Progress made on Australasian road safety barrier accreditation scheme

Austroads, in partnership with Lantra (UK), is developing a national accreditation scheme for all people engaged in the design, installation and maintenance of any road safety barrier used in Australia or New Zealand, with five training courses now identified for the scheme.

The Australasian Road Safety Barrier Accreditation Scheme Steering Committee met frequently with Lantra in the final quarter of 2018, discussing development of the accreditation training program structure and delivery model.

Following the discussions, the organisations’ identified the following courses, which would require applicants to hold construction safety induction accreditation by a nationally recognised registered training organisation.

Operative course: An entry-level course is for labourers, who can later enrol to become an installer. The aim of the course is to ensure the individual comprehends the fundamentals of road safety hardware installation, to aid their safety on site and their value to industry.
Installer course: The next stage of training accredits operatives to install road safety hardware products under the guidance of a ‘lead installer’. The course covers the generic elements of systems and the practice of system installation.
Lead installer course: For individuals seeking qualifications to oversee installation and sign-off of the road safety hardware, including the correct installation of proprietary systems.
Inspector course: For experienced individuals with a broad knowledge looking to move into an independent audit or quality assurance role.
Designer course: A separate training program tailored for installation designers and other industry practitioners. The course will cover the theory of good road safety hardware design practices and installation fundamentals.

The committee and Lantra are now finalising the details of each course’s implementation and the training delivery structure, all of which is occurring over the course of 2019.