Transport: Wheels in motion

At the end of March, though, the then Transport Secretary Lord Adonis set up the Winter Resilience Review to look into the state response during the disruption. Its first recommendations, published at the end of last month, suggested: the government needed to import a quarter of a million tonnes of road salt to help ensure there is enough salt to deal with a winter as bad as the one just past; all local authorities needed to review and update their winter plans; and properly coordinated research is needed to update various technical standards, so local authorities have authoritative guidance for improving salt utilisation. Giving its own evidence to the Review, trade body the Freight Transport Association (FTA) said, as well as a need for better salt supply management, there also needed to be an overhaul of drivers' hours concession arrangements, which is a huge issue in the transport industry at the moment. FTA chief economist Simon Chapman said: "Life for road transport carriers making essential deliveries and collections during a spell of severe winter weather is made much easier by a temporary, modest increase in daily driving time and greater flexibility in the timing and duration of daily and weekly rest breaks.

"The Department for Transport needs to be quicker off the mark when introducing these changes in future, using existing emergency concessions for drivers of gritters as a trigger for wider drivers' hours rules relaxation, targeted at critical supply chains such as heating fuels, animal feed and milk, and salt itself. This will allow carriers to respond swiftly, without being hamstrung by bureaucracy, and keep the duration of the relaxation to a minimum."

When the snow thawed, though, the regular gripes of the humble trucker came much more to the fore than the seasonal obstacles of January. With a new government apparently comes new ideas and the FTA welcomed the new Chancellor's Budget aiming to cut the nation's deficit. The Treasury decided not to increase fuel duty in June, backed by the FTA, who claimed that the concerns of the logistics sector had been taken seriously at the heart of the Budget. Tax has always been the major concern for the transportation industry from the year dot of mass haulage, but in the last decade, the environmental impact has also been a major pressure meaning trailer manufacturers that supply the meat industry such as Gray & Adams and Schmitz Cargobull, have had to adapt to keep ahead of the game.

Green in gear

Scottish manufacturer Gray & Adams, which has worked with MTJ processing business of the year winner Samworth Brothers, says it has been monitoring its own carbon footprint for the past nine years and was ahead of the game even before environment issues were in vogue. "Constant monitoring has seen a steady improvement on the effect we have on the environment, when increased production is taken into consideration that is despite the fact that the amount of plant used in the [Gray & Adams] factory has increased," says marketing manager Laura Dougan. "The factory has expanded with the addition of new buildings and we are producing considerably more vehicles. The most recent figures, based on our 2009 carbon footprint, have shown a decrease of more than 15% over 2001 levels of CO2 per working hour."

Dougan adds that, today, every commercial vehicle operator will be all too familiar with the challenges faced from increasing fuel costs and pressure to reduce carbon emissions and, at Gray & Adams, the company has offered products to help reduce fuel consumption and increase operational efficiency for many years. Melton Mowbray-based Samworth Brothers has just completed a two-year trial of Gray & Adams' Eco-Aer rounded cappings and vortex generator configuration on its trailers and now has 35 trailers of this specification in its total fleet. These features are said to help streamline air flow over the top and around the trailer to reduce drag and, therefore, fuel consumption. The Eco-Aer is part of the Eco-Range, which also includes the Eco-Max and Eco-Low. The name Eco-Aer refers to the range of modifications that have been developed for new refrigerated trailers or bodies, which make the vehicle more aerodynamically efficient, while the Eco-Max refers to the twin-deck range on offer, which can encompass fixed or lifting decks and are available in both temperature-controlled and dry freight configurations. Meanwhile, the Eco-Low incorporates modifications and features that restrict noise emissions from vehicle components to 60 decibels, in order to protect residents living in residential areas, where night-time distribution might take place, Gray & Adams claims.

Panel beaters

Schmitz Cargobull, meanwhile, has reduced its vehicles' environmental impact through the use of 'reefer' trailers, which are constructed by using the firm's Ferroplast modular steel-skinned panels to keep loads at the desired temperature. The panels are filled with high-quality expanded polyurethane foam and, most importantly, their closed cell structure means that even if the steel skin gets pierced, water will not be absorbed. This is a big advantage over Styrofoam, which is commonly used in other reefers, the company added. "It is not uncommon for trailers made from Styrofoam to carry an additional one tonne of water, which has seeped into the body of the panels once they have been pierced," says Nigel Somers, Schmitz Cargobull UK regional sales director. "Adding such significant weight affects fuel consumption and, given that water is a good conductor of heat, it can also seriously affect the efficiency of the refrigeration system."

Ferroplast panels can be supplied in different thicknesses, depending on the application, and each individual panel is replaceable. The panels are assembled using bonded joint technology to provide a completely damp-proof container that is impermeable to vapour. Supermarket chain Asda is one company that has taken advantage of Schmitz Cargobull's technology, with an order for 150 new environmentally-friendly refrigerated trailers, delivered this year, which will save on fuel costs. The trailers have all been fitted with side skirts, to improve their aero-dynamics and, therefore, improve fuel efficiency.

For the smaller operator, Schmitz Cargobull has also recently announced the addition of the MKO Rigid refrigerated box vehicle to its range for the UK and Irish markets. Offered in 14-, 18- and 26-tonne versions, the MKO Rigid has been designed to meet the needs of grocery retailers who require a vehicle capable of servicing smaller outlets in rural high streets, where space in or around the delivery bay is restricted.

The right track

In recent years, the transport sector has also seen huge progression in tracking device technology. Tracking and transport management solutions provider Isotrak has supplied the Norfolk-based turkey giant Bernard Matthews with its Active Transport Management System (ATMS) to monitor and improve the performance of its delivery fleet. This is a managed, server-based system, said to improve transport efficiency using satellite tracking feeds and vehicle telematics data. "Bernard Matthews is a customer with a very high standard of requirements to improve driver management, fuel economy and customer service, through better visibility of the vehicles as they make their deliveries and return to the processing plant," said Isotrak business development vice-president Craig Sears-Black. "Bernard Matthews is able to expand the solution in the future to give customers advance warning of delivery times, thus improving customer satisfaction."

Sears-Black finds, in addition to significant increases in productivity through better management of transport schedules and reduced fuel consumption, meat traders also gain from temperature control monitoring. "Most Isotrak customers have benefited from increases in productivity of between 5% and 15%. Payback from the system investment is generally six months to a year," he says.

Internet vehicle tracking, another service becoming rapidly available, is pioneered by specialist firm Quartix. With a choice of three versions, Quartix Pay As You Go (PAYG) can be tailored to suit a fleet operator's exact requirements, from simple tracking through to the Corporate system, suitable for large multi-site fleets. Since introducing PAYG, Quartix has become one of the UK's first telematics specialists to provide the system with Google Maps and the first to offer a unique on-screen 'dashboard', giving real-time information about a fleet's performance.

Amazingly, with all this innovation out there, the humble CB radio is still used by many of the nation's truckers, as reported on the television recently, but the days of 1975 chart hit Convoy, featuring perplexing slang and polluting trucks, seems a long way away now in our world of climate change and Sat Nav.

A capital idea

Foodservice meat supplier Fairfax Meadow has trialled an electric refrigerated truck for deliveries in the London area, writes Fred A'Court.

As its name suggests, the Zeroed produces no emissions. "As well as being emission-free, this vehicle produces no vibrations and noise, so it's perfect for urban use and is exempt from road tax and congestion charging," said managing director Gerry Wensley. "We've trialled the vehicle and given our customers an opportunity to take a test drive. We feel that this vehicle would be ideal for deliveries within central London and central Manchester, helping our customers and us to significantly reduce our carbon footprints. We will certainly be considering electric vehicles for our transport fleet."

The company has also taken delivery of the first 15 new improved Agile automated 15 Iveco Daily 3.5-tonne refrigerated box vans to be available in the UK, having given feedback on previous models to Iveco, so it could make improvements to the new model. The new vehicles have been selected for their efficiency while being driven in heavy traffic in cities. National catering butcher Fairfax Meadow will use the new additions to its fleet to make deliveries throughout London and within the M25 region. Wensley said: "We are committed to further improving our service to customers and to reducing our carbon footprint. Our acquisition of these superb new vans achieves both aims."

Fairfax Meadow's transport fleet manager Mike Reid said the company constantly refreshes its fleet of vehicles to make sure it is the most efficient and, in selecting the diesel-powered Iveco Daily 35S11, it took into account the specific needs of driving in London and the fact that the new model's predecessor, the 35C11, had performed particularly well. "We have worked with Iveco on the new model and have secured the first 15 to go into service in the UK, " says Reid. "We took the first 10 of the previous model too and Iveco monitored its performance throughout."

As a result, the latest version has several improvements, including better electronics to improve stability, traction and braking and quicker acceleration. Key to the new purchase is the performance of the Iveco's Agile six-speed gearbox, which can be used either as an automatic or manual without the need of a clutch. "It makes driving the new Daily very similar to driving an automatic car," said Reid. "Driving through London is slow, at an average speed of just 8mph, so there is heavy use of the gearbox; as a result, small vans usually wear them out. Our experience over four years with the previous Daily model was that the gearbox was very robust, never missing a beat or needing replacement, despite being worked around London for six days a week. We are delighted to have contributed to the development of the new model. I consider it to be one of the most innovative developments there has been in urban transport."

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