John is a professional engineer with 50 years experience.
John has designed and built many cars, trucks, and vehicle assembly facilities.
John has worked on design of roads, bridges, cranes, transmission towers, and buildings, and operation, maintenance and upgrade of hydro and gas turbine power stations.
John was a LVV Certifier for 13 years. John has long been a whistle-blower, expressing the view that the LVV system is dangerously deficient. John’s authority was revoked in December 2012.
John rides a 1992 Yamaha FJ1200ABS, and is also a keen road and off road cyclist.
APOLOGY
“The LVVTA has brought it to my attention that statements I have made in relation to it and its employees may have been perceived as defamatory.
I sincerely regret that and apologise for any harm caused. I have taken down the statements identified by the LVVTA of concern to it.
I have strong views about the low volume vehicle certification process and intend in the future to direct my energies into the public inquiry now being held in relation to it.”
John Brett 7th October 2015
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In an email received from the LVReview@nzta.govt.nz is this content:
In our last email update, we told you about a number of changes we were working on to improve the Low Volume Vehicle (LVV) system. Those changes have now been completed and further information about them follows. This update also contains information about work underway to provide alternative pathways to LVV certification for lower-risk modifications. Please find following some questions and answers – we’ve also added these to our website so the latest information is available to everyone.
We’ll contact you soon with further updates about the review. We’ll only contact you when we have something new to say, and anticipate this won’t be for a few weeks.
What has happened since the last update?
Since we last updated you in May 2016, we have finalised the following actions:
Improving certifier consistency:
• The Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA) has completed an update of all standards so there is a single, up-to-date source of information for both certifiers and modifiers. As a result, certifiers will need to rely less on instructions issued via LVVTA information sheets, and customers will find it easier to locate information on requirements and will experience more consistent interpretation and application of standards by certifiers. The latest versions of all standards are available in the Documents section of the LVVTA’s website.
• Although there will always be a level of interpretation and individual decision-making exercised by certifiers, it’s important that certifiers can see where their decision-making may be out of step with other certifiers. To achieve this, the LVVTA has established a certifier Community of Practice, and the first meeting was held in Auckland on 26 June. The next meeting is planned for 13 September, and future meetings will occur around every two months.
• We have ensured there will be an increased focus on consistency in the LVVTA’s certifier training – using the results of form set audits and common queries to identify individual and group training needs – and more opportunities within the training for certifiers to share with and learn from others, through case studies and group discussion of challenging cases.
• The LVVTA has formalised a new requirement for LVV certifiers to ‘co-certify’ (with another certifier) at least one vehicle per year, by adding this to the Operating Requirements Schedule (ORS).
• We have increased the frequency of auditing of certifiers carried out by our Certification Officers, to further ensure high standards are being maintained.
• The LVVTA is continuing to research options and approaches for making the Hobby Car Technical Manual available online. We expect the manual to be published online by the end of October 2016, and it will be renamed. (Comment- About time- ‘Hobby Car Manual’ was completely inappropriate)
Tailoring certification processes to risk
Together with the LVVTA, we consulted with certifiers and modifiers on short-term options for tailoring LVV certification to risk. As a result of the feedback we received, the LVVTA has:
• changed the certification process so that low-risk (‘below threshold’) modifications are excluded from LVV certification when more significant modifications are being certified
• increased the range of modifications that can be certified by different categories of LVV certifiers, which has increased the number of potential certifiers available for most types of certification, and
• excluded brake-testing from certain LVV certifications where it is not relevant to the modifications that have been made.
The result of these changes is that the time and complexity of some certifications will be reduced, as fewer items will need to be tested, and customers will find it easier to find a certifier for their vehicle.
The LVV Code and ORS have been updated to reflect the changes above, and LVV certifiers are currently receiving training on all these aspects.
Reviewing roles, functions and performance metrics
We’ve completed a review of the roles and functions of the various parties to the LVV system, and strengthened these where necessary to support good performance of the system. Some of the changes made include:
• formalising and documenting the LVVTA process for regularly updating the LVV Standards and Code
• reinstating regular formal meetings of the LVVTA-Transport Agency Policy Working Group
• confirming and clarifying the LVVTA’s processes for reporting on certifier performance, and
• formalising the Transport Agency’s annual auditing and review of LVVTA.
What work is happening now?
We’re currently working on further ways to tailor certification to risk, and are working with the LVVTA and industry to develop streamlining options. Our work focuses on vehicles that are currently required to undergo LVV certification, but are lower risk because:
• they’ve been produced in a commercial, production-based setting with quality controls in place, or
• they’ve already met appropriate standards overseas.
The options we’re working on are:
• creating a commercial sub-committee of the LVVTA’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to enable quicker decision-making on approvals for innovative commercial designs
• allowing some modified vehicles imported from other countries to be exempted from LVV certification in New Zealand, if they’ve already met appropriate standards overseas, and
• providing an alternative way for commercial modifiers to achieve LVV certification for production-based vehicle modifications (sometimes referred to as ‘type certification’).
Once implemented, these changes will streamline certification processes and make it quicker and easier to get lower-risk modifications certified, creating benefits for commercial modifiers and importers of modified vehicles. We will consult key parties on the detailed changes in early September, and use their feedback to help refine the new processes. This consultation will include inviting members of this distribution list to provide their views, so you will receive more detailed information about the proposed changes soon. We expect the first of these new processes to be implemented in October and will gradually roll out further changes as they’re developed.
Why weren’t more tailored certification options rolled out sooner?
The options we’re considering represent more significant change to the LVV system than the short-term tailoring options that have already been implemented. They require us to consult and work closely with the LVVTA, LVV certifiers, and industry members to ensure they are implemented effectively. The LVV system is complex, both in terms of the way the sector is regulated and the legislation that supports it. We want to make sustainable changes, so taking a collaborative, considered approach is critical.
What’s happening next?
Through October, we’ll continue to work towards implementing further options for tailored certification described above. Once the changes have been implemented we’ll take stock of the improvements made, and consider whether any further changes are required to improve the functioning of the LVV system.
From NZTA:
This is to let you know we have updated our website with a new Questions and Answers document to provide an overview of work since we last communicated with you, and work currently under way.
Since we last updated you in December 2015, we have finalised our actions around:
• Increasing Transport Agency oversight of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and
• Increasing user awareness of the TAC process as the pathway for innovative new approaches or materials and for specialist enquiries.
We have also made significant progress on the actions relating to:
• Working with the LVVTA and certifiers to ensure users experience consistent interpretation and application of standards.
• Developing and implementing tailored certification processes that reflect the risks associated with different types of modifications and the contexts of different sector groups.
• Reviewing and clarifying the roles, functions and performance metrics of the LVVTA, LVV certifiers and the Transport Agency in respect of the LVV system.
Included in the updated Q&As document is the following:
• Links to flow charts to step users through the LVV system, and case studies on our website profiling recent approvals for variation from technical requirements to show the sorts of modifications and variations that the LVVTA’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) deals with.
• An update on various initiatives to improve the consistency of certification decisions. This work was in response to concerns raised in the survey we conducted last year. LVVTA has already introduced changes to increase certifier consistency, and the additional changes planned or underway should see this improve further. We have already received feedback from industry that consistency has been improving.
• An update on our work to investigate tailored certification processes that reflect the risks associated with different types of modifications and the circumstances of different sector groups.
We’ll contact you soon with a further update about the review. We’ll only contact you when we have something new to say, and anticipate this won’t be for a few weeks.
Published: October 2015 | Category: Research & reports | Audience: Motorists
The Low Volume Vehicle (LVV) certification system for scratch-built or modified vehicles is being reviewed to ensure it is still fit for purpose, and to look for ways it could be improved.
As a starting point, we commissioned Standards New Zealand to undertake an independent survey with a wide range of users of the LVV system, to understand their perspectives on which elements of the current system are working well, and those that are not working so well. This report outlines the findings of this consultation. There are also some Q&As that provide further information.
We are analysing the findings, along with other relevant information available to us (such as customer feedback, and correspondence such as Official Information Act requests) to form a picture of potential changes we can make to the system.
As decisions are made about those changes, we will update the information on this website.
Publication details
Author: Standards New Zealand
Published: October 2015
Contact: lvreview@nzta.govt.nz
Hon Craig Foss
Associate Minister of Transport
9 July 2015
Low volume vehicle review welcomed
Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss is welcoming a review of the certification process for vehicles built from scratch or modified for a specialised purpose.
The review of low volume vehicle (LVV) certification, initiated by the New Zealand Transport Agency, will be undertaken by Standards New Zealand.
“The LVV certification process is about ensuring vehicles built from scratch or modified for a specialised purpose are safe to be on the road,” Mr Foss says.
The review will begin this month with a scoping phase. This will involve working closely with the vehicle industry, certifiers and others to better understand the strengths of the current system and potential areas for improvement.
“Standards New Zealand brings an independent perspective to this review. I’m pleased it will be seeking feedback from a wide range of people, including those in the industry,” Mr Foss says.
“I’m keen to ensure our LVV certification system enables innovators to utilise new technologies and create opportunities.”
More information on the LVV certification process: www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/warrants-and-certificates/modifying-your-vehicle
Statement from David Seymour, Epsom electorate MP, leader of the ACT party New Zealand, and qualified Engineer
“I have viewed the reports related to UDM’s vehicles, both those prepared by LVVTA and those by professional engineers. It is clear that the LVV process, while ideal for builders of hot rods, kit cars, and the like, does not have the technical expertise to service commercial operators working closer to the frontier of technology.
A review of this system is long overdue. If New Zealand is going to be have the knowledge economy that most of us want, it must have a regulatory environment that works.”
3 Government minister to probe NZTA ban on wheelchair-access vehicles Automotive News
When you have been doing something you enjoy for years- something which is in constant demand- perhaps it is time to call it a business and give it a name!
John Brett has been designing vehicles from WAAY back- starting in the Ministry of Works at Benmore, designing all manner of ambitious and way out vehicles, but under the supervision of some of the best Mechanical Engineers in the country. How about a Penstock transporter, or a Hot-rodded bren-gun carrier for the televiewers association to get to their TV translater! Continue reading Vehicle Design Consultancy Launched!
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