APV Corporation is pleased to announce the sponsorship of a PhD Scholarship by APV and RMIT University to support Bus Safety Research and Development Project. 

The project aims to research bus safety issues, examine international best practice, and develop recommendations for Gov’t Policy along with Simulation modelling, including physical Test and Evaluation to correlate the models, to support the recommendations. Significantly, the simulation models will provide a tool set for APV to support Bus, Seat and Restraint manufacturers in their development of new world class products that meet the highest levels of Safety and required international Standards. 

The project will research a wide canvas on Bus Safety issues during its investigation of available accident data and associated recommendations. The project will then focus on School Bus Safety in greater depth regarding the bus structure, seats, restraints, and safety systems.  Stage 1 research into Safety Issues, Accidents and Injury levels will collect available data on all reported issues from Driver Fatigue and Distraction through to actual accident and injury data. This analysis will inform subsequent phases of the project.

This is our opportunity, as an industry, to contribute to the next generation of Bus Safety internationally and for us all to contribute to keeping bus drivers, passengers, and our children safe.

For further details, please feel free to contact a member of APV team. The project will commence during semester 1, 2025, once we have identified a suitable PhD student to support the project.

APV Corporation wish to thank the Australian Department of Education and RMIT University for their support and collaboration in this project. This joint effort marks a significant investment towards enhancing bus safety and underscores our commitment to fostering a secure environment for all. 

Yours Sincerely

Harry Hickling

Managing Director

APV Corporation Pty Ltd

www.apvcorporation.com

As we celebrate this milestone of 20 years, we acknowledge the substantial journey that APV has undertaken to establish itself as a leader in safety products and services.  Our commitment to research and development ensures that we stay at the forefront of safety technology and testing capabilities.

Our fundamental mission is “Keeping You Safe”.  From keeping our children safe in the child seats we test and the replacement seatbelts we manufacture for their first car, to coaches and school bus passengers, miners, industrial equipment operators and Ground Support Equipment operators within the aviation industry.  It is truly impressive to see the broad contribution that APV makes to transport safety and the many industries we serve around the globe.

Whilst APV turns 20 yrs young today, our foundations date back to 1966 for APV Eng and Testing Services – undoubtably the oldest operating Australian NATA accredited Laboratory with an incredibly rich history and APV Safety Products dates back to the forefront of seatbelt design in 1959 under the stewardship of CoolDrive Consolidated Industries. 

Our Australian designed seatbelt retractor was developed in the mid-80s and with the subsequent purchase of CoolDrive by Autoliv the retractor became the benchmark in safety across S.E. Asia and Australia.  Its DNA still forms the foundations of our offerings today.  Within Australia and New Zealand, undoubtably the aftermarket seatbelt you purchase for your car is likely to come from APV Safety Products, and we supply over 80% of the seatbelts for the Australian Bus and Coach industry for Australian manufactured seats requiring seatbelts. 

Our Test and Evaluation work is supported by our ISO17025, FIA accredited laboratory, that undertakes environmental and durability testing, dynamic, crash and high-speed high-definition (HSHD) photography and data acquisition projects. The capabilities of the lab are world class and along with our virtual test capability using LS-Dyna Simulation tools, we are undertaking a broad range of projects that include assessing injury levels during crash events and seat development programs.  Our HSHD photography and associated data acquisition is regarded as World Class.  The standard we set is often commented on by the Car Companies for its quality, and capturing those unique details they are seeking to understand as a customer.  We proudly support ANCAP in the testing of passenger vehicles to allow you to make informed decisions about the Safety of your next car. It may surprise you that we test a car every week in our Lab and close to 600 child seats per year.  At APV we undertake seat development Test and Evaluation programs for the Bus and Coack, Truck and Rail industries.  Our capability is world class with programs undertaken for international companies for their overseas Motorsport and Energy Absorbing Helicopter seats.

With our own patented products and IP, we are about to see APV Safety Products dominate the Aviation Ground Support Equipment market internationally with our Easi-Grip restraints. With our seatbelt solutions previously adopted by Qantas and Menzies Aviation in Australia, a key customer in the U.S. has completed a successful trial of Easi-Grip at Dallas Fort Worth airport, and this will now be rolled out internationally. Last month we exported 1,000 Easi-Grip restraints to Europe, and we are now positioned to export 1,000 units per month.  Again, the story is more than a seatbelt, it is establishing a safety culture in the workplace, that is supported by a restraint that is easy to use in an industrial environment - a restraint that is patented by APV!

Moving forward, we aspire to continue our legacy of excellence in safety, building on our rich heritage and experience. We will not only maintain our high standards but will seek new opportunities to partner with industry to support your research and development, and safety culture objectives.  Partnering with our customers, we stand ready to take on any challenge sent our way.

In conclusion, our mission of “Keeping You Safe” is more than just a catch phrase; it is ingrained in our DNA.  From our extensive product offerings to our cutting-edge testing capabilities, APV is dedicated to ensuring that safety remains paramount for all transportation sectors.  I wish to thank all our customers and suppliers for their support and making this such an exciting company to lead and work for.  We look forward to the future and to making a positive impact in the lives of individuals around the globe through our unwavering commitment to safety.

Harry Hickling

Managing Director

25^th August 2022, Melbourne – APV Corporation’s (APV) vision is to partner with Australia’s Automotive and Transport Industry in support of their research, virtual and physical testing, evaluation and certification requirements. The company achieves this by collaborating with their engineering and development teams with access to world-class test and evaluation services and facilities. 

This is exemplified by APV’s latest test program for Ford Australia, marking the successful completion of the most complex multiyear vehicle development crash test and evaluation program ever undertaken in Australia. The program was undertaken in collaboration with teams at Ford’s test facilities at Lara, including the testing and evaluation of prototype and development vehicles, and validation of final assembly vehicles. This culminated in final validation programs against a range of international standards to assure high levels of vehicle safety and quality.

“At APV we crash tested 22 vehicles and monitored the performance of the safety management systems and assessment of injury levels.  This included the monitoring of the performance of the safety management system, vehicle sensors, accelerometers, airbag and restraint systems through to the fuel systems being shut down, as designed, during the crash event.  Engineering data being sent back to the Ford engineering team was used to correlate test results with their engineering models to confirm that each vehicle met the safety and survivability requirements established by the design team,” said Harry Hickling, Managing Director of APV Corporation.

Many of the tests required more than 200 channels of data, recording at sample rates up to 20,000 samples per second for post-crash analysis, with 18 high-speed, high-definition cameras recording each test from over, under, outside and inside the vehicles. Metrology level scanning of the vehicles both pre- and post-crash enabled the Ford engineering team to assess deformation in critical areas of the vehicles and compare them to other simulation results. Investment by APV into new equipment, technology and resources exceeded $3m AUD with specialised equipment ordered from various parts of the world to ensure Ford’s high standards and expectations were met.

Planning for the program started in 2019 to allow APV to expand its test capabilities and achieve benchmarks for vehicle preparation, test execution and post-test analysis for Ford Ranger development vehicles. A capacity of no less than one vehicle crash test per week had to be met against some of the most complex test conditions ever undertaken in Australia.

Investment was made in capability upgrades and secondment of additional personnel for the program by APV. The APV Test Lab, Ford Campbellfield and the Ford Proving Ground collaborated closely through the program often sharing resources and test equipment.

Ensuring the successful, on-time completion of all testing to enable launch milestones to be met required dedicated collaboration across the entire design, manufacturing and supply chain to tackle any challenges as they arose – especially during a period of COVID-19 and international supply chain challenges.

“The Next-Gen Ford Ranger sets a new bar in vehicle safety within its class, and APV is proud to have collaborated closely with Ford to bring their vision to reality. Certainly, a story that we can all be proud off. There is a raft of exciting projects ahead to support the vibrant automotive and transport industry in Australia, with the release of new vehicles, accessories, and aftermarket products being developed by Australian industry.”

On Thursday 19th September 50 visitors from the Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A) came to APV-T as a part of a series of industry visits run by the SAE-A designed to help broaden the depth of knowledge and engagement of members in the Australasian Automotive Engineering sector.

The visitors, who were mostly engineers but included some children, were treated to a range of presentations and a tour of the APV-T Test Centre.

Slow motion videos of car crashes, bus seat testing, wheelchair restraint testing and up-close encounters with our family of crash test dummies and the associated acquisition equipment were combined with live demonstrations of airbag deployments, environmental testing, and a 50km/h child seat dynamic test.

All of these elements made up an engaging demonstration of APV-T's commitment to mobility safety and our contribution to Australia's National Road Safety Strategy.

Carl Liersch
General Manager- APV Tech Centre

APV's Business Transformation has continued during FY18 and FY19 leading to our ranking in the top 10% of Mid Size Australian Manufacturers in terms of overall Growth, Capital Investment and Financial Performance against a recent Grant Thornton Manufacturing Benchmarking Report. The benchmarking report assesses a broad range of industries and FY18 performance benchmarks to assist Industry Leaders in developing their business strategies, assessing risk and emerging opportunities.

It is this continued growth and diversification that makes APV a great place to work. Providing exciting opportunities for innovation, product development and investment in new production lines. We have supported Graduate Internship programs and employed additional engineering resources this year. It is great to see these new opportunities being created for Australia's up and coming graduates.

This has attracted the attention of the Go Auto group that operate Australia's premier Automotive news feed service and on-line newsletter service. Terry Martin, editor of GoAutoNews and senior writer, came in for a near full day visit to better understand APV, including the opportunity to witness product development testing and associated crash-tests to ensure the safety of aftermarket products under development by the customer. Giving Terry a very first hand view of the customer experience at the Test Lab.

Following this he has written three articles that provide a very unique insight into the depth and diversity of the company.

https://www.goauto.com.au/download/1390.pdf

On a side note, as an organisation, we are proud of our corporate safety and environmental track record. In the GoAuto article titled "Taking Care of It", you can see the team going the extra yard to maximize recycling of waste materials from our Takata Airbag Disposal programs. On a personal note, I also believe the industry should be commended for their efforts in maximizing the effectiveness of the Takata Airbag Recalls - this is no easy feat and is a huge cost on the industry.

Harry Hickling
Managing Director

APV