Forfeiting the human factor?

August 19, 2021

It is said that autonomous transport is just around the corner … but will this be feasible for dangerous goods?

Autonomous transport might be further away than originally anticipated, as we report on page 26 in issue 7/2021 of FOCUS. The piece also reveals that autonomy will be easier to implement in specific industries, such as construction, as these sites have fewer “variables” and the vehicles don’t have to operate on public roads – which opens a whole other can of legislative worms.

Global Trade Magazine, which describes itself as THE magazine for US companies doing business globally, also makes another valid point. A physical driver is always needed in some form or capacity.

In her piece “Automation Trends and Challenges in Transporting Dangerous Goods” Haylle Sok from Global Trade writes: “When transporting dangerous goods on wheels, what role does the autonomous vehicle fulfil? Let us start with what could go wrong with transporting dangerous goods. In an interesting evaluation of this process, Occupational Health and Safety released an in-depth article outlining the potential risks associated with ground transportation of dangerous goods.

“These risks included collisions and accidents, emergency response measures, loading and unloading and the measures taken to properly secure such materials after loading for the ride. In all of these examples given by OHS, a physical driver is needed in some form or capacity, and not just any driver, but a trained hazmat employee. Without properly trained employees or advances in technology to ensure compliance is achieved, an employee will need to be physically
present for the majority of the ‘autonomous’ vehicle experience, even if that employee isn’t the one doing the driving.”

Closer to home, drivers are also required to obtain specialised training if they’re transporting hazardous goods.

Arrive Alive, in its piece “Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods”, explains that:

All drivers must undergo annual dangerous goods training by an approved Department of Transport training provider;
Only accredited trainers can provide dangerous goods training. The companies are gazetted;
Drivers also need to undergo specialised training where loading/off-loading requires specific procedures to be followed – for example, for bulk fuel;
Drivers cannot be younger than 25 years of age;
There must be a clear differentiation between “goods”, “passenger” and “dangerous goods” drivers; and
Some people believe that rollover prevention training must become one of the minimum requirements, as rollovers involving dangerous-goods vehicles pose the biggest risk on our roads. “From my own experience, our rollover incident rates at Afrox improved drastically after we implemented mandatory rollover avoidance training in our bulk operations,” notes Ferdinand Jooste, national bulk distribution manager at Afrox.

Arrive Alive also provides recommendations in terms of health checks and the well-being of those drivers transporting hazardous goods:

The National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 requires a medical check to be carried out every two years before a professional driving permit is issued;
Although dangerous goods driver medical certification is quite strict, some believe the issue around fatigue is not adequately addressed throughout the industry. Many accidents occur as a result of fatigue;
Driver health is a crucial but often overlooked factor in overall road safety. Health initiatives such as Your Truck, Your Gym, an exercise programme for truck drivers developed with the help of the University of Stellenbosch, enable drivers to get fit by using their trucks as their gyms while waiting at borders or parked at truck stops;
Fleet managers can present regular health workshops at the workplace, and introduce free HIV, tuberculosis and blood pressure testing and regular counselling for drivers requiring more information about their health condition; and
It is a good idea for operators to conduct regular, in-house driver wellness programmes, rather than rely on generic health examinations that may come too late.

Operators, says Arrive Alive, don’t only have a responsibility towards their drivers but are also responsible when things go wrong:

Operators must carry insurance to cover all possible spills and the cost of clearing as part of incident management;
The consignor is responsible at all times, but too often this responsibility is disputed;
The cleaning-up of an accident scene or spillage is the responsibility of the transporter/s; and
Each transporter must employ a service provider specialising in the field of chemical spillage cleaning.

Arrive Alive provides other words of wisdom with regards to the transportation of dangerous goods:

Every transport operator that can, does, would or could transport dangerous or hazardous goods should be acquainted with the Emergency Response Guidebook, the TRH-11 and the appropriate Acts;
Every driver should be trained and equipped to detect, manage, handle and respond to a dangerous goods spill from an involved party perspective; and
Every actual and near-miss or possible dangerous or hazardous goods collision should be properly, completely and professionally analysed – even where there is no major loss or fatalities. The knowledge and intelligence gained from near-misses can provide key learnings for the prevention of actual losses. By attaining a full and proper understanding of all the dynamics associated with hazardous goods incidents, the intelligence can be used to avoid future losses and/or to better manage them, when they do occur.

So, while autonomous trucks might become a reality in the transportation of dangerous goods, it will be negligent (as well as nearly impossible) to remove the human factor altogether.

It is also paramount to train these drivers and check their well-being to ensure that they can do their jobs, even if that might – someday – involve no driving.