The Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS) delivers a high standard and nationally consistent set of training outcomes for individuals installing and maintaining road safety barriers in Australia and New Zealand.
Why is ASHTAS important?
Run-off-road and head-on crashes are the most common and severe types of crashes, particularly in rural environments and on high-speed urban roads. Installing high-performance safety barriers can create a safer environment for vehicle occupants by preventing vehicles from leaving the roadway and colliding with oncoming vehicles or hazards on the roadside. Safety barriers also protect road workers and others who may be on the roadside.
Austroads members, 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 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.
For a detailed overview of ASHTAS, watch the webinar below.
ASHTAS training
ASHTAS is a training and accreditation scheme comprising a graduated pathway for individuals.
Beginning with entry-level safety and operational awareness, and generic installation training, individuals can then undertake separate road safety barrier type training, such as W-Beam/Thrie Beam or Flexible/Wire Rope Safety Barriers or Rigid RSB.
For each of the road safety barrier types, associated proprietary-specific road safety barrier system training is also provided. In particular:
- Operative course: an entry-level course for anyone involved in the installation and maintenance of road safety barrier systems. This course aims to ensure the individual comprehends the fundamentals of road safety hardware installation to aid their safety on-site and value to the industry as members of a road safety hardware installation crew.
- Installer courses: the next stage of training for operatives is to become accredited for installing road safety hardware, by completing the following:
- Installer A course: installer theory covers the generic elements and practice of road safety hardware installation.
- Installer B course/s: RSB types and associated proprietary-specific systems.
- Proprietary Installer Course/s: additional proprietary-specific system training (as applicable).
Austroads members will in-time consider expending ASHTAS to also include a Designer course and an Inspector course.
ASHTAS accreditation
Trained individuals will require an e-card and e-logbook to demonstrate the currency of their accreditation.
The e-card is a digital document carried by qualified operators and installers that identifies their ASHTAS accreditation.
The e-logbook allows qualified installers to collect the evidence required to to keep their ASHTAS accreditation current.
Roles and responsibilities
Lantra
Lantra has developed the training and accreditation material for ASHTAS and is responsible, along with its approved training providers, for operationally delivering ASHTAS.
Visit the Lantra website for more information about ASHTAS.
Approved training providers
Australian and New Zealand approved training providers are responsible for:
- delivering the Lantra-based training
- overseeing the e-card and e-logbook for operatives and installers as part of an individual’s accreditation.
Lantra identifies, approves, oversees, and audits approved training providers.
Visit the Lantra website for details about approved training providers.
Road safety barrier suppliers
Road safety barriers, systems and devices are assessed in Australia and New Zealand by the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP).
Road safety barrier suppliers will continue to use ASBAP to have their specific road safety barrier systems considered and subject to assessment ‘recommended for use’ with the additional requirement to ensure all necessary training material for their specific road safety barrier systems is also included. This takes the form of either:
- using the Lantra supplied training templates to create the training material, or
- requesting Lantra create the training material.
Proprietary-specific road safety barrier system training material is not a duplicate of the generic road safety barrier type training but rather covers specific information relevant to the supplier’s road safety barrier system.
Visit the Lantra website for details about road safety barrier suppliers.
Road safety barrier installers
Road safety barrier installers will need to undertake ASHTAS training and ensure their staff and contractors have the appropriate training and accreditation status – namely Operative and Installer courses for the road safety barrier types and associated proprietary-specific road safety barrier systems.
Visit the Lantra website for details about road safety barrier installers.
Austroads
Austroads, on behalf of its members, oversees ASHTAS and manages the relationship with Lantra.
ASHTAS adoption
New Zealand and each Australian state and territory will adopt and transition to ASHTAS. Adoption and transition status are presented below.
Transport for New South Wales mandated from 1 July 2024: Safety Barrier Products
Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads mandated from 1 July 2024: Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS)
Victorian Department of Transport and Planning mandated from 1 July 2024: DTP Standards Newsletter July 2023 (scroll down the page to the Technical Articles section).
Department of Infrastructure and Transport, South Australia have announced they will mandate the scheme from 1 January 2025: GD300-Accepted-Safety-Barrier-Products-v23-June-2024.pdf (dit.sa.gov.au)
Page updated: 9 August 2024
