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Volume 14 Issue 08 • May 2020
Ambulances support fight against Covid-19
CV utilisation improves
Amul India maintains its supply chain /commercialvehicle
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SCVs key to community kitchens
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T “The road ahead for the CV industry and transporters looks uphill.�
rucks being looted by mobs asking for food are threatening to reset an improvement in CV utilisation. There are other factors too (harassment faced on the roads by even those carrying essential goods, more time lost in loading and unloading of goods due to manpower shortage, not enough drivers despite assurance of dhabas being open, and no response to the call of driver protection and insurance cover) that could reset an improvement in CV utilisation. As a barometer of economy, the current health status of the road freight (transport) does not look very positive. Neither does that of the bus operators. They are very likely to face stiff commuter resistance when the lockdown is eased. The near stagnant fuel prices (despite near complete collapse of international crude prices), restoration of road toll and the unattractiveness of measures like EMI moratorium, do not seem to assure enough. Against the backdrop of a tough regulatory environment (BSVI has just kicked-in), the road ahead for the CV industry and transporters looks uphill. The question is will the new axles last long? Bhushan Mhapralkar b.mhapralkar@nextgenpublishing.net
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what's inside Cover story 16
CV utilisation improves The efforts of the government and various other forces to improve CV utilisation are bearing fruits. CV makers extend warranty and service periods? Authorities meet transporter bodies? n Road freight hit hard? n MLL ‘HOPE’ n Challenging times continue n AIMTC for extending road toll suspension n Driver Seva mobile app. n Piaggio supports fight against Covid-19 n MSIL reaches out to the community n Standby tractor from Swaraj Tractors n Transport ministry help for truck drivers? n Bajaj Auto extends warranty and service n DICV supports the nation and transporters n M&M supports the nation and transporters n
02 Straight Drive Bhushan Mhapralkar
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06 Letters 08 CV News Indian CV market reset by a decade? n Daimler India clears BSIV stock n
We welcome feedback, bouquets and brickbats on how this magazine is shaping up. Write to us at cvonline@nextgenpublishing.net or visit us on www.commercialvehicle.in
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R YOUICE VO
May 2020 n
Sonalika Tractors warranty and service SCVs key to community kitchens
25
SCVs helped NGOs to organise community kitchens during the March and April 2020 lockdown in India.
period extension n Fuel prices unchanged despite collapsing crude prices? n Tata Motors supports the nation and transporters n CV sales down 89%? n STUs hit hard by Covid-19 lockdown? n BYD joins hands with Hino
Ambulances support fight against Covid-19
28
Ambulances built on the Tata Winger and Force Traveller platform have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 in India.
Focus back on scrappage policy and opportunities n ALL supports nation and transporters n
49 Volvo Vera Volvo Trucks’ autonomous vehicle, Vera, has secured its first mission to transport goods from a logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. 52
Self driving tech by Plus.ai To enable large-scale commercial transport, Plus.ai has developed self- driving trucks.
57 Aboard the Neoplan Jetliner
36 Reefer trucks grow in stature
Growing in stature, reefer trucks in India are addressing the dynamic market requirements by tapping technology.
Amul India maintains its supply chain
44
Overcoming numerous logistics challenges, Amul India has continued to supply milk and dairy products without fail during the Covid-19 lockdown.
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Letters Commercial Vehicle Magazine
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Thermal detector in buses
I
came across a live session on CV industry on your facebook page. The Busworld Academy Webinar was conducted for viewers where coach operators were discussing deliberate ways to generate income and reduce costs. I really liked the discussion and would suggest all CV manufacturing companies to install thermal detectors or thermal body detection camera systems in their buses. After the pandemic, bus manufacturers worldwide are expected to install thermal detectors in all their buses to avoid recurrence and spread of Covid-19. Thermal imaging cameras are said to be more reliable and flexible in terms of technology and adaptation. They also are capable of ensuring mitigation of risk for bus staff and passengers. Considering the dangers of Covid-19, it would be absolutely necessary to have the right prevention measures in place than be sorry about the consequences once it has spread. With rise in body temperature one of the major symptoms of virus infection, a thermal camera with high level of accuracy looks like the best move. It would work well as a preliminary screening method. After all, detection is the key. The rest would of course follow as part of the course. Hemant Patil, Mumbai
Trucking apps
A
s an avid reader of CV magazine, I came across an article on trucking apps. Much to my astonishment, I found the new ecosystem coming to life quicker than expected. If the author’s efforts to highlight how the ecosystem is leveraging IoT and AI is interesting, also interesting is how the trucking apps. are providing truckerstruckers, consignors and consignees to bridge the gap. The apps. are also ensuring better transparency and efficiency. Consider this: I have a furniture business in Pune, which requires that I send goods across the city and even to other nearby towns and cities. I have a few truckers who I call directly. There are however instances when I have had to use a trucking app. to engage a truck to transport furniture. Almost every time I have used the app., the experience has been good. It is quite different from the experiences I used to have in transporting my goods a few years ago. A big benefit of trucking app., I feel, is the effect it has had on those who are a part of it and those who are not a part of it. The general level of efficiency of both has gone up. The level of transparency has also gone up, though it is clearly higher in terms of those truckers that are engaged with the apps.
Amar Jadhav, Pune
Editor Test Editor Web Editor Correspondent Head-Design & Production Art Director Asst. Art Director Image Desk Production Supervisor Publisher Chief Executive Officer General Manager North & East
Bhushan Mhapralkar Aspi Bhathena Ashish Bhatia Deepti Thore, Deven Lad Ravi Parmar Mangesh Sawant Ajit Manjrekar Dipak Gaykar Dinesh Bhajnik Marzban Jasoomani Hoshang S. Billimoria Ellora Dasgupta
General Manager South
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North Regional Marketing Manager Salma Jabbar (Chennai) Marketing Manager
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CV_ May 2020
OR
News Indian CV market reset by a decade?
Daimler India clears BSIV stock
A
dding to the already lacklustre performance of the CV industry for much of 2019, and after the new axle norms created considerable surplus capacity in road freight (transport), the nationwide lockdown for Covid-19 from March 20, 2020, is claimed to have reset the CV market by a decade. Mentioned an analyst that it looks like the CV industry performance would fall to the FY2010-11 levels once the country emerges out of the lockdown. Citing the fall of sales across all the segments in FY201920, he expressed that the combination of factors like tepid sales, national Covid-19 lockdown and the transition to BSVI has cast a shadow on the recovery of Indian economy on FY2020-21. The result of this, the national road freight (transport), and in-turn the sale of trucks is expected to be at the FY2010-11 level. In a dull economy, the performance of buses (except maybe for midi-buses) and commercial vans is also expected to be below expectations, he added. Said another analyst that FY2020-21 could, in fact, see the CV industry performing at its worst with lower private consumption.
8
D
aimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced the clearance of its BSIV stocks. If a handful of vehicles are said to be left with its dealers nationwide, the company has been quite pro-active in setting a pace towards BSVI CVs. While it is likely that the dealers of the company would have pushed their BSIV stock in the wake of the conditional permission granted by the Supreme Court to sell 10 per cent of the CVs in the first 10 days of April 2020, the CV maker is said to have adjusted its production earlier on to move to BSVI vehicles. Claimed
to have exported far more CVs under the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso brands of Daimler out of its Oragadam plant than the number of CVs it has sold in India, the company also announced the delivery of 120 trucks to CJ Darcl Logistics recently. These consist of BharatBenz 4023T tractors painted in a striking shade of blue. Adding to CJ Darcl Logistics’ fleet, which already has 112 BharatBenz trucks, the 120 4023T tractors feature Truckonnect telematics suite and the innovative Driver State Monitoring System (DSMS).
CV makers extend warranty and service periods? C
V makers are said to have extended warranty and service periods in the wake of the nationwide lockdown to fight Covid-19. Ashok Leyland has announced an extension of extended warranty and service for all M&HCV models by two months. CV leader Tata Motors has also extended warranty and service periods of
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
its vehicles. The CV makers in the country have also quickly put in place rapid action teams that are looking into issues faced by their customers and helping address them. These include reaching out to stranded truckers, and to ensure that the trucks carrying essential goods are supported by service and spares so that they clock maximum uptime.
news
Authorities meet transporter bodies?
MLL ‘HOPE’
S
enior officials from the transport industry are said to have met the representatives of the road freight (transport) in the wake of the difficulties faced by them after the nationwide lockdown to fight Covid-19 was announced on the evening of March 22, 2020. The meeting, claimed to have been held against the demand by transport bodies like AIMTC and AITWA to extend insurance worth Rs. 20-25 lakh to drivers affected by Covid-19, and to aid stranded truckers as well as provide the CV drivers with facilities to screen themselves, is said to have had a positive outcome. Stating that only 10 to 15 per cent of the eight-million
million truck fleet was operational at the moment, an AITWA member said that the safety of the CVs and goods laden on them was turning out to be a big challenge as drivers in the absence of food or lodging abandoned them by the roadside and went to their villages.
Road freight hit hard? T
he nation-wide lockdown as part of the fight against Covid-19 has badly crippled the road freight (transport), mentioned a CV industry observer. He mentioned that the utilisation level of CVs fell to under 10 per cent as many businesses shut down temporarily and factories stopped production. With CVs left to ferry essential goods only, much of the CV parc in the country were stranded. In the absence of dhabas or shops being operational (read the cover story in this issue), drivers of CVs and the other crew were left nowhere to look at. With no place to safely park their vehicles or have food and lodging facilities, many drivers chose to abandon their vehicles and flee to their villages. Many chose not to report to work. With the lockdown in highly
industrialised and developed states like Maharashtra being extended to May 02, 2020, the road freight (transport) could as well collapse completely, said the observer. He, under the condition of not mentioning his name, said that unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles added further to the difficulties faced by the industry.
M
ahindra Logistics Limited (MLL) has launched ‘HOPE’ (Helping Our People during Emergencies) initiative to reach out to the beneficiaries within the ecosystem by partnering with Samhita Social Ventures. Through ‘HOPE’, the 3PL specialist is ensuring a transfer of Rs.3000 to each driver ’s account so that they can buy essential commodities. The company is also working towards providing them and others with health insurance cover, helping them to leverage government schemes and loan guaranteeing models. MLL is also making available cab services for Covid-19 affected in Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai through its enterprise mobility business, Alyte.
Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in // May 2020
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News
Challenging times continue A
s efforts are made to start operations, challenges continue to visit the auto industry. The biggest challenge perhaps is disruption in the supply chain. The root of this challenge is said to lie in the shortage of workers and the global nature of the industry, which means that it could
be sourcing some parts from European nations, US, Japan and China where the supply chains have simply collapsed and businesses are yet to start operating at full swing. Not just the auto manufacturers, but even their vendors and those linked with the working of the industry are affected. Mentioned
AIMTC for extending road toll suspension
T
he All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has appealed to the Government that relief be given to the transporters in regards to road toll on national highways. Informing that they have written to the Government, Kultaram Singh Atwal, President, AIMTC, expressed that the resumption of road toll has begun to exert a lot of pressure on small and mid-level transporters. In the current scenario it would be tough for them to sustain. Amounting to 16 to 20 per cent of the operating cost, road toll, said Atwal, is threatening to
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
rob small transporters with one or five trucks of their ability to sustain any handle the financial pressure. The Government could do with suspending it for more time in the current hour of crisis, he added. AIMTC had requested the Government to extend the road toll holiday till October. AIMTC has also written to the Government about schemes to provide adequate cover for CV drivers and the vehicle crew, facilities for their health check and care, and the availability of food and water as well as soaps and sanitisers.
an industry analyst that vehicles made in India are quite global in nature. Despite employing a high local content, they possess certain critical parts that are imported. The breaking down of the supply chain at this level is certain to hamper the efforts of auto manufacturers, vendors and those connected.
Driver Seva mobile app. K
nown for automating human decisions in the supply chain, Locus has initiated a ‘Driver Seva’ mobile app. along with Highway Delite, which is a travel app startup. The project aims at truck drivers stranded on highways due to the lockdown with the view of providing them with the required information regarding food, water, and safe parking places in their vicinity. Supported by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd (APML), the app., according to the company, is turning out to be an enabler under the current trying conditions. Acting as an enabler in these uncertain times, it has more than 400 BPCL Pumps (140 BPCL Company owned pumps), six APML Hubs, and more than 30 dhabas on highway mapped, he mentioned. With work on to take the count of such facilities to over 1000 coordinates, the app. is engineered to enable petrol pump owners, dhaba owners, etc., to update information regarding the availability of food, water, parking, lodging, etc., on a real-time basis.
news
Piaggio supports fight against Covid-19
Standby tractor from Swaraj Tractors
S
upporting the fight against Covid-19, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (PVPL) provided free supplies of ration kits to nearly 1000 migrant labourers recently. It did so by handing over these kits to the executive magistrate’s office at Baramati where it has its manufacturing facility. Assuring food security to the migrant labourers in the vicinity of its plant, the company partnered with an NGO called ‘New Vision’ for the distribution of ration kits. PVPL also collaborated with NGO ‘United Way Mumbai’ to create awareness about COVID-19.
I Providing infrastructure support to Pune’s Sassoon Government hospital, the company provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitisation equipment as well.
MSIL reaches out to the community P
roducer of the Super Carry mini-truck, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) distributed over 5,400 cooked food packets everyday for lunch and dinner in the vicinity of its manufacturing facilities at Manesar and Gurugram during the lockdown. It also delivered 1,20,000 cooked meals over a span of three weeks, and provided nearly 500 kits of dry ration daily to support the Gurugram administration in association with the Indian Red Cross Society. Distributing nearly 10,000 such packets (comprising rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar and soap) over a span of three weeks of the lockdown, MSIL also carried out a waste collection drive in villages in the vicinity of its plants by deploying 16 waste
collection vans. Putting out 17 water ATMs and introducing ‘Family Connect’ program for employees to reach out to their families through video conferencing, the company worked closely with its joint venture company Krishna Maruti to develop and produce tripleply masks certified by SITRA Lab, Coimbatore. These were supplied to the Haryana Government.
n support of farmers during the lockdown period, Swaraj Tractors introduced an initiative called ‘Aapke Saath Hai Aapka Swaraj’. This involved availability of standby tractors at different locations on a first cum first serve basis is to ensure that the farmers do not face any difficulties in case of their tractors breaking down. Swaraj dealers and its service team also ensured that the company’s customers were extended 24x7 assistance over phone and by other means. With an aim to ensure that the farmer is able to clock the most uptime with his tractor, the company, through its phone helpline and through other means of communication provided information regarding service and spares. Announcing the standby tractor initiative at a time the harvesting season would begin, Swaraj Tractors, a division of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, as part of its CSR activity, engaged in various activities to support the medical fraternity and public at large during the lockdown period.
Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in // May 2020
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News
DICV supports the nation and transporters
Transport ministry help for truck drivers? T
P
ledging cash donation to relief funds, providing medical equipment (including ventilators, masks, bio-PPE kits and hand sanitisers) to government and charitable clinics and hospitals, and around 1000 meals a day to stranded drivers and those in need, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) is also ensuring support
through its touch points to its customers engaged in the transport of essential goods and services. Revealed Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO, DICV, that the bus division has lent 16 buses to support foreign nationals in reaching the airport, to enable them to safely take flights back to their respective countries.
Bajaj Auto extends warranty and service B
ajaj Auto extended the warranty and service of its CVs during the Covid-19 lockdown. The company extended the time validity by two months of those CVs whose free service (first, second or third) are due by April 30, 2020 (as per the timelines). The company also extended by two months the time validity of its make of any vehicle whose warranty is getting matured (expired) between March and April (April 30 to be precise). Bajaj Auto ensured that its nationwide dealerships communicated these benefits with their
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
customers in the interest of them not facing any challenges while transporting essential goods or essential services personnels.
he Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) worked overtime to ensure easy movement of trucks carrying essential goods throughout April to eliminate the initial challenges faced, claim industry sources. They draw attention to MoRTH providing a list of dhabas and repair shops across the country through a dashboard link on their website. The link also contains information that could be used by truckers to ensure a smooth journey, inform sources. Pointing at MoRTH’s efforts to brief the dhabas, repair shops, drivers, cleaners and persons involved in the transport of goods to follow the necessary precautions to keep away from Covid-19 virus, the sources mention that the NHAI’s centralised call number 1033 has also been enabled to answer calls and help drivers along National Highways.
news
M&M supports the nation and transporters A
nnouncing that it has taken to develop and produce cost-effective ventilators and face masks, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was one of the first industrial groups to come out in support of the nation and transporters. The Truck & Bus Division of the Group went out of its way to support clients involved in the transportation of essential goods by servicing their vehicles on a war footing. The SCV division too went out of its way to support its clients in clocking the most uptime transporting essential
goods. Urging its customers to use the app., ‘With You Hamesha’, M&M extended all warranty renewals beyond their deadlines. It also ensured that its toll-free services as well as road-side services were working as efficiently as ever during the lockdown period.
Sonalika Tractors warranty and service period extension S
onalika Tractors extended service and warranty period by three months for its products during the lockdown. It applied to those customers whose warranty was scheduled to lapse in the period of March, April and May 2020. Coming in the wake of the lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of Coronavirus pandemic, the initiative ensured a complete peace of mind to the customer, said a source close to the company. He also pointed at the efficient functioning of the company’s toll free number, albeit with limited
resources, to ensure the best support. Stating that tractors find use in essential services rendered by municipal bodies, airports, ports, farmers and various other sectors, the source mentioned that the smooth working of such machines was paramount to the functioning of supply chains.
Fuel prices unchanged despite collapsing crude prices? D espite the near complete drop in crude prices in the international markets, fuel prices -- especially diesel prices -- have not changed at all, claim sources linked to road freight (transport). Mentioning that it is having a negative impact on the road freight (transport) fraternity, which is striving to ensure better CV utilisation and smooth functioning of the essential goods supply chains, sources informed that the cost of the Indian basket of crude fell down below US dollar 20 per barrel in April 2020. Representing the average of Oman, Dubai and Brent crude, the cost of the Indian basket of crude fell to its lowest point since February 2002, they added. Remarking that the price of diesel has fallen only 10 per cent in India even though the Brent crude collapsed by 60 per cent, an industry observer said that the amount of taxes has far outrun the price of fuel. Stating that the key demands of the transporters strike in 2018 included reduction of diesel prices (diesel roughly amounts to 60 per cent of the operating costs of a transporter in India), he opined that the continuing prices of diesel despite the fall in international crude prices only shows that the government is not keen to address the hardships of the road freight (transport) fraternity, which measures threeand-a-half-times in billion-tonne kilometer term over railways and moves an estimated 70 per cent of the cargo in the country.
Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in // May 2020
13
News Tata Motors supports the nation and transporters T
ata Motors supplied over 25000 food packets and 5000 grocery kits to migrants and stranded communities, urban slums dwellers, those in transit camps and villages, drivers, co-drivers, mechanics, contractual and temporary workers, and security personnel at numerous locations in India. The company partnered with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. to distribute food packets and personal protective kits to truck drivers visiting its ‘Saarthi Aaram Kendra’ at Narsapura and Bawal. The CV major also announced in April
a two-month extension of free services previously scheduled during the lockdown period. It also mentioned the extension of ‘Tata Suraksha’ annual maintenance contract for all
CV sales down 89%?
those with an expiry during the period of lockdown in addition to a one-month extension for customers to avail the AMC service, previously scheduled during the lockdown.
STUs hit hard by Covid-19 lockdown?
T C
ommercial Vehicle (CV) sales crashed 89 per cent in March 2020 amid the fight against Novel Coronavirus and the subsequent drop in utilisation level of vehicles, claim industry sources. They inform that the fight against the virus has also had an effect on the export of CVs. Exporting 1787 CVs in March 2020 against the export of 5619 units in March 2019, Tata Motors recorded a drop of 89.5 per cent in domestic sales in March 2020. It sold 5336 units in comparison to the sale of 50917 units in March 2019. Ashok Leyland sold 2179 units in March 2020, which amounted to a 90 per cent drop as against the sale of
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
21535 units in March 2019. Exporting 67 units in March 2020 as compared to 1216 units in March 2019, VE Commercial Vehicles sold 23 units in March 2020, marking a decline of 82.4 per cent as against the sale of 131 units in March 2019. Mahindra and Mahindra sold 2,325 CVs in March 2020 when compared to the sale of 24,423 vehicles in March 2019, a decline of 90 per cent. The other reason being attributed to the drastic decline in sales apart from the fight against Covid-19 is the transition to BSVI emission norms. It is said to have resulted in a increase in initial acquisition cost of a CV by 15 to 20 per cent.
he lengthy lockdown to fight Covid-19 has exposed private and public bus operators to a significant loss in revenue, claim sources. They inform that public bus operators are experiencing a drastic fall in occupancy levels. With many of them already bleeding, the fall in occupancy levels is attributed to the lack of preference of people to travel by public transport in their effort to maintain social distancing. Stating that the public bus operators may gain from the intervention of the government, the source said that it is the private bus operators that are the hardest hit. Culling operations during the lockdown, the private players are finding it tough to sustain as people don’t seem to be in favour of commuting by a bus, the source explained.
news
BYD joins hands with Hino
ALL supports nation and transporters S
A
mid the global crisis brought about by the spread of Covid-19, Chinese EV commercial vehicle manufacturer, BYD, has announced a tie-up with Hino (Toyota subsidiary) to develop electric CVs. To focus on the development of best-fit products for customers in a timely manner, both the companies will share knowledge and experience. They will also cooperate in retail and other related businesses as well. With both the companies present in India, it would be interesting to see if and how
the partnership will extend to the Indian market. Entering India in 2008, Hino Motors began selling its 500 Series trucks in the form of fully built units sourced from its plant in Thailand. It managed to sell some 300 units (priced at a premium of Rs.40 to Rs.50 lakh) through six dealerships.The plan to set up a plant in India (in association with Kirloskar Group mostly) did not materialise. It would be interesting to see if Hino revitalises itself once again in India to market electric trucks with the help of BYD tech.
Focus back on scrappage policy and opportunities T
he acute contraction in automotive sales has put the spotlight back on vehicle scrappage policy and the opportunities it could present. Claimed an industry source that the policy would provide a breather in terms of encouraging people and businesses to purchase efficient and less emitting vehicles. It would also provide a new business opportunity for the country as a vehicle scrappage destination of the world, he said. Drawing attention to areas like Alang Port, which is a well-known ship scrappage centre, the source expressed that an organised vehicle scrappage segment would not only ensure safety of workers involved, it would also keep harmful chemicals and materials from
polluting the soil and water. Claiming that the Mayapuri market in Delhi is estimated to have an annual turnover of Rs.6000 crore, the source expressed the need for an organised scrappage segment in view of the use of new hazardous materials in the manufacture of vehicle electronics, batteries, etc.
upporting the nation and CV transporters, Ashok Leyland Ltd.(ALL) announced the extension of the warranty period between March 15 and April 15 for its M&HCVs in March 2020. It also extended free services due during the same period by two months. For its LCVs, it extended the warranty period till May 31, 2020, of vehicles that are eligible for free service between March 01, 2020, and April 15, 2020, and for those vehicles whose warranty is expiring between the same period. Through its ServiceMandi initiative, ALL, in collaboration with HPCL, lent support to truck drivers stranded on the highway by providing them with safe parking space at HPCL petrol bunks. It also addressed their requirements for groceries (rice, wheat flour, dal), masks, hand sanitisers and soaps. Claiming to provide service support to over 120 vehicles carrying essential goods during the lockdown, including those of other brands, the CV major also made arrangements for quick cash availability to drivers through money transfer via the local HPCL bunk owner’s account.
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All images are for representative purpose only
CV utilisation improves The efforts of the government and various other forces to improve CV utilisation are bearing fruits. Bhushan Mhapralkar
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n improvement in CV utilisation is apparent on the back of some of the industries starting operations. An improvement in CV utilisation is also apparent with the agricultural supply chain gaining steam. As major urban centres like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Indore continue to fight the risk of further spread of Covid-19, an improvement in CV utilisation is supported by the starting of activities in regions other than the key urban
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centres of the country. Not in the best of its spirit and health, an improvement in CV utilisation is subject to many challenges yet, in its path to glory. Instances like looting of trucks by mobs demanding food are some of the challenges that need to be dealt with immediately. Highlighting the lacuna in government distribution systems that are designed to ensure that the poor do not starve, the looting of trucks sounds like a dangerous development that could derail the movement of
trucks as well as the rise of the economy. Mentioned Jasbinder Singh Saluja, owner of Saluja Company, that a mob of around 100 people obstructed his truck in a north Indian state and demanded food. “By the time the cops could reach the spot, they began looting it,” he informed. “It was the presence of mind of the driver that he could flee the spot and save himself as well and the truck and the cargo,” added Jasbinder Singh. Capable of disrupting the movement
Cover Story of trucks and deflating efforts to uplift the economy, such instances need to be addressed firmly by tackling the shortcoming in the distribution system. Especially in view of the statistic that road freight (transport) measures threeand-a-half-times in billion-tonne kilometer term over railways. Highlighting a departure from the days of chaos and fear as states scrambled to close their borders and impose Section 144, the improvement in CV utilisation marks a positive development that needs to be safeguarded and nurtured in the interest of national growth and economy. Averred Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland Limited, “Truckers need to be cared for as logistics and transportation is the backbone of the economy.” “Some measures that the Government could take is to provide minimum wages to the drivers and ensure their benefits are looked after; provide them insurance, ensure their health and safety, regulate and mandate their working conditions (through measures like cabin regulation) and provide them food, water and essentials,” he said. With an estimated 70 per cent movement of cargo in the country by road, an improvement in CV utilisation is reflective of the demand cycle kicking in. Following a period of economic dullness and stagnation due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown, an improvement in CV utilisation spells good news for the CV industry, which has found itself in stormy weather for an amount of time. Instances like demonetisation, implementation of GST (followed by e-WayBill
implementation and a rise in compliance costs), rising fuel costs, insurance costs, rising consumable costs, new axle norms, BSIV fuel emission regulations (most M&HCVs saw a rise in operating costs because of SCR systems onboard) and stagnant freight rates affected not just the road freight (transport) fraternity, but also the CV industry, which comprises of CV manufacturers, parts suppliers, dealers and a host of other segments and sectors linked to it. If the improvement in CV utilisation marks a positive amid a dull and challenging environment, it is necessary that the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to support SMEs bear fruits sooner than later. It would also mark a
departure from the near collapse of the supply chain during the lockdown period that saw restrictions and confusion reign supreme, making it tough even for CVs carrying essential goods (like LPG cylinders) and essential services personnel to ply. Mentioned an industry analyst, that the RBI measures to relax repayment pressures and improve access to working capital are aimed at minimising friction arising out of a cash flow mismatch situation Covid-19 has thrown in front. The efforts are to ensure the return of demand should contribute to further improvement in CV utilisation, he expressed. The challenges Apart from the availability of capital, any further improvement
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in CV utilisation will hinge on the ability to address the issue of driver shortage, remarked an industry observer. He mentioned that the availability of drivers and the loading and unloading workers is directly linked with the number of trucks on the road. The more trucks there are on the road, the better the utilisation level would be, he added. Pointing at the government measure to permit trucks to operate empty on a return journey, or on the way to pick-up consignment, the industry analyst called for additional measures to bolster the confidence of transporters and CV drivers. Expressed S P Singh of IFTRT that CV drivers simply fled to their villages and did not report to work after they heard the stories of CVs and their crew getting stranded with nowhere to look for safety, food, medicine, sanitation, masks or sanitisers. The ripple effect the stories caused was big, he opined. Stressing on the need to make CV drivers feel respected and cared for, the observer
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also called for bolstering the confidence of those involved in making invoices, Proof of Delivery (PoD), etc. Mentioning that 23 trucks of his transport company got stranded at various locations in the country during the lockdown, a Delhi-based transporter rued that not only did his crew and trucks with costly cargo on them were stranded with nowhere to look for safety and food, the loss incurred would take a long time to get over. Any improvement in CV utilisation will happen on the back of measures to relieve the road freight (transport) fraternity of their challenges, he said.
With an estimated 3.5 lakh trucks getting stranded with goods worth Rs 35,000 crore laden on them during late March and the first half of April, an improvement in CV utilisation is widely linked to the government move to open dhabas along the highways (at an interval of 50 km each), according to the industry observer. Stating that many dhaba owners are however not aware of such a development, he called for an effective way to communicate the same. Of the opinion that the opening of eateries has provided hopes for drivers and transporters to start operations, Baba Shinde, President, Maharashtra State Vahan Chalak
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Malak Pratinidhi Sanghatna and a member of AIMTC, informed that close to 10 lakh trucks were stranded at different checkpoints and industrial areas in Maharashtra. Speaking over phone enroute to Nagpur from the Tata Steel plant in Odisha, after spending a month of lockdown there, truck driver Anil Pandey mentioned that traffic density is thin on the roads. He revealed that some dhabas are open, and are providing food quietly inside the truck rather than at their premises. Mentioned a dhaba owner over the phone that they were not prepared in terms of resources after being forced to abruptly close down their business. With no income for over a month and having relieved the employees from their duty in the absence of any ability to pay them, he informed
that it would take an amount of time and effort to start operations. Expressed another dhaba owner from Manor on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway that there’s hardly any traffic on the highway to run the dhaba. He stressed on the supply and demand situation being erratic. Remarked the industry observer as well, that dhabas amount to just one part of the ecosystem, there are others too (like tyre repair shops, spare parts shops, garages, etc.) that need to come on board to support a sustainable improvement in CV utilisation. The ecosystem With the supporting ecosystem at one end and the vested interests at the other, road freight (transport) fraternity to improve CV utilisation is certain to need a lot of support from
the government. Demanding the reigning in of vested interests on roads (they continued to harass even those truckers that carried essential goods during the lockdown), a transporter drew attention to the recent study by SaveLife Foundation, which states that trucks drivers and fleet owners shell out around Rs.48,000 crore annually as bribes to traffic or highway police. Remarked a transport association member that no benefits of borderless travel will be evident unless the vested interests on roads are firmly dealt with. Lauding the Central Government’s efforts to allow trucks to cross state borders by simply showing the driving license of the driver, he mentioned a need for the Centre and states to be on the same page regarding transport policies and discipline.
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cover story Expressed a Rajasthan-based transporter, that some states are yet to give permission to warehouses to start operation. There are others that are yet to allow the opening of their borders, he quipped. Under such circumstances, it is not easy to operate more and more trucks, he added. If the improvement in CV utilisation may amount to a big development, the chance of the CV industry gaining traction quickly looks a little far fetched at this moment in time. The prebuying season turning out to be a washout, it would be essential to understand the benefits of the Supreme Court order to sell 10 per cent BSIV vehicles in the first 10 days of BSVI emission regulation implementation. The implementation of BSVI emission regulations are only expected to add to the dullness the CV industry has been facing, mentioned the analyst. Lauding the efforts of the CV industry to support their clients despite numerous difficulties during the lockdown, he mentioned that the disruption in supply chains will take a good deal of time to return to normalcy. Underlining the global nature of the industry, he added that plenty of challenges existed yet, and at various levels. The measures Drawing attention to the demands of the auto industry to reduce GST rates, an industry analyst said that the compliance burden put by GST on small transporters almost wiped them out during the last fiscal. For those that managed to stay afloat, the lockdown is certain to wipe them out, he stated. He also
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highlighted the rising pressure on mid-level transporters and how it could spell a death knell for them if no measures were announced to help the road freight (transport) fraternity to sustain. Citing measures like forward and service charge, he mentioned small and mid-level transporters have been under immense pressure with some well-meaning measures by the government actually hampering their progress. He added that the time now was to move very cautiously as one wrong move would spell doom for the lower rung of the road freight (transport) fraternity and in-turn cause some unimaginable as well as ugly disruptions. Suggesting that the government better announce a regulatory policies holiday for the auto industry and the road freight (transport) fraternity if not for others, the industry observer explained that a lot of measures will have to be undertaken to ensure that the improvement in CV utilisation continues and contributes to the economic rise in-turn. Citing the collapse of daily movement
of CVs to less than 10 per cent during the lockdown, he remarked that care should be taken to not let trucking become a major choke point in the wake of the efforts taken to beat Covid-19 as well to improve the economy. Drawing attention to the situation that followed the eight-day truck strike in 2018, which demanded a rollback of diesel price increase, implementation of e-WayBill, increase in the validity of vehicle fitness, early resolution of GST related issues and provision of schemes for health care of drivers and crew, he expressed that any interruption in the smooth operation of the supply chain would prove to be costly at this juncture. Lauding the efforts of the government to provide a ‘formal’ identity to the road freight (transport) industry, a big-fleet operator mentioned that the government has been paying attention to the demands of the road freight (transport) fraternity. He drew attention to its stakeholders participating in the National Logistics Task Force meeting on March 31, 2020, and
cover story securing the passage of trucks carrying essential and nonessential goods. He informed that they also managed to get an in-principal okay to the suspension of e-bills for essential goods, provision of insurance up to Rs.50 lakh to all logistics personals and setting up of a central helpline for truck drivers. Pointing at the directions issued by MHA to state governments to protect all facilities in the supply chain of essentials and medical equipment: farmers, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, transporters and retail outlets, the industry analyst mentioned that unfreezing of operation at various logistics and supply chain specialists like Future Supply Chain, DHL Express, Ecom Express, Safexpress, etc., would contribute further to improve CV utilisation. The need, he said, is to bolster the confidence of the workforce by letting them feel that they are cared for. A positive outlook Of the opinion that the IRDA announcement to keep the motor third party (TP) insurance rates unchanged beyond March 31 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak should be extended until a sizable improvement in the economy (alternatively the market condition) is visible, the industry observer remarked that the government is rightly concentrating on getting the food supply chain going over others. This will strengthen the agricultural supply chain and spur a cycle of demand in rural India, he said. Claiming that the move by one of the 11 empowered committees (set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in late March 2020 to
tackle the pandemic) to allow trucks to cross state borders by simply showing the driving license of the driver (and have a spotter onboard too) has contributed to an improvement in CV utilisation, an industry analyst mentioned that a more organized road freight (transport) fraternity is certain to call for some big ticket reforms. He drew attention to the demand for Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) acceptance rising in the wake
of the need to clock higher uptime. Currently the time taken at loading and unloading points is quite high, especially in the wake of the shortage of manpower, he added. Drawing attention to the global supply chain woes as many continents strive to come out from under the shadow of the pandemic, the industry observer mentioned that a sizable improvement in CV utilisation will only be visible after a while.
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CV Promotion
CASE Construction Equipment CASE Construction Equipment Pvt. Ltd. is banking on a new range for urban and infrastructure applications Team CV
C
ASE Construction Equipment Pvt. Ltd. is banking on a new range for urban and infrastructure applications. According to Puneet Vidyarthi, Brand Leader, CASE India, to meet the demands of urban applications, for instance, the company is offering a full line
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of equipment exceptionally well suited to urban areas. The new range is claimed to offer low emission levels and a quiet mode of operation. With excellent manoeuvrability, the machines are said to deliver powerful performances and high productivity even in the most difficult to navigate spaces helping operators to
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
get the job done on deadline in an efficient manner keeping profitability of the operator at the forefront. To meet the demand of infrastructure applications, CASE has a full line of powerful and robust equipment for road building and infrastructural works for the contractors of varied capability. From heavy crawler
CV Promotion
Puneet Vidyarthi, Brand Leader, CASE India.
excavators and versatile wheel loaders to state-of-the-art graders and dozers, as well as a choice of high performance, manoeuvrable compact equipment, the new range of equipment claims to get the job well done, on schedule and with return on investment. Compactor Range Among its new offerings is the CASE 752EX Tandem Vibratory Compactor. Equipped with a fuel-efficient
FPT engine that delivers a rated power of 76 hp at 2200 rpm with a peak torque of 332 Nm at 1300 rpm. The newgeneration engine developed by CNH Industrial subsidiary FPT Industrial, a world-leading manufacturer of engines, transmissions and powertrains is said to provide outstanding performance, fast response times, and best-in-class fuel economy. The 752EX’s operator compartment features a sliding and rotating operator seat, tiltable steering, two levers, full visibility and sprinklers on both the drums said to make the drive and compaction process easier and safer. Equipped with an FRP tank rather than a steel tank, to avoid rusting, the look of the machine is enhanced by a foldable canopy for ease of transportation, new fuel and water tanks and new
sophisticated instrument cluster. Also, provided is an equal weight distribution of the machine to give it a smooth ride on the road. The CASE 1107EX soil compactor features a new FPT Industrial S8000 engine that delivers a rated power of 100 hp at 2200 rpm. The turbo aftercooled engine with internal Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is claimed to ensure best-in-class fuel economy. More than two million S8000 engines at work across the world are a testament to the reliability of this proven power. The maximum applied force in the range of 34-tonne is claimed to be among the best in the industry. The hydrostatic variable speed control of the 1107EX ensures mobility at the perfect speed for every type of soil thus resulting in a
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CV Promotion
uniform compaction. CASE 450DX is a market leader in the mini tandem compactor segment in India with more than 1600 machines powered by the Mahindra Industrial (MDI 2500) watercooled diesel engines with a rated power of 45 hp to ensure best in class fuel efficiency and productivity. Mahindra MDI 2500 is a proven and reliable engine in Indian conditions and has a well-established network which in turn guarantees easy to get service and parts support. The machine has an operating weight of 3225 Kg and a popular choice for bituminous compaction. It has tandem drums with dualfrequency of 55 Hz and 65 Hz at amplitudes of 0.6mm developing maximum applied force of 6035 Kg per drum. The 450DX is perfectly suited for shoulder compaction,
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service roads and basement compaction with a compact design measuring 2.9 m in length and 1.3 m in width. CASE 1110EX-D with HVAC cabin, soil compactor features a new FPT Industrial S8000 engine that delivers a rated power of 110 hp at 2300 rpm and torque of 430 Nm at 1400 rpm. The turbo after cooled engine with internal EGR claims to offer best-inclass fuel economy. More than
two million S8000 engines at work across the world are a testament to the reliability of this proven power. The maximum applied force in the range of 34-tonne is among the best in the industry. The machine is fit for mining application and is available in two variants - Drum Drive and Pad Foot Drum, equipped with ROPS/FOPS HVAC cabin to ensure operator comfort and safety.
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SCVs key to community kitchens SCVs helped NGOs to organise community kitchens during the March and April 2020 lockdown in India. Deven Lad
All images are for representative purpose only
M
umbai resident Ruben Mascarenhas is busy fielding calls on his mobile. When he is not doing so, he is busy calling SCV operators to drive his social initiative ‘Khaana Chhaiye’, which is part of the ‘Litmus Test Project’. A techie by education and activist by choice, Mascarenhas, along with his friends Pratik Keni and Munaf Kapadia is driving the ‘Khaana Chhaiye’ through crowdfunding, and has engaged four Tata Ace SCVs to transport food packets from the Bohri Kitchen restaurant to different parts of the city. Feeding the needy people by the roadside in the times of Novel Coronavirus, the
four SCVs and their operators are playing a key role in forwarding the noble cause. Found with essential service stickers on their windshield, the SCVs are being favoured because of their ability to fit the cost and payload requirements of such initiatives. They are also being favoured for their ability to manoeuvre through the narrow streets of the cities and reach out to the truly needy. Stating that the SCVs are carrying their packets to areas the Western Express Highway, Eastern Express Highway, between Link Road and Juhu Circle, between Andheri and Dahisar, to Masjid Bandar
Labour Camp and to Chembur, Mascarenhas expressed that they are finding the mini-trucks of much use as they each can carry around 1000 to 2000 food packets. They are helping the 50 volunteers of ‘Khaana Chahiye’ better coordinate their efforts to distribute 30,000 meals across the mega city every day, he added. Explaining that logistics is a nightmare for any social project in a situation like this (the city is under lockdown and the atmosphere of fear and worry prevalent), Mascarenhas said that his organisation is also reaching out to truck terminals and areas near toll booths to feed stranded truck drivers.
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Special report For the noble cause A Navi Mumbai-based transporter has also come to use SCVs to feed stranded truckers in his region. His team consisting of fellow transporters and some other individuals have been feeding migrant workers and their families as well. They are stranded and with no work to do, are starving, the transporter expressed. ‘No Food Waste’ (NFW), a Coimbatore-based start-up engaged in the initiative of supplying food to migrant labourers and homeless, is also using SCVs to its advantage. It is making clever use of vehicles to distribute food packets in different parts of Chennai and Hyderabad. The organisation is everyday distributing 50,000 food packets from the kitchen. Besides distribution of food to the homeless and needy, NFW is also collecting food that is wasted in hotels, restaurants and functions. To do so efficiently, it is using SCVs. The role of SCVs in the noble cause to feed the needy and homeless is clear when one considers that NFW until now has collected 321 tonnes of food and served 98 per cent of it. Since it was founded in 2014, the organisation has bought a total of 23 SCVs through crowdfunding. Expanding its scope of work beyond Tamil Nadu to states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, it is, according to the founder Padmanaban Gopalan, renting SCVs besides its fleet of Tata Ace and Ashok Leyland Dost in the current scenario. Informed Gopalan that many SCV operators and people have come forward as a goodwill gesture. “The food recovery vehicle reaches the hunger spots, piloted by ‘driver volunteers’.
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Once food is collected, it is distributed among the needy by the same team,” he explained. Not only in the current situation, but in the floods in the Chennai region as well, NFW is known to have good work. During the Chennai floods, it distributed food in 22 different trucks in a short span of two days. The hand of god Distributing 200 packets a day, the Coimbatore Catering Owners Association has engaged SCVs as well for its logistics needs. They have been engaged by the district administration and private NGOs, claimed a source. He mentioned that NGOs and
various government agencies have come together to ease the movement of SCVs without overlooking the health and safety of drivers. The delivery drivers are provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food packets for their daily survival, he mentioned. Said Mascarenhas, that they too are ensuring the safety and well-being of the drivers of the SCVs that they have engaged. Considering the fact that they provide three meals a day, the drivers have been supplied with PPE health safety kits. The operators are paid a regular rent fare. However, the drivers have been voluntarily charging less,
special report said Mascarenhus. By doing this, they too are coming to find a way to contribute to a noble cause, he added. Paying fixed salary to their drivers, NFW, apart from providing safety equipment, is conducting regular sessions in health safety and prevention given the current situation. While Mascarenhas and Gopalan as well as their organisations may enjoy a certain clout, and their organisations that are doing good work, but finding it difficult to find acceptance as well as support. Distributing food to the needy, supplying essential goods and vegetables to housing societies and areas in cities and towns, many NGOs, having engaged SCVs, are finding it difficult to get the authorities to issue ‘essential services’ stickers. There are also those, however, who are getting very good support from the police as well as the other local and regional authorities. Challenges Challenges continue to follow NGOs like a shadow as they go about their work, especially in the current situation. Logistis is a prime area of challenge for many NGOs that are running community kitchens. It primarily concerns transportation of raw material, grocery vegetables, etc., and at the later stage, to distribute food to areas where needy people are to be found. Confusion or misunderstanding at times is said to lead to authorities denying permission to deliver food from the community kitchen to the needy. Said a social worker of an organisation on condition of anonymity, that they initially faced much difficulty in procuring the essential services stickers to be able to
distribute the food packets using SCVs. Said a person engaged with another NGO, that their movements have been restricted. Yet another social worker with an NGO lauded the support the authorities and cops have extended for the supply of food packets to the needy. A social worker at Pune drew attention to the initiative of the department of labour in Pune. He mentioned that the department has taken
an initiative to distribute mid-day meals among 15,850 workers at 95 construction sites in the city using SCVs . Averred Shailendra B Pol, Additional Labour commissioner, Pune division, “Labour department is carrying big dabbas (containers) of food inside these (SCV) trucks and going to different sites.” “The SCVs are playing a key role as the number of people to be served is huge,” he added.
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Ambulances
support fight against Covid-19 Ambulances built on the Tata Winger and Force Traveller platform have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 in India. Bhushan Mhapralkar
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Winger ambulance with a doctor and hospital staff, wearing N95 masks and protective gear each, rolls to a stop in front of singer Kanika Kapoor’s house. It has come to ferry her to the Sanjay Gandhi PGIMS hospital after testing positive for Novel Coronavirus. With a travel history to the United Kingdom, Sanika soon boards the Winger ambulance and get on her way to the hospital. Marking a drastic change in how emergency services
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have come to be, the Winger ambulance that carried Kapoor to the hospital is one of the roughly 2,200 ‘108’ ambulances operated by the respective state government under the National Ambulance Service (NAS). Other than Uttar Pradesh, the ‘108’ ambulance service (which can be availed for free by dialing ‘108’ to go to a government hospital) is found in several other states of India. Tracing its roots to the vision floated and carried to reality by late Dr. A.P. Ranga Rao of
Andra Pradesh in response to the lack of a standardised emergency service platform making it difficult for patients to get timely help, the ’108’ ambulance service has come to overhaul the way emergency services are provided in the country. Close to 24,000 ‘108’ ambulances are being operated across the country under the NAS. While it may be difficult to find out if the number of ambulances operating in India meets the World Health Organization
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(WHO) recommendation of one ambulance per one lakh people, the fact is, the ‘108’ ambulance has come to create a niche for itself by serving nearly 800 million Indians since its inception in August 2005 as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative. Said to have saved over twomillion lives until now, the service is claimed to draw inspiration from the working of the British National Health Service (NHS). Coming to handle close to an estimated
300,000 calls a day, the ‘108’ ambulances are continuing to carry forward the dream of late Dr AP Ranga Rao to do something for the people; to build a robust medical emergency system. The best part about the ‘108’ ambulances is the way they are driving a much-needed structural change in how emergency medical care is delivered to India’s poorest patients in urban and rural areas. Said to number over
4000 units of Tata Winger and Force Traveller, the 108 ambulances are said to have become a common scene on the road as they rush patients to government hospitals with their sirens blaring and their blue lights glowing. Found in two guises – as Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances and as Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances, the ones in India have come to be governed by the National Ambulance Code (NAC). If the BLS ambulances include Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in // May 2020
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Maruti Eecos and Omnis apart from the Tata Winger and Force Traveller, ambulances doing duty in supporting the fight against Covid-19 in India are worthy of appreciation irrespective of their make or whether they are of the ALS or the BLS variety. On the condition of not disclosing his name as he was not authorised to speak, a resident doctor at
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Mumbai’s Kasturba Hospital (the Mumbai region epicenter for fight against Covid-19), over phone, mentioned that the fight against Novel Coronavirus is being ably supported by ambulances. Stating that these vehicles are being maintained well and quarantined after every duty, he drew attention to the fleet of 108 ambulances operating in the region. These
ambulances are playing a key role in the fight against the pandemic, he added. Saving the people of India the hardship of searching for an ambulance in an emergency; of not knowing to call whom, or needing to dial multiple helplines, the 108 PPP ambulance service has created a push towards standardised ambulances. It is they that have highlighted the need
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to have requisite equipment or expertise to stabilise the patient. Operational almost all over the country, the 108 ambulance service has also come to include private participation from corporates like GMR, BVG and ZHL. BVG has tied up with UK Specialist Ambulance Services (UKSAS) to operate 108 ambulances. Also, the Mumbai-based ZHL has come to operate boat ambulances in the state of Odisha and Kerala, claim sources. While the boat ambulances are said to make it easier
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for the government medical agencies to reach out to remote locations by using inland waterways, the surface ambulances on Tata Winger and Force Traveller platform continue to change the public outlook towards ambulances under the 108 ambulance program. Taking over from the poorly maintained government ambulances, these ones have come to set the standards. Stating that they provide ALS as well as BLS ambulance, a source close to Force Motors mentioned that these are fitted out
by Pinnacle Industries. Pinnacle, he explained, has invested in a facility within the Pithampur plant of Force Motors. Complying with NAC standards, the ALS and BLS ambulances on Traveller platform come in ready to use avatar, and are categorised as ‘mobile clinics’ and ‘speciality healthcare vans’. With a doctor consulting area and patient examination area, the ambulances are also categorised as ‘health clinic on wheels’, ‘blood collection on wheels’, and as ‘vaccination vans’. The ALS and BLS vans
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considered the most mainstream among others are the most in demand. Force Motors, claimed the source, has been selling a good number of units. They cost between Rs.45 lakh to Rs.75 lakh, he informed. Above and over the basic vehicle cost, the seemingly higher cost of an ALS or BLS ambulance is dictated by the amount of equipment onboard. The list of equipment, driving the cost high, on an ALS ambulance typically includes electrocardiograph, defibrillator, etc. Stating
that each 108 ambulance is fitted with an advanced GPS system, and a communication platform, a Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) source drew attention to the back-end operation that supports the over 1000 (108) ambulances that operate all over Maharashtra. Deploying trained EMS professionals that can early-detect any emergency, respond immediately, report, provide on-scene care, en-route care and facilitate appropriate hospital transfer, the MEMS
operations include a state-ofthe-art Emergency Response Centre (ERC) at the Aundh Chest hospital, Pune, the source revealed. It operates 24x7, he said. Even as the shift is changing at the ERC, calls continue to come in. One call has come from Nagpur, some 900 km away, and another call has come from Latur. Those that have have just taken over promptly attend to the call and ensure that emergency services are delivered. The GPS system updates the call centre desk
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and the ambulance staff also reports. Contact is established with the hospital so that the casualty staff there is ready to handle the emergency. If the ‘108’ ambulances have come to set
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the standards for emergency services in India, they along with the many private ambulances are ensuring that pandemics like the Novel Coronavirus are dealt with effectively and quickly.
After getting discharged, singer Kanika Kapoor quite likely got ferried by a ‘108’ ambulance to her home in a environment that is of the standard necessary, and is safe and secure in nature.
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In focus
Reefer trucks grow in stature
Growing in stature, reefer trucks in India are addressing the dynamic market requirements by tapping technology. Deepti Thore and Deven Lad
I
t is early February and the temperatures in Mumbai have started to rise. The onset of summer is in sight, and the Novel Coronavirus is yet to reach the shores of this country. The buzz about the virus disrupting the flow
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of goods from abroad is already prevalent. A trader of frozen food at the APMC market, Navi Mumbai, is candid in stating that his supplies are fast drying up. He points at the spread of Novel Coronavirus abroad,
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
and remarks that the days ahead look tough. Pointing at the reefer truck standing in front of his shop, he says that this could well be the last of the supplies that has reached him via the Nhava Sheva port. One look at the reefer truck
in focus
on an Eicher chassis, and it is at once evident that they are growing in stature. A part of the cold chain industry that is pegged at Rs.1,288 billion in India, reefer trucks are gaining focus as they address the dynamic requirement of their operators and end users. Showing good potential to grow over the last two to three years, the cold chain industry has come to lap modern reefer trucks that assure reliable and safe transport. With players like Rivigo said to be ramping up their count of reefer trucks in the fleet with the ambition to reach 2500 numbers (by
2021) from 250 numbers (in 2016), reefer trucks have been growing in technology above all. Technologies like IoT and automation are aiding reefer trucks to gain in performance, efficiency, reliability and lower operating costs. As big organised sector retail chains like Reliance Fresh, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, and wholesale mandi players, come on the scene and demand prompt and reliable service, reefer trucks are shifting into the fast lane. Fast and innovative On an Eicher truck chassis, Rinac India displayed a
eutectic reefer truck at the recent Cold Chain Show in Mumbai under its Chill Kart portfolio. It is a part of the line of eutectic trucks the company has developed to transport goods with temperatures between – 15 degree Celsius and – 25 degree Celsius. Innovative because it makes a green and economic alternative to a conventional reefer van in the last mile space, the eutectic tech involves eutectic plates placed within the insulated body. Requiring no fuel or energy for refrigeration during transport, the RPUF insulation provides effective
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
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In focus
Rinac India displayed an eutectic reefer container body on an Eicher truck chassis.
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heat transfer resistance and the vacuum bonded GRP sheets ensure lowered weight (thereby increasing payload capacity). The eutectic plates, at the other end, provide enough cooling to do away with the need to use a cooling fan type evaporator unit. Temperatures are maintained for 10 to 12 hours, and the refrigeration unit runs on solar energy. Enough energy efficient to support government’s ambition to double the income of farmers and improve the cold chain efficient manifolds, eutectic reefer truck technology is in good demand. Many reefer truck manufacturers from the
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
organised side of the trade have come to develop reefer trucks with this technology. On a slightly different note, consider the two Mahindra Bolero pickup trucks that Subzero Insulation
Technologies displayed at the Cold Chain Show as well. They are designed for the lastmile, and have their bodies made of light-weight fibreglass material from Lamilux, Germany. The material ensures
in focus leakage-free and wellsealed container structure. It also ensures a structure that is shockproof, resistant to bending, weatherproof, suitable for food stuff carriage and extremely light. A close look at the Lamilux light-weight fibre-glass offerings, and there’s the Lamilux Antibac, Lamilux Super, Lamilux HG4000, Lamilux Woven Roving, Lami Graph, Lamilux Highimpact and Lamilux X-Treme. Each is unique in terms of the advantages it offers in the construction of not just reefer trucks, but also in the construction of motor homes, cold storages, well-insulated homes and offices among others. Built from Lamilux material, the refrigerated container superstructures on the Boleros feature different flooring options like GRP anti-slip material, aluminium ‘T’ grated, aluminium or SS chequered, removable and washable HDPE tiles and
stainless steel corrugated sheets. Customised as per the requirement of the customers, reefer trucks offered by Subzero Insulation Technologies could be had with eutectic systems as well. They could be had with dry freight boxes and multi-temperature boxes as well. Stress, mentioned a company source, is on lower maintenance costs. It is on higher payloads, better fuel efficiency and less loads on the refrigeration unit, he added. Catering to OEM clients like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Isuzu, Mahindra & Mahindra, Volvo India, and Eicher at one end, Subzero Insulation Technologies is serving cold chain operators like Sheetal Parivahan, DHL, Dharti, Koolex at the other. The coming of new technologies like the eutectic technology or the new-age light-weight and durable fibre-glass materials from Lamilux, reefer trucks are
coming to gain in terms of the cost of transportation. It is an important development when one considers a reduction in transportation cost from Rs.4.5 per kilogram to fourtyfive paise per kilogram. With end-to-end cold chain integration the need of the hour, reefer trucks are also gaining in the area of accurate temperature monitoring. Offering bodies built from GRP sandwich panels, Path Insulation has been paying much attention in enabling their clients to incorporate the most accurate temperature monitoring systems in their reefer vans. It is especially important when it comes to ferrying costly and perishable goods over distances, said a company source. Providing refrigerated superstructures that employ the latest tech to ensure lower fuel consumption and carbon footprint, Path Insulation is paying particular attention to the clients’ need
Two reefer trucks on Mahindra Bolero chassis by Subzero Insulation at India Cold Chain show aimed at last mile delivery. Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
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In focus for space. Ensuring that the reefer trucks it builds have excellent insulation, superior corrosion resistance and provision to maintain high level of hygiene, the company caters to the needs of clients from the pharmaceutical industry in particular. The reefer vehicles it offers could be had with the option of XPS and Wood Glue as well. The other bits include aluminium T section, SS corrugation and aluminium chequered flooring. Catering to clients like Intas, Subway, CGMSC, KMSCL, and Sankalp among others, Ice Make Refrigeration has also come to incorporate the latest and the most promising technological advances in the reefer truck bodies that it builds. It uses GRP panels with an eye on strong yet light weight construction. Offering Eutectic containers as well as dry insulated containers, the company is focusing on better space utilisation, lower TCO and superior thermal efficiency. Tech that matters Supporting reefer truck body builders, OMD Solutions has come to offer a temperature monitoring solution called Dhruv-Track Kool. It comprises of a robust hardware and cloud-based software architecture that enables the users to avail of temperature and other sensor data via web and mobile applications. It also provides complex alarm scenarios using advance alarm module. Violations are reported by emails and SMS. In case of power outages, the solution immediately alarms the user. Using an autonomous GPS
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and temperature tracker with magnetic mount, Dhruv-Track Kool, according to Narendra Pandya, Director, has strategically placed sensors across the reefer container to monitor the temperature
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
range across the entire length and breath. “In case the door is opened, an alarm goes off in the unit that is fitted in the driver’s cabin,� averred Pandya. Aimed at exports markets like the Middle East,
in focus
Promethean Power Systems is promoting a revolutionary milk chiller technology powered by a novel thermal battery that does away with the need for electricity.
OMD Solutions, in India, is claiming to experience good traction for Dhruv-Track Kool. Having a battery life of onemonth post a full-charge, the solution, according to Pandya, employs certified (and calibrated) sensors, which enable precision temperature value and tracking. With demand for reefer trucks with pneumatic suspension on the rise, albeit on a smaller scale to carry critical medical equipment, technology is clearly defining the reefer truck space. It is also getting cold chain players to explore new technologies like Blockchain to ensure process integrity. Consider a Massachusetts Institute of Technology start-up Promethean Power Systems with a
sister concern, Promethean Spenta Technologies based at Pune. The company has found a way to produce milk chillers that quickly drop temperature of milk to reduce bacterial growth even without electricity. Powering the chiller is a novel thermal battery that stores thermal energy
when the grid’s available, and releases the energy without need of electricity. The thermal battery is not a battery in the traditional sense, and is instead a tank that contains two types of materials – a phase-changing material (PCM) that freezes and liquefies inside a series
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
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In focus of tubes, and the exact series of tubes that are submersed in a heat-transfer fluid (HTF) that never freezes. The battery is attached to a refrigeration compressor and a stainless steel heat exchanger that rapidly chills milk that’s poured over the exchanger’s surface. At the recent Cold Chain Show, it displayed a chiller truck based on the Mahindra Bolero and Tata 407 chassis. Having installed a chiller on Ashok Leyland Dost chassis as well, the company is aiming at SME players who often are at a loss to effectively transport milk to collection centres or to the customer. Promising 50 per cent reduction in operating cost as compared to a conventional reefer vehicle, the chillers provided by Promethean also offer the operator improved temperature control despite multiple door openings, less vehicle wear and tear since engine power is not used to chill, and lower maintenance cost since there is no compressor onboard. Equipped with real-time remote monitoring system to ensure temperature control, the ‘mobile’ chillers that the company is currently offering in the sub-one tonne vehicle category, could be used to ferry not just milk but also yoghurt, bakery products, fruits, vegetables, etc. Made interesting by the fact that the reefer truck could be charged at the food plant or at the distribution point, the Promethean ‘mobile’ chiller solution is engineered to maintain product temperature throughout the delivery route
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
Dhruv-Track Kool employs certified (and calibrated) sensors which enable precision temperature value and tracking.
without consuming diesel and adding to the vehicle’s emission cycle. It also reduces diesel consumption by 10 to 12-litres per day as compared to conventional reefer trucks. With companies like Amul, Hutsun, Mother Dairy, Parag, Nestle and Heritage as clients, Promethean clocked a turnover of USD-three million in 2019. Exporting its products
to Tanzania, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the company is striving to be an end-toend cold chain solutions provider. It is empowering the setting up of an efficient milk and food distribution centre in remote areas of the country, contributing to the development of cold chain in a technologically savvy manner.
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In focus
Amul India maintains its supply chain Overcoming numerous logistics challenges, Amul India has continued to supply milk and dairy products without fail during the Covid-19 lockdown. Deepti Thore
A
long the highway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, trucks can be seen parked in big numbers by the side of it, and along the various dhabas and petrol pumps. The lack of the right to passage in the wake of the nationwide lockdown due to Novel Coronavirus has got them into
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their predicament. A fairly common sight are however the milk tankers and reefer trucks with Amul written on them. Their density increases in areas where Amul India has its facilities. Anand for example where Amul India has its headquarters. It is exciting to see so many milk tankers big and reefer trucks plying.
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
They are sporting a sticker on their windshield declaring them as carriers of essential goods. With a vast and wide network that includes facilities not just in Gujarat, but in various other parts of the country, the leading milk and milk products producer Amul India has managed to keep its supply chain from collapsing.
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All images are for representative purpose only
R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Amul India
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In focus
In Maharashtra, where it has facilities at Virar, Taloja, Nagpur and Boisar (Vasudhara Dairy) among other locations, the company has managed a stellar performance in keeping its plants running, and its supply chain consisting of tankers and reefer trucks from getting interrupted. Procuring around 26 million litres of milk daily, Amul India has overcome challenges pertaining to truck shortage, driver shortage and labour shortage, by aiding the drivers and operators of its trucks with the necessary support like identity cards, windshield stickers, masks, gloves and more. With each Amul milk tanker carrying about 8,000 to 10,000 litres, the company has ensured the smooth operation of an estimated 2,600 trucks in
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
a curfew-like environment. Apart from the supply of necessary equipment to protect themselves from Novel Coronovirus, the drivers and crew of the truck have been trained to ensure safety and cleanliness. They have been trained to maintain social distancing and hygiene. Ensuring that its warehouses, distributors and retailers do not run out of the stock, the company, according to its managing director, R S Sodhi, has made sure that its staff and those that work for them are safe and healthy. It has done so by ensuring that they strictly practice hygiene processes. Amul India has also been at the forefront of ensuring its customers of uninterrupted supply of milk and dairy products through various mediums.
Going the extra mile If such measures have led the staff and those that are engaged with the company to feel confident of being cared for, Amul India has been one of the early movers to stock its warehouses and distributors with products so that they do not run out of them. In terms of safety and health, the company has briefed its staff and those engaged in its work of hygiene processes to be strictly followed. These include sanitisation of trucks and containers carrying milk and milk products for distribution. Continuing to work with less number of people as any given tier, the company has found new ways to overcome challenges in areas like invoicing, logistics, loading and unloading. Faced
in focus
A yellow line has been drawn to indicate how far the workers can go while trucks are being loaded to ensure social distancing.
with a big challenge of trucks returning empty being disallowed to operate by the authorities initially, Amul India officials were quick to hold discussions and ensure a safe passage for them so that its supply chain is not hit and the country is not starved of milk especially. If the release of new guidelines on April 15, 2020, has made it easier for empty trucks to operate and pick up goods, during the initial period of the lockdown starting March 22, 2020, Amul India staff and all those that are engaged with it, went an extra mile to ensure smooth operations. At the company’s Taloja plant for example, the plant manager Vijaya Shete and the human resources manager, Ritu Tripathi, arranged milk pouches in
crates and loaded them onto the delivery trucks! With a capacity to process half a million litres of milk, curd and buttermilk every day, the plant, a sizable part of which is automated, has continued to operate without interruption. If the installation of makeshift washbasins in the premises and the procurement of masks, gloves and sanitisers has ensured confidence of workers at the plant, a yellow line has been drawn to indicate how far the workers can go while trucks are being loaded to ensure social distancing. For the people, by the people A 50-seater minibus has been arranged at Taloja to enable a staff of 15-20 people to come to the plant and
reach home. A room has also been arranged within the factory premises to temporarily relocate some of the workers to avoid risks associated with commuting in a curfew-like environment. Additional incentives have been offered to encourage workers to stay put and not flee to their villages. To ensure smooth working of the supply chain, identity cards to the drivers of trucks carrying milk and milk products have been issued. They are also supplied with essential goods stickers to put up on the windshield of the truck. To ensure smooth sailing, key personnel at Amul India’s dairies and facilities have been briefed with the steps to be taken in case the supply of goods is interrupted by the authorities, or by forces that may be, once the truck
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
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In focus Amul India is taking due precautions in key procedures such as collection of milk, its transportation, its processing, packaging and distribution.
has left its premises. Drivers of trucks and their operators (as well as fleet managers) have been briefed too of the steps to be taken in case they face a logistical challenge. With all the possible precautions taken involving tasks such as collection of milk at cooperative societies, their transportation to the processing units, and their final packaging and distribution, Amul India is ensuring that no product or packet is touched with bare hands. The company is claimed to have gone so far as to supply the drivers of its trucks, the crew onboard and those at the distribution and retail end, with masks and gloves. It marks a distinct cultural change for those that have been used to touching milk packets and dairy products with their bare hands! Record procuring milk in Gujarat and other parts of the country, according to Sodhi, Amul India is working with close to 3.6 million farmers even in a curfew-like environment. Maintaining a supply chain
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Amul India has been promoting the importance of hygiene against the backdrop of Covid-19 through clever advertisements.
that involves 20 million cows and buffaloes and a billion consumers, the company is going all out to fill in where others are failing. For example, with many small private milk cooperatives unable to collect milk, Amul India has been filling the void by taking over the task and deploying its supply chain for the purpose. It is by no means an easy task, and involves the first mile transportation of milk from the farmer to the nearest chilling station or dairy. After being processed there, milk is shipped to various market locations for distribution in refrigerated milk vans. In the case of ice creams, butter,
Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
cheese and other dairy products a similar supply chain exists, and is made of reefer trucks primarily. Getting it right If the task of filling up the void left by the small milk cooperatives has ensured that Amul India is collecting more milk to the tune of eight to ten-per cent, it is the supply chain of the company that is playing a key role in all that it is doing. A part of this chain are many people whose faces are not visible or their names are not written in gold, but continue to go that extra mile to ensure there is enough milk available for those who need it most.
international
Volvo Vera Volvo Trucks’ autonomous vehicle, Vera, has secured its first mission to transport goods from a logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. Team CV
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international
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reaking cover in September 2018, Volvo Trucks’ Vera is set to perform its first task of transporting goods from a logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. To perform for ferry and logistics company DFDS, Vera’s assignment follows that of the Einride T-Pod’s assignment in Sweden to ferry goods over short distances in an autonomous, cabless and connected form. The first such vehicle to come out of Volvo Trucks, Vera is electric, connected and autonomous. It is engineered to transport large volumes of goods with high precision over short distances,
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aptly highlighting its design intent of performing repetitive assignments in logistics centres, factories and ports with the maximum speed limited to 40 kmph. After the acquisition of Vera’s first assignment, Mikael Karlsson, Vice President, Autonomous Solutions, Volvo Trucks, expressed, “Now we have an opportunity to implement Vera in an ideal setting and further develop her potential for other similar operations.” Pointing at Volvo Trucks’ vision for the future, the CV, designed post careful planning, has its brain in the front. An outcome of the various challenges that were
successfully tackled, the Vera, according to Lars Stenqvist, Chief Technology Officer, Volvo, provides an opportunity to evaluate the possibility of successfully operating driverless CVs in confined areas. Capable of turning heads where ever it goes, the Vera does away with the driver’s cab. It deploys graphics on the outside that not only make the vehicle stand out and highlight the electrification and autonomous technology that lies inside, the cabless looks simply come across as highly unusual. They are indeed, in comparison to the current-day trucks that are often called to perform the role that the Vera is set to perform. The interesting
International The distinctive Volvo headlights with its V-shape gives a decisive yet pleasant light.
part about the Vera’s graphics is, that they trace the backbone of the CV on the top. It runs along on the top of the vehicle as well. Incorporated with LED lights and over 30 different sensors, the Vera, done in contrasting colours such that the dark portions strengthen the technical aspects, and the lighter parts highlight its ability to be human in approach, is engineered to complement today’s transport solutions. It rides on tyres that look aesthetic with orange colour in the middle. The pattern on the rim is distinctive. The distinctive V-shaped headlights, red tail lights and long straight illuminated white line from Volvo logo symbolises the battery and wireless connections. The black section that run straight over Vera connects together the automation technology with the turntable ‘fifth wheel’. Had in a simple silver body, the CV looks quite futuristic. Powered by the same drivetrain and battery packs present in Volvo’s electric trucks, the Vera can be latched onto standard load carriers and trailers with ease. Comprising of an electric motor, mated to a two-speed gearbox, the autonomous vehicle draws power from a 100-300 kWh lithium-ion battery. Said to deliver
a driving range of 300 km, the Vera, according to Volvo, can charge its batteries in just two hours with a 150 kW fast charger. With a standard charger, it can do so in 10 hours. Known to have an ability of pulling a load of up to 32-tonnes, the Vera is about realising the need for more efficient, more cost-effective and more sustainable solutions for the transport industry. In conceptualising and building the Vera, the Volvo team explored the possibility of a new transport solution for the future. Operating with significantly less exhaust emissions and low noise levels, the Vera is all set to form a part of the connected system where it will be monitored from a control tower. Aimed at establishing a seamless flow of goods responsive to demands for greater efficiency and flexibility, the Vera is said to have a great potential to make transportation safer, cleaner and more efficient. Set to operate on predefined public roads in an industrial area in the form of an autonomous transport solution, which could be further developed in terms of technology, operations management and infrastructure adaptations, before it is fully operational. Volvo Trucks is well-aware of the societal requirements the Vera would be expected to fulfill. Capable of complementing today’s transport solutions, and destined to address the chronic driver shortage in an environmentally friendly manner in future, the Vera will be subjected to further development, by Volvo Trucks in collaborative with selected customers in prioritised applications.
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international
Self driving tech by Plus.ai To enable large-scale commercial transport, Plus.ai has developed self-driving trucks.
Deepti Thore
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Commercial Vehicle May 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in
International Mikael Karlsson, Vice President, Autonomous Solutions, Volvo Trucks.
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ith no legacy as such in the area of commercial vehicle manufacture, USbased Plus.ai has developed self-driving trucks to enable large-scale movement of cargo. Leveraging its experience in the field of full-stack selfdriving technology, the company, founded in 2016 by a group of serial entrepreneurs
and industry veterans with over 20 years of experience in high tech and artificial intelligence, is turning largescale commercialisation of autonomous transport into reality. Claiming to lead in the space of self-driving truck technology with the likes of Daimler and Tesla in the fray, the company, with its headquarters in the Silicon Valley of California, is
stressing much on the use of latest automation technology. A brainchild of Stanford University graduates David Liu and Hao Zheng, Plus.ai is thus providing much impetus to research in the direction of combining the latest in automation with the best of truck tech. Having its R&D department in China, the company is said to be gaining good traction with
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international
leading truck manufacturers, large shippers and fleet operators on the basis of its semi-truck proto successfully hauling a refrigerator trailer full of butter across the country amounting to a trip of 2,800 miles in less than three days. Claiming to differentiate itself by working with CV makers and fleet operators rather than forward the idea of launching its own trucks like Tesla, Plus.ai has been running pilot freights in an effort to offer best-inclass level four autonomous driving systems with a safetyfirst approach. Working with CV makers in the US as well as China, the company is striving to get California’s Autonomous Testing License. It is shaping the future of trucking with the use of highly advanced autonomous technology in the
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interest of safety and superior fuel efficiency. Confident that businesses will turn to autonomous trucks in a big way in the future for the advantages they will offer, Plus.ai is aiming at a reduction in fuel costs by as much as 25 per cent. Demonstrating the ability of an autonomous truck to safely navigate the Great Plains, winding roads in the Rockies, road construction, long tunnels, over 11000 feet elevation and wet and snowy roads with the 2,800 miles cross-country trip, and irrespective of whether it is day or night, Plus.ai is also highlighting the reliability of the technology that it has developed. Mentioned an plus.ai source, that their autonomous truck carried almost 40,000 pounds of Land O’Lakes butter from California to Pennsylvania,
completing one of the first coast-coast autonomous truck deliveries during Christmas last year. He said that the truck not only proved that it was reliable, it also put the spotlight on efficiency gains. Carrying onboard a driver and one operation specialist systems engineer to meet the legal requirements relating to the operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, the truck provided Plus.ai with realtime data and added much to the knowledge of further finetuning the technology. The truck driver took to the wheel only while getting off the highway for rest stops and breaks, claimed the source. He informed that the truck was equipped with the company’s advanced autonomous driving system, which utilises multi-
International
modal sensor fusion, visual algorithms, and simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) technologies. With shortage of drivers projected as the key reason behind the development of autonomous driving technologies, Plus.ai is also looking at how such a technology could benefit in terms of road safety, efficiency and emissions. Of the opinion that autonomous technology will first find its way into the trucking space as far as its commercialisation is concerned, the source explained that there are yet many challenges to be tackled until such a scenario becomes a reality. Stating that the company will
test self-driving trucks in all permissible continental states in the US until the end of 2020, the source revealed that they are in discussion with Paccar, Navistar’s International truck division and FAW to name a few. He informed that his company has also introduced a ‘Safety Testing Program’ to help companies to prepare their self-driving trucks to navigate in all terrains and weather conditions. Developing new metrics that can measure the readiness of its autonomous driving system for commercial deployment, Plus.ai is looking at launching its first commercial product by 2023.
Cutting edge tech Developing advanced autonomous driving systems to power hub-to-hub autonomous ‘Class eight’ vehicles that are typically a part of the large fleets, Plus.ai made much use of sensors positioned at the right places. The company took into consideration the height of the heavy trucks in doing so. This enabled it to arrive at systems that would see vehicles running at a distance. Employing cameras, radar and lidar (light detection and ranging) technology, Plus.ai carried out much research in the area of computer vision software. It helped to underpin artificial intelligence. This in-turn helped
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to get the truck to have a 360 degree vision. The result of this was superior operational safety, efficiency and maturity. Capable of tracking vehicles at a distance of one mile (or 1600 m) with the help of its fusion-based perception system, the autonomous truck tech of Plus.ai includes localisation and mapping algorithms. This ensures accurate tracking and identification of the vehicle location. The map update in-turn is extremely accurate therefore. Since this is possible, it is also possible to map the truck against its surroundings rather accurately. Such technological properties could also help explain how the proto truck that ferried butter across 2,800 miles performed complex tasks like detection and analysis
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of ground objects and road structures extremely accurately. The tech also led to highly successful behaviour prediction of the proto truck as well as the surrounding vehicles. Deploying a number of deep learning models and offering multiple levels of redundancy through its safetyfirst approach, Plus.ai has been successful in reducing the impact of sensor failures. Sensors are a part, but not the only ones. They are a part of the scheme to correct localised environmental noise among other components, a procedure that significantly boosts detection and analysis precision as far as the truck and its surroundings are concerned. Offering software redundancy through its complementary models and
mechanisms such as odometry, VisualSLAM and PointCloudbased localisation, Plus.ai has streamlined its functions and ensured smooth transitions between different operating modes by using statistical models. By collaborating with the OEMs, the company is looking for deep integration of software systems with vehicle redundant electrical and mechanical systems. Plus. ai, in fact, carried out actuation redundancy. It successfully performed compute redundancy by completing level four autonomous system and the minimum safe landing system. This boosted the safety performance against the likelihood of a software, sensor or hardware failure.
flashback
Special Report
Aboard the Neoplan Jetliner
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gainst the beautiful locale of Lausanne, Switzerland, a 1985 make Neoplan N216 H Jetliner has made an appearance in the Hindi movie, ‘Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge’, starring Salman Khan and Karisma Kapoor. The 12 m long two-axle, two-door tourist coach is a part and parcel of the plot that has Karisma Kapoor playing a lead role against Khan, and is brought up by her three eccentric uncles (played by Om Puri, Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher), almost. If its first appearance in down town Lausanne is with Kapoor and Khan alighting it as part of a group of Indian tourists out on a vacation, having accidentally met only recently in the town, the vehicle makes a strong appearance later as the group heads for another sightseeing trip. Accidently meeting each other on the trip (and in the hotel), the plot involves Kapoor’s flight from her home as her uncles pressurise her to marry a boy of their choice. The idea of escape has been given to her by her nanny who is fired by her uncles and goes to work with the Khan’s family (a development that can be found fit only in a Hindi movie perhaps!). As the tourist group alights from the Jetliner in Lausanne, Khan begins wooing Kapoor in much earnest. Others in the group support, including the tour guide played by Johny Lever. The other and longer appearance the Jetliner N216 H makes in the movie is when the group heads on yet another sightseeing tour. While Khan’s efforts to woo her seem to only create hurdle for Kapoor, she is separated from the group and the bus as she heads for a snack joint. Khan follows her. He rescues her when she makes contact with some bad people. The
two fall in love and manage to unite with their group once again. It is at this juncture that the Jetliner makes an appearance once again. Before the two can marry, the duo should win over Kapoor’s three eccentric uncles. They are successful and live happily ever after. Though the Hindi movie was released in 2000, the Jetliner bus featured in it was launched in 1981. It was introduced as a mid-range modular design that would draw from the Cityliner. Replacing the highly successful Typ Hamburg, the vehicle made greater use of plastic materials reinforced with fiberglass. Offered in ‘tourist’ and ‘superline’ guise, it provided high level of comfort with the help of a brand new air suspension with an independent wheel front axle. Flaunting a large vertical windscreen over the two piece windscreen of the Cityliner, the Jetliner’s self-supporting lattice structure accommodated different makes of engines in different markets. These included Mercedes-Benz (Mercedes-Benz OM 366 LA and Mercedes-Benz OM 352 A) and MAN (MAN D0826 LOH 02) for Europe, and Detroit Diesel for the USA. Placed at the rear, the engines produced between 192 hp and 280 hp. They were mated to a six-speed manual transmission and retarder/ intarder combination. Built at Neoplan’s Pilsting plant, Germany, the vehicles had one front row for driver and hostess, and 14 rows of tandem seats (2x2) aft of it. Equipped with ABS and measuring 2.5 m in width, the coach had an ‘auto’ air-conditioner. As per the customisation level, the bus had a GVW of either 12or 16-tonnes.
Commercial Vehicle january www.commercialvehicle.in 2020 // www.commercialvehicle.in // May 2020
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