A Parallel Access Landing (PAL) frame is being trialed at Kilcoy

An important trial to provide a significant boost to safety in the livestock industry is underway at Kilcoy Global Foods in South-East Queensland’s Somerset Region.

Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said the trial of the innovative Parallel Access Landing (PAL) frame was a key project under the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative program, supported by the Federal Government.

“Livestock can be very unpredictable and that can pose a safety risk to any driver or operator, particularly if they are working at heights while loading or unloading,” Mr Buchholz said.

“The Coalition Government provided $3.9 million in funding to support Round 2 of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative program. “$102,000 of that will allow the Australian Livestock Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) to conduct a feasibility study into user-pay unloading infrastructure at a major Australian livestock processing facility,” Mr Buchholz said.

“The PAL frame has been designed to improve productivity and safety and the data we collect from this trial will assess whether this system could be rolled out across Australia.”

The frame, located at Kilcoy Global Foods, includes AVDATA billing, reporting, monitoring and an access control system.

The company has the capacity for 1200 head a day and employs more than 1200 staff.

ALRTA’s National President Stephen Marley said the project shows that all supply chain parties are working together on making heavy vehicle transport safer.

“The industry is working together with government to find solutions to some of our most important challenges,” Mr Marley said.

“I want to see the rate of falls and injury among livestock operators continue to decline.”

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the funding for local safety projects continue to play a crucial role in improving heavy vehicle safety and productivity.

“These are great ideas that need to be supported to ensure better heavy vehicle industry safety, information, policy and practice across Australia,” Mr Petroccitto said.

Assistant Minister Buchholz said the Federal Government increased funding to the HVSI program from $3.9 million to $5.4 million in this year’s Budget.

“It’s part of our Government’s strong commitment to improve safety in the transport sector, which also included increases to the Black Spot and Roads to Recovery programs,” Mr Buchholz said.

For more information visit www.nhvr.gov.au/hvsi