Date: 7 & 8 August 2008

Venue: Grand Mercure Fortune Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Attendees: About 80 people from Thai Ministry of Transport’s Department of Land Transport (DLT), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Pollution Control Department (PCD), Ministry of Industry’s Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), Thailand Automotive Institute (TAI), Thai Automotive Industry Association (TAIA), TUV Rheinland, JASIC, and others.

Minutes of the Meeting

Dai 1 -- Noise

The Meeting began with the opening address by Mr. Chairat, Deputy Director-General of Thailand’s DLT, after which the JASIC Secretariat introduced JASIC’s activities and then started its presentations.

Three experts from JASIC gave lectures on respective subjects. Mr. Ohno (of Hino; chairman of JASIC Subcommittee on Noise) introduced general information on ECE Regulations on noise, followed by Mr. Tsujimura (of JASIC Secretariat) and Mr. Shirahashi (of Nissan; member of JASIC Subcommittee on Noise) explaining technical requirements of ECE R41 on motorcycle noise and those of ECE R51 on four-wheeled-vehicle noise, respectively. These lectures, accompanied by detailed video presentations, were well received by participants who commented that JASIC’s presentations made it easy for them to understand the noise issues.

At the Q & A session, a wide range of questions were raised, including those on how the changes in specifications affect noise, and the concept of regulation based on relative values for exhaust noise. Practical questions such as the current status on application of fiber absorbents were also asked. JASIC’s experts answered each question based on their interpretation of regulations, and their answers were understood.

Day 2 -- OBD

After Mr. Tsujimura (of JASIC Secretariat) introduced an overview of ECE R83, which is used as the source of OBD provisions, Mr. Hirai (of Honda; OBD expert from JAMA) gave detailed presentations on the background, purpose, and technical requirements of OBD. At the Q & A session, a large number of questions were raised, including those on how ethanol blend fuels, which are being increasingly used in Thailand, affect OBD, malfunctions of OBD system, and preparation of test catalysts.

Throughout these two days, participants from Thailand’s government and industry deepened their understanding of environmental regulations on noise and exhaust gas (OBD). With this achievement, it is expected that Thailand’s scheduled introduction of ECE Regulations into their national legislation will be carried out smoothly.

JASIC would like to express its gratitude to the related people of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Japan Automobile Research Institute, Thai Ministry of Transport’s Department of Land Transport, and Thai Automotive Industry Association for their tremendous cooperation in holding this Meeting.