Access management vision and enabling projects

Transcription

1 Access management vision and enabling projects Vision The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Project Office (NHVRPO), in collaboration with jurisdictions and industry, will develop and implement an integrated approach to heavy vehicle access management across the national road network. It will provide platforms that will enable industry and jurisdictions to interact in a seamless, consistent and timely manner and provide consistent decision making through the provision of agreed national guidelines and tools. Through a NHVR one stop shop approach, all road network stakeholders will be able to enact their access transactional arrangements using national online and system platforms that will provide information, encourage increased levels of customer service and foster innovation. It will deliver real benefits across the national road network by: reducing administrative and regulatory burden increasing certainty in road access improving application and permit turnaround time enhancing safety and productivity outcomes improving equity and transparency of decision making. Enabling The NHVRPO will introduce three distinct, but interdependent, projects to enable delivery of the envisioned improvements in customer service and innovation. They will also address the consistency and timeliness of decision making through the development of service standards, evaluation tools and training. The three access projects are: single point of contact developing a one stop shop interface for access applications and issuance (permits, applications and performance based standards) and the management of permit approval workflows network mapping developing capability and process for the consolidated national mapping of heavy vehicle route networks access decision making developing processes and tools to foster consistency in access decision making by asset owners (eg. guidelines and codes of practice).

2 Single point of contact The single point of contact project will develop and implement a web portal and centralised workflow management system as part of providing a one stop shop interface for all access requests. This will streamline the application process and benefit operators by eliminating the need to apply for permits from multiple agencies. It will be the source for all types of access requests anywhere in Australia (ie. interstate or territory freight tasks, tasks involving local roads, special access requests, special vehicle requests (eg. performance based standards (PBS) etc.). It is envisaged the NHVRPO will deliver the one stop shop approach through the establishment of a service centre located in Brisbane, and co located with the NHVR office. The NHVR service centre would also be available to support other Operational Policy and Systems domains. It is proposed the service centre will be accessible via multiple technologies of internet, phone, or fax. However it is not envisaged the service centre will provide face to face access via a customer service counter. Where face to face contact is required, it is anticipated this will be through jurisdiction offices. This face to face contact could be provided by jurisdictional staff acting as agents for the NHVR via a service level agreement (SLA) arrangement. The centralised workflow management system (WMS) will be accessed by both jurisdictions and industry via a web portal. The web portal will be an information hub providing information on, obtaining access, on legislation, national assessment guidelines and tools, appeal and review mechanism, and other NHVR activities. It will also be a key interface to the heavy vehicle industry, NHVR staff within the service centre, and jurisdictions providing access decisions. Under the proposed model, applicants would apply for access through the web portal, or through customer service agents who would input the applicant s information into the WMS on the applicant s behalf, submitting the required information via interactive forms and attaching other required information. Initial assessment of applications would be, where possible, automated by being assessed against pre approved gazettal notices and or pre agreed road conditions to determine eligibility for access. If a permit cannot be issued using pre approvals via gazette notices or other pre approved conditions, the WMS will have decision support capabilities that will enable the NHVR to direct assessment requests to the relevant agency or agencies that have authority and decision making responsibility for each route segment. To facilitate this approach the NHVR will act as a liaison between the applicant and the jurisdiction decision makers through the establishment of a case management regime that will be responsible for coordination and mediation of applications and decisions. This will include, when required, providing resource assistance to small jurisdictions asset managers and owners. Completed jurisdiction assessment reports and decisions will be able to be displayed on the WMS to facilitate the NHVR permit issuance. As assessment decisions are completed, the WMS will move the application on to the next decision making stage or return it to the NHVR for final processing and issuance. Where access decision making is across multiple jurisdictions, the WMS will make it possible for individual jurisdictions to undertake their assessment tasks simultaneously.

3 Where requests for access can be processed automatically using pre approvals via gazette notices or other pre approved conditions, jurisdictions will be advised of the impending issue of the permit. This will help inform jurisdictional compliance and enforcement regimes, as well as highlighting potential road usage. Following the issue of a permit, the results of the decision making, (ie. where there has been a new route and or vehicle conditions determined) they will be available to industry and jurisdictions via the NHVR web portal. Both operators and jurisdictions will be able to track the progress of applications throughout the assessment and issuing process. The collection of national access data will allow the NHVR to provide business intelligence analysis to all jurisdictions, particularly in monitoring and reporting on the performance of access management across jurisdictions, executive reporting when requested by ministers and jurisdictions and ad hoc queries and multi dimensional data analysis. Network mapping The network mapping project will deliver a comprehensive and consistent national heavy vehicle mapping system that will enable the development of a consolidated series of maps that reflect the hierarchy of freight routes in Australia. It will provide operators with a tool to enhance ease of access to the road network, and provide a resource for jurisdiction access decision makers and the NHVR. Publicly accessible, the mapping system will be a key tool to: enable access to the road system by identifying those routes that have previously been approved (gazetted) and do not require a formal application to obtain Access assist the NHVR in printing of gazettal notices and issuing permits assist heavy vehicle categorisation for access requests. The network mapping system will be a key resource in supporting the proposed single point of contact web portal for access requests nationally, with operators accessing national maps in one place, assisting them in the planning of routes. It is envisaged heavy vehicle operators will access a mapping system, similar to the current PBS Smart Maps for Smart Trucks, and enter their vehicle and load information, as well as their route start and finish points. The mapping system would then facilitate operator route selection to ensure the most appropriate route is selected for the task. When permits are required, the displayed map could be saved as part of the application process and submitted for assessment. This national consolidated heavy vehicle network mapping system will not replace existing road access databases used for asset management by jurisdictions. Jurisdictional network and asset databases are a critical tool for managing road planning and asset maintenance.

4 It is intended therefore, that the proposed mapping system will possess the capability of incorporating updates from these jurisdictional systems. The intention is to collate this information into a national database that will allow vehicle operators to plan the movement of restricted access vehicles (RAVs) but will also underpin the printing of notices and the permit issuing functions of the NHVR. It will also provide a single national view of data sourced from all jurisdictions. This mapping system will integrate closely with the other key access management projects (ie. the development of a single point of contact for members of the public to access to the gazetted routes and allow them to apply for permits) and the access decision making project which will provide the framework for the categorisation of routes and vehicles. Access decision making The access decision making project will develop and implement national guidelines and associated material for improving access decision making processes across Australia. These guidelines will be used by jurisdictions to enable them to make their access decisions within a framework that will meet the requirements of the Heavy Vehicle National Law. The project will develop a number of initiatives that are designed to improve access decision making. The establishment of a comprehensive framework for the management of access decision making processes will include a set of manuals and tools which can be used by road managers and owners to assist them to make access decisions in a consistent manner, and encourage improvements across a variety of national access related functions including application turnaround times, decision quality and consistency, and business processes. The following manuals and tools have been identified as forming the framework: vehicle assessment guidelines route assessment guidelines risk management guidelines recommendations on bridge and pavement assessment tools recommendations on fees and charges for access permits and related services a framework for assisting road managers with limited capability to conduct route assessments a mechanism and guidelines for a review of access decisions training and public education materials.

5 As an important part of this suite of manuals, the NHVRPO will prioritise the development, in collaboration with jurisdictions, assessment manuals for vehicle and route categorisation that will enable jurisdictions to deliver a national standard of assessments for access across the road network. The use of these assessment manuals will be further supported by the development of a risk management guideline that will enable and encourage a consistent approach to assessing risk as part of determining jurisdictional vehicle and road assessments. These standards will also assist in forming the basis for ongoing development of conditions imposed via gazettal notices or other pre approved jurisdictional conditions. Ideally, this will minimise the requirement for multiple operator and road owner interactions, and ultimately lead to improvements in the operation of the road transport system as a whole.