Motor Transport 5th March 2018

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

5.3.18

Operators count cost of blast from Siberia and Storm Emma

Snow go misery

By Chris Druce and Hayley Pink

Record-breakers

Figures reveal increase in home delivery pallets p3

Pointing fingers

RHA and FTA accuse TfL of flouting competition law p4

What’s in a name?

Eddie Stobart name could disappear from the road p10

OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE AD Boyes Haulage Logistics �������������������p4 Bedworth Haulage ���������������������������������p4 Callerton Haulage ���������������������������������p4 Camino Transport ����������������������������������p8 Dachser ������������������������������������������������p8 Eddie Stobart ��������������������������������������p10 Edeka ���������������������������������������������������p8 Hermes �������������������������������������������������p8 Kraftverkehr Nagel ��������������������������������p8 Ludwig Meyer ���������������������������������������p8 Wincanton ������������������������������������������p10

the business was forced to close on Thursday (1 March).

“Transport is hard enough, without this,” he said. Allen said the firm, a Fortec member, was undertaking some pick and pack at its warehouse but had not been able to get any vehicles out, despite freight continuing to arrive from England.

“There’s a cost as we aren’t generating any sales or revenue,” he said, describing how an hour’s journey to Belfast port had taken one of his drivers more than four hours. “It’s frustrating but the customers at least understand.”

Paul Ince, joint MD of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire pallet firm The Pink Link said the company parked up vehicles last Thursday for the health and safety of its drivers and the public: “When we were looking to send people out we thought it was treacherous.

Thankfully our customers are all very understanding as they are local to us. It will cost us money, but hopefully won’t cost us reputation.”

He added that the multidrop nature of the firm’s deliv-

Image: PA

NEWS INSIDE

The road transport industry battled on against the ‘beast from the east’ and Storm Emma last week, but many operators have been left counting the cost.

In Scotland, Glasgow-based Bullet Express had to close after rural and access roads became unnavigable. MD David McCutcheon said while his business would survive, some would be finished off.

“This is going to be expensive for a lot of people. We’d just had a really good month in one of our departments and this situation will wipe that out and put us back to square one,” he said, adding the firm was expecting to work [last] weekend to catch up.

McCutcheon criticised First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who attacked HGVs for ignoring Scotland’s red weather warning, after trucks and cars were stuck on the M80 (pictured).

“Many of those trucks were delivering essential goods, such as medical supplies,” he said. “If she’d done her homework she would have realised many would have left before the snow.”

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “In many cases – particularly in isolated areas – an HGV will be the only vehicle with the capability of getting through. The drivers of these vehicles should be applauded, not pilloried.”

James Allen, MD of Allen Logistics NI based in Moria, Craigavon in Co Armagh spoke of his frustration after

eries meant customers were often based off the main road network, with access very difficult in heavy snow and ice.

The knock-on effect of halting deliveries for a day will mean a high volume of inbound deliveries to be collected by The Pink Link from its Palletways UK hub.

“Losing a day means it puts us under a fair amount of pressure because obviously customers want their products, and as a customer-focused business we’ll do what we can to get them there,” said Ince.

Malcolm Bingham, head of policy for the North of England at the FTA, said the catch-up following bad weather downtime for operators would be just as challenging as the lost revenue.

He believes firms may press the DfT to relax drivers’ hours rules to address any backlog – there have been exemptions already for animal feed and heating fuel – but the government will be cautious.

“This is very much for the industry to call and we will echo this call,” Bingham added.

CAZs ‘could be end of SMEs’ Seven trade associations, including the FTA and BVRLA, have written a joint letter to the government warning of the financial effect clean air zones (CAZs) could have on HGV operators and local businesses.

They warn that blanket charging zones, if applied without careful consideration, would add to the cost of delivering goods in urban areas, with HGVs often entering multiple cities each day.

The knock-on effect could close some smaller companies.

The FTA confirmed it had signed the letter, which was also co-signed by the Builders Merchants Federation, BVRLA, British International Freight Association, UK Warehousing Association, National Federation of Builders and British Allied Trades Federation.

Last month the High Court ruled that the government needed to do more to boost air quality in 33 local authorities.

■ For more on CAZs see news extra on page 6.

News Extra p6 Focus: Freight in the City p16 Regulation p20 Safety p24 Interview: Richard Simpson p28 Careers Hub p37

MTR_050318_001.indd 1

01/03/2018 17:03:22

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28/02/2018 11:45:48

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The UK pallet networks shifted 25 million-plus pallets last year, with 3.1 million pallets delivered to homes

B2C pallet growth surges

By Carol Millett

Home deliveries by pallet networks continued to grow strongly in what was a record breaking 2017, according to the Association of Pallet Networks (APN).

The latest APN figures reveal that home delivery volumes leapt by 6.9% last year as part of the sector’s continued growth, and they are 24% higher than when APN started to look at the measure in 2014.

The UK’s eight pallet networks shifted a record 25 million-plus pallets last year, with 12.5% of this – some 3.1 million pallets – delivered to homes.

Paul Sanders, APN chairman, said: “The significant investment our members have made in technology and more efficient urban vehicles gives them a substantial competitive advantage in this home delivery market, and service levels remain high – consistently in excess of 95.5% even during peak operation.”

Sanders added: “The growth of more than 6.7% on the previous year [to more than 25 million pallets moved in total] reflects the phenomenal service our members offer customers across a wide and growing range of industries.

“The final quarter of 2017

saw volumes rise by almost 8% from the same period in 2016. Pallet networks are benefiting from the seasonal fluctuations in the logistics sector and their ability to provide operators with a variable cost base from which to respond to their customers’ demands,” he added.

However Sanders called for “clear direction” on pallet weights, in the light of the continuing increase in tail-lift deliveries of pallets to residential addresses.

Pointing to the HSE’s review of tail-lift pallet weights (MT 19 February), which recommends no limit on pallet

weights and a requirement that drivers make a risk assessment for each tail-lift delivery at point of delivery, he said: “It is important we agree clear direction on this to ensure the safety of our drivers.”

Sanders added: “While some operators are investing in power-assisted trucks and larger platform tail-lifts, the industry needs clear direction on pallet weights and driver risk assessments at delivery points. The consignors must also have a responsibility when accepting orders from their customers and ordering delivery services from our members.”

Inquest into HGV driver death The inquest into the death of HGV driver Petru Pop will be heard by a jury on 5 November at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court.

Pop was crushed to death beneath a 1.1-tonne pallet of tiles, in November 2016 while making a tail-lift delivery to a High Wycombe residential address.

NATURAL GAS: Preston-based H Parkinson Haulage has taken delivery of seven compressed biomethane-powered Stralis NP 4x2 tractor units with Hi-Way cabs – its first natural gas-powered vehicles. The four ex-demonstrators and three brand new factory orders, supplied by Preston-based dealer Walton Summit Truck Centre, are also the first Ivecos to join the haulier’s 95-strong fleet. They are each expected to cover more than 350,000km per year doing intensive multi-shift work, and H Parkinson Haulage plans to run them until the end of their working lives. H Parkinson Haulage trialled demonstrators from two manufacturers of natural gas-powered tractor units before selecting Iveco. Its customer’s closeness to CNG Fuel’s compressed biomethane filling station in Leyland was an important factor in the decision. Steve Sugden, general manager of H Parkinson Haulage, said: “Coupled with our longer semi-trailers (LSTs), we’ve worked out we can reduce our CO2 emissions by a massive 1,750 tonnes every year.”

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News

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RHA to pursue legal action if TfL does not concede FORS is operating as a monopoly

RHA and FTA hit out at FORS ‘monopoly’

By Emma Shone

The RHA and FTA have accused TfL of flouting competition law, with the RHA threatening legal action against it for abusing its monopoly for the supply of FORS accreditation power.

They have suggested that TfL’s contracting out of FORS to Aecom, which led to the introduction of membership fees, prevents it from backing other schemes because it damages its own commercial interest.

The associations believe FORS’ emergence as the only widely recognised scheme within construction and other business sectors has resulted in it monopolising the safety accreditation space.

Aecom denied FORS was operating a monopoly, saying other accreditation schemes were available to operators.

However, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said without backing from TfL, other schemes are worthless. “TfL has created a dominant position in the market for the supply of FORS equivalence,” he said. “Unless TfL gets behind something and promotes it then you won’t get construction companies recognising it if you turn up with the sticker on your truck.”

The RHA has spent almost two years in talks with FORS operator Aecom trying to develop a framework for its members to have access to scheme membership without the fees – just the price of an audit. It planned to launch the service at the CV Show last April, but said that Aecom pulled out of the deal at the eleventh hour over fears it would lose too many members to the RHA.

The RHA and Aecom did reconvene at the end of 2017 but Burnett said the offer the other party put on the table was insulting.

Burnett wrote to TfL commissioner Mike Brown last month outlining that if TfL did not admit that FORS is operating as a monopoly and commit to changing this, the RHA would pursue legal action.

TfL director of city planning Alex Williams told Burnett in a letter: “Our practices are not anti-competitive. We are clear in our contracts that we will consider reasonable alternatives to FORS and welcome other participants as providers of fleet operator compliance audits.”

The FTA’s Truck and Van Excellence schemes were recognised as an equivalent to FORS bronze from July to

November 2016, after which FORS changed its standard and TfL took away FTA’s equivalence.

FTA policy director Christopher Snelling said although the FTA tried several more times to have its equivalence reinstated, whenever it got close, FORS moved the goalposts.

“There’s no option for anyone to use anything other than FORS. It is an effective monopoly,” Snelling said.

A spokesman for FORS said the scheme is “open to further collaboration which must be beneficial to all parties and the industry. It is not for FORS to set up or develop other equivalent schemes”.

He added: “The operating community and service buyers are free to decide which accreditation scheme they choose to recognise and uphold.”

Geely acquires nearly 10% of Daimler shares Chinese automotive group Zhejiang Geely Holding has purchased almost 10% of Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler, just weeks after becoming the largest shareholder in truck manufacturer AB Volvo.

This latest move is part of the Chinese firm’s strategy to compete with technology companies such as Tesla, Google and Uber in the development of electric vehicles.

Announcing the deal, Li Shufu, Geely’s founder, said: “To succeed and seize the technology highland, one has to have friends, partners and alliances, and adapt a new way of thinking in terms of sharing and united strength.”

The purchase follows Geely’s £2.9bn acquisition of an 8.3% stake in AB Volvo in December last year. AB Volvo owns 45% of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, one of China’s largest truckmakers.

Rumours of Bedworth Haulage’s problems were rife Creditors of Bedworth Haulage said they picked up on rumours of trouble at the company in the weeks before it entered administration.

The Warwickshire temperature-controlled haulier failed in January due to historic debt and unprofitable contracts.

Adrian Boyes, MD at AD Boyes Haulage Logistics in Peterborough, said he was given “the nod” that things weren’t right at the company and he was able to claw back most of the £4,000 he was owed before the administration.

“I stopped doing work for them,” he said. “We did mainly fridge work – bananas back up from Portsmouth.”

Boyes criticised the pre-pack deal that allowed the business to continue after the assets were sold to C4-Safety (MT 19 February).

4 MotorTransport MTR_050318_004.indd 4

“How can people in this industry go bust and start up in the next couple of days?

“For someone like us, an honest, hardworking family

business, we struggle to make ends meet and it gets harder when diesel goes up and people don’t want to pay for the increase.

“This industry is a nightmare!”

A spokeswoman for Callerton Haulage in County Durham said it “heard on the

grapevine” that Bedworth was struggling before it received confirmation from the administrators.

“I totally understand why businesses are going up and down,” she added. “Fuel prices are going up; our fuel bill is £50,000 a month and that’s before wages and all the other overheads.”

The spokeswoman added that the company that bought Bedworth’s business for less than £17,000 had not yet approached Callerton Haulage to undertake any work.

Robbie Thacker, who was director of the insolvent company, has been employed at C4-Safety, according to the administrator Quantuma’s report.

He did not respond to a request for comment as MT went to press.

5.3.18 01/03/2018 13:39:21

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28/02/2018 11:48:14

News extra

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High Court ruling means government must act to the increase number of local authorities tackling pollution

Ordered to clear the air

By Hayley Pink

Last month’s third High Court defeat by environmental law firm ClientEarth has really put the government under pressure to tackle air pollution.

As well as the five cities already mandated to implement clean air zones (CAZs) by the end of 2019 – Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton – a further 33 local authorities must now act to address illegal levels of pollution.

ClientEarth lawyer Anna Heslop said: “The judge ruled that the government’s plans were seriously lacking and has ordered urgent and additional measures.”

What will these “urgent and additional” measures look like for affected local councils? Will charging CAZs become the de facto answer and how will the road transport industry cope with an expected wave of emissions restrictions and controls?

In its response to two consultations that closed last week for a new CAZ in Leeds and a geographic expansion of Euro-6 requirements in London (see box, right), the RHA warned it has serious concerns over air quality proposals brought forward by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for UK cities.

“As currently configured,

GETTING TOUGHER: London’s LEZ, introduced in February 2008, is to be increased to Euro-6

the proposals will lead to business closure and disruption to road haulage and other businesses,” its response stated.

“In simple terms – the mix of the timeline, the standards applied, the simultaneous application of CAZs in many cities, the charging levels and the possibility of haulage operators being charged in more than one city each day will be catastrophic– especially for smaller businesses.”

Duncan Buchanan, RHA policy director, said one of the challenges facing operators is the inability to redeploy older fleet vehicles to different locations as CAZ plans become more widespread.

The RHA modelling has shown the negative effect CAZs are having on the resid-

ual values of Euro-5 trucks, while pushing up second-hand prices of Euro-6 vehicles in urban areas, he told MT. “We did some data analysis late last year that showed this sort of effect. This year, it has got worse. The ability to redeploy has been taken away from the industry and it is causing huge financial problems,” said Buchanan.

The second problem is the lack of a retrofit option for HGVs, which leaves those unable to buy new trucks with no option other than to pay the daily fine.

If charging CAZs are to be imposed in cities, then the RHA is calling for Intelligent Phasing to be considered and has sent a proposal to Defra.

This would see older, more

THE 33 LOCAL AUTHORITIES REQUIRED TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION ■ Portsmouth City Council ■ Wakefield Metropolitan District Council ■ Bournemouth Borough Council ■ Bradford City Council ■ Plymouth City Council ■ Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council ■ Wolverhampton City Council ■ Bolsover District Council ■ Leicester City Council ■ Liverpool City Council ■ Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough

Council

■ Blaby District Council ■ Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

■ Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council ■ Sandwell Metropolitan Borough

■ Cheltenham Borough Council ■ Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council ■ Kirklees Metropolitan Council ■ South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough

■ Stoke-on-Trent City Council ■ Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council ■ Sunderland City Council ■ Poole Borough Council

■ Southend Borough Council ■ Ashfield District Council ■ Broxbourne Borough Council ■ Oxford City Council

Council Council

Images: PA

■ Burnley Borough Council ■ Peterborough Council ■ Reading Borough Council ■ Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council ■ South Gloucestershire District Council ■ Basingstoke and Deane Borough

6 MotorTransport MTR_050318_006new.indd 6

Council

polluting vehicles charged higher rates, with a much lower cost applied to Euro-5 lorries, for example £10 a day in 2020, rising incrementally to the full amount in 2024.

By then, the RHA estimates 75% of the UK truck parc would be Euro-6. The interim period would enable operators time to naturally upgrade their fleets and not prematurely take their Euro-5 vehicles out of action.

“We’ve put some papers together about intelligent phasing,” said Buchanan. “We’re not saying no to CAZs and no to doing anything – this isn’t an option.

“What we’re saying is we need to do the right thing that tackles air quality, but that does not destroy the road haulage sector for small enterprises in particular.”

The RHA wants more done to tackle congestion, better use made of the road network through out-of-hours deliveries, and for the emissions focus to look at cars as well rather than “demonising” HGVs. Speaking to MT following a recent round table event in Leeds about the council’s pending CAZ plans, BVRLA director of communications and external affairs Toby Poston said consistency was essential for all cities planning charging schemes.

“While there has been some national framework details published for CAZs, there is a real fear that there may be inconsistencies between different cities,” he said. “It could be differences in pricing, in signage, the way penalty notices are dealt with, even the language used to communicate it. For example in London it is called a ULEZ. This could cause confusion.

“We need to make sure that everyone is aware of what is happening, how it affects them and how they can mitigate it.

They are the three challenges, and if you can’t do the first one because of inconsistent information, then you’ve got no chance of achieving the other two.”

Measures already being considered LONDON An ULEZ takes effect from 8 April 2019, requiring all HGVs and vans to be Euro-6 or equivalent or pay a £100 (HGVs) or £12.50 (vans) daily fine.

■ A consultation closed on 28 February for proposals that would see the existing Londonwide LEZ strengthened to Euro-6 standard for HGVs from 26 October 2020. Charges of £100 a day would apply to Euro-4 and Euro-5 trucks and £300 a day for Euro-3 and older, in place of the ULEZ charge from April 2019.

■ A consultation also closed on 28 February to extend the ULEZ to the North and South Circulars for all vehicles, including vans, from 2021.

LEEDS ■ A consultation closed on 2 March into draft proposals to introduce a charging CAZ by the end of 2019. The pricing regime is based on London’s, with HGVs facing a £100 fine to enter the zone if they do not meet Euro-6 requirements. Vans are not included.

OXFORD ■ Oxford City Council is proposing the world’s first zero-emission zone in the city centre. Diesel and petrol vehicles would be banned from the city centre in phases, starting in 2020 with some vehicle types and a small number of streets. As vehicle technology develops it would cover all vehicle types across the whole city centre in 2035.

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28/02/2018 11:49:32

News extra

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Mercedes’ heavyweight environmental champion

eActros set for two-year trial

By Will Shiers

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that it will not be sending its new eActros zero-emission truck to Mars in a rocket for a publicity stunt! It will however embark on two years of serious customer trials with the electric truck, with a view to putting it into series production in 2021.

In total, 10 trucks, a mix of 18- and 25-tonners, will spend the next 24 months with a selection of handpicked German and Swiss customers, where they will be closely monitored

by Mercedes’ engineers.

Although it uses the Actros name, in actual fact the eActros is fitted with an Antos day cab. It features a standard

Other electric vehicles

Daimler is embracing zeroemission technology, and within a few years will be offering a range of electric commercial vehicles.

The 7.5-tonne eCanter is already on trial in numerous European cities, and next month will see 10 UK customers take delivery of test vehicles. The eVito is on sale in Germany, and later this year it is expected to be joined by the eSprinter.

rigid truck chassis, stripped of its engine, gearbox, prop-shaft, drive-axle, exhaust, AdBlue after-treatment system and cooling system. In their place come a host of electric truck-specific components, such as an AC compressor, cooler, high-voltage brake resistors and air compressor, junction boxes, a pair of electric motors (each generating 125kW and 485Nm), and a new rear ZF axle, adapted from Mercedes’ hybrid and fuel cell buses.

The rest of the chassis space is filled with 11 lithium-ion battery packs, held in protective crash-resistant cases, and weighing in at 2.2 tonnes. With an output of 240kWh, they don’t only supply power to the driveline, but also to the steering pump, air conditioning and even the body’s refrigeration unit (where fitted). An additional low-voltage network, consisting of a pair of 12V batteries, ensures lights, indicators, brakes, air-suspension and other systems remain operational if the main batteries are flat or the high-voltage network fails.

The truck has a quoted range of 200km, but this is likely to vary wildly depending on external factors. The batteries will have a life span of between four and eight years.

The eActros uses a Combined Charging System, with a full charge taking between three and 11 hours.

Although the initial 10 vehicles will

How the trial will work Over the coming months, 10 German and Swiss operators, including Hermes, Dachser, Edeka, Kraftverkehr Nagel, Ludwig Meyer and Camino Transport, will take delivery of their 18- and 25-tonne eActros test trucks.

Fitted with a variety of Schmitz Cargobull box, tarpaulin and refrigerated swap bodies, these fully homologated vehicles will operate on a daily basis alongside regular diesel trucks for 12 months, delivering groceries, building supplies, raw materials and parcels.

After that they will be rotated, and operated by 10 new customers.

Buchner told us they were inundated by operators wanting to get involved in the trial, with 150 different companies approaching Mercedes-Benz after the 2016 IAA Show in Hanover. In addition to revising their schedules to accommodate the zero-emission trucks, the chosen few have all agreed to share data with Mercedes engineers, giving a valuable insight into their real-world operation.

One area that Mercedes is keen to learn about is how the truck’s battery range will vary according to external factors, such as terrain, traffic conditions, external temperature and driving style. “All of the findings and customer feedback will be reported back into product development, and help to revise the finished product,” a spokesman said.

8 MotorTransport MTR_050318_008.indd 8

use mobile chargers (20kW to 80kW), at a later date two-hour charging will be possible with a 150kW stationary charger. The charging connector is located on the right-hand side, behind the cab.

Although eActros is 1.5 tonnes heavier than an equivalent dieselpowered truck, the German authorities give a 1-tonne payload dispensation, turning the 25-tonner into a 26-tonner.

Stefan Buchner, head of MercedesBenz trucks, is confident the 24-month trials will be a success, and believes eActros will match diesel trucks for reliability and quality. However, at the launch in Germany last week he acknowledged that they would likely never be able to compete on purchase price with diesels. He warned that electric trucks would only be widely adopted if hauliers were able to pass additional costs on to their customers.

With this in mind, neither he nor Daimler Trucks CEO Martin Daum were prepared to make accurate sales forecasts. “In 10 years electric trucks will account for somewhere between 0% and 100% of truck sales,” he said.

“That’s as accurate as I can be.”

ON THE ROAD

Not only does the truck look like a bogstandard diesel-powered Antos from the outside, but it’s a similar story inside too. Anyone wanting a central seating position and futuristic dials and switchgear will be sorely disappointed. The only notable change we discovered was that the rev-counter had been replaced by a battery charge indicator.

The unladen 26-tonner we rode in was incredibly quick off the mark.

Unlike Tesla, Mercedes won’t be publishing 0-60 times, but from this brief driving experience it’s clear that any light load will need to be strapped

down well to prevent it from flying out of the back doors! Fully laden it supposedly has similar driving characteristics, in terms of torque and acceleration, as a 335hp diesel-powered truck.

Our only other observation was how silent it was at low speeds, allowing us to hear the creak of the seats, steering and suspension components.

The Tesla Semi Not only did Mercedes avoid any Tesla-type publicity stunts at the truck’s launch, but senior management clearly pride themselves on the fact that the eActros doesn’t look space age like the recently launched Semi concept.

“Ours doesn’t look futuristic, and that’s intentional,” said Stefan Buchner, head of Mercedes-Benz trucks. “It looks just like a regular Mercedes truck, and that’s because it will do the same job as a regular Mercedes truck.”

Daimler Trucks CEO Martin Daum added: “People push prototype electric trucks into the limelight, but we are first with a real electric truck on the road.”

He admitted to being “thrilled and full of suspense” to find out what is going on with the Tesla Semi. He said: “If they come to market with the electric truck then we will buy two of them – one to drive and one to take apart to discover how they have done it, because it will mean that we have clearly missed a trick! The laws of physics are the same here as they are in Arizona.”

5.3.18 01/03/2018 14:11:43

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01/03/2018 09:54:27

News

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Brand-use agreement with former parent Stobart Group due for renewal in 2020

Stobart name could go

By Carol Millett

Eddie Stobart Logistics CEO Alex Laffey is mulling a rebrand of the firm’s 2,500 strong fleet, which could see the iconic name disappear from Britain’s roads.

The review has been triggered by Eddie Stobart’s need to renew its brand-use agreement with former parent Stobart Group, which retains a 12.5% interest in the listed company, as well as the brand rights under an agreement that ends in 2020.

Eddie Stobart can still use the brand at a cost of £3m a year after this; buy the name for use in the UK for perpetuity for £15m; or acquire exclusive usage for £50m.

Laffey told The Times newspaper: “I am passionate about the brand.

“But . . . my shareholders expect me to do the right thing.

We replace the fleet over a three-year cycle so the fleet could have another name on it in three years at no additional cost.”

According to The Times, Warwick Brady, chief executive of Stobart Group, said of the brand: “The name is ingrained

in popular culture. It’s the backbone of the British economy.”

He added: “There is a real attachment to it. It is a household name and has more intangible valuable than you might think.”

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Stobart told MT: “Our brand is extremely important to us and we are very proud of our heritage.

“We have several options open to us when it comes to the brand name over the next few years. However, no matter what approach we take, we will continue to build a successful brand – through acquisitions and organic growth – and will continue to be a name that customers and the public recognise and admire.”

Eddie Stobart Logistics, which trades as Eddie Stobart, made a successful return to the stock market last year.

However, it was the divestment of the haulage business from Stobart Group in 2014 that saw its former parent company retain the intellectual rights to the famous name and the transport business enter into a licensing deal.

Wincanton loses Cemex contract Eddie Stobart has wrestled a £15m Cemex contract from Wincanton after promising to deliver it using fewer sub-contractors.

Stobart will pick up the work, which Wincanton has held since 2013, from this month. It will deliver packed cement from Cemex production sites to UK customers.

Cemex told MT it had changed service provider because Eddie Stobart was able to move a much higher proportion of goods with its own fleet rather than via sub-contracted vehicles.

It added that Stobart’s digital offering and safety set-up tied in with Cemex Go – a new digital end-to-end process that will be introduced in April.

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01/03/2018 09:53:13

News

motortransport.co.uk

Highways England reveals plans to step up its programme

Smart motorways set to accelerate

By Jack Semple

Highways England plans to step up its smart motorway programme, the agency’s strategy and planning director Elliott Shaw said last week.

There will be a modularised approach so they can be rolled out across the network. This will be a more cost-effective and consistent approach, he said.

Shaw was speaking at a conference in London on the DfT’s evolving road investment strategy (RIS2), held by the Westminster Energy Environment and Transport Forum.

Institute of Highway Engineers chief executive Richard Hayes noted that there has been a 50% reduction in accidents on the smart motor-

way section of the M1 in Derbyshire.

However, Hayes told MT after the conference that he has been cautious about safety aspects of all-lane running (ALR) and will continue to assess the evidence as more becomes available.

Smart motorways are a technology-driven approach to increasing capacity and

relieving congestion while maintaining safety, Highways England has claimed.

However, the Transport Committee has questioned the safety of the schemes, most recently after an AA survey of approximately 22,000 drivers last month revealed that more than a fifth (22%) of drivers surveyed rate ALR motorways as dangerous (MT 5 February).

Keep up with the latest low-emission technology Operators of all sizes need to stay ahead of the curve on lowemission freight technology or risk being left behind.

T his is the message Innovate UK will share with delegates at the Microlise Transport Conference in May, where its ultra low emission vehicle lead Venn Chesterton will encourage them to take part in getting the industry’s future up to scratch, and not just watch from the sidelines.

Chesterton is part of Innovate UK’s Low Emission Freight Trial (LEFT), which part-funds projects that are trialling low-emission technology in everyday operations.

“If you look at all the different types of truck there are, each has got a low-emission variant or a number of variants that could replace it.

“I’m going to encourage people to have a look through their fleets. Look at the differ-

ent types of vehicles they have and then have a look at LEFT, or other trials and vehicles that aren’t part of LEFT that are perfectly plausible, and next time they’re procuring new vehicles or getting hire vehicles, there probably are a couple of vehicles in their fleet that could be low emission rather than bog-standard diesel.”

Even smaller operators face being left behind, Chesterton suggested, and added that their bottom lines could be affected in as little as five years if they don’t try to keep up with evolving vehicle technology.

■ For more information about the Low Emission Freight Trial and Innovate UK, don’t miss Venn Chesterton at the M i c r o l i s e Tr a n s p o r t Conference on 16 May. To book your free tickets, visit microliseconference.com.

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28/02/2018 11:57:31

News

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FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham considers the effect of Brexit on the freight and logistics sectors

Keep ahead of the EU rules There are now fewer than 300 working days left until the UK leaves the EU, and we are no clearer on the trading conditions and economic environment we will be operating in.

Whether businesses operate on an international or a domestic basis, it is clear that we will all be affected.

The freight and logistics sector is a robust and resilient one, and will do everything to ensure that goods and services continue to move both domestically and internationally with minimal disruption.

Transitional period

As discussed in the recent Brexit webinar in association with MT, there is likely to be a transitional period to provide UK businesses with time to adapt to new trading rules.

However long the transitional

period ends up being, or indeed if one is agreed at all, it is crucial that British businesses use the time to learn as much as they can about new legislation affecting trade.

As it stands, the FTA is advising members to prepare for a “no deal” Brexit – any other situation would be a bonus. This would see UK-EU

trade conducted under Wo r l d Tr a d e Organisation rules, meaning that customs duties would be payable and, with border checks reinstated, there could be delays at ports and airports. Legislation progressing through parliament aims to allow sufficient trailers to be registered for international travel, if necessary, as the current permit system would not be adequate for the volume of traffic needing to cross UK borders.

The FTA has a clear message for government: provide us with clear and concise instructions on the nature and length of the transitional period to be implemented, and maintain the ease of movement for goods and

services during this period. The sooner we are all able to see and understand the new customs classification system to be used after Brexit, the sooner we will all be able to learn and adapt to the new tariffs, duty and VAT rates to be used.

So, what can the logistics sector do to prepare for Brexit, when there is still so much to confirm?

Customs terminology

Start the process by identifying any movements of goods or components your business uses that move between the EU and UK, and start to classify them under the EU customs terminology. We are recommending that those

trading with the EU obtain an EORI number (gov.uk/eori) and apply for Authorised Economic Operator status (bit.ly/2CvE1bF). We may find that these are not needed postBrexit, but doing so now could save precious time later.

Finally, if your business will be moving goods to and from the continent, make sure you try completing the new customs declarations forms well before you might need them, as it is always easier to test a system before you actually have to use it.

Businesses interested in finding out about developments in the Brexit negotiations should attend the FTA’s second Keep Britain Trading conference, which is to be held in mid-May in central London.

■ For more information, please visit fta.co.uk/events

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28/02/2018 11:59:13

Focus: Freight in the City

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Alternative fuel focus at LoCITY

Image: M Howell

By Hayley Pink

This month will see LoCITY host its largest free-to-attend roadshow to date, which will focus on a wide range of alternative fuels available today for the freight sector.

LoCITY, an industry-led scheme supported by TfL, aims to help logistics firms of all sizes explore ultra-lowemission vehicles and fuels that would be a good fit with their operations.

The roadshow, which takes place on 20 March at Kempton Park Race Course, Sunburyon-Thames, will cover electric, gas, hydrogen, biodiesel, drop-in fuels, KERS and

emerging retrofit technology.

A speaker programme features UK operators that have already made the transition to trialling non-diesel vehicles on their fleets: ■ London fleet operators

O’Donovan Waste Disposal and City of L ondon Corporation will be talking to delegates about their decision to try out electric CVs on their fleets; ■ John Lewis Partnership and

“We started with one Krone trailer and soon realised that the build quality and loading flexibility were good reasons to add some more. We now have the Cool Liner, Dry Liner box trailers and Profi Liner curtainsiders, all of which come into their own for specific aspects of our operation.”

Ray Moran. Managing Director, Ray Moran International Transport.

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Red Kite Management will share their experience in running gas-powered HGVs and vans; ■ Same-day courier CitySprint will talk about its decision to trial hydrogen vans in London; ■ Foodservice operator Brakes will provide insight into its use of Shell gas-to-liquid fuel (GTL); ■ McDonald’s distribution partner Martin Brower will talk to delegates about how it switched from diesel to recycled cooking oil; ■ Technology firm Eminox will explain how its retrofit emissions system, already being used for buses, could

potentially be developed for RCVs and specialist HGVs. Also on hand will be vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure companies and experts from OLEV, Transport Research Laboratory, TfL, Innovate UK and Cenex to answer any questions you have about new technology.

Fuels in Action is free to attend and the perfect opportunity for you to come and find out all you need to know about complying with London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone and how to take your first steps in trialling non-diesel CVs. ■ Register at locityroadshows. co.uk

MP group drives electric and automated vehicle agenda A new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has been set up to boost awareness of the benefits and opportunities of electric and automated vehicles.

The cross-party group wants to ensure the UK is able to support growth in new technology and innovation post-Brexit.

Chaired by Conservative MP Dame Cheryl Gillan (former secretary of state for Wales), the group will focus on vehicle advancement, infrastructure roll-out, manufacturing opportunities, international trade, emissions reduction and road safety.

While the APPG on Electric and Automated Vehicles launch announcement focuses on the rapid growth of electric car sales and major investment planned by automotive manufacturers, a spokesman told MT the group is very keen to explore the opportunities for the freight sector.

Gillan said: “It is imperative that parliamentarians are aware of the rapid pace of change in the electric and automated vehicle sectors and that post-Brexit the UK is well positioned to benefit from these technologies.”

Paragon software to account for ‘sustainable’ vehicle range Paragon has added a new function to its routeing and scheduling software to account for the range limitations of any electric or hybrid vehicles on fleets.

Transport planners will now be able to define a vehicle as ‘sustainable’, which will ensure that the scheduling system restricts the distance of any trip to the specified maximum range.

“Green fleets are firmly on the radar of many logistics operations as they look to

minimise environmental impact by moving away from petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles, while also contending with emissions-based restrictions in many urban areas,” said William Salter, MD, Paragon Software Systems.

“With this in mind, we have added a functionality to our software solution to simplify the planning process for fleets that combine both sustainable and conventional vehicles.”

5.3.18 28/02/2018 15:47:57

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28/02/2018 23/02/201812:04:31 09:53

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

The future is bright at Palletforce P Michael Conroy CEO Palletforce

alletforce has a continual focus on growth, and our business strategy centres on creating capacity to enable our members to grow.

Thanks to the financial firepower from our owners, EmergeVest, we were able to invest more than £65m last year – in infrastructure, a new superhub, market-leading technology and talented people – to create the platform and capacity to drive growth among our membership.

That strategy has paid off, with Palletforce reporting record volumes during 2017 and outperforming the sector.

We see opportunities for future growth coming from a number of areas – all of which form key strands of our business strategy. Our new superhub creates the capacity to drive growth in the UK and Ireland, and we recently introduced new express services to five European countries, bringing our continental coverage to 20 countries.

The unknowns around Brexit mean we have also looked further afield, identifying and investing in some exciting opportunities for

Palletforce and its members in China and Asia.

It is no secret that China holds access to expanding economies and markets, with significant opportunities for both import and export of goods – that is why the prime minister led a trade delegation there recently.

We want to help give all of our members, big and small, the opportunity to seize the initiative and offer new services to their customers. What we have delivered to our members is a massive differentiator; the modern-day equivalent of the Silk Road, connecting trade and people.

We have adopted a three-pronged approach to our Asian activities. The first was investment in a new in-house, global freight-forwarding service, which launched last month. That will be followed imminently by a dedicated pallet service to and from China.

The third strand is the roll-out of the Palletforce model in strategic areas of China. I am writing this from Shanghai where we are formalising the final details and, together with support from EmergeVest and its partners here, it is set to be a truly exciting prospect.

Buzzwords – what a load of blockchains!

M Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport

y last missive was loosely based on a TV ad for active driver safety aids in a car, and this latest viewpoint has also been inspired by a new TV ad – this one being the first mention in the consumer media I have heard of the word ‘blockchain’.

If like me this is something you are vaguely aware of and wonder if it is a threat or opportunity – or neither – then rest assured it isn’t anything to worry about.

The ad in question is from IBM, which has transformed from a supplier of computer hardware to guardian of the ‘smart’ planet in which every computer chip in the world is connected to form a giant brain that will manage the world for the better.

Fans of The Terminator film franchise might see this as the beginning of the Skynet worldwide machine network that almost led to the destruction of the human race – but that may just be the product of my fevered snowbound imagination.

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So, what is blockchain? That is a bit like asking “what is the internet?” Hardly anyone really knows how the internet works – but hardly anyone really needs to know.

As I understand it, blockchain is a bit like the internet, a collection of software and protocols that allow people to build apps to actually do useful things.

The fact it is a distributed ledger system that allows trusted participants in a supply chain to share data, rather than everything being held in a centralised database, is only interesting if you like that sort of thing.

IBM has produced a useful e-book – Blockchain for Dummies – search for it if you want to know more.

The newspaper for transport operators

To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Editor-in-chief Christopher Walton 2163 Group news editor Chris Druce 2158 Deputy news editor Emma Shone 2164 Group technical editor Colin Barnett 2141 Aftermarket editor Roger Brown 2168 Vans editor George Barrow 2156 Urban editor Hayley Pink 2165 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Chief sub-editor Rufus Thompson 2143 Key account managers

Andrew Smith 07771 885874

Richard Bennett 07889 823060 Display telesales Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Group sales manager Julie McInally 2122

rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 Head of events/MT Awards

Stephen Pobjoy 2135 Andy Salter 2171 Managing director Editorial office Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Tel 0330 333 9544 Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £135/year. Europe £163/ year. RoW £163/year. Cheques made payable to Motor Transport.

Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2018 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X

Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 5.3.18 01/03/2018 14:07:14

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28/02/2018 12:05:52

Regulation

motortransport.co.uk

Keep your promises

Richard Turfitt, senior traffic commissioner for Great Britain, on the importance of trust, road safety and fair competition

A

good regulatory system has to get the balance right between taking action against those who present a risk while minimising burdens on the responsible businesses that strive to comply.

It is impossible to police every single operator. In the commercial vehicle industries, operators make a promise to meet safety standards when they apply for a licence. The responsibility for keeping those promises falls to the operator, and, with standard licence holders, the transport manager.

It is worth a reminder of those promises: ■ To keep vehicles taxed, insured and in MoT; ■ To check that drivers have the right licence to drive HGVs/PSVs;

■ To keep vehicles and trailers roadworthy at all times; ■ To obey the drivers’ hours and tachograph rules; ■ That drivers will do a daily walk-around check of the vehicle (recorded in writing) before starting to drive; ■ To keep vehicle maintenance and driver walk-around check records for 15 months; ■ Not to operate more than the maximum number of vehicles on the licence; ■ To only operate from the operating centre(s) authorised on the licence; ■ To tell the traffic commissioner (TC) within 28 days about: any convictions of you or your staff; a change in your maintenance arrangements; a change in your business (eg from sole

trader to limited company); or a change in your financial status (eg going into liquidation).

Trust

The appeal courts have endorsed the need for TCs to be able to trust operators to comply with the promises they make. Trust is a key foundation of the operator licensing. If this breaks down and compliant operators start to think others are obtaining an unfair commercial advantage by ignoring laws, rules or regulations, then standards will slip, putting other road users and members of the public at risk.

A responsible operator will ensure those promises are never compromised.

Over a 20-year career working in safety roles, I have had to spend large amounts of time with bereaved victims. On so many occasions, the incidents leading to those fatalities were avoidable. Employees and members of the public died because individuals and businesses failed to manage their own safety procedures.

The sentencing in January 2017 of a director and maintenance contractor (fitter) for manslaughter offences has reminded the industry of the need for compliance. The incident [the Bath tipper crash], which resulted in the deaths of three adults and a four-year-old girl, brought responsibility into sharp focus for everyone. The operator’s licence had already been revoked back in October 2015 but the decision was embargoed pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

My colleague, Kevin Rooney, remarks in his annual report that this tragic case “sends a wake-up call to every single operator, transport manager, fitter and driver in the industry”.

Examiners, the police, other enforcement agencies and even the regulator can carry out targeted checks but responsibility for compliance remains with the individuals who are running commercial vehicles. TCs continue to reinforce that message at every opportunity.

Keep on pushing

We should never be complacent in targeting the serially and seriously non-compliant. In the past 18 months we have introduced new procedures to ensure those cases get to public inquiry quickly so robust and proportionate action can be taken, and fair competition restored. That said, the law provides not only standards but also protections for the ➜ 22 20 MotorTransport MTR_050318_020-022.indd 20

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ING

L -BIL F L SE ICE O V IN

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Regulation

responsible operator, transport manager and/ or driver.

We cannot simply act on rumours or possible links, and need to have actual evidence, for example, that an individual is a front for a disqualified operator. We rely on the DVSA and other enforcement agencies to investigate fully and provide evidence about those failing to meet the licensing standards and who presented a road safety risk.

Several of my colleagues have remarked on the renewed focus on enforcement brought by the arrival of DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn. TCs Sarah Bell and Kevin Rooney continue to liaise with the agency to help it achieve that goal. There have been useful discussions through the heavy vehicle compliance forum, hosted by the DfT and attended by industry representatives, on how compliance can be improved. That type of regular dialogue is important so that we remain effective in our respective roles.

Parliament has set out the tests to be passed if you want to join the regulated industries.

The ultimate decision on who gets to operate commercial vehicles belongs to the TC, and it involves a balance. We take our gatekeeper role seriously, because we need to know who we are actually licensing. My colleague Joan Aitken accurately describes this as regulating with curiosity.

Licensing staff working on our behalf scrutinise new applications to identify rogues while striving to ensure compliant applications are processed as quickly as possible. Others can help us; a police force might be aware of an unspent conviction, which could affect repute, or the local authority might be aware of some 22 MotorTransport MTR_050318_020-022.indd 22

motortransport.co.uk

suitability issues regarding the proposed operating centre.

Councils, police forces and trade bodies all have a right to object to licence applications on grounds that might affect the applicant’s ability to manage a transport operation. All licence applications are published and accessible online.

Last year, we started publishing data about our average application processing times for the first time. We will continue to do this every three months, so our efforts to modernise the licensing regime are transparent.

Accreditation schemes

Operator licensing provides the rulebook, which sets out the minimum requirements for legal operation. The growth of external accreditation schemes has led some operators to refocus their compliance efforts. We welcome efforts to improve safety and compliance. The promises outlined above are the foundation upon which compliance should be built; the systems then need to be managed and reviewed.

There is already a wealth of resources available from government agencies, including the DVSA. As Sarah Bell points out in her annual report, the Agency’s Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities for maintenance shared by everyone in and around the business. This includes specific advice on brake testing – a far too common shortcoming. DVSA examiners also have an important role in deciding when advice or education is sufficient intervention. We do our part by contributing to training organised by trade associations and others looking to promote compliance.

We have also produced and regularly update

a collection of free documents on the key areas of operator licensing. Like all professionals, operators, transport managers and drivers need to keep their knowledge up to date.

The DVSA is also piloting a voluntary scheme (earned recognition) by which operators will be able to volunteer their compliance data to the DVSA rather than being inconvenienced at the roadside. The aim to free up vehicle and traffic examiners to focus on the seriously and serially non-compliant aligns with what TCs want to see.

When we are asked if we need more resource (and it would be rare for any regulator to claim they could not do more with extra funding), we remember that it is the operators who pay for the licensing regime but that road safety can affect us all. As fellow TCs have remarked in their annual reports, trying to ensure that resources are used proportionately and effectively will always be a significant challenge.

There may be an opportunity to look at how the fee requirements affect various parts of industry, but the starting point must be one of transparency. In reviewing the financial position, we should not lose sight of the two main aims of operator licensing: to ensure that operators are held accountable for meeting safety standards; and, by applying those rules, to provide a level playing field between businesses.

There is always a balance but compliance starts with the promises on the operator’s licence.

■ For more on earned recognition see our special safety and security supplement produced in association with Dawsonrentals enclosed with this issue.

5.3.18 28/02/2018 10:09:21

THE LEADING TRADE SHOW OF THE DOWNSTREAM OIL INDUSTRY

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28/02/2018 12:10:07

Drivers’ hours

motortransport.co.uk

How safe are your drivers?

Commercial vehicle drivers are involved in 40% of fatigue-related collisions, so are the EU drivers’ hours regulations working? Louise Cole reports

Image: Rex

D

river fatigue costs many lives and several billion pounds in economic impact. The current EU drivers’ hours regulations were designed to prevent driving while tired and are now more rigorously and punitively enforced than ever. But when 40% of fatigue-related collisions involve commercial vehicle drivers, are the rules up to the job?

Driver fatigue is considered a contributory factor in up to 20% of all road accidents, and up to one quarter of fatal and serious accidents. There were also 6,300 fines issued for drivers’ hours breaches between April 2015 and March 2016. However, there is no data showing how many fatigued drivers were outside drivers’ hours, as opposed to unsafe in a legally permissible shift.

EC Regulation 561/2006 on drivers’ hours and tachographs, which basically allows drivers to drive for 4.5 hours before taking a 45-minute break and for nine hours each day, with exceptions, were reviewed just three years ago. The domestic drivers’ hours regulations, which allow 11 hours’ duty time and 10 hours’ driving per day, were reviewed in 2010. But the rules do not necessarily prevent drowsy-driving. Either the rules need to change – or the industry’s implementation of them must change.

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The experts MT spoke to all agreed on one thing: that fatigue is poorly understood in the UK. They also noted that industry uses the drivers’ hours rules as a target or prescription and not as a legal maximum within which they must find a safe accommodation based on the individual and the nature of the job.

Imperfect standards

Psychologist Dr Charles Johnson is technical director of CAS, a consultancy that specialises in the human factors of safetycritical work. He says there is EU-wide evidence that the introduction of HGV drivers’ hours rules substantially reduced collision rates. “The rules were the best they could devise at the time, but they aren’t perfect,” Johnson says. “There are several problems with them. At the moment someone can be on duty for a certain number of 15-hour shifts. After 12 hours of work, accident rates climb sharply.”

He notes that not only can driving be demanded towards the end of that 15-hour shift, but that drivers can drive long distances to and from work, which isn’t included in the regulations.

The other burning issue is the lack of effective regulation for van drivers, who can drive for 10 hours with 11 hours’ ➜ 26 5.3.18 01/03/2018 16:22:37

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28/02/2018 12:12:47 27/02/2018 11:18

Drivers’ hours duty time with no obligation to take regular breaks. There are more than four million vans in the UK and while they are less likely to cause a fatality in a collision than an HGV, vans are far more likely to have collisions. Drivers’ hours rules are designed to limit driving before the point where fatigue becomes a catastrophic issue – which research suggests is after 17 hours of continued wakefulness, or 12 hours of work – and to offer some operational flexibility around breaks, which is nonetheless enforceable. They do not address different driving conditions or the attritional fatigue that will affect drivers after a few hours behind the wheel.

Industry rarely wants increased regulation, and there is little appetite for changing the rules. However, this means the change will have to emerge from industry itself. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner says that while its job is to enforce the law as it stands, drivers’ hours regulations “are a limit, not a target”. Lead TCs for enforcement Sarah Bell and Kevin Rooney told MT: “Most operators consider that complying with drivers’ hours rules is all that is needed to manage the risk from fatigue.” Noting that some operators treat drivers “as machines”, they concluded: “It comes as no surprise that one in six deaths on the extra-urban road network involves a driver who is asleep at the time.”

Lack of evidence

The rules and the advice given to drivers often suffer from a lack of evidence. The EU rules allow the mandatory 45-minute break to be replaced by one break of at least 15 minutes followed by another break of at least 30 minutes. These breaks must be distributed over the 4.5-hour period. But there is no evidence that 15-minute breaks are mentally restorative. “There’s evidence that breaks of 30 minutes or more can be restorative,” says Johnson. “We begin to see decrements in driving performance after two hours. But ideally we would see more flexibility in how drivers could take breaks, because energy levels and fatigue are individual. If a driver feels fresh, it may be safer for them to drive for three or four hours and then take 45 minutes or an hour off.”

If a driver is tired, a break will do little to help him focus. Consultant neurologist Dr Paul Reading, a specialist in sleep medicine, says: “The rules on breaks seem a little random – there’s little scientific evidence to support claims they make a great difference. Even short naps are likely to be counterproductive because of ‘sleep-drunkenness’ on arousal and the fact that naps in an upright position are rarely restorative.”

The effectiveness of breaks is also highly dependent on where and how they are taken. Ally Little, Driver CPC products and services manager at the RTITB, warns that breaks can exacerbate tiredness if not used properly. “If drivers actually go for a walk, or rest, then that can be useful,” she says.

“If they make work phone calls or argue with their partner, then no. And if they eat, they need to be careful what they eat

MYTHS ABOUT FATIGUE There are a number of myths that are not directly a consequence of the rules, but nonetheless affect their enforcement. Police only consider fatigue as a factor if it is clear the driver was asleep – and they look for very specific signs of driver fatigue like the vehicle veering from its lane, or a complete failure to brake. Consultant neurologist Dr Paul Reading points out that: “It is well established that humans are capable of ‘local’ sleep.”

Sleep-deprived people will experience sleep in only the frontal lobes, which control language, memory, problem-solving and judgement, but leaving motor functions unaffected. Someone in local sleep might appear to drive normally but will not read or remember road signs or respond to external events on the road.

Finally, there is the discrepancy between objective and subjective perceptions of fatigue. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents argues that: “It is clear that drivers are aware when they are feeling sleepy, and so make a conscious decision about whether to continue driving or to stop for a rest.”

However, there is plenty of evidence that people are not good judges of their own fatigue or its likely consequences, particularly if they are elderly, or if their sleep debt is chronic. Reading says: “Objective signs of sleepiness do not correlate well with subjective sleepiness if the problem is long-standing. This is not fully appreciated by the DVLA, which assumes if you are dangerously sleepy you will know it.”

26 MotorTransport MTR_050318_024-026.indd 26

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– loading up on carbohydrates will not help concentration.”

There is, therefore, a strong argument that greater flexibility should be exercised with breaks – particularly those towards the end of a driver’s shift where he is already tired by the working day and breaks are unlikely to be restorative.

Not only is there a deterioration in driving performance after two hours, but it is highly likely that driver performance continues to deteriorate as the shift progresses. Johnson says: “There is evidence that you are less efficient in hour seven of your shift than in hour two, even if you’ve taken regular breaks.”

This is an area in which the industry needs a thorough investigation of driving performance across the entire shift cycle. Telematics data may well reveal whether drivers are more likely to make mistakes in the latter part of their shifts, although MT could find no one who has undertaken such a study. The industry focus on the sleep-deprived – whether by lifestyle or medical condition – and ensuring drivers have proper sleep is essential. However, night-shift workers and those whose shifts change are at great risk of fatigue, and neither the rules nor industry’s treatment of shift workers reflect this.

The advice given to motorists by safety organisations and government campaigns is to stop every two hours or 100 miles.

But we have seen there is little evidence that this is sufficient to keep drivers alert – and it is out of keeping with HGV drivers’ hours rules.

AA Drivetech says: “Professional drivers probably have more skills, training, more resilience and more understanding of the risk of driving than the general driving public.”

However, fatigue is a matter of human neurology, not skill or practice. Reading says: “I know of no data that professional drivers are more immune to the effects of fatigue – one might argue they become more complacent with any given level of fatigue or sleepiness.”

What makes driving tiring?

Intense concentration on busy roads is hard work cognitively.

However, a lot of driving requires a state of alert, relaxed anticipation rather than continuous mental strain. Stress, continual decision-making, breaks taken in a non-restful area such as an RDC, or hazard-filled environments such as city roads, will all make driving more tiring. Multi-drop may involve a lot of nondriving time but may still be more tiring than cruising on a half-empty motorway.

However, the motorway or very familiar roads can induce trance-like states through a lack of stimulation, where the driver is gazing but not seeing.

Tired drivers will find it hard to combat sleep during monotonous tasks like motorway driving. The difficulty here is that breaks will not provide more than a very short respite. Although the standard advice is to stop, drink two cups of coffee and have a power nap, the effects of this are likely very short-lived.

So, on one hand, urban drivers can exhaust themselves in a state of hypervigilance and, on the other, motorway drivers can become mentally disengaged through sheer boredom. However, the rules do not differentiate by duty cycle – it falls to the operator to design driving shifts that manage these specific issues.

Driver fatigue is known to be a huge issue, not only in road transport but also rail and aviation. The weakest link in industry’s risk-mitigation models is the effects of fatigue upon human performance, many of which have adverse effects long before a driver becomes sleepy.

Pilots and train drivers both suffer from duty-inflicted fatigue, non-work related fatigue issues and fatigue caused by boredom, delays and repetitive working patterns. Train drivers have broadly similar restrictions to HGV drivers, although the rostering requirements are different. EU-level regulations limit pilots’ duty hours to 60 per week, and flying hours to 100 in 28 days.

Although this flying time appears far lower than HGV driving time, Brian Strutton, general secretary of pilots’ union BALPA, says: “Fatigue is endemic in all kinds of commercial flying.”

Both sectors have suffered high-profile incidents attributable to driver or pilot fatigue, despite arguably having more infrastructural support and frequently uncongested travel space compared with HGV drivers. In other words, fatigue is not an issue the transport industry is handling well, despite sector-specific rules. n 5.3.18 28/02/2018 10:15:30

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28/02/2018 23/02/201812:15:17 09:30

Interview: Richard Simpson

motortransport.co.uk

A fresh pair of eyes

New to the industry, Richard Simpson, CEO of Leeds-based Walkers Transport, has an original view of road transport and its future. He explains his vision to Steve Hobson

W

alkers Transport was formed in 1977 and for 40 years was owned by Nigel Jenkinson, the son of the company’s founder. Jenkinson did not want to pass on the business to his children, and after taking Richard Simpson on as a consultant it became clear that the best way forward was a management buy-out (MBO).

The plan came to fruition in October 2017 when Simpson completed an MBO backed by private equity firm Total Capital Partners.

Simpson had no background in transport and so had few preconceived ideas about the industry and its future.

“My dad was a farmer in North Yorkshire,” Simpson says. “When I was a kid I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I went into sales.

I started as a rep and ended up as regional manager for a pharmaceutical company. Then I inherited some money and bought a print franchise in Leeds.”

Tough market

Anyone in publishing will tell you that printing can be just as tough a market as road transport.

“The printing business was interesting because I started it from nothing,” says Simpson. “I bought a start-up franchise and when you’ve got no money coming in you really understand the importance of sales. I did that for three years and then sold it.

“I put quite a lot of money into it but learned a lot. If I had left work, gone to university and got an MBA or a degree, I would probably have spent about the same. So that was my university of business life.”

28 MotorTransport MTR_050318_028-030.indd 28

Simpson’s next venture came about through a chance meeting with someone from a Canadian-owned mobile paper shredding company called Shred-it.

“I’d never heard of them and thought it was a con to be honest, but I did some investigation and it all checked out. I started as Manchester general manager in 2001,” he says. “At the time, the business was facing some significant challenges, but we turned things around pretty quickly. On the back of that, they asked me to take over Shred-it’s UK business.

“When I started in Manchester there were 17 people and turnover was about £500,000, and when I left we had 500 people, 160 rigid vehicles and turnover was about £40m.”

When the company was sold to a private equity firm, Simpson took a stake in Shred-it.

However, in 2014 it became apparent that it was time to move on when the company was merged with a large US corporation.

“We went from having a really entrepreneurial culture, very similar to what we have here [at Walkers], to being part of a massive corporation,” he says, “and with that the entrepreneurial spirit seemed to die overnight.

“I worked there for a about year and learned a great deal about how to operate in corporate environments. But I became increasingly frustrated, as I think they did too, so when they offered to buy my shares, off I went.”

Simpson’s next move came about through another chance encounter, this time with Nigel Jenkinson, then owner of Walkers.

“I had known Nigel for years; he went to school with my wife and we used to have a pint together at the cricket club,” Simpson says. “He

asked my wife what I was doing. She said ‘he’s doing nothing, he’s a pain in the arse’. So Nigel asked me to come and have a look at his sales team on a consultancy basis.

Consultancy business

“I set up a consultancy business, quickly got to four clients and it was great. I got to choose my work and I got a massive kick out of seeing people grow and develop.”

In January 2016, Simpson became full-time MD of Walkers, and in October 2017 led a management buyout to give Jenkinson an exit from the business, though the latter remains a non-executive director with a minority stake.

“He’s got a small shareholding and is a vital member of the team,” says Simpson. “He knows so much about the industry, and he keeps me on the straight and narrow!”

Simpson believes consolidation in logistics will continue. “There are some great businesses out there that are in exactly the same position as Nigel was, and we’re interested in talking to them,” he says.

At the time of the acquisition in 2017, annual turnover was expected to be almost £30m, with an EBITDA of £3.7m. Simpson’s goal is to make £10m EBITDA, qualifying that with the admission, “but I’m always a bit ambitious”.

Not being a diesel-in-the-veins truck man, it is hardly surprising that Simpson is vague about how many vehicles he has on the fleet.

A colleague suggests a figure of 90.

“Have we really? It’s a bit of a moveable feast; it changes every day because we have a number of short-term hires,” he says. “We also have around 130 trailers across the business including short-term hires. We have never been that interested in owning lots of vehicles – they are a means to an end, so the fewer the better.

“Our strategy is to keep a good proportion of our vehicles as a variable cost with a split between owned, contract hired and short-term rentals. We contract hire the tractor units because they get utilised 24 hours a day, and after three years of hard work we don’t really want to own them.

“We tend to buy our rigids and trailers because we keep them longer and it gives us flexibility on capacity. We use DAF in Manchester and Volvo in Leeds because the dealers are really strong and support us fantastically well.”

Simpson has an experienced team to look after operations, trucks and trailers and admits: “They don’t want me poking my nose in everywhere; they’re really good at what they do and they have been doing it a long time.”

Walkers started out delivering air freight out of Leeds Bradford Airport, and now ➜ 30 5.3.18 28/02/2018 10:07:54

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Interview: Richard Simpson

has hubs in Manchester and Birstall, West Yorkshire and headquarters in Morley near Leeds, where our interview takes place.

“We have around 60,000 ft2 here, 40,000 ft2 in Manchester and 48,000 ft2 in Birstall,” says Simpson. “Birstall is a storage location and Manchester is a transport operation that we moved from Middleton to Rochdale in 2015.”

All three sites are leased, the Morley “superhub” still being owned by Nigel Jenkinson.

Pallet network

The company became an early member of Palletways in 2000 and is the network’s biggest independent inputter. Around 55% of Walkers’ turnover is through Palletways.

Growing the business is hugely important to Simpson, and his strategy sounds simple – give customers want they want.

“Everything we do is driven by the customer,” he says. “I’m passionate about giving the customer what they expect and deserve. Yes, customers want their pallets delivered, but I think we can do it with care and finesse.

“We want to build long-term relationships with customers, no matter how big or small, and we’re investing a lot of money in account management and customer services. There is a market for great customer service and companies that look after their customers tend to prosper. Our mission is to treat the customers how we would want to be treated.”

Giving customers want they want might involve Walkers building a network and doing more deliveries on its own vehicles.

30 MotorTransport MTR_050318_028-030.indd 30

“Pallet networks are only as strong as their weakest link so if a network member is struggling, it causes a lot of problems for us because we put so much freight in,” says Simpson.

“When it’s all working smoothly and everybody’s happy, it’s great. But sometimes things fall over and you want to go to the customer and say, ‘look, don’t worry about it, we’ll do it ourselves’.

That’s the journey that we’ve started on now.”

The boss of another pallet network told MT last year that any self-respecting haulier should look to sell its own door-to-door service first, and only use a network when the volumes or rates do not justify direct delivery.

“If we’re all being honest with each other, the customer would probably prefer to not have their pallet handled eight or nine times,” says Simpson. “I’ve had this conversation with many customers, but the big benefit of using a pallet network is cost. Generally speaking, it’s the most cost-effective way right now.

“We love Palletways. They love us. We have a great working relationship. The network concept is great, but we are being asked to offer our customers more choice and better service; that’s what we intend to do. Over time the natural progression for us, as we get bigger and acquire sites, will be to do more on our own wheels. This is not to decry the importance of networks – their volume will grow as we grow.”

Since 2013. Walkers’ 9-acre Morley site has been Palletways’ northern hub, and the haulier trunks direct to Scotland and London, as well as the network’s central hub in Lichfield. As a major inputter, Walkers’

motortransport.co.uk

vehicles often run empty back to Morley.

“That is a challenge for us, but I don’t get too hung up about balance,” he says. “I see it as a profit opportunity; but the challenge is, how do we collect as much freight as we can into here and Manchester? It’s through sales and growth and looking after our customers.

Once it gets here, we manage the resources to get it to where the customer needs it.”

Bespoke IT system

Walkers uses its own bespoke IT systems integrated with those of Palletways for its back-office management, and has developed its own software to manage all of its freight consignments.

“We can see them all,” says Simpson, “and we’ve got the red flag screens to highlight anything that needs chasing.”

He believes his 170 drivers are the human face of the company, and treating them properly should mean they deliver a better service. One of his first actions when taking over was to knock down the literal and metaphorical wall that separated drivers from traffic office staff.

“I don’t think drivers in our industry get the respect they deserve,” Simpson says. “When I first came in, we had something that looked like a bank vault where the drivers came in and talked to the traffic team through a sliding window. We can’t have that culture; the drivers are an important part of the team.

“So we took the walls down and put a free vending machine in there for them. Drivers are the most important people in any transport business.” ■ 5.3.18 28/02/2018 10:07:22

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28/02/2018 12:20:39 05/02/2018 10:28

Profile: Jim French

motortransport.co.uk

Port perspective Jim French is director of port-centric logistics at PD Ports,the largest retailer-backed port-centric logistics park in the UK, and former RHA chairman. Steve Hobson went to talk to him

T

he idea of port-centric logistics – where imports are handled close to the port of entry and sent direct to their destination rather than via a central DC – has been given a boost by developments such as London Gateway and Liverpool2. But PD Ports has had the largest retailer-backed port-centric logistics park in the UK, with 3 million ft2 of warehousing, a fleet of 68 trucks, 250 trailers and 420 employees – of which 90 are drivers – for more than 10 years. Jim French is PD Ports’ director of port-centric logistics, and the immediate past national chairman of the RHA. On a boat tour of Teesside, which included getting a good view of the 27 offshore wind turbines in the Tees estuary, French explained that Teesport was undergoing a major redevelopment following the closure of the former SSI steelworks.

“Teesport went through a big change when it lost the steel and the associated coal and iron ore imports,” he says. “It’s diversified, and now handles a lot of agricultural products, especially

32 MotorTransport MTR_050318_032-034.indd 32

grain. It has two container quays [dubbed the Northern Gateway] where volumes are increasing year on year, and there is a ro-ro facility from where P&O runs a freight-only service to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. Its also got a fertiliser export terminal.”

Trucks and sheds

French is “a trucks and sheds man” through and through. He started with BRS in Birmingham straight from school before moving on to Exel Logistics, and worked for some of the doyens of the NFC including Robbie Burns, Steve Abel and Gerry Brown.

“I worked for Exel in different parts of the country right up until 1997,” French says. “It was an exciting time, particularly at the start of the 1980s when contract logistics was booming. I was very much involved at Cowley in Oxford, which was then a JIT (just in time) warehouse feeding the car plant.” Originally founded in 1913 by William Morris, Cowley is now known as Plant Oxford and assembles BMW Minis, but in the 1980s it was making Rover cars in association with Honda.

“They’d been to Japan and seen how they made cars there and said ‘this is the way we’ve got to go’,” says French. “When I eventually left there I went to work in Doncaster for Unipart with Martyn Pellew, who had been Robbie Burns’ marketing and development director at Exel. He came up with the idea of using logistics as a commercial term – previously it was really a military term.”

After six months French was approached by another Exel alumnus Ian Veitch to go to work for him at UCI, which then became NYK and later Yusen Logistics. “I did that for five years, and then in 2003 Graham Roberts, who had previously been an NFC board member, became the chief executive here and he asked me if I would like to join PD Ports.”

PD Ports’ logistics services was an amalgamation of three small hauliers based in Billingham near Middlesbrough, Scunthorpe and Felixstowe. “I had the role of pulling them together as one logistics operation,” says French.

“PD Ports had bought the port that had been run by the Tees and Hartlepool port authority.

When Graham Roberts took over he set ➜ 34 5.3.18 28/02/2018 09:57:22

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Profile: Jim French up four divisions: the first was Teesport, second was port services and third was logistics. The fourth was a Mercedes dealer centred on Immingham that was later sold off.”

Each operating centre inherited clients based at the local port, so the workload was “very fragmented” says French. “Scunthorpe was all about working for Corus and then Tata Steel, and we were doing a lot of site services work as well as transport,” he says. “Felixstowe was containers, storing them, unstuffing them and delivering the contents of around 300 boxes a week. We have more than 500,000ft2 of warehousing there, making us the largest 3PL at the port, and Freightliner runs daily container trains from Felixstowe to Teesport. Billingham was steel and chemicals, and we still have more than 300,000 ft2 of warehousing there. It recently picked up the tea contract from Taylors of Harrogate.”

Panamax vessels

Teesport can accept Panamax vessels – the biggest ships that can pass through the Panama Canal, around 65,000 tonnes or 5,000 TEU – which is small beer compared with Felixstowe, which earlier this year welcomed the world’s largest container ship, capable of carrying up to 20,000 TEU. But French says the port’s capacity can be expanded using the former steelworks facility.

“The bulk terminal that was used for the steelworks has some of the deepest water and longest quays in the UK,” he says. “PD Ports has spent £50m redeveloping one dock to handle bulk and general cargo such as steel slabs.

There is still lots of potential, including a large area of land for industrial development. Teesport sits bang in the centre of this 4,500-acre site, which is being managed by the South Tees Development Corporation.”

Teesport is home to EDF’s maintenance and operations hub that services the growing number of offshore wind turbines on the east coast, and is also at the forefront of other green technology. It is being used to import 1 million tonnes of wood pellets a year for the generation of carbon-neutral electricity at a new biomass power plant being built on the site of former

34 MotorTransport MTR_050318_032-034.indd 34

motortransport.co.uk

steelworks. It also has a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for the import of this lower emissions alternative to diesel and coal.

While the mega container ships coming from the Far East are unlikely to switch from the southern ports to Teesport, Asda and Tesco both have large DCs on Teesside. Tesco’s DC is a high-bay facility that distributes slowmoving general merchandise and seasonal products nationally to RDCs for delivery to stores.

“A lot of Teesport’s shipping traffic comes from the Baltics, Russia and Spain,” says French. “Last year the supermarkets reckoned they’d saved more than a million road miles by bringing product into Teesport rather than it going through Southampton.

“Asda used to transport product from Southampton by road up to Wakefield. Its DC on Teesport is 360,000ft2 and now the containers come through here. Obviously it’s cheaper to move boxes by sea than by road. It comes into the warehouse on the port and then they send it out into their distribution network.

The benefit is that land is cheaper here and labour far more available than if they were going to put another warehouse in the golden triangle.

“And taking Taylors as an example, they used to bring containers of tea into Felixstowe. Most of the big vessels will either drop off at Felixstowe, Rotterdam or Antwerp and then smaller feeder vessels will run the containers to smaller ports. All Taylors’ tea now comes into Teesport on a feeder vessel.”

PD Ports estimates that its customers save 8 million road miles and £15m in costs every year by using port-centric logistics.

The changing industrial landscape on Teesside means Teesport has had to evolve, as have the services the business provides, to ensure it remains competitive and agile.

“There are a lot of developments going on that are not the traditional heavy industries,” says French. “It is growing in agricultural products and we’ve gradually moved transport and warehousing to be more centred on the port and to be able to provide a one-stop solution.” ■

PUTTING SOMETHING BACK In his two-year term as RHA national chairman, French made a priority of promoting initiatives to attract young people into the sector, such as the RHA’s Love the Lorry campaign. “To my mind, that’s the biggest issue facing the industry,” he says. “It’s not easily solved because there's so much competition from other sectors for skilled people.”

French is a strong supporter of High Tide, a charity that helps young people enter the world of work, and Think Logistics, a scheme to get hauliers to promote the logistics industry to local schoolchildren. In 2016 he was named Volunteer of the Year by Career Ready, a charity that works closely with Think Logistics.

The PD Ports logistics division has taken on a warehouse apprentice working in the Taylors of Harrogate DC through the local Logistics Academy, which French was instrumental in establishing along with Stockton Riverside College. PD Ports is also working on recruiting a driver apprentice, but French complains about the “bureaucracy” involved in establishing HGV driver apprenticeships under the Trailblazer apprenticeship scheme.

Without this approval it is impossible to fund these apprenticeships with money raised from the apprenticeship levy.

The Academy sends young people on four-week internships with local logistics companies in the summer months and finds each student a senior mentor to help develop their careers.

French mentored Alice Briggs (above), a student of engineering at NETA (formerly the North East Training Association) which is a part of Stockton Riverside. Briggs applied for a place on the Logistics Academy, which was the Career Ready programme connected with the Think Logistics initiative. “I mentored Alice during the first year and at the end of the year she gained an apprenticeship with an engineering company in Billingham,” says French, who is chairman of the local advisory board for the Logistics Academy at the college. “I have had a wonderful career in logistics and want to put something back by getting more young people into the industry.”

5.3.18 28/02/2018 09:57:55

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Careers

motortransport.co.uk

Bachelor degree can be funded by the apprenticeship levy A degree-level apprenticeship standard will be available to the supply chain sector from mid-2018, after Uniserve Group’s Supply Chain Leadership framework was approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships.

The Level-6 apprenticeship is designed to run over a four-year course, with just 20 off-site learning days per year during that time.

Students who complete the course, which can be funded through the apprenticeship levy funds, will emerge with a full bachelor’s degree.

The trailblazer group that put together the framework, led by Uniserve Group, Leeds Trinity University and the Supply Chain Academy, included representatives from Sainsbury’s, Royal Mail and Pladis.

Paul Stone, HR director at Uniserve Group, who chaired the trailblazer group, said: “We are absolutely delighted with this news and looking forward to seeing relevant business-led qualifications and standards recognised in our profession.

“The degree can largely be funded through the apprenticeship levy, meaning companies can benefit from minimal investment while developing their most prized assets – their people.”

Stone added that “lots of companies are still not making proper use of the funds that are generated from the apprenticeship levy”, so the new framework would allow employers to spend their levy money on “creating fully functional and efficient supply chains”.

SALES GROWTH: Arthur Oakley Transport has recruited a new sales manager as it sets its views on expanding the business. The Palletways member hired Delia Hynds from fellow Palletways member International Forwarding. With seven years of experience in the sector, Hynds has also worked for TNT and Palletforce.Roger Oakley, owner of Arthur Oakley Transport, said the move complemented growth plans for the business, which include the construction of a new 10,000ft2 high-bay warehouse this year. He added: “Appointing Delia demonstrates the importance we place on recruiting the best people in the industry.

She brings with her considerable knowledge of the logistics market, and her industry experience is second to none.” Hynds added: “Arthur Oakley is a platinum member of Palletways, a respected name in the logistics industry, and they have worked together for the past seven years. Combined, they're a real force to be reckoned with and I’m delighted to be on board. Arthur Oakley is a mature, established business and I’m keen to further develop its customer base, grow the order book and take the business to the next level.”

HGV driver training for all warehouse staff

Clipper Logistics will train its warehouse staff to be HGV drivers under a new initiative across the UK. The training initiative, Resolve, will see the operator train warehouse staff and put them through the Cat C test over the course of a year.

The scheme was originally piloted at Clipper’s Swadlincote site, but will be rolled out nationally through the year, starting in April.

Clipper said the move was to prove its commitment to helping solve the UK’s driver shortage, and 5.3.18 MTR_050318_037.indd 37

added that it plans to upgrade to training for C+E licences in the future.

Driver First Assist is also working with Clipper on the Resolve initiative, training the drivers in first aid and accident scene management.

The syllabus also includes modules on maintenance, health and safety, and customer service.

Practical driving training will be provided by SB Training.

Clipper’s transport operations director Mick Doe said: “Resolve has seen fantastic demand, and we’re proud to be launching a training programme that can have such positive effects.

“We’re always looking at the next step, and we’re already in the process of looking at offering Class 1 driver training as an option in the future. Alongside our driver simulators, which were launched last year, Clipper has proven itself to be at the forefront of professional HGV operation.”

Driver First Assist director Matthew Yates praised Clipper for its “exceptional forward-thinking” on the Resolve scheme.

He added: “We’re proud to be working with them on an important element of training.

“Our aim is helping to provide a first response and crucial first aid assistance on the UK’s roads, ahead of attendance by the emergency services.”

Staffing Matters

By David Coombes

How can you use social media to recruit?

Social media has up-ended traditional means of recruitment. Effective and immediate, it offers an alternative to normal pathways of recruitment. It has changed the way society operates, and changed itself drastically. It has been aggressively monetised, running on data analytics and audience assessment. But how can you use social media for effective recruitment, and what should you consider?

Here are my three top tips:

Understand your audience

Social networks charge a fee for you to reach your audience; if your Facebook page has more than 400 followers you’re charged to reach them all. Thankfully, they provide some bang for your buck in return.

The insights section shows the demographic, geographic and behavioural data of your audience. This lets you understand the people who follow your page. You can target people who are friends of those who follow your page, or those with similar interests.

Using insights you can create a promotional post aimed at the people you want to recruit in the areas you want to recruit them. This is also true of Twitter, AdWords, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Budget

The days of social media freebies are over, you need to budget. It takes time to optimise campaigns, be it targeting the right audience or wording your proposition correctly. Taking a few weeks spending a small amount to hone your recruitment advert and understand what gets responses is prudent before spending a fortune to reach the wrong people. Too many believe that “likes”, “follows” or “comments” are what they’re after. The results you want are quality candidates applying for the job. There is no other metric, despite what Facebook might tell you.

Pick your platform

It may sound obvious but senior recruitment works best on LinkedIn, whereas recruiting apprentices will work better on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. It’s important to understand that different kinds of people use different platforms. Most drivers in our experience will use Facebook often. They respond to adverts there because they access the internet through their phone, making traditional CV applications fiddly and timeconsuming.

Tel: 0117 9859 119 logisticsjobshop.co.uk admin@logistics jobshop.co.uk @LJSJobs MotorTransport 37 01/03/2018 16:54:18

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