A new ‘Good Practice Guide for Supply of Replacement Parts for use on Heavy Vehicles’ issued by ARTSA-institute aims to boost safety for heavy vehicle drivers and all road users.
Good Practice Guide for Supply of Replacement Parts for use on Heavy Vehicles
Released at the Brisbane Truck Show, the ARTSA Institute (ARTSA-i) says the Guide aims to raise awareness of suppliers, purchasers and installers of safety-critical replacement parts about supply practices.
The Guide describes actions that suppliers should take to ensure parts are suitably certified, that records are kept and installation information is provided. The Guide does not favour original equipment parts over after-market parts. Nor does it favour bricks and mortar retailers over online suppliers. It provides common-sense actions that all part suppliers should take, but often don’t.
“We aim to reduce the risk of workshops fitting poor quality or inadequately rated safety-critical parts as well as providing an understanding of the different types of replacement parts available in the market,” says Dr Peter Hart, Executive Member at ARSTA-i and a certified vehicle engineer.
No requirements to meet a standard
“For many types of replacement parts there are no requirements to meet a standard. For safety-critical parts such as braking, steering and suspension, the supply, selection and fitment of sub-standard replacement parts could compromise the safety of truck drivers and all other road users. A casual glance at the part may not reveal any inherent unsuitability for the intended task, due to inappropriate materials used or short-cuts taken during manufacturing. Just because the part may appear to fit, does not necessarily mean it is suitable or safe. It is the supplier’s responsibility to correctly describe the status of the part to the market.
“ARSTA-i has devised this Guide in association with its members as well as outside experts to offer clarity to everyone in the replacement parts chain, regarding the suitability and safety of parts with acceptable quality that may be sourced by an operator or workshop,” Dr Hart says.
“Price is an easy to understand variable, but quality and suitability are harder to determine, and in some cases, there is no linear relationship between price and quality. It is when things go wrong that the supplier’s quality controls and record keeping become critical.”
Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law those who are involved in heavy vehicle transport have a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities, including to ensure their vehicles comply with vehicle standards and are appropriately maintained.
A clogged Cabin Fresh Air Filter
“Operators should purchase good-value parts for heavy vehicles that will provide safe, reliable, and legal performance,” Dr Hart says. “The Guide defines acceptable supply practice and advises purchasers what to expect from suppliers. The use of poor-quality parts leaves the operator vulnerable to expensive breakdowns and reworks, enforcement attention and loss of insurance cover. For this latter reason alone every vehicle operator is urged to ensure that their in-house technicians or third-party workshops and suppliers fit parts that are suitable for the job.
“We want to reduce the risk of in-service failure of all replacement parts, to avoid the vehicle crashing, or simply breaking down on the highway where they may be vulnerable to impact by other road users, potentially causing death, injury, loss or damage. We believe these risks can be mitigated if replacement parts suppliers implement the quality-assurance activities specified in this new Guide,” Dr Hart says.
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The Guide recognises four risk levels which are:
- Safety Critical
- Safety and Compliant Relevant
- Minor Safety Relevance and
- No Safety and Compliance Concerns.
The Guide’s advice is graduated according to these levels.
By implementing the Guide’s suggestions suppliers will identify appropriate technical standards, hold validation test reports, keep supply records, review failure reports, and provide installation information.
“All suppliers of parts can and should comply with the requirements of this Guide,” Dr Hart says.
The Guide is applicable to replacement parts which are used to replace an original part, and for parts that are used to modify a vehicle.
“We would like to see workshop parts buyers transacting with suppliers who are following the Guide so they can be confident that practices are being followed that promote good part quality.”
This Guide identifies good practices that will support suppliers, purchasers, operators, and others involved in the servicing or modification of heavy vehicles, to enhance the safety and reputation of the road transport sector. Additionally, the purchaser and fitter of these parts will have peace-of-mind that they have completed satisfactorily their role in the chain of responsibility.
“The Guide will also be of interest to enforcement officers inspecting vehicles at the roadside, who may be able to recognise quality replacement parts used in safety-critical areas,” Dr Hart says.
ARTSA-i is reaching out to all heavy vehicle owners and operators as well as repair shops, in-house workshops and parts retailers, and to relevant truck industry bodies, to explain the content of the Guide and how it can best be utilised.
The Guide can be downloaded at www.artsa.com.au
Good Practice Guide for Supply of Replacement Parts for use on Heavy Vehicles
About ARTSA-i
The ARTSA Institute (ARTSA-i), formerly known as the Australian Road Transport Suppliers’ Association, has been established to respond the challenge of the rapidly changing heavy vehicle industry. It undertakes collaborative independent research in the domain of heavy vehicle transport. The outcomes of the research are intended to inform the development of future policies of relevance to the heavy vehicle sector. ARTSA-i is also a leader in gathering and analysing information on the Heavy Vehicle Transport industry in Australia.
The Institute aims to:
- Influence the debate around framing policies for the industry
- Provide evidence-based data and research to influence policy decisions
- Provide guidance to industry and stakeholders to improve the safety, productivity and environmental impacts of the industry
- Train the next generation of future leaders
An Institute Advisory Board is headed by ARTSA Chair Martin Toomey and includes five ARTSA-i Life Members: Gary Liddle, David Anderson, Peter Hart, Gerard Waldron and Rob Perkins.
Current Institute projects include:
- Replacement Parts Project – to reduce the use of poor-quality parts being used for safety critical heavy vehicle parts
- Developing Truck Fires Guidance and communications program to reduce the incidence of the increasing number of costly and disruptive truck fires
- Brake Calculator Project – to provide the industry with a world leading brake calculator for accessing compliance with ADRs
- Analysis of the uptake of Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles in Australia
- Institute Data Analytics quarterly report on the heavy vehicle data
