We’re backing the All Blacks! 

Relax, dear readers. We’re not talking about rugby. Instead, we’re referring to an amazing competition in New Zealand, which aims to make the transport industry better, cleaner, and more efficient. We’re supporting this initiative and calling for local entries from truck drivers – who could win bundles of cash!

The competition is called Trucking Toward a Better Future, and it is organised by New Zealand Trucking Media and Resilienz, a company specialising in climate strategies, sustainable construction, and carbon and cost. In the past, the competition was exclusively open to members of the transport sector in New Zealand. But the BIG news is that now drivers working in and around South Africa are also eligible.

New Zealand Trucking Media editorial director Dave McCoid and Resilienz director Lindsay Wood approached me a couple of months ago to ask if I would judge the competition.

I LOVED the concept and went one step further than accepting the judging post, making an instant decision to co-run the competition in SHEQ MANAGEMENT and its sister magazine, FOCUS on Transport and Logistics. After all, I see no reason why we should not take a dip into the intellectual property pool of our own country’s drivers as well!

WHAT IS TRUCKING TOWARD A BETTER FUTURE? 

So, what is the competition all about and why am I so excited about it? Well, in the simplest of terms, the competition – now in its third year – provides a forum for truck drivers to share their thoughts on how the transport industry can become better, cleaner, and more efficient. Trucking Toward a Better Future attempts to extract and celebrate the vast and mostly untapped intellectual property hidden behind the windscreen.

PRIZES

There’s a prize pool of NZ$7,500 (roughly R83,000) up for grabs, with the winning entry taking home a substantial NZ$5,000 (roughly R56,000), second NZ$1,000 (roughly R11,000), and third NZ$500 (roughly R5,500). There are also five NZ$200 (roughly R2,300) spot prizes. Entry is free and is open to any truck driver.

IDEAS FOR ENTRIES

There are no limits to entries: they can be products, services, concepts, innovations … anything and everything that pertains to trucking, transport, warehouses, loading docks, trucks, roads, bridges, intersections, and more. We want ingenious ideas from truck drivers that could make a small or, indeed, a very large impact on the world of trucking.

I reckon that truck drivers on our continent have great ideas. They don’t need to be technical; sometimes the simplest ideas are the best! Do you have an idea about how the transport industry can be made better, cleaner, and more efficient? Enter today and you could soon be R56,000 richer!

You can find the entry form at https://focusontransport.co.za/trucking-toward-a-better-future-entry-form/. The competition closes on 15 November, so don’t delay!