2021 has been a big year for both LVVTA and the repair certification system, with the establishment of a Contract for Services between LVVTA and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for LVVTA to provide the well-proven specialist certification management systems it has developed for the LVV certification system over the past 30 years across into the repair certification space.
This represents a significant step forward for the repair certification industry, an exciting challenge for LVVTA, and a great solution to a long-term problem for Waka Kotahi.
Problems for repair certification and heavy vehicle certification
There are three ‘specialist certification’ categories within Waka Kotahi’s vehicle certification regime, which are LVV certification (modification and construction of light vehicles), heavy vehicle certification (modification of heavy trucks and trailers), and repair certification (damaged light vehicles entering or re-entering the fleet). These ‘specialist’ areas are regarded as much more complex and diverse than the other certification areas such as WoF, CoF, used entry, and new entry.
During Waka Kotahi’s ‘rebuild’ since its period of regulatory failure a few years ago, one of its key focusses has been in the area of specialist certification. Waka Kotahi identified numerous problems in the repair certification and heavy vehicle certification spaces, and a major internal file review process resulted in a number of revocations across both of those specialist certification categories.
Waka Kotahi recognised that the failures within the repair and heavy certification areas had occurred primarily because those sectors hadn’t been provided with good support or oversight for many years.
By contrast, there were no such problems or concerns within the LVV certification space, with the difference being, quite simply, that LVV certification has had LVVTA inter-positioned between Waka Kotahi and the LVV Certifiers to provide support systems, oversight, guidance, and standards, which has helped the LVV Certifiers to consistently perform well.
Finding a solution for repair
To resolve the problems which have existed with repair and heavy, Waka Kotahi began – around two years ago – to consider how best to provide a similar kind of support and oversight system for the repair and heavy certification spaces as has successfully existed for LVV for almost 30 years. During 2019 and 2020, a succession of senior Waka Kotahi management visited LVVTA to gain an understanding of how the LVVTA model works and concluded that the LVVTA’s operational processes represent the best available specialist certification management systems, and would provide an ideal template, in particular, for the repair certification space.
Waka Kotahi recognises that LVVTA has done a good job over the years in building a healthy and well-supported LVV certification system, and so earlier this year they asked us to help them to create a similar support system for the repair certification industry. LVVTA is well aware, through our long association with the repair certifiers Association, that repair certifiers have been waiting a painfully long time for something like this.
Technical expertise vs operational expertise
It’s important to make a clear distinction between the technical expertise associated with repair certification, and the operational expertise required to manage the repair certification system.
LVVTA does not claim to have technical expertise in the area of repair certification. We are well aware that the technical aspects of repair certification are highly complex and specialised and have little in common with LVV certification.
For LVVTA to become involved in repair certification, it would be relying on recruiting the best possible technical expertise and relying on continued guidance and support from Waka Kotahi and any other groups and people available to LVVTA in order to get us up to speed technically, as quickly as possible.
What LVVTA does have, however, that can benefit the repair certifiers, is operational expertise. Over the past 30 years LVVTA has been building and developing the LVV certification system, and we’ve figured out - through trial and error – the best ways to provide the best possible umbrella of support over the LVV Certifiers, that helps them do their job well, that improves consistency from certifier to certifier, and that gives Waka Kotahi the confidence they need that the national network of LVV Certifiers is operating in a way that minimises safety risk.
Contract signed, sealed, to be delivered
In April 2021, Waka Kotahi commenced formal discussions with LVVTA, with a view to having LVVTA apply its well-proven specialist certification management model across the repair certification industry, and in August 2021 a Repair Contract for Service had been developed, agreed, and signed between Waka Kotahi and LVVTA.
Waka Kotahi has been great to work with over this – they, like LVVTA, really want to see the repair certification industry properly supported and working well, and LVVTA would like to thank Waka Kotahi’s Janene Moodie and Rob Pauletic in particular, for working with LVVTA CEO Tony Johnson to develop this multi-year Contract for Service. Tony acknowledges the help and support throughout the process of LVVTA Operations Manager Ken McAdam, and LVVTA Board Member Philip Crampton.
Tony would also like to acknowledge the efforts that the repair certifiers’ Association (RCA) has put in over the past 15 years, into making the repair certification industry a better place, and in particular the tireless support that Tony McHugh, and others including Neville Boyd, Bob Kistemaker, and Deane McMillan have put in over many years.
The RCA’s constant advocacy to Waka Kotahi over the past decade or more has been a critical element in making Waka Kotahi aware of the need to support the repair certification industry in this way.
How LVVTA is going to help
LVVTA will support the repair certification system using the same systems and processes that we’ve developed for the LVV certification system, as an entirely transferable template. One of our little mantras in life is that a good specialist certification management system is, quite simply, about ‘…making sure that a person who inspects a vehicle does a good job…’ and that applies equally to a small vehicle, a big vehicle, a modified vehicle, or a repaired vehicle.
The Contract for Service that has been developed will allow LVVTA to provide most of the components that the repair certification system needs, which will include (in the briefest terms) providing:
• A technical support help-desk specifically for repair certifiers (which will provide direct and immediate access to high-level technical expertise once up and running);
• A public and industry help-desk;
• Identifying, supporting, and assessing potential new repair certifiers prior to Waka Kotahi appointment, as they’re needed; and
• Coaching and mentoring to repair certifiers as needed.
• Regular training sessions for repair certifiers.
• One-on-one on-site visits to repair certifiers.
• Development of technical standards, guidelines, inspection forms and form-sets, and other supporting documents for the repair certifiers.
• Website development for the benefit of repair certifiers and the public.
• A form-set review (desk-top auditing) system to help achieve consistency across the country from repair certifier to repair certifier.
The LVVTA has been successfully supporting LVV Certifiers over the past 30 years through administering modified vehicle standards and the certification systems on our behalf, and the Safer Vehicles team have been very impressed with both their work ethics and standards…
Janene Moodie, Principal Advisor, Safer Vehicles,
Waka Kotahi.
In other words, LVVTA will be providing all of the support and help that most repair certifiers have been wanting and needing for a very long time.
How the business will be structured
The repair certification system will be managed separately from the LVV certification system (LVVTA has established a separate company called ‘Specialist Certification Management [Repair] Ltd’), and SCM Repair will operate from a separate office area within LVVTA’s building in Porirua. Operating SCM Repair Ltd from within LVVTA’s Porirua offices will:
• Provide the ability for SCM Repair staff to be trained and mentored by experienced LVVTA staff in operational systems and processes.
• Provide the repair certification system with LVVTA’s facilities, including a large workshop and dedicated training room.
• Provide access to LVVTA’s specialist inhouse engineering, technical writing, and graphic design expertise.
The SCM Repair staff will effectively be operating a stand-alone business, with support and help at their fingertips as and when required from the LVVTA team, with operational oversight and management from CEO Tony Johnson and Operations Manager Ken McAdam, and governance from LVVTA’s Board.
The new people coming into SCM Repair will have the benefit of the huge collective experience of the LVVTA staff members – many of whom have been with LVVTA for between 10 and 20 years – in the same building. The LVVTA team will be able to guide and mentor the new SCM Repair staff, enabling them to gain a fast understanding and uptake of the many LVVTA-developed systems and processes which will work as successfully in the repair space as they do in the LVV.
We’re confident that the two systems will be operating successfully side-by-side within a short time-frame, and we’ll see some worthwhile benefits for the repair certification system before the end of the year.
Why is LVVTA doing this?
LVVTA and Waka Kotahi have agreed to enter into this Contract for Service for a number of reasons. From LVVTA’s perspective, this agreement provides:
• Benefits to the LVV side through the economy of scale which will accrue through having specialist staff working across both LVV and repair (whereas, individually, neither organisation could afford such specialist skill-sets).
• The opportunity to gain specialised technical knowledge in the area of modern vehicle construction methods and material specifications, which can be applied to LVV.
• Lastly, the opportunity to do the right thing. If what we’ve learnt and developed in LVV can be applied to another certification area which needs help, and that help results in improved vehicle safety in that sector, then why wouldn’t we?
From Waka Kotahi’s perspective, by applying the existing well-established and well-documented LVV processes across to Repair, Waka Kotahi is able to put in place a specialist certification management system that:
• Follows Waka Kotahi’s desire to apply collaborative approaches with industry.
• Will achieve results much more quickly than by any other means.
• Will create the desired outcome in the most cost-effective way possible.
This Contract for Services for the repair certification system will enable LVVTA and Waka Kotahi to build a good support platform from which to support and guide all repair certifiers throughout New Zealand into the future.
In summary
LVVTA and Waka Kotahi are committed to making the repair certification industry a better place, and we are determined to build a supportive framework which repair certifiers can trust, where our focus will be on safety, consistency, coaching, and common sense-based outcomes.
The repair certification industry has been left out in the cold for a long time, and the fix isn’t going to be a five-minute job. It will take some time to put the building blocks in place – however, with everyone’s help and support, it will come.
We’d like to assure LVV Certifiers, and the LVV certification industry, that the improvements to the repair certification system won’t come at a cost to the LVV side of LVVTA’s overall operations. This additional workload will be handled by a new team, and there will be tangible gains for the LVV side of our operations. We’re really excited about having the opportunity to use a lot of the very specialised processes we’ve developed and learnt over the past three decades to make another part of the vehicle certification system a better place to be – for the repair certifiers, the industry, and the members of the public who use the system.
Tony Johnson, CEO, LVVTA.
Coutesy LVVTA
