Cefic, ECTA address driver shortage

TRAIN AND RETAIN

DRIVERS • THE STRUCTURAL SHORTAGE OF TRUCK DRIVERS IS NOTHING NEW BUT IS GOING TO GET WORSE UNLESS INDUSTRY DOES SOMETHING. CEFIC AND ECTA HAVE COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS

THE ISSUE OF driver shortages in the European road transport sector is nothing new: it has been a growing problem for some years now and all haulage companies have had to try and face it as best they can. The shortage emerged before the 2008 financial crisis as a result, many felt, of changes in working practices that affected drivers’ comfort levels, not least an increase in waiting times at loading and unloading sites. Drivers want to drive, not sit around twiddling their thumbs.

The opening up of EU membership into eastern Europe covered the shortage up for a while, with an influx of new drivers, and it ceased to be a critical priority for many transport companies. Since then, economic recovery and an increase in demand for transport services have revealed that the underlying issues are still there. Growing road congestion, stricter regulation, unfavourable demographics and further increases in waiting times all combined to make the idea of becoming a driver unattractive, especially for younger potential entrants.

In addition, the rapid increase in e-commerce and the need for more delivery drivers has offered employees an alternative, often with a more local focus, meaning they do not have to be away from home for long periods, and a better work/life balance. During the current Covid-19 pandemic, with its associated lockdowns and social distancing, factors such as this become even more significant.

As a result, Europe’s heavy goods road transport sector is currently more than 200,000 drivers short of what it really needs and worse is to come: within the next 15 years, around 40 per cent of existing truck drivers are due to retire.

STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS The issue of driver shortages has been a matter of concern for the European Chemical Transport Association (ECTA) for more than a decade; it has been working together with the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) since 2009 to try and find ways to address the problem. These have included the publication of best practice guidelines on loading/unloading activities, with recommendations on how to reduce the time spent by drivers on site and improve their treatment while they are there.

That joint work has continued, culminating this year in the publication of an extensive document, Recommendations to Tackle the Impact of Driver Shortage in the European Chemical Transport. The document notes that the shortage of truck drivers is a structural issue that goes wider than Europe and affects all industry sectors, the chemical industry being no exception.

However, the document says, “For our industry, this structural driver shortage is putting the entire chemical supply chain at risk. Besides increased transport costs, the service level to customers is also declining. In addition, it becomes more and more difficult to find qualified chemical drivers who are able to cope with ever more demanding legislation and site requirements. This lack of qualified truck drivers may pose safety as well as product quality risks. All of this endangers the security of supply in the European chemical industry with possible disruptions.”

The guidance provided by the Cefic/ECTA document is designed to support chemical producers and their logistics service providers to improve the productivity of the drivers they already have and, by improving the attractiveness of driving in the chemical sector as a profession, to attract new employees. The document also represents a starting point from which the chemical industry, transport companies and authorities will need to work

from to explore the recommendations and innovations. It is hoped that new technologies will create new opportunities but focusing on the safety of people at loading and unloading sites will remain a key success factor.

PLAN FOR CHANGE The recommendations in the Cefic/ECTA document were drawn up after a root-cause investigation based on input from members of the two associations. The over-riding conclusion was that the chemical industry must adapt and rethink how it will organise road transport in the coming decade and adjust to the idea that driver availability will always be limited. This implies that collective action will be needed by industry, logistics service providers and authorities to ensure a safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable road system. In addition, automation and digitisation will change the nature of the driver’s job, requiring management of change on the part of employers.

The investigation generated two key outputs. Firstly, long-distance driving needs to be decoupled from last-mile and on-site driving, which will optimise driver and asset use while ensuring safety and efficiency. Secondly, job dissatisfaction cannot be allowed to put potential drivers off; the chemical industry and its logistics partners must maintain a strong focus on driver health and comfort, training and qualification, remuneration and two-way communication. This will have to be supported by policy-makers by lowering the entry cost to the profession, lowering the minimum age and providing enough safe and secure parking areas.

Arising from that analysis are four practical recommendations: 1. Several infrastructural measures can be taken to redesign the infrastructure at loading and unloading sites, including the use of the ‘drop and swap’ concept to decouple long-distance drivers from on-site and local operations; availability of a ‘fast lane’ to help drivers get access to sites, with the use of biometric identification and other digital tools; self-loading/unloading by the driver, potentially in combination with drop-and-swap; and optimisation of the physical loading and unloading process. 2. Digitisation in the loading and unloading process, especially in the areas of planning and on-site administration, can contribute to cutting lead times. Manual processes lead to errors, which cause delays, and other delays at the entry gate can be avoided if missing or invalid documentation is identified before the vehicle arrives. Digitisation can already provide dynamic time slot planning in real time, again reducing frustration for drivers at the gate. 3. Full and effective communication with drivers is seen as highly important; part of this involves the standardisation of procedures across loading and unloading sites, which will reduce complexity, stress and frustration for drivers. This would need better communication between sites. Further, drivers need to be able to communicate when they face potentially unsafe situations or unexpected events.

Standardisation should extend to PPE.

And it is necessary to take account of different languages. 4. To attract new drivers to the chemical transport sector, transport companies need to engage in attracting and retaining drivers and offer a dedicated career path. Training and certification are part of this process.

The transport industry also needs to recognise the different types of activity, for example packaged or bulk, ADR or non-ADR, liquids or gases, and so on.

All four of these recommendations work hand in hand and their adoption will take planning and cooperation across the industry and between producers, receivers and transport companies. The guidelines include some practical illustrations of how the recommendations can be implemented and how site infrastructure will need to change to optimise operations, reduce efficiencies and make the job of transporting chemicals a more attractive career option.

THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, ITS LOGISTICS PARTNERS

AND AUTHORITIES WILL NEED TO WORK TOGETHER

TO KEEP EXISTING DRIVERS HAPPY AND ATTRACT

The Cefic/ECTA guideline document can be freely downloaded at www.ecta.com/resources/ Documents/Best%20Practices%20Guidelines/ Recommendations%20driver%20shortage%20 200831%20FINAL.pdf.