Motor Transport 16 October 2017

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

16.10.17

NEWS INSIDE Super powers

Palletforce’s new hub receives royal visit

THE NEW SCANIA p4

Right move

Palletline makes right decision on pallet weight p6

Minor injury

DHL profit takes a hit after change to NHS contract p9

Concept

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Fines for cab rest breaches

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OPERATORS IN THIS ISSUE Arrow XL ..............................................p8 Asda ....................................................p8 Brit European .......................................p6 DHL ......................................................p9 DX Group ..............................................p3 ECM .....................................................p8 Great Bear Distribution .........................p8 Howard Tenens .....................................p4 Kuehne + Nagel ....................................p8 RCS Logistics .......................................p4 Rhenus Group .......................................p4 SJ Bargh ............................................p24 Searon Logistics ...................................p6 Simon Gibson Transport ........................p3 TT Express (Oldham) .............................p6 Tesco ...................................................p4 Wincanton ....................................... p3/8

Europa’s Dartford Crossing petition reaches 1,500 signatures

Industry criticises convoy campaign

By Emma Shone

Ian Chisholm, chief executive of the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), has died after a short illness. He joined the SOE in 2001 as an engineering executive and became chief executive in 2016.

“Ian inspired and influenced many people over the years; SOE staff, our trustees, council and committee members,” the SOE said.

A campaign to ban oversized and hazardous goods from using the Dartford Crossing has come under fire from the industry.

E u r o p a Wo r l d w i d e launched its campaign and petition last week, complete with a livery, on the basis that the convoys required to transport oversized and hazardous goods through the tunnel cause congestion at the crossing. Vehicles carrying these loads should instead be sent the other way round the M25, according to MD Andrew Baxter (pictured).

He told MT: “On average, about 400 loads of this nature use the crossing every day, so every 15 minutes the traffic

Focus:

Highwayman

SOE chief dies

Warehousing

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Safety

lights into the tunnel go red to allow the convoys to go through it.

“Our hub is a mile away from the crossing and it can take an hour to get there because of the traffic. It’s absolutely crazy, and it drives everyone in the area nuts.”

Baxter said the economical and environmental benefits would outweigh the burden on affected operators. “All businesses have to work with regulations and have to adjust accordingly. Ultimately, the motorways and road infrastructure is there for the masses.”

But Bill Dean, director at nearby Dean Transport 94, said a ban on hazardous loads using the tunnel would be p20

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disastrous. “We have to use the tunnel. If we’re taking a load to Thurrock, it’s 10 miles up the road through the tunnel. It’s 121 miles to go the other way around. That’s crazy.

“People can’t afford to pay the extra cost. We’d be burning more fuel and more hours, and it’s harder on the driver.

We get paid by the load, and it would take us half a day just to get round the motorway.”

The RHA, of which Europa Worldwide is a member, voiced disapproval. Policy director Duncan Buchanan said: “Picking on people because they are a small part of the traffic is wrong.”

As MT went to press, the stoptheconvoys.com petition had reached 1,500 signatures. p24;

Jigsaw

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MT

Drivers who take their 45-hour weekly rest in their cab will face a £300 fine from 1 November, and may be required to restart their rest period.

Transport secretary Jesse Norman said the measures should be a significant deterrent to operators and drivers tempted to breach weekly drivers’ hours rules, and hopefully ease problems with illegal HGV parking in Kent.

Norman said: “Although an overnight rest in the cab is a legitimate and established industry practice, we must draw the line somewhere.

“Drivers should not spend an indefinite period driving and resting at their place of work – their lorry.”

The weekend cab break ban will be enforced by the DVSA and police. The FTA said while it supported the need for drivers to take their break away from their trucks, the lack of secure parking facilities and roadside accommodation needed to be addressed.

THE NEW SCANIA

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12/10/2017 15:47:54

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12/10/2017 09:26:06

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Weak performance forces Wincanton to make redundancies Wincanton has been forced to make redundancies to offset falling profit in its industrial and transport division.

In a trading update, Wincanton said while it expects profit for the financial year to meet expectations, it has set aside an exceptional charge of £7m to fund costsaving initiatives “primarily for the cost of redundancies”.

The operator said it will spread the £7m charge over its financial year as the costs materialise. The redundancies will offset profit headwinds and provide greater future resilience.

Shareholders were warned about the weaker-thanexpected performance earlier this year.

In a statement in June, Wincanton said: “In the period since the year-end, we have seen year-over-year growth in revenue primarily driven by organic growth in the retail and consumer sector.

“The group has experienced weaker than expected performance in some of its transportrelated contracts and activities and these have created some trading profit headwinds in the first quarter.”

In its most recent financial year, ended 31 March, turnover fell 2.6% to £1.11bn, and pre-tax profit fell by almost a third, from £65.8m to £45.4m.

■ Wincanton has also built on its relationship with Ikea with a new three-year home delivery contract.

The operator will deliver to Ikea customers’ homes across the South East, working out of three stores, including at Wembley.

Wincanton will also make deliveries out of Ikea’s Harlow customer DC. The operator won the contract to run two new Ikea DCs for four years in December 2016.

Wincanton chief executive Adrian Coleman said: “Flexibility and convenience are key for today’s consumers and our long-established services in eCommerce and industry-leading two-man home delivery will be effective in providing Ikea an enhanced service level for its customers.”

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PROFIT DROP: Simon Gibson Transport saw its pre-tax profit almost halve in 2016 after upgrading its fleet during a year of difficult trading conditions. In its annual results to 31 December 2016, the East Yorkshire bulk powder haulier reported a 47% drop in pre-tax profit to £770,030 (2015: £1.4m) after spending £740,232 on its fleet. Turnover fell by 2.67% to £12.9m. It said its fleet investment strategy “is imperative in ensuring the highest standards and impeccable service are constantly achieved”. In March, the operator bought 51 Volvo FH tractor units. The company said GCA’s acquisition of 75% of the company’s shares earlier in the year had resulted in “a year of transition” that put both parties “in a stronger position to win larger contracts and pool resources”. Founder and director Simon Gibson retains a 25% stake in the company.

The firm receives £24m from investors and adds former Tuffnells chief executive

DX Group appoints CEO and secures extra funds

By Emma Shone

Lloyd Dunn has been appointed CEO of DX Group, which has secured £24m from investors to get the business back on track.

Former Tuffnells chief executive Dunn has put £5m into the business in the form of a loan note.

DX Group’s largest shareholder Gatemore Capital Management has put forward £11m, including the £2m unsecured loan that was announced last month, and

Hargreaves Hale has put forward £7.5m, all in loan notes. The notes can, subject to shareholder approval, be converted to DX Group shares at a latter date.

Former CEO Petar Cvetkovic stepped down in July, after an “exceptionally difficult year” at the business, the financial results of which were expected to be released last month.

Dunn said the refinancing of the business was a “critical step” in turning it around.

The operator said the

money will fund restructuring and capital expenditure, as well as address a shortage of working capital.

Future board members were also announced by the company. Former Tuffnells chairman Ron Series will replace Bob Holt and will be joined by Russell Black and Paul Goodson as non-executive directors at DX Group.

Holt will retire when the new appointments become effective, after the publication of the group’s results for the

year ended 30 July 2017.

DX Group said it would make a further announcement in due course.

Holt said: “These changes mark a new chapter for DX and provide firm foundations for the turnaround of the group.

“I would like to thank our shareholders, bankers, staff and customers for their ongoing support during a difficult time for the group, and I view the future for DX with renewed confidence.”

MILLIONS AND MILLIONS: TPN was due to move its 30 millionth pallet since being founded in 2000 as MT went to press. Established in an aircraft hangar near Doncaster, today it ships an average of 75,000 pallets a week from its Minworth hub in Sutton Coldfield. MD Mark Duggan said:“We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the past two years. We’ve invested continuously in our facilities and our operation to make sure the volumes we experience don’t compromise our service levels.”

■ See MT 30 October for an interview with Mark Duggan on what the future holds for TPN. MotorTransport 3 12/10/2017 14:27:04

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CEO Michael Conroy said the network wants the best members for its postcodes

Palletforce underlines its super credentials

By Emma Shone

Attracting the best members in every postcode will be Palletforce’s priority in the next year now its Burton-on-Trent super hub is fully operational, according to CEO Michael Conroy.

HRH Princess Anne attended the official opening of the £50m hub expansion, which has taken capacity at the site to 620,000ft², earlier this month (5 October).

Conroy said the site is the next milestone in Palletforce’s development. “We’re in a growing sector and Palletforce is at the forefront of that growth. This hub gives us a 10-year vision. It underpins our future for the next decade and gives us the ability to expand.”

Conroy told MT that now Palletforce has the infrastructure (the hubs) and the technology (such as its palletweighing forklifts), his focus would shift to the network’s membership.

“The next 12 to 18 months is about working with our

members where they want to work with us. And attracting the best members in every post code,” he added.

However, providing the best coverage in every postcode could raise issues for members if Palletforce buys another pallet network.

Conroy has previously said the sector is “ripe for consolidation” and Palletforce is well positioned to lead it. However, he conceded such a move, which could double the network’s coverage of UK postcodes, would result in casualties. “You would keep most of them,” he said. “Unfortunately those that fall by the wayside you would probably need to let go.

“The only members you would lose are those who aren’t committed to providing a service. But you don’t want to buy a network and then get rid of half the members, that would be stupid. You would take your time and make sure you had the best coverage everywhere.”

At the super hub’s official

opening ceremony, Princess Anne was given a demonstration of Palletforce’s patented pallet-weighing forklifts by one of the networks apprentices.

The forklifts and the ability to weigh individual pallets are claimed to be unique to Palletforce in the UK.

But despite this, and Palletline’s call for networks to follow its lead and impose a 750kg weight limit on pallets for unassisted tail-lift deliveries (see page 6), Conroy said Palletforce will continue to operate under HSE’s guidelines for the time being.

GROUP GROWTH: Rhenus Group has expanded its UK presence with the purchase of Palletforce member RCS Logistics. The Corby-based haulier, which has an O-licence for 50 trucks and 80 trailers, will become a subsidiary of Rhenus Group’s UK arm Rhenus Logistics UK. RCS Logistics directors Steve Gray and Richard Robinson will join the Rhenus Logistics UK board, and all 135 RCS Logistics employees will remain with the business. Rhenus Group has underwritten an investment, which will result in 90,000ft² of warehousing being added to RCS Logistics’ portfolio of 350,000ft² of storage. This is Rhenus Group’s second UK acquisition this year: in February, it bought Manchester-based two-man delivery firm Network 4 Home Delivery. Rhenus Logistics UK MD David Williams said: “RCS Logistics is an award-winning business with a great customer service ethos. It is an ideal complement to Rhenus in the UK.” In its latest annual results to 31 December 2016 RCS Logistics reported a rise in turnover from £8.2m to £8.4m and made a pre-tax profit of £922,051, up from £556,659 in the previous period. Rhenus Logistics UK operates 12 UK sites and will relocate its UK headquarters from Trafford Park to Port Salford.

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EASTERN PROMISE Plans to launch a Chinese division of Palletforce are well under way, with a pilot expected to take place in Shanghai next year, Michael Conroy said.

Conroy said it won’t carry the Palletforce name because of translation issues, but it will be a division of the business.

“It’s exciting,” said Conroy. “It’s a great British success story. The pallet sector has done fabulously and we’re taking something great over there.”

Conroy said the model wouldn’t be exactly the same as the UK’s, partly because of the size of the country.

“China doesn’t have pallet networks in the way we understand them. But the model can exist. It moves freight, but obviously it’s much bigger, so you can’t have only one pallet hub in the middle of the country.”

“We abide by the guidelines that every other business in the UK abides to.”

However, he added, that the network intends to make a change to its pallet weight policy and is poised to launch a consultation with its members.

Howard Tenens buys Tesco DC Howard Tenens has bought a DC in south Wales from Tesco, anticipating that the removal of the Severn Crossings toll will boost the region’s economy.

The acquisition of the 282,297ft² site in Chepstow is Howard Tenens’ largest property purchase to date, and its first in Wales. The former Tesco site is occupied by CM Downton, which will continue to operate there.

Howard Tenens property director Simon Emms said: “The facility offers the business a secure income in a strategic location, which is set to be enhanced further following recent announcements regarding the tolls.”

16.10.17 12/10/2017 13:17:41

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12/10/2017 09:27:18

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Palletline’s tail-lift deliveries were limited to 750kg two years ago as a safety measure

Weight limit decision was ‘absolutely right’

By Chris Druce

Palletline’s decision to limit standard tail-lift deliveries to 750kg two years ago was “absolutely right”, according to MD Graham Leitch.

Speaking on the second anniversary of Palletline’s move to introduce the limit to protect drivers and customers, Leitch said he had no regrets that the business and its members had put health and safety before commercial considerations.

“It’s not just about weight.

But managing the delivery weight has been a massive step forward regarding safety,” Leitch said.

Palletline delivers pallets weighing more than 750kg but these are booked into the system as part of its Lift Assist service, with appropriate equipment such as powered pump trucks used to make the delivery.

Leitch said it was disappointing that other than itself, only Fortec had introduced a 750kg limit to date, and it looked like legislation would be necessary to see sector-wide adoption.

However, he said Palletline had made the decision because it was right for the network and was supported by the membership.

“We’ve not seen any reduction in the number of pallets moved; it’s not had a commercial effect, and our customers have applauded the decision,” said Leitch.

Anecdotal evidence suggests there has been fewer sprains and strains for delivery drivers since the limit was introduced, and there has been a change in the freight profile moving through the network as customers are inspired by the limit, Leitch said.

Palletways adds five electric pump trucks Palletways Bristol has spent £8,000 on five new electric pump trucks as demand for tail-lift deliveries increases.

The firm said the new pump trucks would help drive down the risk of accidents and reduce driver fatigue.

General manager Paul Evans said: “Tail-lift deliveries can be physically demanding for drivers and this equipment will assist them with their dayto-day activities.”

The vehicles are semielectric, and an automatic cutoff safety feature means they are less likely to experience a run-away incident.

“This is a significant but necessary investment – Palletways is forecasting substantial growth in the home delivery sector and this equipment will support that.”

Palletways opened a £200,000 hub in Bristol as part of its strategy to drive growth through regional expansion in March. Dubbed the South West Hub, it’s the network’s fifth regional site in the UK.

Number of freight firms failing doubles in Q3

THIRD TIME LUCKY: The Brit European group of companies made its first profit in three years in 2016, its most recently published accounts show. In the 12 months to 31 December 2016 pre-tax profit stood at £339,614 compared with a loss of £753,000 a year ago. Carman (Holdings), which has subsidiaries including Brit European Transport and Silver Arrow Logistics, as well as two continental businesses in liquidation, said its core areas had performed well in 2016, although changes to the group’s activities affected the results. “The full positive effect of this adjustment will be felt immediately in 2017 with growing benefit throughout the year,” the company said in its results. Turnover was down £8.2m at £32m for the period. No one was available for comment as MT went to press.

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Company failures in the road freight sector more than doubled in the third quarter of this year, outstripping the 81.5% increase in the transport and logistics sector as a whole, according to the latest Creditsafe Watchdog Report.

The report, which looks at the quarterly performance of more than 114,000 companies in the transport and logistics sector, revealed 95 road freight companies went under in the third quarter of the year, compared with 47 road freight company failures in the previous quarter; a rise of 102%.

Most notable road freight sector failures in the period were container haulier Searon Logistics and TT Express (Oldham).

The report also showed that the number of road freight organisations that had had their financial health deemed very high risk also rose, from 452 in quarter two to 484 firms in quarter three.

Firms rated at moderate risk rose by 2,753 in the quarter to 24,966.

However, Creditsafe operations director Rachel Mainwaring said the outlook remained positive for the road freight sector.

“While the number of road freight company failures is a cause for concern, having doubled in the past quarter, the strength of sales and company growth suggests a strong end to the year for the sector as a whole,” she said.

16.10.17 12/10/2017 12:49:34

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12/10/2017 09:29:28

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An engaging seminar programme will run alongside the expo’s biggest exhibition yet

EXPO HIGHLIGHTS ■ Find out about trials of a virtual loading bay to improve congestion, encourage cleaner freight deliveries and reduce PCN costs.

■ The Robopilot project combines sensors around the vehicle with mapping, AI and fleet information to improve safety.

■ The Metropolitan Police will share some of the vital security measures in force around HGV operating centres.

The innovation game starts here

By Hayley Pink

Innovation is the theme at next month’s Freight in the City Expo, with seminar speakers exploring the emerging vehicle and infrastructure being developed and trialled in the UK. The first session will be introduced by Innovate UK and will cover several technology trials on UK roads, such as virtual loading bays and autonomous LCVs. A representative of TfL’s LoCITY programme will chair the second morning session, looking at the goals of London mayor Sadiq Khan’s draft transport strategy for the capital, as well as the work taking place to encourage uptake of cleaner freight vehicles.

There will be an insight into the research and development for low-emission HGVs for the waste collection sector and a session on what other UK cities are doing to tackle air quality.

In the afternoon, a panel of experts will answer questions on topics such as HGV safety, alternative fuels, consolidation and road charging.

The event also includes the expo’s biggest exhibition of the latest trucks, vans, equipment and technology designed for city freight movements.

At a glance...

Fraikin will be giving away free copies of its What You Need to Know guidebooks, designed

ARROW XL CEO STEPS DOWN Arrow XL CEO Ian Howell (right) has left the business after four years in the role. He has been replaced by chief operations officer Charlie Shiels, who joined Arrow XL this year after 20 years with DPD, on an interim basis. During his time with Arrow XL, Howell led the business’s transformation from loss-making Yodel XL to a business with a pre-tax profit of £2.6m in its most recent financial year. Howell said: “It’s been an honour and a privilege over the past four years to be part of such a great team, and I am proud of the turnaround and success story that is Arrow XL.” Earlier this year, Arrow XL was hit by a major fire that destroyed its Worcester hub. The operator has since opened an interim warehouse and DC in Droitwich Spa, and said its Worcester site will be operational again in 2019. Arrow XL won two MT Awards in 2016: Home Delivery Operator of the Year and Best Use of Technology.

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to help commercial fleet operators stay up-to-date with key legislative issues and changing technology in road transport.

The Sustainable Transport and Clean Air guidebook is for operators working in an urban environment, according to the rental and fleet management firm, and will inform them ahead of crucial fleet investment decisions.

Cenex will be demonstrating its expertise on the lowemission alternatives to medium trucks and HGVs by showcasing three of its key projects: ACCRA; Triumph; and Dedicated to Gas. Project ACCRA showcases smart-city technology that demonstrates real-time emissions control,

using live air-quality data to trigger electric hybrid engines to automatically switch to zeroemission mode in heavily polluted areas. Dedicated to Gas involves trialling more than 80 vehicles, ranging from 12 tonnes to 44 tonnes, between logistics fleets including Asda, Great Bear Distribution, Wincanton and Kuehne + Nagel.

Triumph, managed by Kuehne + Nagel, will involve running low-emission trucks in urban situations.

A variety of drivetrains will be tested, including rangeextended, battery-powered, and Dearman liquid nitrogenfuelled vehicles.

Transdek will exhibit two

10.6m Duets (above): an ambient trailer and a multi-temperature trailer. The latter includes quiet features suited for outof-hours deliveries in the convenience and grocery retail sectors. Both models, according to Transdek, have a tighter turning circle and better manoeuvrability than rigids without steering axles.

Transdek MD Mark Adams said: “We feel double-deck trailers designed for the urban environment can reduce the number of vehicles in towns and cities, slashing emissions.”

■ The expo takes place on 7 November at Alexandra Palace, London, and is free to attend. For details and to register, go to freightinthecity.com.

Pre-tax profit up at ECM ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) enjoyed a strong 2016 as UK car sales boomed, delivering a 12% increase in pre-tax profit, but the vehicle transporter warned of tough times ahead.

The company’s latest annual accounts show a 4.4% rise in turnover to £102m (2015: £98m) and a 12% increase in pre-tax profit to £1.3m (2015: £1.1m) in the year ended 31 December 2016.

ECM’s fleet of transporters and trucks, which makes more

than 1.3 million deliveries a year, has also seen expansion, increasing 27% since 2014 to more than 520 vehicles.

However, the business review, dated May 2017, thanked “employees, customers and suppliers for their continuing support during this challenging period”.

This year the number of car registrations has fallen, with the UK market 3.9% down year-on-year, according to the SMMT. 16.10.17 12/10/2017 12:45:26

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Changes to the way the contract is measured in the firm’s accounts has affected its annual results

NHS contract hits DHL profit

By Christopher Walton

DHL remains satisfied with the performance of its Supply Chain subsidiary, despite a 23% year-on-year fall in turnover caused by a change in the way its NHS Supply Chain contract reports revenue.

For the year ending 31 December 2016 turnover at DHL Supply Chain fell from £4.01bn to £3.09bn, while pretax profit fell from £108m in 2015 to £99.4m in 2016.

The business continues to renew consumer and retail contracts, formerly reported in its Exel UK and Tradeteam divisions, in DHL Supply Chain.

Turnover in Exel UK fell from £129m to £47.4m in the same period, with pre-tax profit rising to £1.6m from £521,000; while Tradeteam’s turnover fell from £118m to £106m and pre-tax profit fell from £2.7m to £441,000.

Speaking to MT in April,

DHL UK BY DIVISION Division

Turnover (£m) Pre-tax profit (£m)

DHL Supply Chain Exel UK Tradeteam DHL International (UK) Total UK Mail Total (including UK Mail)

3,086 47 106 796 4,036 356 4,392

99 1.6 0.4 15 117 7.6 124

Figures for the year ending 31 December 2016

DHL Supply Chain chief executive Paul Dyer said: “A year from now you will see a one-team approach, so we can start harnessing some of our scale and expertise and have a fantastic offering against the competition.”

Explaining the drop in turnover at DHL Supply Chain, the company said following the October 2015 renewal of its NHS Supply Chain contract for three years, new terms regarding the provision of procurement services had been introduced – resulting in a change of revenue reporting.

The company previously acted as a principal and now acts as an agent, which means the revenue and costs of such purchases and sales are no longer shown as turnover for the business and only the management fee is recognised.

Accounting for this change

in reported turnover, DHL said Supply Chain had shown underlying turnover growth of 4% during the financial year.

This year it has signed contracts with Next, Nisa, and BMW among others.

DHL International (UK) – which trades as DHL Express – saw turnover rise 11.9% to £796m (2015: £711m). Pre-tax profit fell slightly to £15m (2015: £15.8m), which DHL said was a result of “servicing

increasing volumes, and increased operational costs and depreciation charges due to infrastructure investment”.

In March, DHL Express opened its 150,000ft2 UK headquarters and southern hub near Heathrow airport.

While Deutsche Post DHL’s £243m purchase of UK Mail in December 2016 is complete, it is yet to align its reporting year with that of other DHL subsidiaries.

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Transport Focus’s report reinforces safety concerns regarding all-lane running

Keep on running

By Carol Millett

Transport Focus has raised concerns about the safety of Highways England’s all-lane running schemes, which are being rolled out across the smart motorway network to address congestion.

A year after the transport committee called for a halt to the roll-out of all-lane running schemes after raising serious safety concerns, Transport Focus has published its own report, which echoes the criticisms.

PA Images

Not so smart

The report, Getting to the heart of smart: road user experiences of smart motorways, is based on a survey of professional drivers and motorists.

Despite pledges from Highways England in September last year to educate drivers on these schemes, the report found a continuing low level of driver awareness of the existence of emergency refuge areas (ERAs) and driver uncertainty about what to do if they break down in these areas.

There was also poor understanding of what red X signs mean.

The survey found that while most drivers are “broadly positive about smart motorways”, they expressed frustration at “inappropriate” variable speed 10 MotorTransport

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limits, which they perceive to increase rather than decrease congestion.

T he paper calls on Highways England to make it clearer to road users when the hard shoulder should and should not be used, by using a green arrow as well as a red X sign. Referring to the trial of new signage and orange surfaces aimed at making ERAs more visible, Transport Focus urged that these improvements be introduced across all schemes “as quickly as possible”.

The watchdog recommended Highways England use speed limits “appropriate to the traffic conditions, in particular guarding against reducing speed unnecessarily and minimising the perception that speed limits are causing congestion rather than reducing it”.

It reminded Highways England of its responsibility to ensure drivers’ safety on all-lane running schemes. The report concludes: “Road users generally trust the authorities would not allow all-lane running if it was unsafe.

Highways England must ensure this trust is maintained in relation to existing all-lane running motorways and future conversions.”

Transport Focus chief

ALL-LANE RUNNING

All-lane running is being rolled out across Highways England’s smart motorway network, after being trialled on a number of motorways since 2006. Used alongside variable speed limits, it aims to reduce congestion by converting the hard shoulder into an extra traffic lane with emergency rescue areas (ERAs) provided every 500m to 800m. If a vehicle breaks down, or an incident causes the live hard shoulder to be blocked, a red X sign is used on message boards to warn drivers to avoid using the lane.

Last year, the transport committee published a damning report that called for the immediate suspension of the roll-out of all-lane running schemes, until safety concerns surrounding the size and spacing of emergency refuge areas (ERAs) and the use of the red X signals were addressed.

The government responded by launching a review of Highways England’s all-lane running schemes, which includes trialling longer and more visible ERAs and educating drivers on the schemes, but declined to halt the roll-out – a decision the committee condemned in the strongest terms, accusing the government of “blatantly ignoring” the safety concerns set out in the report. The review is expected to be published this autumn.

executive Anthony Smith said: “The message to Highways England is that millions of drivers successfully use smart motorways, but there is more to do to improve their understanding of how they work and what to do if you break down.”

Responding to the report, Highways England chief highways engineer Mike Wilson said the agency was already addressing these issues. “Our evidence shows smart motorways are as safe as other motorways – some of the safest roads in the world.

“We recognise motorists need to be confident using smart motorways, and we are making improvements such

as improving signs and painting emergency areas bright orange. We have an ongoing campaign aimed at improving understanding and making it clearer where drivers can stop in an emergency,” he said.

Education

Highways England argued it is already educating drivers, pointing to its guidance note, How to drive on a smart motorway.

A spokeswoman told MT: “Although smart motorways are designed to be intuitive, we will work with our partners to give drivers the information they need to show what smart motorways will look like and what drivers should do,

encouraging understanding of the signs, compliance with speed limits and the red X, what to do in a breakdown and good vehicle maintenance.”

But is that far enough?

RHA policy director Duncan Buchanan thinks not. He said: “It is vital people are made aware of how smart motorways work. If they aren’t then it undermines the entire safety case.

“Transport Focus has identified that many people do not understand how they work, and it is essential that every road user is made aware as soon as possible of how they should behave in these situations.”

16.10.17 11/10/2017 14:45:29

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Focus: Warehousing

motortransport.co.uk

Available space reduces as Brexit slows building Brexit

The period since the Brexit vote has seen a slowdown in warehouse development activity but property experts are convinced it is only a blip.

DTRE director Mark Webster is among those who believe the fundamentals of the market, including demand for e-fulfilment centres and a drive for efficiency by operators, are still in place. “The total speculative space being completed in 2017 is going to be down on last year – possibly because of the Brexit vote – but there is not going to be any structural move away from online retail and it is business as usual when it comes to trying to take costs out of the supply chain,” he said.

The DTRE estimates 5.8 million ft2 of speculative space, in warehouses bigger than 50,000ft2, will be completed this year, down on 2016’s 10.3 million ft2 but that was a record year – in 2015 the figure was 4.2 million ft2.

Savills’ research paints a similar picture, with the number of announcements of speculative starts of buildings above 100,000ft2 falling to 11 in 2017, down from 43 in 2015 and 28 in 2016.

Despite this, Savills director Richard Sullivan said the market is strong.

“That represents a collective caution

applied to market dynamics and Brexit is a factor. But generally there is confidence in the UK logistics market,” he said. He is optimistic even if the Brexit process hits difficulties. “Anecdotally, our clients say uncertainty over trading arrangements could lead them to store more products for longer in the UK,” he said.

Despite the overall decrease in speculative development, many of the larger players are pressing ahead with new projects. Gazeley, for example, is building a 574,000ft2 speculative building – the largest in the UK since before

25

the recession – at Magna Park, Milton Keynes (pictured above).

In addition, Panattoni Europe, part of a major US logistics developer, announced in September it was entering the UK and had formed a company with Warwick-based First Industrial.

The entity, First Panattoni, has £300m available for land acquisition and speculative development.

The support of investors is vital in stimulating development and agents said this is firmly in place. In July, for example, specialist warehousing investor Tritax Big Box bought the 124-acre former Littlebrook Power Station in Dartford, where it will work with Bericote Properties to develop up to 1.7 million ft2 of space. Tritax has bought a number of existing buildings, including a Royal Mail facility in Atherstone and an Ocado DC in Birch Coppice in the West Midlands.

20

North West

UK LOGISTICS TAKE-UP BY SECTOR H1 35 30

15 10

Other

Post and parcels

Other manuf’ing

Retail – other

Retail – food

Motor industry

Construction

3PL/ distribution

0

Retail – online

5

The North West is seeing strong demand for warehousing with a number of large deals. But there are increasing shortages in supply and agents predict a time-lag before stock is built.

Take-up of buildings over 50,000ft2 in H1 was 2.52 million ft2, according to Knight Frank’s Logic report, a rise of

32% on the same period in 2016.

Speculatively-built space has proved popular, with 225,000ft2 let to Whistl and 357,000ft2 to Amazon at Logistics North in Bolton. Amazon also took a 356,000ft2 speculative unit at Omega in Warrington.

Aherne Property Consultants director Andrew Aherne said: “Demand is robust and there are still enquiries from people looking for space, which is putting pressure on supply.”

This is borne out by figures from Savills that estimate the availability of units over 100,000ft2 has fallen by 11% to 5.5 million ft2 since the end of 2016.

Three units totalling 420,000ft2 are being constructed speculatively but Savills director Stuart Murray believes more is needed. However, there is likely to be a delay before future schemes get off the ground. “We’ll see announcements about speculative development at the end of the year or early next, with buildings completed 12 months after that,” he said.

Developers are keen to bring forward land for both speculative and build-tosuit development where they can. For example, Bericote Properties gained planning consent earlier this year for a 1.4 million ft2 development of two units at Florida Farm North, St Helens.

Online retailing continues to be the dominant force in the logistics property market, accounting for 33% of take-up of buildings over 100,000ft2 in H1, according to CBRE’s Property perspective report. This is a rise from 29% in H2 2016 and 15% in 2015 – five years ago online retailing accounted for 0.6% of take-up. Other types of food and non-food retailing were responsible for 15% of take-up in H1, down from 23% in H2 2016, while 3PLs saw their share rise from 16% to 21%.

Source: CBRE

14 MotorTransport MTR_161017_014.indd 14

16.10.17 11/10/2017 11:58:28

Highwayman

motortransport.co.uk

I knew you were trouble when you phoned in have no fear, I’ll call you back later as I’m driving a van by the river”.

Or Carly Rae Jepsen’s breakthough hit could become “Hey I just met you, and this is crazy.

But here’s my number, but I‘m driving, so don’t call me maybe”.

Or going slightly more art rock, Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs might work as: “In the suburbs, I learned to drive. And you told me we’d never survive... if you use your phone at the wheel you’re probably right”.

Perhaps Bono, frontman of U2 and famed for his love of driving, has the key: “With or without you. With or without you, I can’t live with or without you... but I’m giving it a crack without as I’m driving”.

PA Images

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

Highwayman was interested to read that superhuman and pop singer Taylor Swift has had her lyrics used in a US road safety campaign to remind people not to drive while using their phones.

Swift’s current single, Look what you made me do, has been used on road signs by the Iowa Department of Transport to get the road safety message across.

“Old Taylor can’t come to the phone... she’s driving” reads the campaign, perhaps wisely sidestepping the actual end lyrics that are “she’s dead”.

But what might work in the UK? The Clash, perhaps? It could go: “London calling to the faraway towns... engines stop running, but I

Medical maladay: van flu

HORSEPLAY: That awkward moment when Whites of Reading’s truck at the Palletforce super hub opening in Burton upon Trent only has two horsepower. Although it probably went down well enough with guest of honour HRH Princess Anne.

ATS Euromaster has called on van fleet operators to ensure their vehicles don’t get a bad case of winter weather-related downtime, with a £20 multi-point vehicle check designed to help immunise against van flu.

T he check, conducted by ATS Euromaster’s technicians, provides an investigation of a van’s critical components, such as tyres, brakes and battery, but no Lemsip or Mansize tissues.

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MotorTransport 15 11/10/2017 12:36:26

Viewpoint

motortransport.co.uk

The Direct Vision Standard is not a cure-all

B

efore we go into the detail of TfL’s Direct Vision Standard, I want to make it clear the RHA is keen to make London’s roads safer for both cyclists and pedestrians, who are far more at risk.

The RHA has spent a great deal of time analysing this issue to understand the cause of vulnerable road user deaths in London. Of particular significance is the high number of deaths of cyclists who are women of international origin. This could, perhaps, highlight an awareness issue and the potential need for more road user education.

It’s a well-known fact that 94% of accidents are caused by people’s behaviour. We need to bring balance to this argument; direct vision standards alone will not reduce vulnerable road user deaths.

The RHA believes that if the situation is to be improved, there needs to be greater emphasis on education and appreciating that London is a multicultural city, attracting people from across the world. But education is not about the young; it’s about educating those who are at the highest

Richard Burnett Chief executive RHA

risk – regardless of age. There also needs to be greater emphasis on improving road safety through road planning. Why should the haulage industry be penalised yet again through direct vision standards?

TfL’s latest statement on 22 September introduced clarity as to how its five-star rating will be applied against specific truck makes and models. This has highlighted the sheer scale of the problem we as an industry face, as a high proportion of fleets operated by much of the sector would be zero-rated and, therefore, non-compliant.

The figures we highlighted to London mayor Sadiq Khan showed it would cost an estimated £11bn for the industry to meet his demand of delivering the standard by 2020.

It would appear TfL have now realised the scale of this challenge, and I would hope this will bring some balance to the consultation. Rest assured, the RHA will continue to work hard to achieve the best outcome for our industry and for all vulnerable road users.

The newspaper for transport operators

To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Editor-in-chief Christopher Walton 2163 Group news editor Chris Druce 2158 Group technical editor Colin Barnett 2141 Aftermarket editor Roger Brown 2168 Vans editor George Barrow 2156 Urban editor Hayley Pink 2165 Senior legal reporter Ashleigh Wight 2167 Reporter Emma Shone 2164 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Chief sub-editor Rufus Thompson 2173 Layout sub-editor Grace Wood 2174 Key account managers Andrew Smith 07771 885874 Richard Bennett 07889 823060 Display telesales Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Group sales manager Julie McInally 2122 rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 Head of events/MT Awards Stephen Pobjoy 2135 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, Sixth Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170

THE NEW SCANIA

What price for another badge of approval?

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Steve Hobson Editor Motor Transport

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ƌĞĂƟǀĞ ŝƌĞĐƚŽƌ oining a roadside check with the DVSA and Environment Agency the other day, it struck me just how many badges some trucks – especially tippers run by reputable companies – can carry these days. FTA, RHA, CLOCS, FORS, ECO Stars – the list of industry bodies and voluntary accreditation schemes operators can now pay to sign up for is exhaustive and possible exhausting for many.

The only one the DVSA is interested in of course is the O-licence – keeping the UK’s 80,000 HGV operators running safe and legally compliant remains a full-time job for the agency’s 700 hard-pressed enforcement staff.

So have the O-licence requirements – alongside the UK’s Construction & Use regulations – fallen so far behind the times that legal compliance is no longer sufficient evidence that an operator is safe?

Clearly for a number of clients – especially in the London public procurement and construction sectors – this must be the case, as they have chosen to specify their transport contractors must be CLOCS- and FORS-accredited.

So, while some operators like to have every

16 MotorTransport MTR_161017_016.indd 16

^ŝŐŶ Kī

Adapt

badge on their vehicles to demonstrate to the world their commitment to safety, others have little choice but to go over and above UK national legal standards to work for these clients.

In the current climate of corporate arse-covering, it is hardly surprising that construction companies and public bodies want to be seen to require their transport contractors to be as safety-conscious on the roads as they are on site – and after all it doesn’t cost them a penny more to write FORS and CLOCS into their tender documents. It is the hauliers who must weigh up if the extra cost of compliance is worth the extra work.

If and when the DVSA gets earned recognition off the ground, this will be another option hard-pressed, compliant operators will have to weigh up. Will it be worth investing in systems to provide the data the DVSA will want in order to be left to get on with their job?

Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Tel 0330 333 9544 Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £125/year. Europe £160 (€235)/year. RoW £160 ($329)/year.

Cheques made payable to Motor Transport.

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

Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 16.10.17 12/10/2017 09:07:25

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Safety

Above board

Safety is a priority for all good fleets. But is there – or should there be – a single way to define fleet safety? Louise Cole reports

F

ORS stopped being a TfL-led regional programme and became the remit of concessionary organisation the FORS Community Partnership (FCP) two and half years ago.

CLOCS also moved to new private management, but still funded by TfL, in October 2016. Both have aspirations to be the single, aligned, national standard for logistics, embraced and mandated by fleets and procurers alike. But the vision of a single scheme (which the two effectively become at FORS silver level), for which access and pricing is controlled by a single profit-making organisation is problematic. As is its progress into the wider country, where regional differences

20 MotorTransport MTR_161017_020-021.indd 20

abound and local authorities have different priorities.

There are, of course, strong arguments for fleet management standards. Although neither FORS nor CLOCS has offered MT recent figures for the collision reduction rate of members, both anecdote and common sense suggest any fleets undertaking systematic riskmanagement procedures will see safety benefits. Recently the FCP has spent more time developing its environmental statements, which was something FORS had paid little attention to previously.

While the initial emphasis until recently fell heavily on fleets to carry the burden of both change and cost, one benefit of not-for-profit

construction consultancy SECBE taking over CLOCS has been its success in engaging with construction companies and aggregate sites.

Construction companies are being encouraged to plan and prepare their sites with logistics in mind, to be considerate with regard to the types of vehicle, traffic flows and off-road surfaces.

Single scheme

FORS regional director Anne Johnson asserts that 85% of logistics operators want a single national scheme. This figure is based on a Freight in the City survey, sponsored by TfL, and was, says one commentator “a slingshot aimed at the FTA”, which was at the time trying to launch its Truck Excellence standard as an equivalent to FORS. But the survey questions ‘Do you feel there is a need for a single UK-wide safety standard?’ and ‘Do you want one safety standard or many?’ are quite different.

Operators were wary of the idea of each local authority or city adopting its own standard, and the operational gymnastics this would entail.

However, two years later there is no evidence of this happening. Indeed the experience of FCP and CLOCS, which have both been trying to encourage local authorities (LAs) to commit to their standards, suggests that while LAs may prioritise safety and air quality, they have little interest in tying their or their contractors’ hands in terms of how it is achieved.

At the time of writing, of the 33 London boroughs, five councils are accredited to FORS bronze (Enfield, Hackney, Wandsworth, Merton and Greenwich at two sites), one to silver (Hounslow) and three to gold (City of London, Camden and Southwark). Only TfL and Ealing are listed as champions. Outside London the only councils to pledge themselves as FORS/ CLOCS champions are Northumberland, which promises to align itself with the standard in seven years, and Transport for Greater Manchester. The Highways Agency is also specifying FORS or equivalent, according to Johnson.

She says FORS has 4,700 accredited members and is expected to reach 5,000 by the end of 2017, a 14% growth rate. Its growth in 2015 and 2016 was 32% and 22% respectively.

It is possible FCP is experiencing a diminishing marginal return because the companies it 16.10.17 12/10/2017 13:35:25

motortransport.co.uk

VULNERABLE ROAD USER DEATHS IN LONDON 2016 VS 2015 The perception that cycling deaths are primarily caused by HGVs is unfounded and they are no longer disproportionately involved in such collisions in London.

In 2016 pedestrian deaths fell by 8% but the killed and serious injury rate (KSI) rose 20% against 2015. Cycle deaths were down 11% (from nine to eight) but serious injury up 18%. Motorcyclist deaths fell by 8% but KSI rose 29%. Cycling deaths were caused by collisions with one car, one HGV, one van, one bus, and one tree, and involved two heart attacks.

There were nine fatalities and 219 pedestrians taken to hospital following collisions with buses. As MT went to press it could still find no TfL work-related road risk documents that pertained to its bus contracts, and is awaiting its response.

requires are increasingly small and less interested. It also highlights a weakness of voluntary safety schemes. Voluntary practices are selfselecting and appeal to those that take safety and reputation seriously. Those poorer, smaller, or under-funded operators, and owner-drivers, are unlikely to be reached.

The FORS/CLOCS mentality is that those who do not comply will eventually be starved of work. But even in London that does not occur. MT’s enquiries to various councils within London and outside showed little consistent interest. The London Borough of Croydon says it happens to have some subcontractors that are FORS compliant, and is reworking its procurement standards in light of air-quality demands – it did not say that it mandates FORS.

Work-related road risk

The London Borough of Redbridge was the first to accredit Truck Excellence (TE) plus TfL, which at the time was an equivalent. This equivalence was lost when FORS amended its November 2016 4.0 standard to 4.1 and then 4.1.i in early 2017. Redbridge presumably preferred the concept of TE and says it will accredit to this and its sibling Van Excellence and may also accredit to FORS bronze.

City of London Corporation specifies FORS and CLOCS as ways of managing work-related road risk (WRRR) but also has its own additional scheme CityMark, and until recently it chose to accredit its own fleet to Van Excellence.

Cambridgeshire County Council, despite its huge cycling population, has said it does not mandate FORS or CLOCS, although it encourages operators to follow the principles of risk management and best practice.

It would seem neither operators nor councils are as wedded to the concept of a single standard as TfL’s survey suggests.

Local authorities are in a post-austerity era and are substantially under-funded and underresourced. It seems unlikely those with good relationships with subcontractors that meet work-related road risk, service and cost needs would complicate the procurement with standards that may well affect choice or price.

FORS and CLOCS undoubtedly prove a company is serious about work-related road risk. However, most of the vehicle specifications 16.10.17 MTR_161017_020-021.indd 21

in the standards are regulatory – Class 5 mirrors and underrun bars have been mandatory for years. There are exempt vehicles but, even in London, the Safer Lorry Scheme only scooped up a few thousand from the 175,000 commercial vehicles that enter the capital daily.

Within a couple of years direct vision (windows) or an indirect vision (camera) systems – as specified by FORS silver and CLOCS – will be mandatory in London. In other words, the vehicle specification that exists in the CLOCS standard isn’t far from the model of basic legal compliance.

The only elements that differ are the Class 6 mirrors (front blind spot), audible alerts and driver-aid camera systems. And none of these have proved a substantial safety benefit.

Research by TfL and the University of Leeds has shown extra mirrors and camera systems are not efficient at improving drivers’ hazard perception – not least because there are differences in how we perceive reflected or on-screen images and there is a time lapse between the driver checking multiple points and being able to refocus, cognitively, on the road.

The Transport Research Laboratory concluded in 2014 that Class 5 and 6 mirrors were only between 13% and 52% safer, but that observation came down to the driver’s skill and attentiveness. Direct vision is thought to be a better and more effective solution long term.

What could a single safety standard offer the industry?

Jacqueline O’Donovan, MD of O’Donovan Waste, is a fan of the schemes. Her company was the first to achieve FORS gold and she is a non-executive director of SECBE (the CLOCS concession-holder). She says such standards give an easy blueprint for companies without a dedicated safety officer, and she has benefitted hugely from the sharing of best practice between fleets at FORS forums. O’Donovan’s accident rates have reduced by 25% across the board, but it is a company determined to not only do everything possible to improve safety but to prove it. Hence O’Donovan says she went well beyond the FORS standard in her safety mission and was the first to bring an Econic direct vision vehicle into operation.

There is little doubt the logistics industry

wants and needs to address work-related road risk. The doubt is whether it will benefit from being asked to prove it through a single scheme.

With the recent changes to the Ogden discount table, fleet insurers are going to increasingly demand fleets not simply meet standards but provide solid data about risk reduction. It is tempting to think that if insurers – who stand to lose over fleet liability claims – can be convinced of a company’s sound safety protocols, no one else should question them, accreditations notwithstanding.

At the same time, fleets will soon be challenged to present compliance data for earned recognition. Like it or not, operators will have to prove their merit in different ways. And the most important proof will centre on driver education and management.

The safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as cyclists is the key matter. Driver education and law enforcement are the most effective methods of cutting collision rates across road user groups and 20% of cyclist deaths are caused by a large vehicle passing too close to a cyclist.

West Midlands police has achieved a 20% cyclist KSI reduction from its #OpClosePass, in which undercover officers cycle around educating motorists that get too close.

Perception and distraction

It is possible pushing a single standard for vehicles will not only fail to capture those fleets for which safety is not already a priority, but could continue an unfounded perception that trucks are the most dangerous vehicles and distract from legislative and enforcement measures that may in fact save more lives. ■ MotorTransport 21 12/10/2017 13:35:49

MTR_161017_D02B063.qxp 12/10/2017 09:13 Page 2

In association with:

MEETING THE URBAN LOGISTICS CHALLENGE If you are involved in delivering or receiving goods in towns and cities, Freight in the City Expo is the must-attend event for you.

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issues around urban deliveries. In between seminar sessions, there will be plenty of time for you to browse the extensive exhibition and meet leading suppliers showcasing the latest in clean, safe and quiet vehicle technology and equipment.

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THIS YEAR’S SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Our Host: Simon Jack, Business Editor and Broadcaster

Simon Jack, Business Editor, is taking on the role previously held by Robert Peston, Kamal Ahmed and Jeff Randall. Popular for his approachable, easy style, Simon formerly covered the day’s business headlines for Radio 4’s Today and Breakfast News. After time spent as a corporate and investment banker in London, New York Ross Paterson, and Bermuda, Simon joined the broadcaster’s Business Head of Product and Economics unit. He reported for the Today and Marketing, programme and 5 Live’s Wake up to Money.

Mercedes-Benz He also presented business and Trucks UK financial podcasts for the Matt Hague, Daily Telegraph.

Executive Director

– Product Strategy, Microlise Neil Herron, CEO, Grid Smarter Cities James Hookham, Deputy Chief Exec, Freight Transport Association

James Hookham is Deputy Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association, the UK’s largest trade association serving the needs of the freight and logistics sectors. James has worked at FTA for over 25 years and has served as its Policy Director for most of that time. James will be taking part in the Freight Expectations debate about evolving city logistics.

Neil Herron is the founder and CEO of Grid Smarter Cities - an eco-system of smart solutions connecting communities and people with transport, parking, goods, services, discounts and offers. It is about making lives easier for everyone and making cities smarter, efficient and inclusive. Neil will be talking about the benefits to local authorities and operators of a virtual loading bay technology.

Matt joined Microlise in 1998 with the responsibility for Microlise’s product design and activities.

Growing beyond his role, Matt is behind the creation of the Microlise Telematics & Transport Management solution which now has more than 250,000 active vehicle connections worldwide. Matt will be talking about the use of big data to boost road safety in urban environments.

Ross has worked within the truck industry since leaving school some 28 years ago. His career commenced in a MercedesBenz truck dealership learning the trade and becoming a qualified technician. He joined Mercedes-Benz head office in 1997 and now heads up a new Product & Marketing Department.

Ross will be bringing his technical expertise to the Freight Expectations debate on future city deliveries and vehicles.

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12/10/2017 09:19:20

Profile: SJ Bargh

Made of the white stuff Moving milk can be a tricky business and although SJ Bargh isn’t ready to give up on it just yet, it is expanding its general haulage and pallet network business. Steve Hobson reports

L

ancaster-based milk and general haulier SJ Bargh has invested in the Midlands in the past 18 months, buying general haulier RG Bassett & Sons in Tittensor near Stoke onTrent and opening a state-of-the-art milk transhipment site at The Shires, just 4 miles from Bassetts.

Anthony Finlayson-Green (right), SJB Logistics group MD, joined the family-owned haulier in November 2014. He quit his role as Cert Octavian MD when the drinks distributor was acquired by Culina in 2012 and had a period in consultancy and interim leadership before taking the reins at SJ Bargh.

Our interview takes place at The Shires, a 3.7-acre site recently completed after 18 months of reconstruction. The SJ Bargh HQ will remain in Caton Road, Lancaster, but the offices include an expanded training room, boardroom and traffic office, along with warehousing, a cleanin-place tankwash and a workshop with three lanes, one of which is an ATF. Finlayson-Green says: “This is our Midlands operation and our second-largest site – we have the main site in Lancaster and a number of others. We were on three sites including Endon

24 MotorTransport MTR_161017_024-025.indd 24

[also near Stoke and the former site of Weaver Logistics, acquired by SJ Bargh in 2009]. There are 70 drivers here and the training room will accommodate 25 people so we can expand our third-party Driver CPC training.

“The group has 175,000ft2 warehousing but we are about to get rid of an external warehouse at Bassetts. Our next venture has to be warehousing because we need more space for SJ Bargh and Bassetts. But we need a year off to consolidate what we’ve done.”

Milking it

Milk collection is a complex but low-margin business (see panel), which is why SJ Bargh acquired Bassetts in June 2016 and is expanding its own general haulage and pallet network business – it is a Palletforce member.

“The volume of milk produced has stayed the same for many years [UK annual milk production is about 15 billion litres and worth £5bn],” says Finlayson-Green. “There were lots of little farms but as farmers have left the industry their herds have gone to bigger farms. There used to be 36,000 dairy farms and we are down to 9,800. We collect 4 million litres a day from the Midlands to the edge of Cumbria and our

CREAM OF THE CROP SJ Bargh has been one of the UK’s leading milk hauliers for more than 80 years and remains at the forefront of the bulk milk collection business, says head of operations Ian McKay. The company has invested in metering equipment for the tankers. Although the dairies will weigh the vehicles in and out as a measure of the quantity of milk delivered, some customers will pay the farmer based on SJ Bargh’s metering.

The driver samples each load so if there is a problem with milk quality, the source can be identified and isolated. “Most drivers work on domestic hours for farm collections,” says McKay. “They tend to do the same route every day and the farmers like to see the same driver and truck. How the driver samples the milk before collection can affect how much the farmer gets paid, so even though farmers aren’t our customers we need a close working relationship.

“The reload side tends to be more transient – it is a case of getting the product from A to B. Having said that, we are audited by our customers every six months to Dairy UK standards and part of that is training all drivers.

“Dairies can reject a load if it is delivered by an untrained driver, especially when there is too much milk on the market. If the milk is over age – delivered more than 23 hours 59 minutes since collection – or over temperature, that’s our problem again. Then we have to dispose of the load.

“If the load is rejected because there are antibiotics in it, that is the dairy company’s problem because they were brought in by the farmer.”

16.10.17 11/10/2017 09:22:47

motortransport.co.uk

FAMILY PLANNING SJ Bargh has a succession plan to keep the firm in family ownership, if not management. It was founded in 1935 by Sam and Jessie Bargh in Claughton, a small village near Lancaster.

In 1960 the company moved to the TNT Garage in nearby Caton. A year later Sam Bargh passed away and his son Ronnie became chairman. Forty years later Ronnie passed away and his daughters Liz Lloyd, Rebecca Towers and Rachel Thomas took up ownership as equal shareholders.

The business has always been cash-rich and reinvests profit in property and vehicles wherever possible. “Where we can, we own them,” says Finlayson-Green.

While the management teams run the business, strategy is set at monthly board meeting with the three sisters. “There are no other family members on the board.

There are eight children in the next generation; one of whom drives for us casually and a couple have done various jobs in the business in the past. The family is supportive of the management. I never thought we would get buying Bassetts over the line but they backed it all the way.”

biggest clients are Arla and Muller.”

One problem that SJ Bargh has to contend with is dairies consolidating, closing smaller sites and moving to farm collections every two days rather than every day. “Muller bought Wiseman and Dairy Crest, and Arla merged with Milk Link,” says Finlayson-Green. “Apart from some smaller customers we have a duopoly. A lot of dairies have moved out of the north and Midlands so we have to trunk milk further.

“They collect their own milk so we face competition from our customers. Arla has a big drive to collect every other day so farmers have to get bigger tanks with a wider outlet so we can collect quicker. The dairies naturally want to control the milk. They need raw product to keep the factories moving and there have been days when they were shipping milk around because they run out of milk in one place.”

Another change being imposed on hauliers is delivering milk direct to dairies in rigid farm collection tankers rather than large articulated reload barrels. The Shires has a large canopy to enable 36 vehicles to tranship milk under cover, partly to protect the expensive equipment but also for driver welfare. “They work in all weathers so the least we can do is put a roof over their heads,” says Finlayson-Green. “The yard is built in an envelope with a 30,000-litre capacity to capture any milk spillages.”

He says the site has been “future-proofed” so it can be repurposed in the event the big dairies pursue their objective of taking milk direct from the farm themselves. “Instead of transshipping from small to large tanks we have to take it from the farm to the dairy,” says Finlayson-Green. “With this change we have holes in our operation and that affects everything, including profit. We have got rid of 70 tanks in the past year.

“With smaller farm collection trucks going to the dairy there are queues because they can’t accommodate all the vehicles. To deliver 285,000 litres it takes 10 tankers each with 28,500 litres, 16.10.17 MTR_161017_024-025.indd 25

but if we take it in 18,000-litre loads that is 15 trucks to weigh in, unload and wash.

“The logic is that it cuts costs by not transshipping, but they are not prepared for it.”

There is a limit to what SJ Bargh can do to improve profit in its milk business but Finlayson-Green and the firm’s owners are determined to stick with it (see panel).

“Milk will always be the core of what we do, but these changes happen and they happen quickly. Because there is no minimum volume they can put the work out to tender and they measure us against themselves and decide they can do it cheaper. Invariably we don’t get a rate increase but costs keep going up.

“It’s a very difficult market that gives a low return for what we do. That’s why the strategy is to broaden our operation by buying Bassetts.

We already had a small general haulage operation and a Scania parts dealership in Lancaster.

With the reload requirement dropping we got rid of some of the tanks and increased from five to 15 tractors on general haulage.”

Diversification

Because of the trials and tribulations in the core milk business, SJ Bargh’s operating profit margins are lower than Bassetts’ for 2016/17, and group earnings will be strengthened if Bassetts can achieve its planned growth.

“Bassetts makes roughly £500,000 on £9m turnover, while SJ Bargh previously earned £1m on £29m turnover; that year will be break even on operating. This year we made some property sales so the numbers will look strong,” says Finlayson-Green. “Bassetts is a very traditional family haulier that works for a lot of customers in the Potteries such as [international materials and ceramics supplier] Sibelco and [tableware manufacturer] Johnsons.

“Bassetts is a Palletforce member and only 30 miles from the hub in Burton so it can go in during the day and get better rates. SJ Bargh is a founder member of Palletforce and we go

past Bassetts’ door on the way to the hub.

“We are doing two or three double-deck trailers a night from Lancaster, so if we have a part load we can go into Bassetts and consolidate it. It only saves 60 miles, but it allows trailer swaps for maintenance,” says Finlayson-Green.

In Lancaster, SJ Bargh is the Scania-approved dealer and although its Stoke site doesn’t have that official status it will supply all of SJ Bargh’s own parts. The Shires workshop will maintain the firm’s trucks and carry out some third-party repair and maintenance work. The Bassetts site also has its own workshop that maintains the group’s dry freight trailers.

“That is slightly bigger than this one but it has looked after Bassetts’ vehicles, whereas Lancaster is about third-party work,” says Finlayson-Green. “We employ two apprentices here, three at Lancaster and we are about to put one in at Bassetts.”

The SJB group fleet stands at 340 vehicles, down from 500 two years ago. The Shires is home to 92 farm collection rigids, 44 tractors and 24 tanks.

There are limited windows when the tankers can collect milk, as they have to work around the twice-daily milking. “Farm collections usually start at 7am and are finished by 4pm,” says Finlayson-Green. “We do go on night collections to get better utilisation and with the large tanks there are other compatible products we could carry. We don’t, but that doesn’t mean we won’t. We would probably isolate part of the fleet for that as the dairies don’t want anything other than dairy products in the tanks.

We have a vinegar contract and those tanks are kept separate. Now we have finished the building work we will have to look to do more as the tractor units can pull anything.

“For a company our size, which has never really deviated from its core business, we have done a hell of a lot in the past 18 months. Now we have got to make it all work and produce a profit.” ■ MotorTransport 25 11/10/2017 09:24:37

Profile: Jigsaw

Putting the

pieces together

Is it a 3PL? Is it a 4PL? No it’s a 3.5PL. Steve Hobson talks to national consortium Jigsaw about its alternative haulier partner service

J

igsaw is a consortium of 11 regional, mainly familyowned hauliers that operates as a national network for customers that need a UK and Ireland-wide service but for whom the large 3PLs are not a natural cultural fit.

Owned by its largest partner CM Downton, Jigsaw employs 70 staff and this year is expected to report a turnover £37.9m, up 10% on 2016, and deliver 295,000 consignments.

Customers include Premier Foods, AB InBev, Indesit, Mars, Ardagh Glass and Whirlpool and partners are Pollock, Elddis, Currie European, Montgomery, Longs of Leeds, PC Howard, Bartrums, Sparks Transport, S&R Smith and Nolan Transport.

So why do clients prefer Jigsaw to one of the national 3PLs? MD Andy Humpherson says: “Transport is a cyclical business that swings from small regional hauliers to large corporations

and we are in the cycle now where we are coming back to more localisation. However, a lot of manufacturers have taken out their skills base and where they used to have logistics teams, a lot of that knowledge base is gone. To leverage the benefits of regional hauliers they’ve got to have something as a single source and the knowledge to pull them together.

“That’s the void Jigsaw is filling. There is clearly a demand for the good things that regional hauliers can bring to the party, which is not evident with the large guys. It is a different way of approaching life and they make things happen. That’s very powerful. If you can harness that and put it in front of a large corporation and talk the same language that’s the success Jigsaw is bringing. It can translate the requirement from the large corporation into the haulier.”

Set of services

As the large 3PLs have expanded, they often struggle to present a coherent set of services to customers, which can find themselves dealing with different departments in the same firm. “A lot of the large corporate 3PLs operate in silos so it’s not one organisation,” says Humpherson. “Often you will get a contract solution designed from other parts of the operation and those barriers can be significant. Whereas collaboration is our business model. We know how to make things happen and don’t have to go through long approvals. It is much easier and quicker to get things done.”

The proof of the service pudding is in the length of time Jigsaw has retained some of its key clients. “Service levels offered by the 3PLs are of a certain standard. However, our customers, which are mainly large FMCG manufacturers, were on fourth or fifth contract renewals with those guys,” says Humpherson.

“For example, we’ve had Mars since 2003, Premier Foods since 2005, and our success rate in renewing is very good. That symbolises our service offering.

“At Jigsaw we are not encumbered by asset productivity; the hauliers are. We are focused on delivering service to the customer.

It’s a subtle but important difference. If you try to do that wrapped up in one organisation it is easy to lose sight of what you are selling to the customer because you are constantly looking at return on investment.”

Agent work

Humpherson is, however, quick to point out that Jigsaw is not a 4PL, managing regional hauliers as an agent of the client. But he concedes that is now an expanding part of the business alongside the core member-only Jigsaw operation.

“We have been described as a 3.5PL but we are also a 4PL,” he says. “Increasingly our business is concentrating on ➜ 28 26 MotorTransport MTR_161017_026-028.indd 26

16.10.17 10/10/2017 10:14:11

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12/10/2017 09:46:18

Profile: Jigsaw

DREAM JOB: “The dream is to have planned traffic every day that you can pre-allocate resource to and every business has a core level where that happens,” says MD Andy Humpherson

4PL-type provision. That means we don’t just provide trucks – we manage hauliers that might have had contractual arrangements directly with the customer such as an Irish specialist or some form of backhaul arrangement.

“We offer a lot of our customers an added value service: we manage their backhaul operation for them. So if they have a contract with Tesco to backhaul, rather than the customer having a resource to manage that, it comes into us and we manage it for them.”

Non-member subcontractors

While 82% of Jigsaw’s total volume still goes through its 11 partners, increasing volumes will go through specialist nonmember subcontractors. “As we expand, the requirements become more diverse,” says Humpherson. “In the early days the founding partners would have run trucks all over the country. Where we are now with rates and productivity they can’t do that and the members stay within their geographic areas. So if we pick up a client with a heavy requirement to say Cornwall then Downton would take an element of that volume. But we would then work with a specialist in that geography. The same would apply in the Highlands.”

But Humpherson is adamant that Jigsaw will never own any assets. “We’re owned 100% by Downton, so we would never get into a situation where we are running fixed resource,” he says. “As soon as we do that we start making decisions for the wrong reasons. Downton is the muscle behind us, so if any client is concerned about what happens when the going gets tough we have that resource behind us.

“All the partners are contracted to us so all our service level agreements with our customers are reflected back in their contracts. They all sign undertakings to take on allocations so any volumes going into the North East and the Midlands Elddis would be signed up to take and one of the other partners would provide support if the volumes got too big.”

This enables Jigsaw to cope with large swings in volume that can result when retailers drop unplanned promotions on the supply chain. “The dream is to have planned traffic every day that you can pre-allocate resource to and every business has a core level where that happens,” says Humpherson. “For us the access we have to partners’ fleets is a big resource and our real specialism is how we cope with spikes.

“Every customer has planned and unplanned promotions.

We do a lot of work with the customer base putting plans together for peak periods. For our alcohol clients we have meetings in August to identify the Christmas peaks and allocate resource.

“When you have unplanned spikes, we usually start to see a couple of days before that something is coming. Our commercial team is heavily ingrained in customers’ operations and they usually bring information back. We are not afraid to tell a 28 MotorTransport MTR_161017_026-028.indd 28

motortransport.co.uk

customer that if they do something, they are going to fall over.

It could be an unreasonable demand such as a 500% increase that has to be delivered in a two-hour window. If you are in the right place in the relationship, you can have those conversations.”

Coping with unexpected spikes in demand is getting harder because years of low rates and rising costs have pushed many small fleets and owner drivers out of the market. “The whole haulage population has dropped away,” says Humpherson.

“There are increasing numbers of ageing owners and when they do hang up their boots, who will take it on? There is a reduction but when that starts to happen opportunities start to present themselves and you find the cycle will come round.

“You have to treat hauliers properly. A lot of 3PLs will have a difficult relationship and you can’t work like that. You have to be easy to trade with in terms of IT systems and relationships.”

Despite losing two members recently, Widdowson and Bird’s, Humpherson says he has enough to meet demand. “We are happy with where we are now; we’re happy with what we’ve got,” he says. “If we land one of the projects we have on the cards at the moment, the geographies of that will demand another partner to help us in that area.

“The haulage market has been consolidating for several years and we’ve seen the situation with Widdowson, Davis Haulage and now Bird’s. There is a lot going on that is constantly changing the landscape. We would never say we don’t want anyone coming to us, but it has to be the right type of haulier. They have to have the right standards and we need them to bring local expertise.”

Jigsaw is different from a pallet network both in its distribution model and the type of freight it carries. “Jigsaw will take full or part loads and move them through our own partner network so it won’t go through a central hub,” says Humpherson.

“We have a different service offering – 95% of our deliveries are timed; pallet networks charge you £15 for a timed delivery whereas it’s a core part of our business.

“We try and do as much direct collection and delivery as we can. But in today’s marketplace where lead times and consignment size are reducing for our small loads, we will trunk into our partners’ platforms. Smiths in Purfleet for example is our London specialist, so it will collect from some of our contracts and other contracts will trunk in. That will be cross docked as part of its normal operations and delivered on its radial vehicles.”

Investment and development

Humpherson says the slow pace of IT development in haulage is a big disappointment and Jigsaw has led the way with a significant IT investment. “There are three key areas to our business: people; IT systems; and hauliers,” he says. “We transitioned to a new platform in June last year with US company BluJay Solutions. We have spent the best part of four years getting to where we are now. Planning freight is a given for Jigsaw clients and as with any transport management system [TMS] worth its salt, you can throw some orders in and it will autoplan.

“The key thing is our front-end interaction with customers and our interaction with hauliers. The more we can get that to happen seamlessly, the more chance we have of a small job becoming very successful. If you have to start making phone calls or sending emails the potential for error is enormous. So in the spec for the IT platform the messaging and attention to detail was really important for me.

“I want to be able to go to a major client and when they say ‘we are using SAP and we want you to integrate’ we can say ‘yes we can do it within three weeks’. A lot of the 3PLs have enormous IT teams and they can take up to six months to get the project up and running. Our hauliers log into a portal where they can download the orders into their own system and upload information. As soon as we allocate the job to them they can see all the information they need and the rate they are going to get paid. It works very well.”

While most of Jigsaw’s members’ vehicles have tracking on their vehicles Humpherson says that is no longer enough. “We need to integrate tracking and TMS because tracking is useless to me unless I know what’s on that vehicle,” he says. “It’s coming but when you look at the parcel industry we’re a million miles behind.” ■ 16.10.17 10/10/2017 10:15:03

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MT Awards 2017 winner profile Team of the Year

At the front Winner of the Team of the Year award was Pall-Ex, which has undergone a period of change and renewal bringing it back to the top of its game

W

hen MT headed to Coalville, Leicestershire, to visit Team of the Year winner Pall-Ex, there was a sense of a business that has momentum.

We spoke to group MD Kevin Buchanan (pictured right), who joined three years ago after a long tenure at Palletline. In doing so, he accepted the not inconsiderable challenge of putting Hilary Devey’s long-established pallet network back where it wanted to be – at the forefront.

There have since been new faces at the network as part of efforts to renew itself, including second interviewee Adrian Bradley, who moved from Fortec a year ago to take on the crucial position of director of operations.

Although Pall-Ex was delighted to win Team of the Year in 2015, it is clear this latest recognition means even more to Buchanan and Bradley, who see it as vindication of the teams’ hard work since. It has been a Herculean push that has drawn on those in operations, health and safety, IT, office, network and field roles.

“We hadn’t made the sort of progress I knew we could – and that we wanted to make – until Adrian arrived,” said Buchanan, in an office overlooking the network’s cross-dock hub.

As outsiders coming into an established business, Buchanan and Bradley came to the same conclusion regarding the changes that needed to be made. “There was a general problem in Pall-Ex – it had stopped challenging itself,” said Buchanan.

Bradley added: “Taking responsibility for themselves and knowing what looked good were the things I identified [for the staff].

“There were a lot of people who had been in Pall-Ex a long time – good people who were really motivated. What we brought to the business was a vision of something more. It was about standing back and understanding where you want to go,” said Bradley.

“We got into a culture where decisions were only ever made upstairs,” said Buchanan, “and there hadn’t been enough appropriate empow30 MotorTransport MTR_161017_030-031b.indd 30

improvement manager (Richard Leedham) to troubleshoot specific projects.

“We now make more money from moving fewer pallets because we have less waste,” said Buchanan. Indeed, the network’s awards submission put this at bottom-line savings of £500,000 a year, underlining that good teamwork pays.

Getting it right first time

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Outbound scanning improved 33% (target of 30%); inbound scanning by 50% (target of 30%); 16.6% decrease in hub discrepancies raised or lost or damaged pallets (target of 15%); manning cost per pallet reduced by 11p (target 10p).

erment at the various levels throughout the business. We had unwittingly slowed the development to just a few people, which is not healthy. Now we’re much more agile.”

With owner Devey’s blessing, Buchanan, Bradley and the operations team came up with a plan. Business objectives were set and they filtered into departmental objectives, which in turn became individuals’ goals. “And that’s the way we work now; it hadn’t been like that for some time,” said Buchanan.

There is a team of approximately 90 at the hub, and 130 including those in the field.

“Everybody in the business is pushing to the same goal – service quality. That in turn drives the profit,” said Bradley.

Changes included: a redesign of the hub (based on team feedback); introduction of a hub planning workbook; a cloud auditing tool; revisions to the scan and tracking system (to alert forklift drivers to the priority of the load, for example); and the introduction of the network’s first hub

One of the things Bradley quickly realised was that space at the hub wasn’t being used as well as it might be. “We rehandled about 20% of the volume through multiple movements extracting it from the night sort. There were some areas we didn’t utilise in the building that gave us more floor space. So we implemented a system where it was a single handle for each pallet,” said Bradley.

“With economy and next-day service you want to prioritise your next-day freight to be handled at night,” added Buchanan. “But you have an element of freight, probably 20% to 25% of total volume, coming in at night and you need to put it somewhere, and if you don’t put it in the right place you end up putting your economy pallets on the trucks instead of the next-day pallets. That process had been diluted over a period of time so it was no longer efficient.”

Bradley continued: “Every depot now has multiple bays linked to service, for example next day and economy. So every pallet goes in the member’s outbound bay and we have a planning department that communicates with our members on traction and usage. We know every night what we are going to load to make sure every next-day pallet leaves the building on time.

Then we use the economy as capacity fillers where we have space, or it’s implemented into our day sort.

“Forklift damages, extra couriers and insurance claims are all significantly reduced from where we were last year.”

The recently renewed forklift trucks, which had scanning equipment, have been reconfigured thanks to the IT team. Consignments 16.10.17 11/10/2017 14:33:40

Sponsored by

Pall-Ex MD Kevin Buchanan, fourth right, and the Pall-Ex team pick up the trophy from Hiab MD Rogier van der Linde, fifth left

Pall-Ex MD Kevin Buchanan, third left, and team pick up the trophy from Hiab MD Rogier van der Linde, fourth left

feature barcodes, but traditionally if a barcode got defaced or the order was changed they could give misleading or incorrect information. Now a forklift driver will be told if the pallet is priority or economy on the screen in front of them.

As that information comes from the master system, it is always up to date.

The hub planning workbook is a refinement of industry best practice, but Bradley, who spent 15 years at UPS, measures production and links it to the volume forecast (based on 20 years’ of Pall-Ex data). “Ultimately I have a plan for the next year that tells me on any given night – to within 100 pallets – how many people I’ll need at the hub,” he said.

Basing resourcing on data rather than gut instinct has also helped when it comes to agency workers. Pall-Ex looks to bring in and keep the best agency workers on a temporary to permanent basis. The visibility provided by the workbook has enabled it to get workers in and train them up ahead of crunch periods.

While Pall-Ex has always had a way of reporting discrepancies at pallet level, Bradley wanted to introduce a load-quality tool or process for trunk vehicles.

“It [the cloud-based auditing tool] looks at the overall quality of the load on a trunk. Then if it needs to it can be specific at pallet level. It looks at how it was loaded, how it was strapped, and the quality of freight in regards to our master agreements,” said Bradley.

16.10.17 MTR_161017_030-031b.indd 31

“We want to be known as the premium brand – the quality provider. One of the key things in that is to have less damage, fewer insurance claims and to be more reliable than our competitors,” said Buchanan.

He explained that the auditing tool is more effective in flagging up issues, especially with depot and business owners that aren’t typically on the shop floor when loading occurs. “Have you seen the way your customer’s pallet is packed? It’s never going to get there. So, can we come with you, talk to your customer and discuss the requirement in a different way so it transits through the facility better?” said Buchanan.

Rewarding hard work

While money may not be everything, it can be an effective motivator. Pall-Ex has created a pot of cash and – from August this year – said to the team in the hub that if they could reduce the error level by half, they could have it.

“So instead of saying here is your pay rise, we said we’d like to give you more than that but we want you to do this. They got excited about it, and it’s delivered,” said Buchanan.

Generally the network is now a happier place.

“It’s fair to say we went backward from a morale and cultural point of view for a bit before we went forward. We had a business that worked in the same way for some time.

“Then we came in and said, that’s not good

TEAM

Adrian Bradley says it has been a team effort. However, he also has some key personnel in the day and night operations at the hub. These include Richard Southern, general hub manager; Richard Leedham, hub improvement manager; night hub manager Chris Mason; Toby Iliffe, hub co-ordinator; Tommy Richards, night shift senior supervisor; and Shane Wheatley, night shift senior supervisor.

enough, we need to change and be better. And that was difficult for people who had been here for a long time.

“So we had people out of sorts, and some chose to leave and not stick with it. But now we have an environment where they feel it is within their grasp to earn more money, and to change things. We’re getting people coming to us with ideas of how things can be better. So selfimprovement and empowerment has become a powerful thing, not just across Adrian’s team but the whole organisation,” said Buchanan.

He added: “Human beings are funny things. No one comes to work to do a bad job and most people are proud to say ‘I work at the best pallet network in the world’. We won a Motor Transport Award for being the best at what we do.” ■ MotorTransport 31 11/10/2017 14:34:07

MT Awards 2017 winner profile Fleet Truck of the Year Award

Happy anniversary Fifty years ago Volvo came to the UK. What better way to mark its half century than the FH winning the prestigious Fleet Truck of the Year award?

Volvo commercial director Mike Corcoran (second left) receives the trophy from Chevron Lubricants area business manager, Europe, Rene Huting

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hen it was launched in 1993, Volvo’s FH set new standards in terms of comfort, safety, technology and driveability. Although these qualities would continue to form the backbone of the truck for the next two decades, it was in 2012, with the launch of the fourth generation FH, that all four of these traits took a massive leap forward. “Volvo has just redefined what a premium truck can offer,” MT wrote after attending the much-anticipated Swedish launch event.

We were delighted to learn the new FH featured an entirely new cab, available in low

sleeper, sleeper, Globetrotter and Globetrotter XL guises. Volvo had done away with the previous generation’s raked windscreen, creating more internal space (to the tune of 1m3 in the Globetrotter XL cab). Also putting a smile on drivers’ faces were the high-quality, wellappointed interiors, and a host of creature comforts.

The truck’s D13K 12.8-litre engine was initially only available in Euro-5 guise, but the Euro-6 technology quickly followed, and today the truck is offered with a choice of four power ratings: 420hp, 460hp, 500hp and 540hp.

Although a manual gearbox was initially available, it has since been removed from the

UK options list, meaning all right-hand-drive trucks destined for Blighty are now equipped with the Volvo’s hugely respected I-Shift.

Although the transmission has long been accepted as the benchmark for two-pedal shifting, this changed in 2012 when Volvo trumped itself, launching I-Shift Dual Clutch, the world’s first dual-clutch transmission for a heavy truck.

Rapid gear shifts meant no loss of momentum, resulting in quicker hill climbs and less fuel consumed.

We got excited about this transmission at its launch, and just like the judges on the Fleet Truck of the Year panel who had experienced it, we continue to wax lyrical about it today. The option costs £2,350.

Dynamic Steering

Another world first introduced on the FH4 was Dynamic Steering, so expertly demonstrated

by Jean-Claude van Damme in the Epic Splits viral video. Although take-up by the UK’s notoriously conservative transport industry was slow to begin with, orders are quickly gathering momentum. Its popularity increased this summer when its price was temporarily dropped from £3,900 to £1,500.

Technological advances came thick and fast in 2012, and included I-See, Volvo’s GPS-dependent predictive cruise control.

Originally, when a truck encountered a hill for the first time, I-See recorded the rate of gradient change, plus the location of the hill as determined by the GPS. When the truck approached a hill for a second time, this data was used to manage the truck’s control strategy, provided cruise control is engaged. However, it has been continually refined and now, in the latest version, topographical data is downloaded in real time from a central database via the cloud.

Volvo has long been synonymous with safety, and the FH4 was one of the first fleet trucks to be offered with lower-level semi-autonomy via Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Systems. In addition to the mandatory audible 32 MotorTransport MTR_161017_032-033.indd 32

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warning, its Automatic Emergency Braking System even provides a heads-up display consisting of a flashing red warning light in the windscreen.

While the technical innovations on the FH make for impressive reading, they would count for little if they couldn’t be transferred into operational efficiency, and here Volvo plays a strong hand. Impressive fuel returns and decent reliability were both remarked on by the panellists with experience of running FHs. Add to this the positive comments about Volvo’s dealer network, and in particular its Gold Service Contract with its 100% uptime guarantee, and its easy to understand how the truck was awarded the accolade.

But there is one more very important part of the equation to consider when evaluating how good a fleet truck is – and that’s the driver. A big swanky cab equals a happy driver, which in turn equals greater profits. And cabs don’t get much bigger or swankier than the Volvo FH’s.

When the first Volvo F86s arrived on these shores in 1967 they immediately won friends with UK operators, putting domestic trucks to shame, and becoming fleet favourites. Fifty years on, the FH continues to do the same. ■ 16.10.17 MTR_161017_032-033.indd 33

Mike Corcoran, commercial director at Volvo Trucks UK, says:

“We are pleased and excited that the Volvo FH has won the covet ed Mot or Transport Fleet Truck of the Year Award for 2017. The win is extra special, as not only is Volvo Trucks celebrating 50 years in the UK, but next year marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the original FH. “The Motor Transport Fleet Truck of the Year Award is the ultimate barometer of commercial vehicle progress in the UK. Back in 1988, the Volvo FL10 lifted the spoils thanks to its unequalled reliability, profitability and performance figures and almost 30 years later it’s fantastic the FH range still ticks all these boxes and much more, with the added advantage of leading 21st century technology applications.”

JUDGES’ COMMENTS “The FH has finally come of age. Really early examples had some niggling faults, but these have definitely been ironed out now, resulting in a fantastic fleet truck” “The I-Shift is arguably the best gearbox on the market, and the drivers love it” “There’s no such thing as a bad truck these days, and quite often it boils down to how well you are looked after by the dealers. My local Volvo dealer is great” “You can’t fault their longevity and reliability. I have one that’s done 1 million km with no issues” “I’ve never heard a single complaint from any of them [drivers], and they can be away for three or four nights at a time” MotorTransport 33 11/10/2017 14:02:00

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12/10/2017 09:31:15