LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Vehicle test chamber at SABS
– a response
By Clinton Holcroft, managing director of Serco
In reaction to the “Vehicle thermal tests at SABS — will it succeed?” article by John Ackermann published
in the March/April edition, we have the following response from the perspective
of the vehicle body manufacturer.
........
W
e support the objective of
building thermally better-
insulated bodies with the
objective of reducing carbon footprints
and helping the end user maintain an
efficient cold chain.
One of the obstacles remains the high
cost of the test, which is compounded
by the need for multiple tests while the
manufacturers adjust their body design
to comply and achieve the thermal
performance standards set.
A suggestion would be a substantial
reduction for a phase-in period of
approximately 12 months, taking into
account a reduced fee for retesting,
as required. This will encourage buy-in
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to the process and ultimately lead to
raising of the local standards.
The cost is currently around R48 600
for a non-certified test and R64 800
for a full certification. This is excessive
considering the tough economic
conditions and the need to do multiple
tests during the start-up and compliance
phase. A development phase is
necessary to get the project off the
ground.
Some bold steps are needed to make
the test cost-effective. Unfortunately,
if there aren’t some concrete steps to
address this, the test chamber will highly
likely become a white elephant and a
wasted resource. CLA
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
COLD LINK AFRICA • May 2019