Abnormal industry heading for greater professionalism

But what are these mammoths of
the transport trade?
According to Sampie
Swanepoel, MD of Transvaal Heavy
Transport and abnormal load adviser
to the Road Freight Association
(RFA), abnormal means the load and
the vehicle fall outside the legally
permissible parameters of the Road
Traffic Act (RTA) and regulations.
They fall under the maximum
allowable under a permit which is
managed and controlled through the
TRH11 abnormal load guidelines,”
he said.
“Load abnormality consists of
length, width, height and weight and
involves permits in each province, one
or two self escorts, provincial escorts,
Telkom, Eskom, and the like.
“All this, and much more, is part
of the day-to-day headaches and
frustration that are dealt with in
this industry.”
The abnormal load sector is a
specialised industry, Swanepoel added.
“It is specialised in the sense that
you must know what to do and what
precautions and arrangements must be
made for the safety of the public using
the same roads on which you transport
these abnormal loads to create
infrastructure and economy growth.”
There’s a skills and experience
shortage now in the abnormal road
transport sector, according
to Swanepoel.
“There are not a lot of people left
in this industry that really know what
it is all about,” he said. “Yes, there
are a lot of cowboys – unskilled and
untrained people – in this industry. But
all they are doing is causing havoc and
creating problems for legal operators,
as well as putting the public’s safety
at risk.”
It’s not a poor man’s trade, nor is it
one that promises an immediate return
on investments.
The way Swanepoel sees it, the
abnormal industry is one that has
always had to battle to survive in the
total transport industry.
“This,” he told FTW, “is because
the equipment we invest in is very
expensive, and usually has to obtain
principal approval before we can start
the manufacturing of lowbeds and the
like. This can also take time.”
It’s also an industry sector that faces
serious governmental restrictions on its
allowable operating hours.
“The abnormal industry is not
allowed to operate every working day
of the week,” said Swanepoel, “but is
restricted to operating from Mondays
to Fridays from sunrise to sunset. No
weekends, no public holidays – and
also restricted by embargoes which
are prescribed by the department of
transport (DoT).”