The keynote speaker at this major road transport industry event has been confirmed as Dr Phil Greening, associate professor and director of The Centre for Sustainable Road Freight.Professor Greening will explain the engineering challenges facing operators in a freight industry that is subject to increasingly strict environmental regulations. Transport professionals attending the conference will learn how they can ensure they are making the right economic investments in new, greener equipment for their fleets.
A highlight of the conference will be a mock Public Inquiry, staged by transport law solicitors Backhouse Jones and the IRTE. Delegates will learn about the formal processes up to and including the court hearing and hear first-hand about the importance of compliance, including in terms of driver management, defect reporting and inspection and maintenance audits.
Other sessions include Steve Carroll, head of transport at Cenex, and Brian Robinson, programme manager at the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, debating the viability of gas trucks as a serious alternative to diesel following a massive ramp-up in biomethane and bioLPG (liquefied petroleum gas) refuelling capacity.
Delegates will also hear from chief engineer in the engines division at Ricardo, Andrew Banks, on the technologies expected to be at the forefront of the push towards further reducing CO2 and NOx emissions following Euro 6 – including exhaust gas recirculation, down-speeding and low viscosity oils.
Representatives from FORS, Transport for London and the FTA will provide updates on the CLOCS and FORS schemes, and advice to operators on how they can remain compliant amidst recent calls for voluntary and even mandatory audits.
In the afternoon, delegates can choose between three streams covering legal and regulatory updates, operational excellence and technology updates. As in the past, delegates will be free to move between streams to suit their own learning agendas.
In the legal stream, delegates can expect to hear from a Traffic Commissioner; from Gordon MacDonald, head of enforcement policy at DVSA; and Andrew Woolfall of Backhouse Jones, the transport law specialist.
The operations stream will cover: how to use the irtec technician licensing and IRTE’s Workshop Accreditation schemes to revitalise uptime and compliance; the latest innovations in tipper trailers; and a panel session from some of the major OEM manufacturers including Volvo, DAF and Iveco on changing rigid configurations.
Finally, the technology stream will examine: the latest in telematics systems designed to improve a truck drivers’ ability to avoid collisions, with Microlise and Renault Trucks; advanced safety systems, with Mercedes-Benz, Vision Techniques and Brigade Electronics; and how tests are validating the claimed impact on fuel consumption and emissions of, for example, low rolling resistance tyres, aerodynamic kits and after-treatment retrofits.
For more information and to register for your place at the IRTE Conference 2017, go to: www.irte-conference.co.uk
UPDATED 18/7 11:00. Removed the word 'senior' in 'Senior Traffic Commissioner' to reflect updated plans