TEAM PBS

Transport Engineering and Management (TEAM) commenced business in Adelaide as Edwards Consulting Services in July of 1988, with Managing Director, Bob Edwards, leading the company through the industry to what it looks like today.

Bob was introduced to transport in 1962 when he signed on as a heavy vehicle mechanic apprentice. However, at the time he was unaware of how influential his efforts would be in driving better standards for the road transport industry for decades to follow.

After spending 14 years maintaining heavy vehicles and trailing equipment, Bob moved on to study engineering. In 1974, he went on to serve with the South Australian Transport Department with an educated perspective and practical experience under his belt. His focus on heavy vehicle modifications and road traffic regulations for the state government introduced him to the next step of his career.

“I started Transport Engineering and Management in 1988 in response to the inevitable progression of accreditation systems and safety standards prior to the take-up of the Performance-Based Standards (PBS) high-productivity scheme,” he says. “It’s ultimately grown over the years with major changes to laws. So, my growth has been along that path, driven by what happens to the law to some extent.”

Bob undertook his new role as a PBS certifier which saw him dealing with new trailer manufacturers that would build to specification and then call in a certifier like himself.

“My role is to thoroughly inspect a combination to be approved and make sure that it meets all of the requirements included in the assessor’s design,” he says. “I look at truck and trailer combinations or multiple combinations, measure them up and make sure that the suspensions, axles, gearboxes and dimensions meet specifications. I then provide a report to the regulator, who verifies that the combination meets the requirements and issues a Vehicle Approval to the operator for the vehicle to operate at certain levels of PBS.”

According to Bob, the majority of combinations seen at his early stages were three axle trucks and three and four axle dog trailers. Over time five and six axle dog trailers, A-doubles, B-triples and even larger combinations have become more popular for the PBS process.

“There are a lot more operators with existing equipment that are coming to us nowadays, asking if they can make it fit the rules,” he says. “In the past, the original situation was that trailer manufacturers were getting approval for new vehicles and then building. Now we’re finding that the information we submit to an Assessor is often for an existing combination, so it’s a reversed engineer situation. We are providing these services across Australia.”

With its processes TEAM often guides its client towards an In-Principle approval from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) – a step before certification which it highly recommends. This allows operators to obtain a partial assessment and determine whether they will be allowed to use local roads before spending money upfront on a more expensive, full assessment and certification.

Bob has been a nationally recognised PBS certifier since its arrival in 2008. With TEAM he offers several services including accreditation, ADR (Australian Design Rule) compliance approvals, fleet management, general advisory services, mass and dimension permits, modification approvals, structural damage reporting and truck and trailer mass upgrades.