Mike Farrall, managing director of Farrall's Transport, has lent his support to the challenge laid down last week by Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, when he called on transport operators to improve their performance on carbon emissions. In his speech delivered at the Road Haulage Association's annual lunch, the chief secretary pointed out that HGVs are responsible for 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.
"Logistics companies, large and small, can take important steps to reduce their carbon consumption and at the same time improve their competitive position," says Mike Farrall. "Decisions on vehicle investment, fleet management technology and driver training all play a vital part in creating a cohesive strategy to reduce fuel consumption – lowering the environmental impact of road transport in the UK, reducing waste and boosting productivity."
"We are a small to medium sized logistics company operating from the North West, but over the last eighteen months we have invested £1.5 million expanding our transport fleet to support business growth, improve environmental performance and increase fuel-efficiency. All 13 new vehicles – Volvo FM, FH and FL models – are Euro 5 regulations compliant, which gives us an estimated 16 – 18% fuel saving," he says.
"In addition, we have invested in Dynafleet, Volvo Truck's online transport information system, which has made a massive difference to our carbon consumption - dramatically reducing our fuel bill. The system has helped us boost our fleet average fuel consumption from 8.6 to 9.6 mpg, giving us a £100,000 a year saving. As fuel is our biggest bill after wages, amounting to over £1 million a year, this represents a substantial saving." says Mike Farrall.
"Overall, Dynafleet provides our company with an essential monitoring tool to measure our drivers' performance and to ensure they are driving as efficiently and safely as possible," says Mike Farrall. "But to encourage drivers to deliver fuel savings you have to understand the person and how to get the best out of them. That's why we have introduced a driver performance bonus scheme, to incentivise our drivers to produce fuel savings.
"Companies can often fail to realise the HR issues and so we have also established an apprenticeship academy for improving skills across the business."
In conclusion Mike Farrall says: "There are compelling reasons for logistics businesses to take up the Treasury Secretary's challenge. We believe we're well ahead of the curve on meeting our commitment to environmental improvement, reducing fuel consumption and driving business performance."
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