The benefits of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications in enhancing efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness are very much in-demand in the competitive environment of freight and commercial vehicle operations. This is due to their potential to lower costs and to increase reliability - and so, profits. It is particularly the case with the continuing focus on “Just-in-Time” delivery supply chains so that inventory and warehousing needs can be minimised. It requires a sophisticated and advanced knowledge of a wide range of factors, which can be enhanced through the use of ITS technologies. The complexity of freight and logistical supply chains and the involvement of multiple actors for the movement and storage of products relies on close collaboration and information exchange –which ITS applications can support.
The Freight and Commercial Vehicle sector has long been at the forefront of the development, installation and use of ITS technologies since their initial development in the mid-1980s. Efforts to improve the speed of information within the supply chain has a longer history than this though - going way back beyond the emergence of ITS.
For hundreds of years, information about any given cargo or load could travel at only the same speed as the cargo itself, internationally at least, for sailing ships brought both cargo and post. However, in the nineteenth century the development of the telegraph enabled information to travel significantly faster than the goods it was carrying. This speed has since been further improved and also widened to enable a broader spectrum of communications. First through the telephone, then satellite and GPS technology and, more recently still, the internet. The information that can be transmitted has also become more specific. From market prices of wheat and, therefore, which port should be the final destination of a tramp steamer in the nineteenth century, through to the exact temperature and estimated delivery time of refrigerated chemicals, the information available to those in the sector has increased dramatically since the industrial revolution. It is in this broad spectrum that current ITS technologies should be assessed, as a progression of a trend that has been continuing for centuries, allowing ever more information to be accessed by more parties.
The increasing amounts of international trade that accompanied the continued lowering of tariffs achieved by the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and later the World Trade Organisation (WTO), combined with the spread and lowering in price of technology, have brought an urgent need to keep better track of assets and loads. Similarly, developments of Just-in-Time Deliveries and stronger enforcement and security in recent times have pushed trade in a similar direction. So the international transport of goods has moved from paper, to the internet, to the modern day “internet-of-things” and cloud computing. Sensors on loads and assets give readings to computer servers which alert shippers, consignors and carriers to any problems en-route, as well as updated arrival times. This information can be password protected and compartmentalised, with different parts of the supply chain only able to access information relevant to them.
However, whilst more information than ever before is now collected by private and public agencies, the question remains as to whether this being exploited to its full potential. ITS can be split into two different types: “hardware” and “software”. That is to say, the network of sensors and communication technologies which enable the information to be gathered and the computer programming which interprets the information to help support decision-making. In many cases, from within the truck cab to head office, significant amounts of data are still processed and interpreted by human operators. It is in this field, rather than that of hardware provision, that the next phase of innovation in ITS may be found.
Operations and Fleet Management as a section is at the very heart of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations. They can be defined as advanced systems aimed at simplifying and automating freight and fleet management operations at the institutional level. It is here that ITS, thus far, has had the biggest impact. This is particularly pronounced in terms of cost.
Fleet management covers the whole gamut of services, from the acquisition of vehicles, their day-to-day operation and maintenance, through to their disposal. It is beneficial to break this down further, into five areas:
Many of these activities inter-relate and should not be looked at in isolation. In particular, the hardware required is often similar (usually being based on the use of GPs-enabled vehicle location sensors), with the software making the differentiation between the different categories.
In order to optimise returns, it is essential that the freight and commercial vehicle sector utilises its assets efficiently in the collection and delivery of freight. This often means aiming to ensure full loads and high vehicle utilisation and requires an understanding of the different patterns of freight movements.
The urban environment is also at the forefront of a broader change. Aware of the problems of deliveries and logistics within cities in terms of vehicle size and time restrictions, several cities are trialling “Freight Distribution Centres” or “Freight Consolidation Centres” (FDC or FCCs). Here the larger, inter-urban delivery vehicles unload so that smaller shipments can be consolidated and delivered by smaller, environmentally friendly, vehicles. With fewer vehicles delivering to congested city centres, pollution, congestion and vehicle conflicts should all be reduced. The FCC can also offer a range of related services such as storage, sorting and recycling collection.
Whilst FCCs have been successful in some instances (such as the Broadmead Shopping Centre in Bristol in the UK, Bremen in Germany and Aalborg in Sweden) they require extensive cooperation between carriers, shippers and customers. Furthermore, outside of individual, small developments, there are yet to be trialled on a true city-wide basis. The coordination required and logistical challenges posed by broadening consolidation centres to entire regions has to be overcome. As the number of stakeholders and shipments increase so do the complexity of operations. Any software solutions that assist in scheduling will play a significant role in any growth of FCCs.
Full-load carriers and container transportation companies experience a different range of logistical challenges. Demands for empty vehicles tend to arrive dynamically and are difficult to forecast - and may require acceptance/refusal within a very short time window. Yet the supply of a suitable vehicle, tractor or crew is limited by their previous task and any scheduled future requirement. Each decision has an impact upon the future decisions that can be taken - and so, on the long-term efficiency and profitability of the operation. Longer distance freight movements have a high level of complexity. They are often affected by both:
ITS helps both the public and private sectors fulfil their business objectives in supporting freight operations. The users and suppliers of “freight transportation” services have an interest in ensuring that deliveries are made in a manner which ensures that the goods arrive in the expected quality and quantity at the time (often called OTIF - “On Time In Full”). They are usually broken down into three different types of category: shippers, carriers and consignees.
Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operators overarching objective is to reduce costs and improve profitability. ITS implementations help achieve this by improving the planning and delivery of freight services by providing:
A better understanding of the supply chain complemented by ITS technology can provide the information that the public sector needs to achieve its objectives and develop appropriate freight policies and packages of support measures. Much of this information would have been prohibitive to acquire using traditional pre-ITS systems. An example is radio-frequency identification (RFID). RFID tags can reduce the staff resource required for toll collection; whilst analysis of RFID applications for electronic screening and credential administration help:
ITS systems and applications have an impact throughout the delivery process in four main component areas
At an international level, the planning of a delivery is more complicated, as borders and customs clearance also need to be taken into account. Intelligent Transport Systems assist here too, through the uploading of papers electronically and various schemes to ease border crossings for commercial vehicles. (See Border Clearance)
The physical loading of the vehicle, however is also an important part of the process. Ensuring that the weight is equally distributed across the bed of the vehicle, that the vehicle remains under any relevant weight restrictions and that, when being unloaded between multiple drops, will not become overweight on any individual axle. All can be supported through the use of computer models. (See Weight Screening)
Furthermore, after unloading, and particularly with regard to urban delivery and Freight Consolidation Centres (FCCs), vehicles are able to reclaim used pallets and cages, sometimes assisted by asset tracking technology to return them to a central location, along with any waste or recycling generated, for onward shipment .This helps the number of trips and emissions since only one trip is required rather than two.
However, such time-based distinctions are not the only ones that are relevant. In addition to their benefits for those directly involved in the movement of any given piece of freight, the utilisation of ITS in the freight sector has wider benefits due to its safety implications. Be it with regard to hazardous materials, heavy truck maintenance or load and driver hour limitations, the opportunities to improve safety through ITS affect the driver and company as well as the public, with whom the vehicle interacts both on and off the transport network.
Whatever the shape or nature of the supply chain, routing and scheduling systems seek to reduce wasted vehicle and driver time and to maximise utilisation whilst reducing costs associated with mileage and fuel-spend. This often delivers additional benefits such as a more environmentally friendly supply chain.
Computerised Vehicle Routing and Scheduling (CVRS) software normally comes in two different varieties: offline and online. Traditionally the offline services offer more functionality than the online cloud-based systems. A frequently cited indicator of performance for offline CVRS systems is that, when used effectively, they offer a 10% improvement in routing and scheduling efficiency compared to manual methods.
Offline systems tend to be used by larger fleets (eg over 10 vehicles), as normally the purchasing of the software and the licensing costs are prohibitive for smaller fleets. The advantage of such software is that it offers complete control over the process, with opportunities to specialise the process given the requirements of the fleet in question.
Smaller firms tend to use online-based CVRS, where the software and the processing happens off-site “in the cloud”. These tend (although not necessarily) to have less customisation opportunities than their offline counterparts, but come with significantly lower costs.
The CVRS software takes into account all collection and delivery information before providing the optimum solution for a specific set of parameters which control the way the transport operation is managed. Parameters could include criteria such as road speeds and restrictions, load size, customer opening times/delivery windows and driver hours. CVRS systems can provide daily, weekly or monthly plans. Many also offer a strategic dimension, allowing for alternative approaches to be “trialled” in the system – to explore what the potential outcomes might be. For example, if a large customer is taken on board, what factors in the transport operation would need to be changed to meet the customer’s requirements.
John Menzies & CVRS
CVRS is not a replacement for manual planning. It is best used in conjunction with manual planners. The first iteration of routes often needs adjusting to reflect the local knowledge of the planner to deal with issues such as rush hour (although some programmes take this into account) or known restrictions on delivery times and routes. All scheduling systems are reliant on electronic maps and only as good as the map they use. Whilst some systems are updated by the manufacturer, not all are, so it is important to ensure that any changes in road layout or road restrictions is reflected. This is particularly an issue in developing countries.
Routing and scheduling is a very dynamic field which is constantly changing and progressing, in terms of technology, enforcement and organisation:
Routes configured through the use of CVRS have traditionally been downloaded to drivers’ PDA’s for the following day. However these can now be updated “on-the-fly” to take account of changing factors such as avoid road disruption, incidents or congestion or cancellation or re-scheduling a delivery – to provide automatic re-routing. Much of the work that was done by PDA’s during the initial iteration of CVRS software is now being replaced by Sat-Navs and smartphones. (See Traveller Services and Enabling Technologies)
Concerns about congestion and pollution on road networks is generating a number of innovative solutions. One is Freight Consolidation Centres (FCCs), which utilise CVRS intensely. Another is the increase in measures to prevent freight lorries from impinging on the quality of life of others. These include:
CVRS can seem an expensive solution but the principles on which they are based are relevant to all routeing and scheduling decisions - namely the need to minimise costs and resource expenditure by optimising the use of assets. With rapidly developing road networks or very changeable road network conditions, the local knowledge of the planner is even more important than where networks are well-mapped and the mapping is reliable. (See Just in Time) Online options offer lower costs and are also more flexible when it comes to switching if maps prove not to be of sufficient quality.
“Just in Time” (JIT) delivery relies on the improved tracking of parcels and improved order-processing equipment that ITS creates in order to provide accurate delivery estimates and enable quick loading and maximum vehicle utilisation. It has strong links with the concepts of routing and scheduling systems and asset tracking (See Routing and Scheduling Systems and Security) “Just in Time” can be split into two different components:
“Just-in-Time” (JIT) is an approach to business which aims to minimise costs through the reduction in the amount of inventory being held. It can be summarised as “producing the necessary item in the necessary quantity at the necessary time”. Some of the benefits of JIT for companies include reduced lot sizes, lower inventory, reduced waste and lower overhead costs. It is especially used in high-value industries such as the automotive sector. However, the widespread adoption of JIT across sectors has had widespread implications for the transport and logistics industry.
The growth of JIT creates a range of challenges to the logistics industry. JIT demands speed and reliability from transportation systems. In many cases, this results in a greater number of vehicles hauling smaller payloads. This, in turn, increases traffic on already congested infrastructure which can undermine JIT - where delivery windows can be as short as 15 minutes. With such small windows, even minor events such as road closures can have a serious effect. The trend also risks the capacity of the vehicle being under-utilised or increased demand for larger numbers of smaller vehicles.
The trend towards JIT is not irreversible. Reliant, as the philosophy is, on stability, it has proven to be susceptible to external shocks. Major events such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 indicated that the system, rather than promoting flexibility, can be brittle, fragile and unresilient. The Japanese Renesas Electronic Corporation, a global manufacturer of custom-made microchips, experienced a dramatic reduction in output following the disaster. This resulted in the suspension of automotive production across large parts of the world. The chips proved hard to source whilst JIT management had reduced inventory - in some cases to approximately only 6 hours’ supply.
The internet has enabled a wide-range of goods to be ordered online and delivered straight to the doorstep of the consumer. The goods vary in nature from bicycles and books to weekly groceries. In an attempt to deliver superior customer service many companies offer next day delivery on orders which are placed as late as 7pm the day before. This creates a logistics challenge for the organisation(s) involved in selecting, packing, loading and delivering the goods on time, especially if the consumer has specified a tight delivery window on the following day. Order-processing technology and scheduling systems have to be able to deal with these sorts of orders in real-time.
Although internet delivery has been around for a significant amount of time, its use has recently mushroomed. For example, on December 3, 2012, Amazon.co.uk received the equivalent of 44 orders per second, with a truck leaving its fulfilment centres in the United Kingdom (UK) every two minutes and 10 seconds. Online shopping is now approximately 20% of the UK market (excluding food-based sales). In France the use of online shopping increased by 45% between December 2011 and December 2012 whilst in the United States over 8% of all retail sales were conducted online, with a value of $142.5 billion. The delivery of goods from internet-based retailers is big business and is set to grow further. As firms compete to deliver the best service, estimated delivery hours are becoming more accurate. Deliveries which were originally quoted as being made “within 3 days” can now be booked to within single hour timeslots.
From an environmental perspective, the rise in large scale next-day delivery traffic has both positive and negative impacts. Whilst it may be more sustainable than all shoppers on a given delivery round driving to the shops individually, it is less sustainable when packages are not delivered by the same company or when there tight delivery schedules reduce the time opportunity for load consolidation.
All “Just-in-Time” delivery requires reliable, extensive delivery networks, from national distribution through to last-mile residential links. The quality of the nationwide road network needs to be taken into account as well as any potential delays at inter-modal terminals or border clearance points for international shipments. This is particularly the case with manufacturing-based JIT.
Kazakhstan – Road between Atyrau and Aktau
Another important factor to bear in mind for customer-led JIT is that of matching customer aspiration. Only 4% of Amazon (USA’s) customers have signed up for the Amazon Prime guaranteed 2 day delivery scheme. If longer delivery schedules will still satisfy customers, then these should be recommended on the basis of the extra options they offer any logistics firms delivering to customers.
The gathering of data about how vehicles are being used is a valuable resource for many firms. Data can be captured from three major sources: vehicle sensors, driver behaviour and goods’ condition sensors. These are relevant to vehicle and driver safety and multi-level security systems. (See Vehicle Safety, Driver Safety and Security)
The ability to track the location of vehicles is one of the main basic functions of all Fleet Management systems. It is usually based on the use of GPS to plot the location of the vehicle in real-time, although it can based on a cellular triangulation system. There are two main types of system used in modern devices:
The collection of data on the condition of the vehicle, such as road speed, engine RPMs, coolant temperature and tyre pressures (for example) have proved very useful for:
However for operators with fleets composed of vehicles from multiple manufacturers the non-standardised way in which vehicle sensor information is recorded and stored can be problematic because of data incompatibilities between different proprietary systems and the difficulties of integrating the information to manage the fleet as a whole most effectively.
AEMP Telematics Standard
Data on driver behaviour makes it possible to develop a profile of driving behaviour for any given driver. This can often be supported by real-time video monitoring with cameras inside and outside the vehicle, enabling the driver and the surrounding traffic to be monitored. The information captured can assist in the creation of training programmes for specific drivers to target areas most in need of improvement and it can help in accident investigation.
Where the data is integrated into driver feedback and training, changes in driving behaviour can deliver large-scale savings for fleet operators. For example, one such product “GreenRoad” (www.greenroad.com) claims changes in the scale of:
These are often the main cost drivers in the freight and commercial vehicle industry, so any savings can be significant in lowering costs and winning new business. Although products may differ between manufacturers, the technology is the broadly similar. An on-board unit senses how the vehicle is being driven, the vehicles’ location and other useful data – which can be stored and relayed in real-time (usually via satellite or mobile phone technology) to both the driver and a central monitoring location.
Sensors within the vehicle offer the opportunity to monitor the status of the goods being transported. This has proven particularly useful in the fresh and frozen produce and chemical industries where ensuring that temperatures have been maintained at a specific level can be of vital importance in the acceptance of goods. Other sensors can detect whether or not goods have been tampered with by sensing whether they are accessed in transit. (See Security)
Authorities have a particular interest in tracking HGV movements across national road networks, especially with regard to dangerous or hazardous loads.
Standardised Hazardous Goods Alert Field trial (SHAFT)
The modularity of on-board monitoring and telematics systems, with the capability for adding sensors, allows for easy customisation of features. This means that only the most relevant features need be bought and installed for any given vehicle or firm. This is important given that the systems can be very expensive. Prior to installing widespread telematics and on-board monitoring systems, it is worth remembering that the sensors are only as useful as the action that is taken in response to them. It is how the data that is recorded is interpreted and used by operators to manage their fleets - that makes the real difference. Driver behaviour monitoring is redundant unless the results are closely monitored and appropriate training provided to solve the issues presented. Likewise, knowledge of the condition of a vehicle is useful only when acted upon with preventative maintenance.
Given the expense of such systems, two questions need to be asked before they are used:
This is a developing area - and the expensive installation of sensors can sometimes be avoided. Increasingly the use of smartphones is seen as an alternative approach. Several applications can measure, through accelerometers and internal gyroscopes, driver behaviour and these should be assessed first as a low-cost trial solution.
Electronic payment (See Electronic Payment) is most commonly used for electronic tolling. Tolling can be for any number of purposes, although traditionally it was used to pay for the upkeep of various sections of road networks. Tolls are deployed on bridges (such as the Dartford Crossing, UK), tunnels and motorways (the M50 in Dublin, for example). Much of the money raised may be spent on maintenance. Some countries (particularly in mainland Europe) also toll the use of their motorway network to pay for its upkeep.
However, with the increasing level of complexity offered by technology the debate on road user charging has become more complicated. Charging can now be for specific purposes or policy objectives – road network maintenance, road space allocation, revenue generation, and the user/polluter pay principles (integrating societal and environmental costs in congestion and road user charging). Such systems can also be based on time, geographical location, type of vehicle or a combination of them.
Traditionally tolls were collected manually, requiring large amounts of space for toll plazas with their many lanes and booths - and causing major disruption to the flow of traffic. Developments in technology have enabled these to be largely replaced by less disruptive techniques – with vehicles being identified to the tolling authority by three different methods (on-board units, RFID tags, ANPR cameras) which can be used alone or in combination with each other.
Microwave DSRCs (dedicated short-range communications) makes it possible for vehicles to be identified by a base station without their having to stop at a toll barrier, although some systems still only operate at low speeds. A programmed On-Board Unit (OBU), registered with the vehicle type and the operator’s details communicates with an electronic reader, enabling a single bill to be collated from regular trips, which are then invoiced directly to the company or driver. More recently, increasing numbers of OBUs and tolling systems track GPS data to measure how far the vehicle has travelled on any given toll operator’s roads. The development of toll roads across Europe has not been well co-ordinated so far, leading to some international transport companies having to install up to five different systems on board each vehicle. Examples include the M6 Toll in the UK, the LKW Maut in Germany (See LKW Maut Electronic Tolling (Germany)), the French ECOTAXE and Malaysia’s ‘PLUS’ Toll.
French ÉCOTAXE
As with asset tracking (See Security), terminal processing (See Terminal Processing) and end-to-end tracking (See End-to-End Asset Tracking) the development of RFID tags has changed the face of toll collection. Here, at the entrance and exit points of the tolled area, a passive RFID tag – embedded with the vehicle and operator’s details – is scanned by a dedicated gantry and the details passed to a central server where the bills are created, collated and sent on to the vehicle operator. Examples include the Dubai ‘SALIK’ System and the Singapore ‘ERP’ System.
ANPR cameras can either be used as stand-alone systems (as in the London Congestion Charge) or as an additional level of security for the OBU or RFID systems. This is especially useful to track and charge users who do not have RFID tags or OBUs fitted (tourists or irregular users of the road) or where the OBU or RFID tag has become damaged and is no longer operational. Once scanned by ANPR, the number plate can be cross-checked with the vehicle owner’s database and a bill despatched. Alternatively, users can submit payment by telephone, internet or at a kiosk by stating their number plate, allowing payment to be processed after its registration.
Lack of interoperability of equipment and back office systems between tolling authorities is a key barrier to their deployment and realising the full benefits of their potential – particularly with regard to OBUs. Poland, for example, has different operators for its major motorways, which has resulted in the need for users of the equipment to purchase multiple transponders. The European Union has been trying to achieve harmonisation through open standards and common guidelines on deployment given the large amounts of international road freight that crosses borders every day. Progress is slow.
GPS based systems require very high-detail position and mapping tools to ensure that, where two roads run parallel (an old main road and a new motorway for example), the correct location of a vehicle (and the charge for road use) can be calculated accurately. This sort of tracking has associated issues such as privacy and control of information.
For emerging economies, interoperability is the key issue, to break down barriers in the seamless movement of goods. As such, satellite based systems are often seen as preferable, although the issues of accuracy of mapping remains a challenge. (See Case Study ‘LKW Maut (Germany))
Theft of on board units is also a concern. Malaysia, for example, has seen significant numbers of crimes with SmartTAG transponders being stolen.
The safety of staff, assets and the wider public is the number one priority in the freight and commercial vehicles sector. This is not only because of the human cost of accidents, but also makes financial sense for companies. The cost of replacing drivers, repairing trucks and compensating clients is substantial and reducing these is a priority for the industry. This objective has been greatly helped by ITS. Through better sharing of information and technological aids to monitor vehicles and drivers’ behaviours, it is now possible to catch a large number of potential incidents before they occur.
ITS offers substantial benefits ranging from reduced costs to lives saved by averting accidents. Technology development continues in an attempt to reach a “Vision Zero” goal – where no lives are needlessly lost as a result of collisions and incidents involving commercial freight vehicles.
Worldwide, nearly 3,400 people die on the roads every day, with tens of millions of people being injured and disabled according to the World Health Organisation. In Europe, which has some of the safest roads, there were approximately 40,000 deaths as a result of road traffic accidents in 2007 and 2008. In the United Kingdom, although HGVs only account for 4% of traffic, they are involved in over 45% of all collisions with cyclists. In the United States between 4,000 and 5,000 people have been killed by trucking accidents every year since 2002, and 6.5% of truck accidents result in open flames. ITS in-vehicle safety devices help protect pedestrians and cyclists, whilst emergency response teams benefit from better information about vehicles, their location and cargoes.
Everybody has an interest in reducing the number of incidents, collisions, injuries and fatalities on the road. Specific bodies have particular interests – such as national health and safety bodies, insurance companies (who offer lower premiums to companies with better safety records), safety lobby groups, road users and operators. This includes:
Safety solutions (delivered through an application of intelligent transport systems) can usefully be considered in three different groups:
Many countries have very strict vehicle safety standards. Vehicle manufacturers design to these. Sometimes there are further legal requirements (such as reversing alarms or fire extinguishers), especially when carrying Hazardous loads. Operators also choose to add other safety measures, such as extra lighting or reflective strips. ITS has recently enabled a switch from these passive systems to more active detection of problems and advisory mitigation measures. Examples include cameras to help with reversing and blind spots; cyclist detection systems down the nearside of turning HGVs; load sensors to detect dangerous temperatures or movements to alert the driver and emergency response vehicles. (See On-Board Monitoring and Telematics)
The main issues with regard to the implementation of ITS safety solutions are the same in established and emerging economies. It is a question of looking at the legal requirements, and if the decision is taken to go beyond these, then how much expense can the company spend on safety? This is complicated by the high financial costs of not investing if accidents occur. For lorries operating internationally, it is important to ensure compatibility with the different legal regulations and standards.
For emerging economies there are also issues relating to the durability of systems in different climatic conditions - as well as the availability of parts and trained maintenance personnel. Smaller organisational and operating changes - such as daily checks, improving owner accountability and adopting international best practice in truck safety achieve far more in improving truck safety than technology (cameras or sensors) on its own.
Freight and commercial drivers are controlled and regulated in many countries through testing and driver licensing to ensure a basic level of competence. Thereafter, law enforcement agencies monitor traffic offences such as speeding, running red lights and careless or dangerous driving. Traffic law violations result in fines or even custodial sentences in more serious cases. Many countries including the EU, US, Australia and Malaysia also operate a “demerit” system whereby penalty points are added or taken away from a driver’s licence depending on the penalty tariff for the system and the offence. Losing or accumulating enough penalty points in a given period can result in a driver’s licence being suspended or revoked. The offender may have to reapply for a licence after a period of suspension - which may also include retaking a driving test.
Some companies are turning to technology to constantly monitor their drivers’ behaviour to ensure that they drive safely and efficiently. Critical safety factors involving the commercial driver include hours of service, lane keeping, steering and pedal inputs, safety belt usage, following distance, turn signal use, and harsh braking and hard steering events can be tracked through software. Computers monitor driving style in terms of harsh braking, acceleration, gear changes and engine revolutions. This allows the company to review each driver’s data and to train them to improve the driving style, so increasing safety and saving costs through better fuel consumption and less vehicle wear and tear. (See On-board Monitoring and Telematics)
The safety significance is substantial given that 57% of fatal truck accidents in the USA are attributed to driver fatigue whilst 70% of American drivers report driving whilst fatigued. In America, it is estimated that 1,500 deaths and 100,000 crashes a year are caused by drivers (of all vehicles) with a diminished vigilance level.
A number of vehicle manufacturers are currently developing or trialling the use of fatigue detection software in lorries (such as Volvo). This technology is also provided by 3rd parties. Having learnt a driver’s driving habits, the software is able to determine if his/her driving is affected by fatigue and to offer an audible warning. Other software approaches involve cameras tracking eye and head movements to detect fatigue. These have been trialled by Caterpillar in the mining sector and by a number of bus companies involved in pan-European travel.
Safety Information Exchange (SIE) is the electronic exchanging of safety data and related credentials between operators and law enforcement. (See Credential Checking and e-Manifest)This information can be used for road safety enforcement and fleet logistics planning by providing a database of information on the vehicles using a given route or road corridor and carrying hazardous freight. (See On-board Monitoring and Telematics)
This database is particularly useful for road safety enforcement since it enables a focus on higher-risk vehicles or operators. Vehicles of operators without suitable credentials or up-to-date safety information can be located for example by ANPR cameras to trigger their interception.
In the event of an incident involving the transport of hazardous materials, the safety of the driver and any emergency responders - and the containment of any substances escaped from the vehicle - is of primary importance. It is often mandatory for vehicles to carry certain safety items depending on the type of substance being transported. These can include fire extinguishers, drain covers and respirators. Vehicles must also carry a document detailing the substance, its effect on the environment and how to deal with a spill or leak. This is known as a Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and its purpose is to inform emergency responders on how to deal with an incident. MSDS’s are used throughout the European Union and North America. Drivers should be trained in handling the substance that they are carrying and what to do in the event of an emergency. The availability of these documents online can enable easy access by the emergency services at short notice if required.
In many countries there is a requirement on operators who are moving vehicles and/or loads that exceed standard dimensions (abnormal loads) to pre-notify police, highway and bridge authorities. The process varies between countries but may involve millions of notifications to be sent every year, often by fax. This time consuming process is increasingly being replaced by electronic systems that simplify notification of abnormal load movements. For example in the UK, ESDAL (Electronic Service Delivery for Abnormal Loads) is run by the Highways Agency. ESDAL’s innovative mapping system, allows hauliers to plot their planned route, obtain full details of all the organisations they need to notify and provide notifications that are fully compliant. ESDAL allows hauliers to make an appraisal of the route to assess its suitability for their vehicle. Police, road and bridge authorities can use ESDAL to manage incoming notifications from operators and make their own assessment of a routes suitability. Additional functionality in ESDAL allows infrastructure owners to input data on limiting features (such as road widths, bridge heights and permitted lorry weights) and enables the police and highway authorities to add other con¬straints such as temporary road works. Interestingly ESDAL does not require any specialist software; it only requires a PC with inter-net access. More information (and the gateway to the system) can be found at http://www.highways.gov.uk/specialist-information/abnormal-loads/
Security of freight is increasingly important to the freight and commercial vehicles sector – and ITS has a part to play. Europe’s economy lost approximately €9 billion as a result of road freight thefts in 2007. The equivalent figure for the United States of America was approximately $30 billion. Whilst some of this is due to a lack of secure lorry parking facilities the risk of theft is to some extent mitigated by the improving nature of technology.
Asset tracking enables operators and fleet managers to be far more aware of the location and current circumstances of their fleet and assets. Tracking can either be active geo-locational broadcasting or more passive read-only technology. Once installed, provided that the system is not disabled (many are hard-wired into engines and computers) assets or loads can be traced in the event of a vehicle being stolen.
If a thief cannot be deterred through well-layered, complementary security measures, more active defence is often required. Multi-level security systems and remote disabling arrangements have proved particularly useful here. It is now possible for central controllers or operators to be alerted and to use a “kill switch”, immobilising the vehicle, so preventing the theft from continuing any further.
Together these approaches are helping to boost freight and asset security. The field is one that is constantly evolving as lawbreakers seek new ways to evade security systems.
Generally speaking, GPS devices are installed in higher value units (such as tractors) whilst RFID applications are used for containers or low-value assets.
Most security systems include several layers of security which interact to support each other and make the load more secure. For instance vehicles that are locked from the outside and secured in a fenced parking lot monitored by CCTV might also have a tamper seal on the load. Combining such systems is likely to deter thieves, delay them, help detect their identity and also assist in calling for a response from the emergency services should they persist.
Remote vehicle disabling systems typically rely on wireless communication systems, integrated with the on-board computers of the vehicle. Authorised users can, if they need, disable the vehicle to ensure the safety of any personnel on board or the security of any freight, or even the vehicle itself. Remote disabling is often the last line of defence in a multi-layer security system. It is important that the vehicle is stopped in a controlled and safe manner which is normally achieved through turning turning off the engine and allowing it to drift to a halt. Safer systems are generally preferred – these usually involve:
Vehicle disabling systems are often linked to door or cargo sensors, trailer connection or disconnection systems or electronic cargo seals. Should any of these register a pred-defined reading, the vehicle disabling system will be instigated and a report sent by wireless or digital media, back to the operator. This is often used on refrigerated vehicles, where the vehicle is not allowed to start all conditions for the load are within acceptable parameters (such as coolant levels in the refrigeration unit).
Geo-fencing is a further development of this concept. Here, a distance-based ring is set (say, with a 5 mile radius of a depot) and the alert system is only activated if the vehicles goes beyond this radius (the geo-fence). This can be extended to enforce a planned route or corridor. It allows trucks to take a minor diversion without activating the immobiliser – for example to be taken for attention at a local garage or moved for loading.
One of the key ways to improve the security of freight movements nationally and internationally across continents - is through the provision of secure lorry parking at key points on the road network. Through fencing, lighting and CCTV coverage, it is possible to deter and often prevent criminals from gaining access to lorries, especially when compared to more ad-hoc parking in locations such as lay-bys. Some facilities – generally for very high value cargo - offer driver identification and numberplate recognition services at entry and exit points.
Crime related to lorry load thefts have significant costs impacts. The costs to the UK economy, for example, are approximately £250 million a year – and across the European Union as a whole amount to approximately €9 billion. This has made the provision of secure lorry parking a key priority which is being taken forward in a series of European Union funded projects such as SETPOS (http://www.setpos.eu/about_setpos.htm), LABEL (https://www.iru.org/en_label-project) and EasyWay. (See Case Study: Secure Truck Parking (European Union))
The prime objective of commercial operations is to move goods to the place at the time at a price that is competitive and yet profitable. The drive for maximising profit may tempt some vehicle operators to break the rules (on driver hours or lorry weights) to carry more freight at a lower cost. This potentially endangers both the environment and society as a whole as well as individual drivers and members of the public. The vision of a safe, secure and well-managed transport industry requires enforcement on three broad fronts which ensure that:
However, stopping vehicles to verify compliance is time-consuming and causes economic loss through delayed journeys and deliveries. ITS provides solutions to better target those more likely to breach regulations freeing up law enforcement resources and permitting law-abiding drivers and operators to continue uninterrupted.
This topic covers:
A safe, secure and well-managed network is of importance to all parties involved with freight. It is particularly important to traffic police, employers representatives and trade associations, transport authorities, operators and shippers. As trade becomes increasingly global, bodies such as TISPOL (European Traffic Police Network) provide an umbrella for sharing information between enforcement authorities on dangerous operators and best practice for enforcement procedures.
Security is a major issue in international trade. As globalisation continues apace, trade increasingly takes place across international borders. It is a challenge to ensure that trade is safe, legal and efficient. A number of initiatives seek to improve the speed at which freight can be cleared through border controls without compromising the integrity of loads and the ability to inspect suspect loads.
The Next Generation Single Window concept has been developed by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and other bodies. It is a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to provide standardised information and documents through a single entry point to fulfil all regulatory requirements for import, export and transit. If information is electronic, individual data elements need only be submitted once. The United States’ eManifest system deployed along its land borders with Canada and Mexico is an example.
Storage of multiple data (such as crew/driver, load) in a single place offers many benefits. ANPR cameras van, for example, trigger the collection of data as trucks approach a border so that the correct manifest can be loaded ready for customs inspection. This speeds up inspections allowing more time for the more stringent secondary checks on those operators, drivers, trucks or cargo which have a history of customs infringements. It also offers the possibility of pooling data for planning and enforcement.
The enforcement of weight limitations is one of the key challenges in ensuring safe movement of freight by heavy goods vehicles. Vehicles loaded beyond their design capabilities pose a safety hazard to the public and other road users destabilising braking systems and suspension.
Inappropriately configured and overloaded vehicles also cause greater damage to the road surface and structures (such as fatigue on bridges) increasing the maintenance costs of road transport authorities. ITS offers a range of options for ensuring that regulatory requirements are adhered to – and can help increase the accuracy of high speed Weigh-in-Motion systems.
The acquisition of vehicle loading information facilitates enforcement of loading regulations and optimisation of maintenance operations.
Weight checks by public authorities traditionally involve weighing heavy vehicles on static scales, low-speed weigh-in-motion scales, at weighing stations or under portable pads placed underneath the vehicle’s tyres. They are expensive to operate because of the staff resource required. Consequently they tend to be operated for a few hours at any one time – and so only ever weigh a small proportion of potentially over-laden traffic – as well as being easy to avoid.
Improvements in technology have fostered the widespread adoption of Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) sensors across road networks - especially in Europe. Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have invested in many installations – but France outstrips them all in numbers of WIMs installed. WIM systems are generally divided into three varieties:
The future for WIM will involve improving the precision of sensors so they can be used remotely for enforcement of weight regulations in combination with some method of vehicle owner or operator identification - such as ANPR. In the UK ANPR combined with low-speed WIM or weighbridge is used to detect overweight vehicles so they can be checked by officials. (See Case Study ‘VOSA WiMs (United Kingdom))
There is the possibility of weighing some vehicles without the need for road sensor infrastructure. These are usually installed by operators who may wish to determine that their vehicles are not overloaded or may want to know how much they are carrying (for example, a tipper truck carrying gravel).
Systems can usually be broken down into two varieties - those that weigh the load and those that weigh the entire vehicle. Systems which weigh the load use load cells attached to body mounts. Systems which weigh vehicles, measure stress levels on key parts of the chassis to evaluate full vehicle weight. These systems help operators avoid unknowingly allowing overweight vehicles to be driven, whilst also ensuring that they can maximise legal payloads.
The most important aspect, when dealing with weigh stations, is to ensure that they are regularly and correctly calibrated. Mobile stations offer flexibility and prevents hauliers or operators from routing around weigh stations. It is important to keep a record of offenders, and, wherever possible, link this to other systems such as those which check credentials.
A well-managed system requires that all vehicles, drivers and operators have the correct licences, training and certificates. This is becoming significantly easier because of the combination of e-documents which can be accessed remotely using cloud based computing. Roadside enforcement officials can access all the very latest documents relating to a vehicle and deal with any infringement of regulations immediately. This capability mean that relevant information can be accessed at spot checks – for example information on roadworthiness tests (the MOT in UK, ITV in Spain, APK in the Netherlands or TÜV in Germany).
The easy availability of ITS technologies such as those described reinforces the importance of operators and drivers “playing by the rules”. Those who cut corners by illegally cutting costs distort competition and undermine legitimate operations to the detriment of the entire freight logistics market.
Building on the work from eManifest and other sources (such as safety information exchange, border clearance and weight screening) it has become possible for law enforcement officials within some countries to have access to large amounts of data at the roadside. This facilitates targeted enforcement. Vehicles from operators with poor records of compliance can be targeted, whilst those from firms with better records can be to continue without delay to their destination. In the UK, an Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system is used whereby operators ranked as low risk (“green”) are less likely to have their vehicles stopped than vehicles from operators ranked “red”. There is also an “amber” score in the middle. This score is created through a combination of roadworthiness checks and traffic enforcement compliance (drivers’ hours, weighing checks and the outcome of roadside inspections). Any discrepancies with the details recorded and accessible from the cloud - for operators, drivers or vehicles - can be checked and acted upon.
The names of credential compliance systems vary from country to country (for example, TAN21 in the United Kingdom, CVISN in the United States) but operate on a similar basis. The authorities for operators, vehicle licensing and enforcement can all upload the relevant information about the vehicle and driver where it is available in a central system that can access these databases. The system itself is accessed by roadside enforcement officials.
Intermodal freight involves the movement of loads using a combination of transport modes – shipping, inland waterways, rail, road and air. This ideally involves the use of standardised shipping containers - of which there are approximately 17 million worldwide. The negative environmental impacts is increasingly a problem of road freight particularly in long-distance and international operations. The increased volumes of freight crossing the oceans has led to more widespread use containers. This combination of factors has evolved into a new model of freight distribution – where the aim is to limit use of road transport to the last, short link, with the long-distance shipment being carried by more environmentally friendly modes. The advantage of intermodal freight is that aeroplanes, ships, railways and canals can take the lion’s share of long-distance freight flows, whilst keeping the flexibility of road transport for local and regional distribution.
Road Network Operators can benefit from modal shift if this leads to a reduction in heavy freight movements and overloaded vehicles. This is because of reductions in slower moving vehicles contributing to congestion and reduced damage to road infrastructure. Complete removal of long distance road freight is not plausible – nevertheless the European Union in its White Paper on Transport (2011) has set a target of 50% of all road freight to be shifted to more sustainable modes.
ITS plays an important part in helping enabling this to happen. ITS is at the heart of developments in intermodal freight - whether through improved efficiency and throughput of cargo terminals, better tracking of different loads internationally throughout the intermodal transport chain or simply by improving the speed and ease of border crossings.
Asset tracking, end-to-end asset tracking and eManifests enable loads to be processed far more swiftly than previously. Information about the order in which containers are entering the terminal can be transmitted in advance, ensuring that a handling plan can be set up in advance. This improves efficiency - containers or loads can be quickly moved from inbound arrival to outbound departure points without long layovers whilst their details are checked and the load’s path through the terminal is planned.
These movements can be very quick, with a 100 container train being stripped and reloaded within 90 minutes:
Such reliable, quick turnaround times make railfreight increasingly attractive to operators, as the processing time is minimised and vehicles can be used more productively.
Hams Hall Distribution Park, UK
Increasingly, as countries across the globe seek to minimise their environmental impact, road freight is being replaced, where possible, by more sustainable modes. (See Intermodal Freight) Containerisation means that it is now very easy to transport the load by a combination of inland waterway, sea, road and rail. Through the use of RFID tags it is possible to track individual containers or the contents within them across all modes - from the factory to final delivery point. Efficiencies obtained from such a detailed understanding of stock movements have significant impacts on supply chain systems. A better knowledge of estimated departure and arrival improves efficiency of distribution and a reduction in the amount of stock at any one time. (See Just-in-Time)This asset-tracking can make a significant difference as the example.
Other innovative solutions, such as GPS enabled solar powered tracking devices, allow active transmission of location data to provide constant load tracking instead of relying on the product passing through fixed monitoring points at known gateways. As GPS becomes increasingly popular within road freight, rail freight companies are also starting to use satellite technology.
Sharing of electronic data is the bedrock on which all ITS solutions are based. To be successful it is important that standards (See ITS Standards) are available to enable interoperability - so that all safety and load information can be seamlessly transferred between countries, operators and regulators.
The eManifest, as an electronic depository of the contents of all trucks, simplifies border clearance, credential checking and terminal processing. It also supports intermodal transport operations providing the transport operators and shippers in the intermodal chain with access to the same documentation. This facilitates an unbroken journey between transport providers and between transport modes.
eManifests provide operators and the emergency services with access to much needed data - without having to rely on paper copies which may be damaged, lost, or only held within the vehicle itself. Emergency response is helped by knowing the contents of any freight vehicle involved in an incident. The eManifest also helps operators maintain good access to data about their current loads and destinations.
