The Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS) will become mandatory in Victoria from 01 July 2024, for installers, maintainers and repairers of Wire Rope Safety Barriers, Guard Fence Barriers and their associated terminals.
The ASHTAS is a comprehensive scheme, that will eventually contain various courses and accreditation types – including Operative, Installer, Lead Installer, Inspector and Designer. This scheme has been implemented to ensure that individuals in the workforce have a thorough understanding of how to properly design, install, and maintain road safety barriers in accordance with established standards, manufacturer’s specifications, and best practices – Because incorrect barrier installation practices can increase the risk of fatalities in collisions beyond what would be considered reasonable.
While the ASHTAS courses and accreditation types will be rolled-out over several years, the ‘Operative Course’ is currently available and the ‘Installer Course’ will be available soon for ‘Wire Rope Safety Barriers’, ‘Guard Fence Barriers’ and their associated terminals. We will let industry know when more courses are made available, noting that the ‘Operative Course’ is a pre-requisite for all future installer courses (such as permanent concrete, temporary concrete and temporary plastic), inspector courses and designer courses.
Who needs to be licensed – by 01 July 2024?
All individuals ‘installing’ and ‘maintaining / repairing’ a Wire Rope Safety Barrier, a Guard Fence Barrier, or an associated WRSB or Guard Fence terminal, must be licenced by 01 July 2024. Based on the ASHATS description of an installation ‘crew’, this means that all associated individuals will need to complete the ‘Operative Course’, and some individuals will need to complete the relevant ‘Installer Courses’.
However, given that the ‘Operative Course’ is a pre-requisite for all other ASHTAS courses, we recommended that individuals in other roles and installing other barrier types, also complete the operative course in preparation, and to understand the scheme & build their basic road safety barrier knowledge – this includes other barrier installers, road designers, development engineers and delivery engineers.
As mentioned, we will keep industry informed on when these courses are available and when ASHTAS will become mandatory for other barrier types and roles.
Why you need to be licensed ?
Austroads members (inc. the Department of Transport and Planning), along with the road safety barrier industry, have been concerned about the quality of installation of road safety barriers which may put the safety of the public and road workers at risk.
To address this issue, Austroads worked with Australian State and Territory Road transport agencies and New Zealand along with the industry to introduce a nationally consistent training and ongoing accreditation program to ensure that all installers and operatives in the workforce understand how to install, repair, and maintain road safety barriers correctly following the manufacturer’s specifications and best practices.
How do you get accredited/licenced?
The following training courses coming up in Vic: ASHTAS Operative Course – Safe System Solutions
You can also book an in-house training and testing session by contacting the training provider:
Book In-House Training courses: click here
More info on the scheme:
Austroads Website: Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS) | Austroads
Approved RTOs: https://www.lantra.co.uk/national-highway-sector-schemes-nhss/austroads/approved-training-providers
How to stay informed
All official communications and Technical documents regarding ASTHAS will be conveniently channelled through the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) Standards Newsletter, which is distributed during the first week of every month. To ensure you receive all updates and information regarding ASTHAS, we kindly encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter by clicking on the following link, if you haven’t done so already.