Motor Transport 13 November 2017

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

13.11.17

NEWS INSIDE Ready, steady, go

THE NEW SCANIA

Hermes UK boss Martijn de Lange up for change p3

Turbulence ahead

Operators call for improved freight facilities at LHR p6

Not self-employed

Union takes legal action over sham practices p8

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Wincanton set to prosper from diversity

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OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE Bibby Distribution .................................p6 Clipper Logistics .................................p20 Export Logistics ..................................p20 Hermes .......................................... p3, 24

Industry needs details on scheme’s proposed star rating system

R Swain ................................................p6

Call for clarity on TfL’s Direct Vision

Ray Bowles Transport ...........................p6 Saints Transport ...................................p4 The Co-op .............................................p8 UPS ......................................................p6 Wincanton ...........................................p8

By Chris Druce

Want to go hydrogen?

Go to LoCITY show Operators wanting to find out more about hydrogen vehicles should head to the next LoCITY roadshow on 23 November at CEME, Rainham.

The half-day event will bring together vehicle manufacturers, hydrogen experts and fleet managers who have trialled the alternative fuel to share their knowledge with delegates. n Register your interest at: locityroadshows.co.uk.

Expo

review

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p12

Industry experts have accused TfL of putting the cart before the horse with its Direct Vision Standard (DVS).

Speaking at the Freight in the City Expo at Alexandra Palace last week (7 November), Ross Paterson, head of product and marketing at MercedesBenz, said customers were asking what star rating each model had on a daily basis.

“It’s a question we can’t answer. We feel the announcement [last September] was made too early. The research should have been done first,” he said.

FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham agreed. “The mayor’s ambition, noble as it is, has seen him progressing too quickly with this. It has gone ahead of the checks and balances required and

Highwayman

p14

means we remain in the dark over DVS,” he said.

Hookham said there was an urgent need for clarity about the DVS specification so manufacturers could factor this in to designs where possible and customers, pressured to upgrade their vehicles to meet London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone coming in 2019, could make the correct purchasing decisions.

Paterson added: “We build vehicles for the European market rather than for specific cities or political agendas.”

Announced last year, DVS plans to introduce a star rating system from zero to five based on the level of direct vision a driver has from the cab.

Although TfL published interim star ratings in September, these have been removed from its Safer Trucks website.

Roundtable:

Brexit

p20

MT

Tim Ward, freight and fleet engagement manager at TfL, reminded delegates that 78% of cyclist fatalities in London involved HGVs, with truck blind spots the key issue identified in police reports.

He said: “Since the first announcement, which was ‘DVS or nothing’, we have now looked at the research, spoken to manufacturers and we are about to consult on a permit scheme. The scheme will mean a vehicle fitted with suitable equipment [potentially sensors or cameras] could bring a zero-star truck up to the basic standard.”

Ward added TfL would launch a consultation regarding the permit scheme, what it might contain and how it might work,within a month. n See p12-13 for a full Freight in the City Expo round-up.

Awards

winners

Customers’ willingness to change the status quo will stand Wincanton in good stead whatever challenges lie ahead, according to CEO Adrian Coleman.

Speaking to MT at the publication of its half-year results to 30 September, Coleman said diversity and the fact that it does not serve sectors selling high-value purchases such as automotive placed Wincanton in a solid position.

Customers that have seen input costs rise because of sterling’s devaluation are also increasingly receptive to Wincanton’s offer.

“I can think of a couple [of tenders] where I thought we’d just be there as part of their process and they’d renew with the incumbent or stay in-house.

But we’ve seen far more willingness to change,” he said.

Group turnover rose 3.4% to £581m, while pre-tax profit increased 3.6% to £20.3m.

p24-27

Careers

Hub

p29

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09/11/2017 09:20:52

News

motortransport.co.uk

Martijn de Lange wants to enhance and maintain the business’s Yorkshire heritage during his tenure

New Hermes UK boss ready for peak

By Emma Shone

Having the former Hermes UK CEO at the helm of Hermes Europe will be an advantage for the UK division, according to current UK CEO Martijn de Lange.

De Lange, pictured, stepped into Carole Walker’s shoes late last month as she took up her new role as CEO of Hermes Europe, and said he’s confident she

will maintain a soft spot for the Leeds-based operation. Walker had been CEO of Hermes UK since 2009.

De Lange told MT: “It can never hurt, can it?

I’d say it’s advantageous, because there will be a big commitment towards the UK business and there will be backing and support, and that’s important. Carole will have all the good things in

her heart for Hermes UK.” De Lange said one of his major aims is to enhance and maintain the carrier ’s Yorkshire heritage.

“What is important in our business is that it’s a Yorkshire – and a Leeds – business, which has an element of family feel to it. It doesn’t have any arrogance to it and it’s customer- and people-focused.

I want to enhance that culture and not have a big, hierarchical, slow organisation.”

With peak season on the

horizon, de Lange said he is not concerned about the change in leadership as the parcel carrier enters its most important period.

“I was the MD already running a large part of the business, so I’ve been running all the peak preparations and the relationships with the client and the operations for almost five years anyway.

So I don’t think it makes a change.

“I have some added responsibilities, but I want to make

sure that I stay grounded in our operation and with our retailers and our customers.”

With a close relationship to his “very strong team”, de Lange said he is confident he will be able to achieve this.

The transition between CEOs, he added, will be aided by his and Walker’s likemindedness.

“Our relationship has always been good; not just on an operational level, but on a business level too,” he said.

Brake testing and maintenance must improve, insist TCs and DVSA The traffic commissioners (TCs) and the DVSA have urged operators to improve their approach to brake testing and maintenance, after the DVSA revealed a quarter of defective trucks had a brake issue.

The TCs said brake defects and shortcomings in brake maintenance procedures are appearing “far too frequently” at public inquiries, with some operators failing to carry out testing at the required frequency, or at all.

According to the DVSA, more than one in 10 UK- and

foreign-registered HGVs stopped by its enforcement staff attract a prohibition for a defect of some sort.

Its fleet compliance check survey for 2016/17, which looks at a random sample of more than 6,000 vehicles, showed brake defects represented 28% of the mechanical defects identified in UK-registered HGVs; 44% in UK trailers; 33% in foreign-registered HGVs and 42% in foreignregistered trailers.

The prohibition rate for foreign-registered HGVs was 12.5% last year, compared with

11% for UK-registered trucks.

Some 18.3% of foreign trailers checked attracted a prohibition, compared with 11.7% of trailers pulled by UK-based businesses.

Sarah Bell and Kevin Rooney, lead TCs for enforcement matters, said: “Despite the clear warnings for industry, traffic commissioners are still receiving reports about a lack of effective and proactive brake performance testing regimes.

“This is not limited to a specific type of licence, size of operator or a particular sector – it is across the board.”

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09/11/2017 09:24:00

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Mounting congestion around cargo centre creates severe delays of up to eight hours

Operators urge Heathrow to improve freight facilities

By Carol Millett

The RHA has demanded that Heathrow Airport update its freight movement facilities “as a matter of urgency” following complaints of congestion and delay accessing the west London site.

Mounting congestion around the airport’s cargo centre is creating severe delays and making the cargo area inaccessible at times, with police frequently turning away vehicles from the area, according to operators.

The weakened pound has seen cargo volumes surge at Heathrow this year, with the airport reporting a 10.5% rise year-on-year to 1.25 million tonnes in the third quarter, compounding the situation.

RHA director of policy Duncan Buchanan said: “This is no way to run an airport. It’s a shameful way to treat freight customers. Heathrow Airport needs to start treating freight as a core customer.

“It’s absolutely essential it gets its head out of the sand and provides proper facilities, including sufficient land for

freight movement, as a matter of urgency.

“If this is how it treats customers it doesn’t augur well for a third runway at Heathrow.”

Heathrow Airport recently published its 10-step Blueprint for Sustainable Freight, which includes an app for local forwarders to consolidate movements; airfield charging points; and the modernisation of cargo infrastructure.

However, Buchanan said: “It’s not good enough to kick this issue into the long grass with yet another strategy document. They need to get off their backsides and start managing freight at the airport.”

Robert Keen, the British International Freight Association’s director general, said members were more frustrated than ever at the delays.

“Congestion at the horseshoe is as bad as it has ever been and the police are turning away vehicles, leading to a huge rise in complaints from members,” he said.

“Our members, who are

enduring misery on a daily basis when using the airport’s cargo centre, want action not words,” he added.

Steve Bowles, MD at airfreight carrier Roy Bowles Transport, said one of his trucks had been forced to queue on the approach to the cargo terminal for eight hours earlier this month and a further four hours the next day.

R Swain & Sons defied customer and competitor pressure to deliver a 10% rise in turnover last year, according to its latest annual results.

Publishing its accounts for the 12 months to 31 December 2016, the Kent-based group revealed a rise in turnover to £45.9m (2015: £41.5m) with pre-tax profit increasing to £2.8m (£ 2.7m).

The company spent £1.5m on acquisitions, including purchasing Derby-based Jeffrey’s Haulage for an undisclosed sum in July.

In the directors’ report with its annual results, the company said: “Turnover has risen 10%

MTR_131117_006.indd 6

Kinaxia Logistics has set the FORS standard as the requirement across its group of eight operators.

Health, safety and compliance manager Trevor Dickenson said FORS had not only covered “everything we need in terms of training, servicing, health and safety”, but had helped identify the gaps in the group’s related practices. “The structure and framework has helped us create our own processes for fleet management,” he said.

To date, six of the eight Kinaxia-owned operators are FORS-accredited, with two more undergoing audits.

Bibby bags Suzuki distribution deal He said: “It’s a nightmare.

The queues are appalling.

We’re doing as much as we can by consolidating journeys, but the main issue is that the cargo terminal was built 50 years ago and isn’t fit for purpose.

“It’s bad enough with Brexit – something needs to be done otherwise Heathrow is going to start losing a lot of cargo.”

Attention to detail pays off at R Swain as profit rises

6 MotorTransport

Kinaxia group set for FORS

in a year where there was considerable pressure from customers on rates and from other hauliers pursuing work.”

The report said profit was maintained “by attention to detail in traffic management”, which it credited to the quality of its staff. It added that the company was committing to further investment in its fleet to ensure it meets increasing demand for cleaner and more efficient vehicles.

R Swain’s purchase of Jeffrey’s Haulage saw the company add 32 tractor units, 60 trailers and four 18-tonne rigids, along with a 16.5 acre site in Woodville.

Bibby Distribution has won a contract with Suzuki to deliver all its motorcycles, marine engines and all-terrain vehicles.

Working from Suzuki’s depot in Milton Keynes, Bibby will deliver across the UK and Ireland under a three-year deal.

Suzuki logistics operational manager Kevin Sach said: “Bibby has an established reputation for reliability and members of our dealer network told us we can trust in Bibby Distribution to deliver without delay.”

On the up at UPS UPS’s UK operation recorded modest growth in turnover and pre-tax profit last year, although its European and international sectors fared better.

Group turnover rose 8.7% to £945m in the year to 31 December 2016, with pre-tax profit up 6.9% to £62.3m. The UK provided the lion’s share of turnover at £383m, up 0.8%, compared with a 15% revenue rise from its European business to £339m, and a 33.7% rise in international operations to £223m.

13.11.17

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09/11/2017 09:18:46

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Claim served against ADR Network and PPF by Unite on behalf of HGV driver

Agencies accused of using bogus practices

By Carol Millett

Regulations, as well as a claim for the unlawful deduction from wages under the 1996 Employment Rights Act; and a claim for pay parity under the A genc y Workers Regulations 2010.

The union claimed that ADR and PPF do “engage employees on a PAYE basis”, but that Sharrock “was not afforded that option”, and had to set up his own company in order to work on the contract.

The claim also states that Sharrock set up Sharrock Transport but does not own his own truck or have public liability insurance and that the responsibility for the maintenance, insurance and fuel of the truck “lies elsewhere”.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “It is clear that Gary is doing the same job as those working for ADR and PPF on more secure conditions. We strongly believe that Gary is a victim of sham employment – and this is not acceptable, hence the submission to the employment tribunal.”

A Wincanton spokesman said: “We can confirm that Wincanton uses agency drivers to cover peak demand and other short-term requirements, via agencies such as ADR. We cannot comment on the agency’s contractual relationships with its drivers – it is a matter for them, but they are obliged to operate within

all relevant legislation.”

Unite legal services assistant general secretary Howard Beckett said: “This also has implications for our members’ right to sick pay and a pension and it is a brazen attempt to circumvent the Agency Worker Regulations 2010.

“The Agency Worker Regulations require agencies to pay workers the same rates as the client’s employed workforce, in this case Wincanton, but at other Co-op depots, directly employed Co-op drivers.”

The case will be heard at Manchester Employment Tribunal early next year.

The Co-op declined to comment.

PA Images

Unite has launched legal action against two agencies, used by Wincanton and the Co-op, which the union claims are using “sham and bogus” self-employment practices.

The claim was served against ADR Network and PPF

by Unite on behalf of HGV driver Gary Sharrock. He drives for the agencies on a Co-op contract run by Wincanton from its Lea Green depot in Merseyside.

According to Unite, Sharrock’s request for annual leave was refused in July.

Sharrock said he is entitled to be paid statutory annual leave and is claiming holiday pay under the 1998 Working Time

Out-of-court settlement for lorry park review urged Pressure is being placed on the government to settle out of court a forthcoming judicial review into a lorry park to replace Operation Stack in Kent.

Former chancellor George Osborne pledged £250m to build a holding area for HGVs at Stanford West in 2015, but 8 MotorTransport MTR_131117_008.indd 8

campaigners opposed the plans and launched a judicial review against the decision.

Court proceedings are due to start on 6 December, but Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins said a settlement needed to be reached to speed up construction.

Collins said: “If we want the

country to be ready for Brexit on day one, that includes being ready with the infrastructure in place to support it.

“If there were Customs delays, it is possible that Operation Stack would once again become a frequent and unwelcome visitor to the county, causing massive

congestion and making life intolerable for residents and businesses.

“It is therefore even more important that the investment the government promised two years ago to deliver the Operation Stack relief truckpark is proceeded with at pace.”

Turbulent year for Saints Transport Saints Transport dipped into the red in 2016, a year in which the company underwent a major fleet renewal and chairman and CEO Piers Carroll (pictured) completed a management buyout (MBO).

The Heathrow-based airfreight specialist made a pre-tax loss of £524,000 in the year to 31 December 2016 compared with a pre-tax profit of £259,000 the year before.

In its strategic report, Saints attributed falling profit to the £5.6m spent on fleet renewal, and costs associated with the MBO. The buyout was completed on 5 December 2016, which saw ownership of the company transferred to Carroll.

The operator said: “The buyout ensures that the company passes on through the family and continues to be a true family business, maintaining our unswerving ethos that has served us so well over the years: the customer is king.”

The vehicle expenditure during the year took the value of Saints’ fleet from £5m to £7.4m. The operator maintains a five-year fleet renewal policy to “ensure maintenance costs are kept low and that the fleet has the capability to provide the most efficient service”.

Turnover increased 3.5% in the year, from £23.5m to £24.3m. Saints said that its overall aim for this year was to boost turnover at a similar rate to 2016.

Saints Transport did not respond to requests for comment.

13.11.17

07/11/2017 15:28:00

News

motortransport.co.uk

APN says growth in half- and quarter-pallet volumes demonstrates competition with larger parcels market

Pallet networks take on parcels sector

By Carol Millett

Pallet networks are continuing to carve out a greater share of the parcels market after delivering record half-pallet volumes and next-day deliveries this year, according to the Association of Pallet Networks (APN).

The latest figures provided

by APN members reveal that pallet volumes rose 6.3% to 19 million pallets in the first three quarters of 2017, with next-day services increasing 7.3%. Half-pallet services rose by 8% to more than 5.4 million and quarter-pallet services increased 2.8% to just under 4.5 million, compared with the same period last year.

APN chairman Paul Sanders said: “Members are seeing home delivery volumes increase significantly, and the growth in half- and quarterpallet volumes demonstrates the competition with the larger

parcels market. In the past couple of years pallet networks have become a force to be reckoned with in the parcels sector. As pallet networks’ offerings become more sophisticated that is attracting more and more business from the sector.”

The APN also attributed the sector’s strong performance this year to demand for next-

day deliveries, increasing trust in the sector and its members’ ability to provide operators with a variable cost base from which to respond to customers’ demands.

Sanders said: “Our members are working hard to develop and raise the profile of this important sector and we are seeing unprecedented volumes being delivered.”

STRICTER WEIGHT GUIDELINES The introduction of stricter guidelines on tail-lift delivery pallet weights has moved a step closer after the Health and Safety Executive confirmed it had completed a series of additional tests to establish the maximum safe weight for pallets.

The tests, which looked at push and pull forces, were ordered by the HSE in August after the first push and pull test results were found to be inaccurate due to faulty measuring equipment. The HSE told MT that the tests, carried out in controlled conditions at a test facility in Buxton, were completed last month. An HSE spokesman said: “In March the HSE undertook some indicative testing of push and pull forces required in manually manoeuvring pallets on vehicle beds and tail-lifts, with members of the group present. The results indicated significant forces may be required to move pallets of various weights and that further detailed testing was needed.

“This testing has now been completed and we are awaiting the finalised validated results.”

The need for clearer guidance on pallet weights was given greater urgency last year following the death of HGV driver Petru Soimu Pop in November, who was crushed to death while making a tail-lift delivery to a residential address in High Wycombe.

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Show review: Freight in the City Nearly 1,000 visitors filled Alexandra Palace to hear about and see the latest technology for urban operations

Prepare for zero emissions in cities, warns Innovate UK

By Chris Druce

Hauliers face the biggest change to how they do business since they left the horse and cart behind, Innovate UK’s low-emission vehicle lead Venn Chesterton told delegates at the Freight in the City Expo in London last week (7 November).

Speaking in the first seminar at the expo, Chesterton (below) set out a raft of

emissions and technology changes that hauliers will need to wrestle with in the next few years. “Make no mistake. We are seeing a push towards zero emissions in urban areas,” said Chesterton.

He added that the government’s airquality strategy meant there would be more examples of London’s T-Charge and forthcoming Ultra Low Emission Zone across the UK (likely to be clean air zones) as local authorities are charged with cleaning up the UK’s air.

Chesterton warned that while the government’s approach to tackling climate change was still voluntary for the sector, that remained open to legal challenge and hauliers needed to be aware for that reason.

“No one technology will fix this: electric, bio-gas and hydrogen will all have their part to play. In the near future we will see

something that does long-haul conventionally then switches to zero-emission mode when entering a city. The technology for this is already here,” he said.

He used the example of John Lewis switching its HGV fleet to alternative fuels to illustrate the movement in the industry, but warned delegates changes happening were broader than emissions alone. “How will you stay competitive and at the cutting edge?” he asked.

He also said his one-year-old daughter would probably never have a driving licence “and insurers will price the rest of us off the road if autonomous systems fulfil their potential and are deemed to be safer than humans”.

Innovate is a government-backed agency that funds, tests and showcases the best new technology.

Images: Tom Lee

We must address the dangers of low-noise vehicles Further expanding clean air zones will increase the demand for electric vehicles and hybrids, but the industry needs to address the dangers of low noise associated with electric powertrains, Tony Bowen, LCV project manager at Brigade Electronics, told attendees.

12 MotorTransport MTR_131117_012.indd 12

He said: “We have to understand how dangerous an unseen and unheard slowmoving vehicle can be to vulnerable road users – small children, people with restricted eyesight and elderly people.

“Drivers of electric vehicles are aware of the problem.

Owners and managers of

companies have a responsibility to provide drivers of these vehicles with the ability to reduce risk among these vulnerable road users.”

He said that Brigade had reacted to EU Regulation 138 by producing its Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, which is due to be introduced

from July 2019.

“We have developed the quiet vehicle sounder… with increased frequency and amplitude as the vehicle speeds up, mimicking the behaviour of a combustion engine. It operates from 0-12mph, then tyre and wind noise take over.”

Be vigilant to fight terrorism HGV operators and rental suppliers have been urged to be vigilant to mitigate the use of vehicle as a weapon in a terrorist attack.

Following incidents in Nice and Berlin in 2016, where trucks were used as part of attacks, and incidents on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge in the capital, and in Manchester in May 2017 – sergeant Wayne Watling of the counter-terrorism focus desk at the Metropolitan Police told delegates of the need to remain watchful.

“How many drivers have the same routes and know what is normal? They will know if there is something out of the ordinary,” Watling said. “We have been at severe risk of terrorism since August 2014 – that is an awfully long time.”

Watling revealed that 20 attacks over the past four years have been foiled by counterterrorism police, including seven in the past seven months. “We have to be aware of the threat but get on with things.” He also spoke of the attacks in Nice and Berlin involving HGVs. “The vehicle is the easiest way of causing mass panic. The HGV hire industry has spent a lot in reducing that risk.”

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09/11/2017 11:17:29

motortransport.co.uk

Arrival confident of electric future Electric vehicle designer and manufacturer Arrival remains bullish about the prospects for its light commercial vehicle, and the disruptive impact its technology-led approach will have in the broader market.

Aiming a shot at its larger, conventional rivals, Matt Key, chief of business development at the Banbury-based start-up, said: “The world we live in, especially within the CV sector, is behind what’s technically possible.”

“Overpricing is what makes electric vehicles niche. Manufacturers claim there’s no demand for them. But operators are interested until they find out how expensive they are compared with conventional designs,” he told delegates.

Arrival, previously Charge Automotive, made headlines earlier this year when it revealed Royal Mail was conducting a trial of nine of its T4 (working title) model – a 4.25 tonne all-electric autonomousready truck.

“Retrofitting conventional vehicles is expensive. If you build from the bottom up as we have, you end up with something simpler,” said Key. “We are also trying to do more in software rather than hardware, which is typically heavier.

Ultimately, we approach our truck as a device.

Think of our 4-tonne truck as a big phone on wheels.”

Arrival plans to put its 4-tonne vehicle into full production at the end of the year and already has designs for a 7.5-tonner.

The T4 is expected to cost £35,000, including battery.

Its claimed range is around 200km, with a full charge taking an hour, with 100% more payload and 50% more volume than a conventional equivalent.

13.11.17

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Calor: fuel source could be considered ‘cheap date’ to tackle environmental issues

Air quality challenge revives LPG prospects

By Chris Druce

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is back in a big way thanks to the UK’s air quality challenge, according to Calor’s head of strategy and corporate affairs Paul Blacklock (pictured).

Speaking at the expo, where the company was showcasing its electric LPG range-extended rigid truck developed with Emoss, Blacklock said: “Until three years ago LPG fuel seemed to be on its way out.

Then the air quality crisis and the VW scandal happened.”

Blacklock said that with a ready-built infrastructure of LPG, the fuel source could be described as the “cheap date” when it came to tackling the UK’s emissions challenge.

“We believe our rangeextended truck is a game changer that will drive transformation in the UK,” said Blacklock.

Calor Gas, which operates a fleet of some 800 vehicles, said its range-extended truck uses LPG to drive the vehicle’s electric generator. This charges the battery supplying the motor with electricity.

Compliant with the latest emission requirements, Calor said its LPG range extender will deliver a lower level of carbon emissions than petrol and provide the capability to increase a vehicle’s battery-only range to 250 miles.

The technology also offers the opportunity for geofencing to cut emissions to zero when operating in city centres.

Calor added that BioLPG, which is due to be available in early 2018, offers “even more significant environmental benefits over existing rangeextension technologies, such as diesel and petrol”.

It is claimed to cut carbon emissions by 82% compared with conventional diesel power, rising to 94% with BioLPG. Particulate matter is also virtually eliminated and there is a claimed 94% cut in NO2.

Captured data can help operators manage risk Big data can improve driver and operational safety, Microlise told delegates, after a trial with Innovate UK captured seven billion truck miles of information.

Matt Hague, executive director – product strategy at Microlise, said: “There is a lot of technology on the vehicle now that can help you manage risk. That’s everything from

tracking, to cameras, and increasingly artificial intelligence.”

Microlise has been working with Innovate UK, merging several billion miles of truck data with external data sources such as weather, traffic, and mapping.

Hague said that with the data pool growing all the time, the information generated in

the trial would allow local authorities to start making some planning decisions – as well as allowing operators to make smart decisions about deliveries.

“Using all of the data HGV drivers are generating, you can automatically understand how risky that route is. Then you make the decision on who is driving that route, a subbie or

a member of staff, or do you re-route?

“It’s also about giving the driver real-time feedback when you approach those hazards, such as low bridges, areas where there have been cycle accidents, as well as areas of speeding, or harsh braking zones. Then you can figure out your hot-spots,” he said.

MotorTransport 13

09/11/2017 12:39:41

Highwayman

motortransport.co.uk

Please, think of the pallets!

If you have a story for Highwayman, send it to highwaymanMT@ gmail.com

Hopefully you enjoyed a good bonfire night full of gunpowder, treason and plot. Although it’s gone for another year, Highwayman was moved by the wonderfully named Phil Storer and his call to think of the pallets for pity’s sake.

Storer – is that real? – is MD of Pooling Partners UK and the annual celebration clearly causes him discomfort, if not for the reasons you might think.

“Think of the humble pallet.

Happily carrying its heavy load through the supply chain before it can be reinvigorated and start the process again, only to find its life’s work is tragically cut short; for all of

the forestry, manufacturing and repairing effort to go up in flames.

“I am the last person in the

world to be a killjoy, but a village bonfire can be a massive pile of banknotes awaiting destruction.

“Sometimes the cost of pallets will exceed the value of any fund-raising for local causes that the bonfire is trying to achieve, which is perverse.

“They may not be pretty, but our particular circular economy cannot function without the humble pallet, and to see such waste from perfectly reusable products is not only damaging to businesses, but contributes to increased costs of everyday goods.

“It is cheaper to repair them than make new pallets, as well as being more sustainable for the environment,” said Storer, with his tongue – one hopes – firmly in his cheek.

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It’s a dead cert according to that bloke we all know in the pub. For Highwayman and the team, however, a tip-off is always welcome but not always ‘on the money’.

One team member was contacted recently to be told that airfreight haulier Ware Transport had been snapped up by Kinaxia Logistics, the business making waves in the transport sector as it buys midsize haulier after mid-size haulier.

They called Peter Field, who was negotiating London’s

Not out of the woods yet It is with sadness that Highwayman marks the passing of the dastardly Grace Wood.

When not keeping grumpy writers in order and polishing their copy to something approaching a shine, she became quite the transport journalist herself, even grilling Renault Trucks’ boss of late.

Thankfully, Highwayman can reveal it is just a new adventure elsewhere for Grace, not the hangman’s noose.

But to mark her next adventure, here’s her top six tunes to commit general larceny to as we bid her adieu:

Preparing for thievery: Gold digger – Kanye West.

Driving/riding to bank: Fast car – Tracy Chapman.

14 MotorTransport MTR_131117_014.indd 14

DLR, about buying Ware.

Understandably distracted, Field replied: “I don’t think I have. I’m pretty sure I’d know about it if we were.” A reasonable response from the Kinaxia director who nevertheless seemed flummoxed, at least initially, by the staffer’s insistence.

Further digging revealed Manchester’s Trinity Freight had actually snapped up Ware from administration, delivering a win of a sort for the reporter, but not exactly the one expected.

During the thievery:

Under pressure – David Bowie and Queen.

Keep the car running – Arcade Fire.

Towards end/as running away: Hold on – Sam and Dave.

Celebrating success of thievery: Money for nothing – Dire Straits.

13.11.17

09/11/2017 10:13:03

Focus: Business barometer

motortransport.co.uk

With the base rate going up, unemployment down and the budget next week, Q3 proves to be a busy period

An eventful end to an uncertain year GDP

GDP

The UK’s GDP in Q3 2017 was 0.4% up on the previous quarter. To put this preliminary estimate into perspective, although far from the economic collapse forecast by some Remain voters, it is short of the UK’s long-run average quarterly growth rate of 0.6%.

Nevertheless, 0.4% was sufficient to persuade the Bank of England that the economy is strong enough to support a rise in the base rate to 0.5% after 14 months at its all-time low of 0.25%.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) monitors GDP across four broad economic sectors and in three of them – production, services and agriculture – output grew in Q3. Only in the fourth, construction, was there a downturn.

After declining by 0.5% in Q2, construction shrank by a further 0.7% in Q3. This slowdown was anticipated because Brexit uncertainty was bound to deter commercial developments.

Unsurprisingly, the Construction Products Association last month downgraded its forecast for construction growth next year from 0.7% to zero, but even that assumes the government will go ahead with some major infrastructure projects. The CPA expects this year’s acceleration in housebuilding to slow significantly in 2018.

0.6 0.5

% change, latest quarter on previous quarter

0.4 0.3 0.2

Q3 2017

Q2 2017

Q1 2017

Q4 2016

Q3 2016

Q2 2016

0.0

Q1 2016

0.1

OIL PRICE 60.0 57.5 55.0

$ per barrel

52.5 50.0

Oil and fuel

47.5 45.0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

INFLATION 4

■ RPI ■ CPI

3.5

Annual inflation %

3 2.5 2 1.5 1

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

13.11.17

MTR_131117_015.indd 15

This year is shaping up to be the most stable since 2013 in terms of diesel costs. Movements in the price of Brent crude oil have been modest and a relatively consistent – albeit low – value of the pound against the dollar has helped stability. The price of bulk diesel (full loads) for most operators will have stayed between 89p and 96p/litre this year. Its average of 93.5p in the first 10 months is 9% up on 2016’s overall average.

Looking to next year, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) – which got its 2017 forecast pretty much spot on – believes Brent crude will average $54.1 in 2018, 3% up on this year’s figure.

But Brent’s price was trending upwards in October and we need to keep an eye on a couple of events this month. First, will the Chancellor continue to resist the temptation to hike fuel duty in next week’s Budget? And when the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets in

Vienna on 30 November it will debate extending its output cap all the way through to the end of 2018, hoping to prevent the oil price softening.

Inflation

October’s inflation figures are published tomorrow (14 November).

According to the Bank of England’s latest Inflation Report, published early this month, CPI inflation is likely to have ticked up to 3.2% in October, the highest since March 2012. That suggests RPI will have exceeded 4%. But October was the peak, reckons the Bank, which anticipates CPI dropping slowly to 2.4% a year from now, and then to 2.2% a year after that. The Bank reminds us that sterling’s post-Brexit vote devaluation has caused much of the inflation and this takes time to wash through all annual data.

September’s inflation figures are more important because hikes in business rates for the next financial year starting in April are based on the previous September’s RPI figure. This means operators need to budget for a 3.9% increase in their premises’ major fixed cost.

Employment and earnings

The unemployment rate continues to brighten the Brexit gloom, dropping to 4.3% in the three months to the end of August. A year ago it was 5% and this latest figure is the joint lowest for 42 years, reports the ONS. Despite this apparently strong jobs market, earnings are not keeping up with inflation.

In the same three-month period to August, total average weekly earnings (including bonuses) were 2.2% up on a year earlier, but when inflation is factored in, that means real earnings were 0.3% down.

Those in road transport probably fared much worse, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the ONS last month. In the year to April 2017 the median gross weekly wage for truck drivers increased by 0.1% (to £563.50). But when adjusted for inflation, that equates to a pay cut of 2.5% in real terms. Median earnings of transport and logistics managers/ directors also shrank by 2.5% in real terms. Only van drivers managed to beat inflation, with median wages up by 3.1% to £430.10 a week, giving them a meagre 0.5% increase in real terms.

MotorTransport 15

06/11/2017 16:47:53

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

Keep up with tech – or get left behind

T

Richard Tilden Head of commercial vehicles Lex Autolease

he increasing pace of take-up of electric LCVs across both public and private sectors is beginning to change the dynamic of the fleet market. Figures from the SMMT show that the number of electric LCVs on our roads almost tripled between 2012 and 2015, and we can only expect this rate of adoption to rise.

The fact that some electric vans have lower whole-life costs than their diesel counterparts will certainly play a key role, as will an increasing range of electric vehicles and planned investments into charging infrastructure.

This is underpinned by the government’s aim to tackle vehicle emissions. Together with changes to tax bandings for ultra low emission vehicles from 2020 to 2021, and the target to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040, Whitehall has committed £80m towards charging points on the roadside in urban residential areas, and rapid chargers at service stations to enable longer journeys for electric vehicles.

Lex Autolease is proactively embracing the shift.

We have more than 14,000 ultra low emission vehicles on our fleet – including more than 300 electric vans – and we’re seeing an increasing number of enquiries from public and private sector organisations looking to adopt clean fuel technology. One example is the fleet of 48 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans we’ve provided for BAE Systems to use at Portsmouth Naval Base, which will significantly reduce the site’s carbon footprint.

But while we expect the shift towards low emission vans to increase, it is crucial that organisations determine what works best for them before jumping headfirst into adopting the technology. Euro-5 and -6 diesel vehicles are still the most practical option in some circumstances.

The key for fleet decision-makers is to look at what technology will best fit their organisations in the short- and long-term, and to consider how their policies may need to change to accommodate the rapid shift towards electric vehicles from both industry and government.

THE NEW SCANIA

Noble intentions won’t deliver the goods L Concept

X

Filename

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Size

25x135

Notes

Chris Druce Group news editor Motor Transport

Adapt

Sign Off

Initial

Acct Management

Operator

Milly

ast week’s Freight in the City Expo at London’s Alexandra Palace was the biggest yet, with a popular seminar programme and display of the latest vehicles and kit helping operators deliver in the ever-more demanding urban environment.

Driven by technology and political agendas, there was plenty to get your teeth into during the sessions. After all, TfL’s well meaning but anaemic Direct Vision Standard (DVS) will come into effect hot on the heels of the Ultra Low Emission Zone.

This follows the government’s decision to push air quality management on to local authorities, which will see Clean Air Zones abound nationally, and depending on the business you tender for there’s an increasing necessity to hold not simply an O-licence but FORS and CLOCS accreditation too.

Innovate UK’s Venn Chesterton set the scene perfectly by opening proceedings with the stark warning that hauliers face the biggest change in the way they operate since they decided to leave behind the horse and cart.

Asked later how operators felt about the whirlwind of regulation and change, James

16 MotorTransport MTR_131117_016.indd 16

Master

Studio Manager

Creative Director

Hookham, deputy chief executive at the FTA, said: “overwhelmed”. He added that the availability and pace of technology was an issue for a road transport sector that, while it had no fundamental disagreement with the necessity of much of it, has a demanding day job to be getting on with.

But it was clear listening to the speakers that the incremental creep of regulation has created an intimidating landscape, populated with laudable intentions that don’t necessarily gel together.

Operators’ vehicle-buying cycles and their ability to service an ever-growing London or UK economy more generally have not been factored in.

When the debate turned to DVS, TfL’s Tim Ward referenced research into the cognitive overload of HGV drivers regarding its importance.

Something that feels like an increasingly apt description of the situation UK operators face in their bid to keep the wheels turning. n For more Expo coverage, go to page 12.

The newspaper for transport operators

To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Editor-in-chief Christopher Walton 2163 Group news editor Chris Druce 2158 Group technical editor Colin Barnett 2141 Aftermarket editor Roger Brown 2168 Vans editor George Barrow 2156 Urban editor Hayley Pink 2165 Senior legal reporter Ashleigh Wight 2167 Reporter Emma Shone 2164 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Chief sub-editor Rufus Thompson 2143 Key account managers Andrew Smith 07771 885874 Richard Bennett 07889 823060 Display telesales Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Group sales manager Julie McInally 2122 rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 Head of events/MT Awards Stephen Pobjoy 2135 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Tel 0330 333 9544 Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £125/year. Europe £160 (€235)/year. RoW £160 ($329)/year.

Cheques made payable to Motor Transport.

Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2017 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X

Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 13.11.17

09/11/2017 11:08:49

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09/11/2017 09:54:18

Roundtable

Andy Taylor, director of transport, Expect Logistics

Caroline Barber, chief executive, Transaid

Chris Savage, senior lecturer in logistics and supply chain management, Huddersfield University

Prepare for h A roundtable organised by fleet management software developer BigChange in support of Transaid, held at Clipper Logistics’ headquarters in Leeds, heard that the well-documented driver shortage remains at the top of UK operators’ Brexit concerns. Steve Hobson reports

T Images: Nick Freeman

Duncan Buchanan, policy director, RHA

Peter Acton (right), chief executive, Logistics Leaders Network

20 MotorTransport MTR_131117_020-022.indd 20

here are many known unknowns and perhaps even more unknown unknowns (to paraphrase former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld) about Brexit, not least how badly cross-border traffic will be delayed by the reintroduction of customs checks, and whether cabotage will come to an end.

But a roundtable debate held by BigChange, in support of Transaid and chaired by Logistics Leaders Network chief executive Peter Acton, revealed that labour shortages top operators’ list of known unknowns.

The problems in recruiting sufficient HGV drivers and warehouse staff have been well documented, with the UK short of an estimated 60,000 drivers and having an ageing workforce where the average driver is well into their 50s.

Silentnight group logistics manager Rob Day said while the company has no trouble

filling its 100 to 150 logistics jobs, probably due to the company’s geographical location, the trouble is preparing for a future when there is no fixed retirement age.

The business is all for people working beyond state pension age, but how can a business prepare to train and replace talent when the future is unknown? Day has apprentices while continuing to develop skills within the business with initiatives such as ‘warehouse to wheels’.

More than 30% of his drivers are over 60, with one in his 70s.

Martin Port, CEO of logistics management software developer BigChange, raised the prospect of automation replacing drivers in autonomous vehicles at some point in the future, though this is unlikely to be in time for Brexit in March 2019. Acton pointed out that the UK already had one of the lowest unemployment rates in history, and with unemployment at 13.11.17

06/11/2017 16:54:41

motortransport.co.uk

Jason Whitworth, corporate finance partner – M&A, BDO Leeds

Laurie Moon, CEO, LPW (Europe)

r hard times less than 2%, we effectively have full employment. “Lots of other industries are struggling to recruit,” he warned.

Brexit troubles

Duncan Buchanan, who recently took over as policy director at the RHA, said labour shortages topped the list of worries its members had about Brexit, which also included customs and

13.11.17

MTR_131117_020-022.indd 21

access to markets. “The membership is concerned about losing access to European labour,” he said. “There are warehouses dominated by eastern European staff. There is a labour shortage across the EU, not just in the UK. “If I would advise operators to do one thing to prepare for Brexit, it is to invest in training – it is key to protecting yourself. We are working closely with the government to promote apprenticeships.”

Richard Cowlishaw, HR director of Clipper Logistics, said it was already “feeling the force of Brexit” and that “labour shortages are all we talk about”. “Our staff are 70% warehouse and 30% drivers,” he added. “We are struggling to get good agency drivers, and in areas where we had no problems with resources historically, we are now seeing shortages.”

Echoing Buchanan’s comments about shortages across Europe, Cowlishaw said: “We work in Poland and we can’t get Polish workers for our warehouses. We have to bring them in from Ukraine.”

And he pointed out the difficulty in the push to recruit more apprentices into warehouse and driving roles to replace overseas workers.

“Young people in the UK are not attracted to logistics,” he said. “How can we change that?”

Martin Port, CEO, logistics management software developer BigChange

Mike Daly, adviser to Clipper Logistics

Richard Cowlishaw, HR director, Clipper Logistics

Steve Hobson, editor, Motor Transport

➜ 22

MotorTransport 21

06/11/2017 16:55:38

Roundtable

motortransport.co.uk

Chris Savage, senior lecturer in logistics and supply chain management at Huddersfield University, said the UK supply chain was “an invisible industry” that struggled to attract graduates into management roles. “Even with Novus we are not attracting as many as we expected,” he said. “We have got to get the message out that logistics is not just dirty trucks.”

Novus is a not-for-profit organisation that is funding 120 students to undertake logistics degrees and is guaranteeing to find them jobs with member companies upon graduation.

Mike Daly, an adviser to Clipper, said he attended a careers day at his local school, promoting opportunities in logistics. “No one was queuing at my table,” he said. “They all want to work in media, but when you ask ‘do you want to work for Amazon?’, you get a better reaction. And that’s what we do.”

Transaid’s recently appointed chief executive Caroline Barber said employers could do more are still working out how to get it back,” he said.

“It will make a difference in the future but it is still in its infancy.”

The terms of the levy mean employers cannot place ‘golden handcuffs’ on apprentices who qualify and then move on to other jobs. Other industries where the cost of training is substantial, do make employees repay a percentage of their training costs if they leave within a given period after qualification, but this was seen as problematic with HGV drivers. Acton suggested another route to funding licence acquisition: “The driver could pay for their own training and the employer could underwrite the cost if they stayed on – a bit like a student loan.”

Warehousing

than just offering good pay and interesting work to attract good graduates. “XPO and National Express are working with Transaid to offer recruits something different, such as an overseas placement with Transaid,” she said.

“It is a strong selling point.”

Opportunity knocks

While there have been initiatives to raise awareness of the opportunities in the £2bn logistics industry, including the FTA’s Love Logistics and Steve Granite’s Think Logistics, there has been limited success.

Andy Taylor, director of transport at family haulier Expect Logistics, said: “Trying to join it up is a good idea, but it won’t happen. Each business has to do it for itself. We can’t get away from the fact it is hard work, but driving a truck is a well-paid, rewarding job for life.”

But there was general agreement that driving can be a tough job where pay and conditions have not kept pace with other options such as train driving, where wages could be double those earned by truck drivers.

Cowlishaw said Clipper’s approach was to recruit permanent staff from the temporary labour supplied by agencies – hardly something that will endear it to agencies who are already struggling to fill shifts due to lack of labour.

There were mixed views around the table on the apprenticeship levy, and Cowlishaw admitted it was something Clipper was wrestling with. “We spend £400,000 a year, but we 22 MotorTransport MTR_131117_020-022.indd 22

Cowlishaw said some of Clipper’s warehouses were now staffed with 60% UK workers, with the other 40% EU workers, and Daly added that Clipper had a bigger shortage of warehouse staff than drivers. “Some customers have fully automated warehouses, but for a 3PL like us the capital expenditure is too high to get a return when we might only have a five-year contract,” he said. “With more retail moving online we will need more warehouse staff.”

Acton warned that potential customs delays post-Brexit meant some firms were already planning on holding more buffer stocks on this side of the Channel, putting further pressure on limited warehouse staff.

While driverless trucks may offer a long-term solution to driver shortages, there was a general consensus this was some way off and that it offered little hope of resolving any post-Brexit crisis if there was a ban on recruiting EU drivers.

“The complexity of having driverless trucks on our roads makes it difficult,” said Buchanan.

“It is easier on the railways and they are nowhere near going driverless.”

But BigChange boss Port believes better technology will make the most of existing resources. “Collaboration and better ways to manage the subcontractor community will help fill the gap,” he predicted.

So with the UK leaving the EU and a likely end to the free movement of labour, no prospect of British youngsters queuing to join the logistics industry and driverless trucks many years away, one solution put forward was to recruit more people from Commonwealth countries

to fill the logistics labour gap. “We have a narrow perspective,” said Taylor. “There is plentiful labour in other parts of the world.”

However the UK government has pledged to reduce net immigration, not increase it, and it is unlikely that replacing EU migrants with those from the Commonwealth will find much favour with voters. Barber said the vote to leave the EU had unfortunately sent a signal to foreign workers that they were not welcome in the UK. “Brexit means to people overseas that Britain is closing its borders,” she said. “We are making it even harder for them to come here.”

Huddersfield University’s Chris Savage said the logistics industry had to unite and tell the UK government what it wanted from a Brexit deal. But Buchanan – a former civil servant in the Df T – said: “It is perfectly possible to tell the government something sensible – and they can still ignore it. The reality is we must control the things that we can, and just watch closely the things we can’t control.” ■

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09/11/2017 09:49:28

MT Awards 2017 winner profile Operational and Compliance Excellence

Thinking inside the box Hermes bagged the Operational and Compliance Excellence award for its client and compliance-focused technology

H

ermes continues to expand at an exceptional pace. During 2017 the company will process 300 million parcels through its network – a 15% increase on 2016. On any given day, the consumer delivery specialist handles upwards of 850,000 parcels, rising to 1.5 million during peak periods. Its busiest day of the year, which falls three days after Black Friday, sees 1.8 million parcels pass through the network.

The network itself comprises three major sortation hubs in Warrington, Nuneaton and a new £31m fully automated site in Rugby, which opened in August.

These hubs receive 1,800 collections a week, which are sorted and dispatched to 26 national depots through 300 trunking movements a night. From here, the depots send the parcels to 565 sub-depots where they are picked up by local couriers for last mile deliveries.

With the sheer volume of parcels being processed, it is vital for Hermes to ensure its network runs as efficiently as possible, which is where the operational team rises to the challenge. Led by Jon Ormond, director of hub and depot operations, the team oversees the smooth running of the firm’s sites, equipment and transport. But more than that, the team strives to keep the customer experience at its core, ensuring the technology behind the scenes continues to advance the service received by its retail clients and their end customers.

“My team is client-focused at all times,” said Ormond. “We’re linked to the entire operation and develop new products to support and provide opportunities for our client managers and the final mile.”

The company’s new STAR (seamless, track-

24 MotorTransport MTR_131117_024-025.indd 24

able, auditable return) system is an example of how the team has worked to develop technology to enhance the customer experience.

Currently in trials, the system gives customers a file that can track a returned product from the doorstep back to a depot.

“The client will get a file and the final point will be when we break the geofence at their site – it will be fully traceable,” says Ormond.

“There is plenty of room within the industry to improve returns, and we will be leading with this when we go live in February next year.”

Technology drive

Hermes has invested in new technology over the past few years to drive efficiencies from shunting trailers in the yard to deliveries at the doorstep.

One investment that has paid dividends is the introduction of Isotrak telematics to improve tracking and visibility of the transport operation.

Planners are able to see in real time how each driver, vehicle and schedule is progressing and can react instantly to an unexpected activity to keep deliveries on time.

First introduced in 2013, it was originally installed to manage fuel more efficiently.

“However, what we really use it for now is driver behaviour, such as over-revving and harsh braking. This has proved much more beneficial,” said Ormond.

“It’s taken our mpg at 26 depots from between 12mpg and 15mpg to 18mpg and on tractors from 10mpg to 12mpg to 14mpg in some cases – which is industry-leading for Class 1 vehicles and for 12-tonners to be near 18mpg is excellent.”

Overall, the company has seen a 22% improvement in mpg across the fleet. Driver behaviour scores have also improved through telematics: the company set itself a target of 85, with more than 60% of drivers already scoring higher than this.

To complement Isotrak, Hermes uses Ortec route optimisation software to help it plan fleet movements. The firm’s routeing of collections used to be done manually through local knowledge at depots, but the Ortec system has significantly improved fleet efficiencies.

For example at depot level, whereas single stem routes were previously operated directly

13.11.17

06/11/2017 16:25:28

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to a client, Hermes combines routes, uses multicollection points and reverse trunking. “It’s saved us 7% by more efficient planning,” said Ormond.

The system is linked into Hermes’ new yard management system, provided by DAI. Trailers are prioritised remotely, overseen by a control room at Rugby, with geofencing technology used when they reach a site to enable them to be positioned correctly. “When we collect from clients, we know the date, what’s on board and the date it needs to be processed,” he said. “So when it comes onto site, the trailer is scanned, positioned in the yard and the tug team are informed when it needs to be processed.”

A traffic light system is used to make sure all timescales are met.

The system went live earlier this year. “When you have up to 2,000 trailers at peak, we need this for our clients,” said Ormond. “Particularly as our extended next-day service accepts parcels up to 2am for processing that day.”

In-cab focus

Health and safety and reducing road risk is a key focus for Ormond’s team. For example, safety system Lytx has proven to be a success across its fleet, helping to drive down the company’s claims bill, while providing protection for drivers in the event of a non-fault road collision.

An in-cab camera records in the event of any incidents, such as an impact or harsh braking.

An alert goes to Lytx, which sends Hermes a report on what happened. “It’s about team learning,” said Ormond. “It’s a gradual assessment for drivers. If something goes wrong, they get training first.”

He added: “We are starting to see a reduction in our damages of 20%. The average in the network is something like 75p-per-mile and we’re about 60p-per-mile. This has improved by using the combination of Isotrak and Lytx.”

However, the cameras are also used for positive driver feedback, said Ormond. For example, if an HGV braked sharply due to a pedestrian 13.11.17

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or cyclist not looking where they were going, but the driver’s actions prevented a collision, this would allow Hermes to reward the driver for best-practice driving behaviour.

“First and foremost we brought this in to increase the safety of other road users and be responsible; second to proactively train and praise our drivers; and third, to mitigate against ourselves and our drivers being victims of insurance scams,” said Ormond.

Audit shake-up

Hermes has also shaken up its auditing to allow a more thorough approach for its transport division. Instead of combining health and safety with transport, Hermes took the decision to split the two areas, to enable more detailed, frequent audits to take place.

Health and safety became the focus for Hermes’ HR Service division, which meant the operations team had more time to devote to transport.

Audit frequency was taken from quarterly to monthly, with new responsibilities given to the inbound manager at depots to put them in charge of transport compliance and regulations, as well as dealing with the vehicles and drivers.

“We have increased our [transport] CPC licence holders from one to three at each site and have an inbound and outbound manager with a CPC as well as a depot manager,” said Ormond.

“It wasn’t mandatory, but we wanted to do it and it was recommended by the traffic commissioner.” As a result, Hermes has improved its internal auditing score from 90% to 95%.

The company is also exploring FORS. “We haven’t yet rolled this out, but are looking into it,” said Ormond. “We want to be recognised

by FORS and we are aiming for gold status.”

So what made Hermes’ operational team stand out from the crowd for this year’s MT Awards judges?

Ormond attributes the team’s success to

Hermes’ culture of making the customer experience the focus of every individual throughout the organisation. “It’s not just about compliance, but about the emotive element of ‘what’s inside the box’,” he said. “It’s a progressive company to work for and we want all employees to buy into how important the customer is.”

For the customer, the whole delivery experience can be emotive, from the initial ordering through to tracking its progress to their door.

“We want everyone to understand this feeling, as they are consumers themselves.”

Hermes’ own customers’ success and their “phenomenal growth” have also helped the business to flourish.

“We have a foundation of fantastic retailers who are successful and we understand what they require,” says Ormond. “We keep pace with them by investing in our hubs, technology and our vehicles to support that growth. It’s this partnership with our clients that has given us the chance to excel.” ■

FTA chief executive David Wells, fifth right, presents the trophy to Jon Ormond, Hermes director of hub and depot operations, second right, and the Hermes team

FLEET ON THE MOVE Hermes’ fleet comprises 150 tractor units for trunking, 350 depot-based trucks between 12 and 18 tonnes, and 1,047 trailers, all leased from Ryder. Trucks are predominantly DAF and trailers mostly supplied by Cartwright, with a small cohort of Tiger Trailers.

It is always looking to drive efficiencies through fleet innovation. For example, it is exploring Cartwright’s side-loading, urban Streetwise trailers as a potential parcel pick-up point for couriers. “It would be a mini sub-depot where we can’t find property in city centres,” said Ormond. “We would need to get agreements with councils so couriers can come and collect their parcels.”

Hermes has also been looking at new vehicles emerging to market, such as the Arrival electric truck, and is trialling Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Hybrid (electric/diesel) trucks at its Weybridge and Enfield depots.

It already partners with electric van operator Gnewt Cargo in London for zero-emission last-mile deliveries, while trialling a small amount of Starship Technologies’ self-driving delivery robots for timeslot collections.

MotorTransport 25

06/11/2017 16:25:48

MT Awards 2017 winner profile Service to Industry award

Top of the class Ray Ashworth had an illustrious career at DAF Trucks but it was his work to improve the industry’s image, promote career opportunities and develop apprenticeships that won over the judges

R

ay Ashworth was with Leyland and then DAF Trucks for 48 years, the last eight as MD, until he hung up his spurs and retired in May 2017.

While Ashworth undoubtedly had an illustrious career, that is not what wins the Service to Industry award. The judges were more impressed by his efforts to improve the industry’s image, promote its many career opportunities to young people and develop apprenticeships.

That is perhaps because – although he subsequently did go to college – Ashworth started out as an apprentice in 1969.

Job prospects

“I was living in Lancashire and my father was a police officer,” he recounted. “I went to a good

grammar school and academically was doing very well. There were all these stories at the time of people going to university and coming out without any real job prospects.

“Our next door neighbour worked for Leyland Motors and he said ‘they do apprenticeship schemes over here and you have an opportunity to go to university through that’. So at the age of 16 I left school with seven good O-levels, much to the distress of my headmaster who thought I was university material.”

Ashworth joined Leyland on a three-year engineering apprenticeship, working on manufacturing in the plant that made trucks, buses and agricultural tractors.

“They took 100 apprentices every year,” said Ashworth. “We were learning how to file and use a lathe and then, in the second year, we

YELLOW PERIL Since his retirement, Ashworth has gone into property renovation, and his first project was rebuilding a cottage in the Lake District. He went into his local Ford dealer to buy a sensible Ranger pick-up truck to carry his building materials – but came out with a bright yellow V8 Ford Mustang instead. Top man!

26 MotorTransport MTR_131117_026-027.indd 26

went out into the factory and could be doing anything.

“There were two highlights in my apprenticeship. One was I worked on the famous – or is it infamous – 500 series engine, which was a prototype, and the other was climbing inside the shot blast machine to inspect it. I opened the door and walked in, and I was thinking, if somebody just turned on the button here, that’s it, I’m gone!”

The apprenticeship included one day a week day-release at college, and at the end of the three years Ashworth was one of only two top apprentices who was deemed – as his headmaster predicted – university material.

“So I went to Loughborough University,” he said, “which was great, because I moved from being a shop floor apprentice to a student apprentice. That meant when I came back from university I was working in finance, sales and marketing. I had done three years through the factory and now I was doing a four-year sandwich degree course in automotive engineering.”

The year Ashworth joined Leyland Motors it merged with British Motor Holdings to form the ill-fated British Leyland. Despite the obvious 13.11.17

09/11/2017 15:02:29

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Former DAF Trucks MD Ray Ashworth (second left) receives the trophy from David Hunt, MD of sponsor Ryder Europe

problems, Ashworth never contemplated leaving Leyland.

“I guess it was loyalty,” he said. “I’d been successful and achieved what I wanted, which was to go to university and get a degree. My ambition at the time was always to be the service director, and when I graduated from university I wanted to work in the service department.”

Playing a part

There Ashworth’s experience with the development of the 500 engine bore fruit. “We had lots of reliability problems so I got used to talking to customers who were very upset,” he said.

“My engineering degree meant I had empathy with customers and I felt I could play a part in making it right.

“And eventually, fast forward 48 years, I did.”

One reason DAF, and before that Leyland, won so many MT Fleet Truck of the Year awards – together they have collected 18 trophies in the past 31 years – is that the manufacturer has always stood by its products, dealers and customers, giving them the support they need when things go wrong.

“That’s something Leyland brought to DAF, and we’ve kept that way of doing business,” said Ashworth. “I as a manufacturer supply you with a truck, so I’ll deal with you and your problems and all your issues. I can’t talk to every single customer, but if a customer wants to pick up the phone, we will always talk to that customer, whether they have one truck or one thousand, it doesn’t matter.

“I believe that strengthens the triangle between us [the manufacturer], the dealer and the customer. Because the core is making sure the customer’s satisfied, and we are working towards the same objective.”

By 1987, the year DAF acquired Leyland, Ashworth was heading up the Leyland aftersales team. The Leyland trucks sales operation was relocated to DAF’s new headquarters in Thame and Ashworth soon met his counterpart at DAF, Peter Cutmore.

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“We discussed how Leyland did it and how DAF did it and asked how Leyland DAF was going to do it,” said Ashworth. “The DAF service was called DAFaid, so it became Leyland DAFaid, and then ultimately when the Leyland name was dropped, DAFaid again.

“But the telephone number that DAF had got was something like 0800 713962, whereas Leyland had 0800 919395. So I said ‘all right, we’ll call it Leyland DAFaid, but we’ll use the Leyland number’. That was true integration of the best of both worlds.”

In 2001 Ashworth became sales director responsible for the whole sales team and under his leadership DAF’s sales gradually crept up, increasing its leadership of the truck market.

In 2009 he was appointed MD – just as the credit crunch sent the world’s finances into meltdown. “The biggest thing was the effect on exchange rates,” said Ashworth. “The euro had been running at 1.43 to the pound and now suddenly it was going down day by day. We were going to our customers and saying ‘I know we have a serious recession here, but we’re going to put our prices up by 10%’.”

Almost overnight the UK truck market dropped from around 55,000 units a year to 26,000, before rising back up to last year’s strong performance of 46,000 registrations. “We went down to less than half what it was,” said Ashworth. “Then it was something of a rollercoaster, but we gradually worked our way through it and eventually the market began to stabilise. The good thing was that all the dealers came through it – one of the objectives I wanted to achieve was profitable dealers, because then they look after the customers.”

Over the course of his career Ashworth has seen increasingly stringent emissions legislation, culminating in Euro-6 in 2014. While he believes the concept of making trucks cleaner is a good one, he believes the focus should have shifted earlier from local pollutants to the bigger issue of carbon emissions.

“At the beginning, the emissions standards

were a good thing,” he opined. “By the time we had all developed Euro-6, the whole world had moved on from NOx and particulates to CO2.”

“How do you get carbon down? You just burn less fuel. Everything we’ve done so far to get NOx and particulates down has slightly improved fuel economy. In hindsight if we hadn’t done Euro-6, we could have had a step change in fuel economy. That is self-policing because all operators want to spend less on fuel so you don’t need the government to set legislation for that.”

Ashworth believes diesel will remain the fuel of choice for heavy trucks for some time.

“Electric will be the future for cars and maybe small vans, but the diesel engine’s got a long way to go yet,” he said. “We’ve achieved Euro-6, now let’s get the economy up. Maybe it will be in combination with electric, but diesel has a future.”

Hard act to follow

Ashworth also remains a great believer in apprenticeships, harking back to his own roots.

“When I was MD I could stand up and say to our apprentices ‘I was one of you. You could be me’. I tried as MD to get the message across that this is a great industry to be in, it’s not all greasy, messy and dirty,” said Ashworth. “It’s clean, you’re working on computers, it is all the things that a car dealership would have.”

On the night of the MT Awards in July, Ashworth nearly missed his 15 minutes of fame, having got stuck in heavy traffic on his way down South. He had no idea that his name was about to be read out by David Hunt, MD of sponsor Ryder Europe.

“I was gobsmacked because David had kindly taken me out to dinner the night before, and I knew he was presenting it, but he gave me no indication at all,” said Ashworth. “I thought a little bit later, Steve [Hobson, MT Editor] must have been panicking and wondering if I was going to turn up. It’s a great honour. I was doubly overawed.” ■ MotorTransport 27

06/11/2017 15:01:22

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Apprenticeship pays off Nineteen-year-old Connor Wilkinson joined Palletforce as a warehouse apprentice a year ago after stumbling across the network’s advert on a jobs website.

With a new baby in the house and a partner working nights, Wilkinson said joining Palletforce gave him the flexibility to work around his family, and that with a guaranteed job at the end of it, it was a no-brainer.

An added bonus, in Wilkinson’s case, was that unlike many young starters in the transport industry, he had always thought he would quite enjoy driving a forklift truck.

“I hadn’t heard of Palletforce before I came here. But I’d always thought about driving a forklift truck,” he told MT. “And here they pay for me to get trained, because otherwise the licences are about £300. And I get proper training, with refreshers after a while.”

“They’re great pieces of machinery, and fun to use. But if you use it wrong way it’s a death machine – as they keep telling you in the training. It means you know you’ve got to be careful what you do – you can’t go around doing doughnuts!”

Wilkinson said the only real downside to being an apprentice is what it pays, but that the promise of employment mitigates this.

13.11.17

MTR_171117_029.indd 29

By David Coombes

How can we secure our longterm future?

Plus, he said, “I get my training and my NVQs out of it. I get work experience, and it’s a great way to learn about how everything works while getting paid.”

He added there are advantages to being trained by your employer from the outset.

“You get a lot more help and attention than you would if you came in here as an agency worker.

They’re understanding with us because they say we could be the future of this place, so they try and provide us with as much help as they can.”

Wilkinson will complete his Palletforce apprenticeship in May 2018, and said he is looking forward to staying on.

Happy on the forklifts, he said he “hasn’t really thought” about going for his HGV licence. It’s clear while talking to Wilkinson that to him and his friends, the price of training and licence acquisition is still a barrier to what they might be able to achieve.

“I might think about it one day, but it’s a lot of money. It’s costing my cousin £3,000, and if you fail that’s it; you’ve got to pay again for another test.”

Nevertheless, Wilkinson said if his one-year-old son grew up wanting to follow in his footsteps, he would be happy about it. “I’d be happy with that,” he said. “It’s a great industry to work in; there’s a lot of potential here.”

Free HGV training and tests for competition winner Emma Walker from Stockton-on-Tees is to receive paid-for HGV training and tests, as well as mentoring from industry figures, after winning the HerGV campaign competition.

The campaign, run by M6 Toll owner Midland Expressway, launched the competition to try and attract more women into the road transport sector.

Entrants had to upload a video explaining why they wanted to work as an HGV driver, and Walker was selected as the winner of the £3,000 prize last month.

She will be trained and put through her test by Pertemps

Staffing Matters

Driver Training, and has been offered a work placement at PD Portcentrics Logistics when she has completed her training.

Walker said: “I’m thrilled to have won the HerGV competition.

I am excited to get started with the training, and I am looking forward

to seeing where this opportunity will take me.

“From a female point of view, I’d urge every woman I know to take the steps to enter the HGV industry.”

Maxine Estevez, executive assistant at M6 Toll, said: “T he HerGV campaign has been a huge success, and we were delighted by the women who put themselves forward for the competition.

“We hope our HerGV campaign will have empowered women to take the reins and begin to change the HGV industry, and we look forward to seeing where Emma’s journey takes her.”

One of the pieces of data that always creates a headline is UK crime statistics. But an interesting anomaly is that even when recorded crime figures are going down, the fear of crime usually increases. We might see fewer serious crimes on our streets, but we somehow become more worried about it.

Certainly, recent tragic events across the globe have done nothing to soothe such concerns. At both a geopolitical and everyday level, the world feels less safe.

Which makes me think about the security of our long and complicated global supply chains.

Many of the products we take for granted have travelled through highly unstable regions. War, weather or natural disasters all have an effect on what can be on our shelves. Yet somehow we can still expect fresh green beans all year round, or coconut water after we’ve been to the gym. And we can probably always expect it because the logistics sector has always delivered it.

However, there are three areas where we need to come together as a sector to ensure our performance remains world-leading.

First, much of our business relies on effective data management. Cyber attacks are a threat to any industry that is data-dependent. We have recently seen the debilitating effects of malware on key public services. Are our IT systems as good as they could be?

Second, our people need to feel safe when they are doing their jobs. I know there are new products on the market, but we need to do more to ensure rest periods can allow high-quality shut eye. Trying to sleep with one eye open is not good for anyone.

Third, for years we have talked about the skills shortage in driving and warehousing roles. Unless we are careful, we will quickly find ourselves with too few high-quality planners, IT people, international lawyers and other support staff. We need a joined-up approach to attract people into all the careers offered by our sector.

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06/11/2017 14:52:18

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