VBTA Limited

Who owns the VBTA?

VBTA is owned by its members in two classes, Founders and New Members: each holds one share.

 

Founder members (10 of them) have the option to appoint a Director, whose activity is the direction of the company with respect to its membership, financial stewardship and future direction.

 

As a new member can I influence how VBTA is operated?

New Members are not VBTA directors unless, in due course, existing directors choose to nominate from within the new member category.

The activity of VBTA is generated through its Technical Committee. Each founder member has a permanent seat, but the membership can be up to 20 at the discretion of the Type Approval Engineer who heads and organises the various meetings.

It is this committee that decides which manufacturers to include and when together with selecting the relevant models and extent of bodywork to be incorporated. The committee meets approximately every 6 weeks, but direct access to the Type Approval Engineer is available to any member at any time and they can request extensions to cover components, chassis and bodywork variation etc. These extensions will be discussed at the next “Tech Meet” with the requesting member present if they choose to attend. Input from all members is important to gather the greatest amount of detail to ensure applications are as wide as possible.

 

What are the benefits of membership in VBTA?

Saving Money, time and effort through a strategy of VBTA obtaining ECWVTA approvals on as wide a range of base vehicles as practical. “Practical” means; where sufficient volumes of vehicles are bodied by its members therefore justifying the expenditure of obtaining an approval.

 

What approvals are being sought?

The first approval on any base vehicle will be an ECWVTA (European) approval, which provides for unlimited production numbers and the ability of easy export within the EU. These approvals do have certain limitations, the principle one being an overall height restriction of 4000 mm and to overcome this parallel NSSTA (Small Series) approvals will be sought where necessary to allow a height of up to 4800 mm.

 

Which base vehicles are included?

Initial base vehicles that are to be covered including 2, 3 and 4 axles:

 

DAF, IVECO, MERCEDES BENZ, CANTER, RENAULT, SCANIA, VOLVO, MAN, ISUZU,

TOYOTA, VW, FIAT, NISSAN, MITSUBISHI.

 

What bodywork will be covered?

 

Open Bodywork: Flat platforms, dropside’s, cage and high sided bodywork, traffic management, container carrier, demountable equipped, tipper, open bulk carrier, vehicle transporters and beavertails, and any variation or addition that does not incorporate a roof, but does include sliding canopies.

 

Closed Bodywork: Box and Luton vans, curtain side, sliding door, conditioned bodywork (refrigerated, heated etc) furniture van of all descriptions; closed bulk carrier, livestock vehicle, glazing vehicle and any variation or addition that incorporates a fixed or sliding roof.

 

Engineering Bodywork: Skip and hook loaders, gritters/snowploughs, aerial platform, concrete mixers and pumps, tankers, roadsweeper, gully empties and any variation or addition where an engineered entity is vehicle mounted.

 

What about items like cranes, refrigeration, tail lifts, side guards, rear underun, couplings etc?

Every approval application will incorporate provision for the installation of cranes in front, centre or rear location up to an agreed maximum mass; all types of tail lift up to and including 2500kg capacity; refrigeration units and other forms of loaders requested.

The approvals will incorporate all the recognised and approved lateral protection devices together with approved rear underrun devices and, where required, incorporating drawbar trailer couplings from 50 mm ball (02) to drawbar trailers (04) capacity and both with rear and underslung locations.

 

What modifications to a chassis or additional installations will we be able to be performed?

The VBTA COP provisions allow for a number of variations regarding vehicle fuel tanks, number plate locations, door locks hinges and access steps, mirrors rear-view cameras, electromechanical compatibility compliance, antitheft, location of lamps, retro markings and conspicuity, heating systems, spray suppression, safety glazing, projection from cabs and the range limits for masses and dimensions.

 

Previous stage installations, what if a crane has been installed?

Advice and in some cases approval to cover for the installation of rear underrun protection where a rear mounted crane has been installed, with similar for front and centre mounted cranes or additional stabiliser legs.

 

What if we manufacture Beaver tail vehicles with reference be made regarding the rear underrun?

Currently VBTA is addressing this problem with the probability of carrying out approval testing which would give all members access to a standardised design and technology.

 

What if we manufacture refrigerated bodywork?

The term refrigerated is not used in type approval,such vehicles are referred to as ‘Conditioned Bodies’ either with or without equipment to either reduce or increase the internal temperature with sufficient insulation to maintain it. All approvals include bodywork at 2550 or 2600mm overall width and panel construction re thickness etc.

 

What about compliant components?

Every member will be requested to submit their own list of compliant components and every option will be incorporated within every application. New components which would require extensions to the approvals will be considered on an annual basis and would then apply to all existing approvals where relevant.

 

Would I have to provide the weight of any of the bodywork we manufacture?

Generally this information would not be required as the ranges applied to bodywork mass is very wide and takes care of almost every possible combination. The only exception to this would be a request for the weight of a specific item which may affect an approval such as very heavy rear ramps or similar engineered components.

 

What if we have had tested some of our own body components?

Any member who is either previously or during membership is a test carried out on a component or structure i.e. coupling, side guards or rear underrun etc, would be included in every approval or where necessary in every extension, but unless specifically identified could be used only by the member who has undertaken this testing.

 

Do I have to surrender or exchange any of my intellectual property?

VBTA will not be requesting from its members any of the following information:-

 

• name of customer, contract details or values involved

• methods of construction or implementation

• suppliers of your compliant components

• Your own ‘components’ are identifiable only by a test report or unique number – no technical detail in the approval

 

VBTA itself may inevitably see some customer details during the twice year audits but no information will be retained and members are at liberty when they provide the data to be examined to delete any customer reference.

 

What is VBTA’s connection with the chassis manufacturers?

Before establishing VBTA advice and cooperation was sought from all the base vehicle manufacturers and we are currently signing up with each as we approach applying for approvals on the base vehicles. They have all been most cooperative and see the establishment of VBTA as a valuable marketing tool for their own dealer network and fleet customers.

 

What details regarding compliant components would we have to supply?

In the VBTA approval application details of all compliant components used by all of the members will be included together with other components such as aerodynamic spoilers, storage lockers etc., together with their approval numbers, as for VBTA to obtain them all would be very time consuming.

What would not be required would be the component supplier’s details or whatever quantities they are purchased in or what the cost of the component has been.

 

 

What do I have to do to be a member?

 

Membership is open to all bodybuilders or converters who by necessity require to obtain type approvals by whatever route.

 

In brief summary the requirements to become a New Member are

 

1.    Purchase a single C Share at the designated cost

2.    Either be or become a member of the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association Ltd

3.    Either have or adopt the VBRA Toolkit Programme which provides access to the VBRA type approval website. This is different to a VBTA website, and contains a       mass of data regarding Type Approval.

4.    Obtain and Maintain COP clearance from the Vehicle Certification Agency (see below)

 

• Operate a Quality Assurance Policy which can be either ISO 9001, or install an alternative Informal QA Policy, details of which your membership of the VBRA Toolkit will provide at no cost.

• Operate a Conformity of Production (COP) program which can either be an existing system or adoption of the VBRA program which is, again, included in your Toolkit membership. Where an existing COP program exists and is VCA approved then there is only the need to adopt the Technical Requirements of type approval that are been agreed between VBTA and VCA.

 

5. Have the facility to calculate Masses and Dimensions for each vehicle to be manufactured

6. Have the facility to weigh each individual vehicle (in the case of multiple identical vehicles, the 1st example)

 

Note:    For any operation of type approval with independently obtained approvals in either ECWVTA or NSSTA, items 4, 5 and 6 would, in any event, be a mandatory requirement.

 

What is the staffing position of VBTA?

 

Currently VBTA has 3 part time officials, Chairman who is also the Director General of the VBRA, Company Secretary/Accountant who also holds the same position in the VBRA, and a Type Approval Engineer who carries this task for both the VBRA and VBTA.

A further Type Approval Engineer position is currently being advertised and it is hoped this position commence early April and by the time the system is coming to be live in mid-October additional members of staff will be added.

 

How does the system operate?

As VBTA has to have its own COP clearance this is still being negotiated with VCA and it is hoped this will be complete by the end of February. To explain how the system operates thereafter is the subject of an additional document called VBTA PROCESS (available shortly on request).