64 | The people behind the machines are the key Bryan’s passion for driver safety and the skills they must acquire to operate the massive logging truck and trailer units is evident. Self-Loader Logging Richard Loader FORESTRY A distinctive red zig-zagged stripe painted on each side of all Self Loader Logging Trucks carries a powerful message. The stripe indicates a heartbeat — the heartbeat of the driver within the cab. It also illustrates the passion the company’s owner has for the driver’s safety, and the safety of all road users — safety that can only be assured through the truck driver’s skill. “My drivers are the heartbeat of my business and without that heartbeat in the truck, my trucks go nowhere,” says Bryan Smith, who founded the Taupo based logging business 35 years ago. “I’m passionate about driver skills and driver safety because I care. One of my pet hates is that truck driving is considered unskilled, when it’s highly skilled. I have trucks running at 62 tonnes on the highway and 90 tonnes off highway, and I would argue that truck driving is one of the most skilful jobs. “A self-loading bin truck and trailer unit is pushing a million dollars now. A standard log truck is pushing $700,000. If my drivers make a mistake, in the best-case scenario, they do thousands of dollars of damage. In the worstcase scenario, they kill people, or hit a school bus, and do a million dollars plus of damage, not factoring in the lives that have been lost.” Bryan is an executive and founding member of the Log Transport Safety Council, which embraces the pathway to success for driver training. “We have a training pathway being pioneered by the LTSC that recognises the drivers’ skill set — it demonstrates their experience and time served on the road; it shows they are professional drivers.” Bryan’s passion for driver safety and the skills they must acquire to operate the massive logging truck and trailer units is evident as he outlines just some of the skills needed. “There’s a skill in loading the trucks properly — there are axle weights and configurations. You have to know what you can put on the truck and trailer, and where to place it. “Drivers have to know the legal limitations so they don’t break the law by exceeding weight limits. They have to know how to use the scales, know their trucks capabilities, and what roads they can go on. “Every make of truck has a sweet spot — the driver has to understand how the truck works, the best rev range and how to get the best fuel efficiency. Then throw in a crane for self-loading trucks and you have to have the skill set to operate that. “When you’re working with a hauler you’re operating in very steep, harsh terrain — you have to load and drive it appropriately so you don’t tip it over. You have to be able to drive it down a hill and keep control of it. Yet, it’s considered an unskilled job!” Bryan is also frustrated that truck drivers are still not on the Government’s essential skills list, and says it wasn’t even on the shortage list. “We have a massive shortage of skilled drivers in this country and putting them on the essential skills list would open up a pathway to bring skilled immigrants in. “The Government has made it too hard to train our own drivers. It takes 18 months to get a heavy traffic licence. You can’t support someone for 18 months while they’re waiting to get their licence, but you can fast track the pathway to getting a licence. “I pioneered a system called the Accelerated Licensing Programme (ALP), where I could take a driver who has held his full Class 1 licence for a minimum of 12 months and get him on a Class 5 Heavy Driver Licence within two months. Unfortunately, these programmes are not advertised. For some reason it is a secret and it shouldn’t be.” “I’m passionate about driver skills and driver safety because I care. One of my pet hates is that truck driving is considered unskilled.” PROUDLYASSOCIATEDWiTH SELF LOADER LOGGING LTD SCANIA NEWZEALAND
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