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The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association’s (SC&RA) 2024 Specialized Transportation Symposium (STS) drew the most attendees it has in at least four years.
Held at the Westin Galleria in Houston, Texas, from Feb. 20-22, this year’s symposium attracted some 570 registered attendees. That’s more than in any year since 2020, before COVID-19 struck, and may be among the largest attendance ever.
“The symposium offers something for everyone in the Over-Size/Over-Weight industry,” said Chris Smith, vice president of transportation at the SC&RA. “Here, peers can talk with state transportation officials, network and share best practices with peers, and learn about business and operational best practices from expert presenters.”
Smith said that several regional groups of state highway transportation officials, as well as a committee of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), held meetings in conjunction with the SC&RA’s STS. “We were fortunate to have 26 states represented in person, with others joining by live stream,” said Smith.
The symposium included informative open meetings of SC&RA’s transportation-group committees, including the Permit Policy Committee, Pilot Car Committee, and Transportation Safety Education & Training Committee.
Those committee meetings are open to all members, who are able to not only learn about what the committees are working on, but are free to offer opinions and input in the discussions.
In addition to the committee meetings, the symposium offered 11 educational sessions covering topics from harmonizing regulations among the states, using software to improve fleet operations, and the 2024 economic outlook, to how to market an OS/OW business, how to mitigate risk, and how to engage external trip partners.
It also included presentations by winners of the 2023 Hauling Jobs of the Year competition.
Highlights
Alabama announced that it is near final approval of its certified pilot car program, and will issue new guidelines for superload movement in the next six months.
Tennessee announced that it has increased its maximum legal length limit for commercial vehicle loads to 53’. The longer legal length will reduce the number of loads that need permits and help improve the state’s ability to tackle SC&RA members’ more difficult moves through the state.
Kansas announced plans to eliminate its three-day waiting period for processing of superload permit applications. It’s a major development, since nearby states auto-issue 99% of all permits immediately. Kansas expects to make the change in the next few weeks.
SC&RA is reviewing the draft of a major update to its pilot car selection guide, which presents good practices for selecting pilot car providers and for working with pilot cars in day-to-day operations.
SC&RA alerted members that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) plans to soon open its divisible-load criteria for public comment. The criteria help law enforcement determine whether a large load can be separated into smaller and lighter loads or must be left whole.
The SC&RA is working to convince some western states to harmonize their regulations with those of surrounding states so that they all treat trucks with nine-axle trunnions the same as 13-axle tridems, since both have equivalent axle loads, even though rigs with nine-axle trunnions are often about 24’ shorter than the 13-axle tridem trucks. Harmonization would make moving large loads easier in an area ranging from the Pacific Ocean nearly to the Mississippi River.
In the keynote presentation, Riding for the Brand, expert Jim Whitt explained how to learn what motivates each employee and how to use that knowledge to make their work fulfilling so they become outstanding performers and loyal employees.
Next up for the SC&RA is its annual conference, scheduled for April 15-19, 2024, at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas.
For more information about the SC&RA, visit www.scranet.org.
