Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Vehicles as a Workplace

This webinar provides an overview of the ‘Vehicles as a Workplace: Work Health & Safety Guide' from a safety, regulatory and industry perspective.

The Vehicles as a Workplace Guide provides practical risk management guidance for individuals and organisations who use vehicles on public roads for work.

The guide describes a process for dealing with road traffic hazards in line with work health and safety (WHS) legislation and road traffic safety principles. It covers all vehicle use in road traffic and complements other legislative requirements that apply to businesses whose primary purpose is transport, such as bus, truck or taxi operators.

The webinar was presented on 9 October 2019 by Martin Small, Grant Phillips, Mace Hartley and Peter Daly.

Key Freight Routes: Heavy Vehicle Usage Data Project

This webinar provides an overview of an Austroads project that analysed telematics data to explore how heavy vehicles use Key Freight Routes.

It covers:

• the methodology used in preparing the research
• outcomes of discussions with industry and other stakeholders
• key recommendations from the report
• recent updates to the National Telematics Framework which support the recommendations including: new telematics applications at different levels of assurance, release of the Telematics Data Exchange, and accessibility of data to road managers and other stakeholders.

The webinar was presented on 3 October 2019 by Tim Renowden and Gavin Hill.

National View on Regional and Remote Road Safety

This webinar provides an overview of the causes and contributing factors behind road crashes in regional and remote areas, and strategic guidance to identify the best approaches to eliminate harm.

It covers:

• key current road safety issues in regional and remote areas based on crash data and the research literature
• stakeholder perspectives on current issues
• evidence-based measures and new initiatives for improving road safety in regional and remote areas
• recommendations, aligned with the Safe System approach, that provide strategic directions for future actions
• future opportunities for regional and remote road safety.

The webinar was presented on 1 October 2019 by Melissa Watts and Dr Lisa Wundersitz.

Dangerous Goods in Tunnels

This webinar provides an overview of an Austroads project that examined the passage of dangerous good through Australasian road tunnels, and continuing studies on this topic.

It covers:

• the background of the project
• a standardised methodology to guide the assessment of risk and the variations between existing tunnels and tunnels entering the design phase
• current national and international practice
• the next stage of the study.

The webinar was presented on 12 September 2019 by Nigel Casey and Bruce Dandie.

Opportunities in Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

This webinar provides an overview of the concept of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and the opportunities it presents for transport agencies in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Mobility as a Service refers to the shift from personally-owned transport modes to mobility solutions that are consumed as a service. This project explored industry definitions, service characteristics, global best practice, and ways ANZ transport agencies are harnessing the risks and opportunities associated with MaaS.  

It covers:

• why there is no single definition of MaaS
• international and local transport agency experience in MaaS initiatives
• common features of the mobility and service environments that support MaaS
• potential roles for the public sector in supporting MaaS outcomes.

The webinar was presented by Mary Haverland and Pete Davis.

 

Guide to Road Tunnels Part 4: Retrofitting Tunnels

This webinar provides an overview of the new Guide to Road Tunnels Part 4: Retrofitting Tunnels and the requirements for developing a project to upgrade a road tunnel.

It covers:

• why a retrofitting project may be required for a tunnel
• the types of retrofitting projects
• the process of developing a retrofitting project
• acceptable standards for retrofitting
• retrofitting or refurbishing individual components of the tunnel or tunnel systems
• achieving energy efficiency in tunnel construction and operation by adopting appropriate solutions
• case studies on the M2 Norfolk Twin Tunnels NSW and the refurbishment of the Terrace Tunnel, New Zealand.

The webinar was presented on 29 August 2019 presented by Les Louis.

Guide to Pavement Technology Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and Treatment Design

This webinar, presented on 22 August 2019, provides an overview of the key changes to the Guide to Pavement Technology Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and Treatment Design, and the significant advances in the thickness design of structural treatments for flexible road pavements.

It covers:

• an overview of the pavement evaluation process and selection of treatment options
• use of Travelling Speed Deflectometer (TSD) to design granular overlays
• new procedures for mechanistic-empirical design of strengthening treatments.

Presented by Geoff Jameson and Dr Michael Moffatt.

Development of a Sprayed Seal Binder Cracking Test

This webinar provides an overview of an Austroads project that developed a new sprayed seal binder cracking test and compared the performance of polymer modified binders (PMBs).

It covers:

• background of the project
• sprayed seal binder cracking test
• comparisons of the performance of S20E/A20E and S25E/A15E grade PMBs in asphalt and sprayed seals
• proposed changes to AGPT/T190 based on the results of the project.

The webinar was presented on 8 August 2019 by Robert Urquhart.

General Conditions of Contract for Construction - National Capital Works 4 (NCW4)

This webinar provides an overview of the new General Conditions of Contract for Construction - National Capital Works 4 (NCW4), released by Austroads and the Australian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC).

It covers:

• rational for developing NCW4
• principles underpinning NCW4
• key clauses in NCW4.

The webinar was presented on 25 July 2019 by Richard Edwards. 

Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence Applied to Road Network Operations

This webinar provides an overview of the opportunities to apply artificial intelligence to road network operations.

It covers:

• definitions of artificial intelligence and machine learning
• applications in road network operations
• limitations
• adoption in organisations.

Presented was presented by Matthew Gallaugher and Arash Kaviani.