factory to foundations. In the past few months especially, the construction sector has driven demands for our members, particularly the government-driven jobgenerating shovel-ready projects.

A significant win for the industry is folks being kept busy. And as long as there is demand for services, transport operators will be confident to invest in new trailers and technology. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Another innovation is an acceleration of the roll-out of weigh-in-motion sites across the country, which is good news as it will lead to a more level playing field for operators. An electronic sign will instruct trucks to pull over at an upcoming weigh station. This will encourage more compliance as operators will not want their trucks pulled in frequently to conduct an enforcement weigh, therefore losing valuable time.

I’d say the challenge is that, like most sectors across New Zealand, heavy haulage is experiencing a skills shortage. Many members have reported how difficult it is to get transporter drivers and support staff. The dearth of drivers means they are easily lured from one operator to another. A heavy-haulage driver typically needs some freight transport experience to begin with, plus the added know-hows of the rules of oversized loads and dealing with those rules.

Technology in heavy haulage

There’s a wide variety of ways in which technology can enhance the heavy-haulage industry. In-built scales and tyre-monitoring technology are some examples of how technology improves efficiency and maintenance. In addition, various safety innovations are being looked at through the lens of technology – such as safety around ramps on the back of trailers, which could employ multiple technological solutions to ensure that this is not a risk area for drivers and operators.

For the on-road transport of overweight loads, technology could be used to ensure compliance with bridge-crossing restrictions where these are required – in terms of bridge identification and speed management. For overweight and overdimension permits, 24/7 access to the issuing of permits and the required notification of load movements to various other parties could be facilitated by technology.

Looking forward

We want Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to completely reform the application, processing and issuing of over-dimension permits. Currently, the process is not user-friendly. We would also like permits to be applied in real-time and, ideally, better integrated with overweight permits. The potential to digitalise overweight and overdimension permit applications is massive.

Technology is another area in which operators can invest to increase productivity and prioritise workforce safety. Being able to alert pilots of approaching bridges with GPS and geofencing features, for example, can help them be more efficient and safer, benefitting the industry all round.