Have you ever heard of the Performance-Based Standards Scheme (PBS)? Established in 2007 in Australia, PBS has become an innovative method that’s revolutionised the commercial transportation industry in Australia and is fast having an impact on the rest of the world. Join us as we explore how PBS improves safety and efficiency in trucking in Australia.
What are Performance-Based Standards?
Introduced in Australia in 2006, Performance-Based Standards (PBS) is a scheme that’s designed to maximise the safety and productivity of the commercial transportation industry in Australia. Since its release, it’s been so effective that other countries have taken to using it as well.
Think about businesses in the transportation industry. If they have two small half-ton trucks and they have to deliver four tons in a day, they would have to make several trips. Would they not? The PBS scheme was designed to avoid this! By creating a framework and establishing a network of routes throughout the country, the PBS scheme regulates the design of different freighters to ensure the right one is being used for the right job.
This means that instead of a business needing to do several trips with one truck, they can become PBS-approved and utilise a larger truck that has a bigger capacity, meaning less fuel, less wear and tear on assets and roads, and less impact on the environment as a result.
How are Performance Based Standards used in the trucking industry in Australia?
In Australia in 2019, the PBS-approved fleet saved over 200 million litres of fuel and 486,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s a significant impact that the PBS is making in the trucking industry in Australia. But it doesn’t stop there. As the fleet continues to grow and more businesses join the PBS, the amount of trucks on the road will continue to decrease as delivery methods become more effective.
PBS aims to transport goods in the smartest way possible. This means larger trucks with more storage capacity so that they can have fewer trucks on the road while still delivering more. As a result, this saves fuel, ensures that roads are safer for other drivers, and reduces the damage heavy vehicles do to the road.
The impact of PBS in the transportation industry goes further than Australia as well. For instance, in South Africa, the PBS scheme was applied to the forestry industry, and the findings were incredible. In fact, by 2030, estimates show that South Africa will reduce their number of trips by 19.8%, that’s less 13.22 million km travelled, resulting in 5.73 million litres of fuel saved and less 15,130 tonnes of CO2 emissions released into our atmosphere yearly.
Benefits of Performance-Based Standards
As you can see in Australia and South Africa, the Performance-Based Standards scheme has a significant impact. This is likely why South Africa chose to use Australia’s innovative PBS scheme in the first place because its benefits were clearly evident. Here are some more benefits of the PBS scheme:
1. Reduced damage to pavements and bridges
The PBS fleet has been shown to reduce wear and tear to bridges and pavements. While they usually have similar load capacities to other heavy vehicles and usually are more productive, their extended body disperses the weight better which causes less damage to pavements and bridges.
2. Improved heavy vehicle safety
PBS vehicles go through strict assessments before they’re approved for the PBS fleet. The PBS has strict safety requirements for all their vehicles, thus, ensuring that there are safer heavy vehicles on the road. In addition to this, a study into the impact of PBS found that the use of the PBS fleet would possibly lead to almost 66% fewer heavy vehicle accidents, saving almost 96 lives, and $156 million dollars by 2030.
3. Improved productivity and efficiency
The productivity benefits of PBS vehicles are clear. Consider this: instead of doing multiple trips, you do one. As a business, you’re using your assets more effectively and getting a better return on your investments. Reports have shown that PBS vehicles can reduce your trips by about 25%. That means you’re saving a quarter of your costs by using a PBS vehicle that’s able to handle a greater capacity of goods and is designed to be lighter on fuel.
4. The impact on the environment
Consider the figures above in Australia and South Africa. Together, by 2030, these countries would have reduced their CO2 emissions by 501,130 tonnes. That’s huge for our environment! This is all due to PBS vehicles needing to make fewer journeys in comparison to your typical heavy vehicles.
5. Less heavy vehicles on the road
Lastly, if you’ve ever been stuck behind a string of trucks on the highway, you’d appreciate this one. PBS trucks reduce the risks of accidents with heavy vehicles because there are fewer of them on the road. PBS vehicles are designed to have larger load capacities to optimise how much they can transport in one go. This limits the number of trucks needed and journeys, thus reducing the number of heavy vehicles on the road and improving the transportation industry for other drivers.
Final Thoughts
We believe the results speak for themself. The Performance-Based Standards has made a huge mark on the world, showing countries all over that there’s a more effective and safer way to transport goods and services nationwide while saving money and reducing the impact on the environment.
