Reality Check How Augmented Reality Is Changing the Commercial Vehicle Workshop 2 September 2020 > Commercial Vehicle Engineer Sustained Gains
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SEPTEMBER|2020 IN THIS ISSUE Optimising transmission service intervals Making trucks more sustainable REALITY CHECK HOW AUGMENTED REALITY IS CHANGING THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE WORKSHOP 2 SEPTEMBER 2020 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER SUSTAINED GAINS s tackling the effects of climate change becomes more of a priority for A governments across the world, the pressure on commercial vehicle manufacturers to come up with more ways to decrease their impact on the environment has increased. Of course, they have risen to the challenge and trucks of all sizes are cleaner in terms of emissions now than they have ever been. But EDITORIAL & DESIGN the drive for trucks to be cleaner and more sustainable is set to continue in the years to Immediate Network Ltd come – think of the planned clean air zones Ferneberga House, Alexandra Rd, – and manufacturers are increasingly looking at more than just what comes out of Farnborough GU14 6DQ the tailpipe in terms of saving on CO2 and other emissions. w: inl.co.uk While the power source for commercial vehicles tends to get the most headlines with various ones including electric, hydrogen, gas and even diesel (or variants on EDITOR it) being touted as the zero or low emission power of the future, there are plenty Dan Parton of other ways of making commercial vehicles more sustainable and less polluting t: 07941 979 845 through their life cycle. e: [email protected] Manufacturers such as Swedish start-up Volta Trucks are in the vanguard of this. For example, the company is developing parts that are close to carbon neutral over ADVERTISING their lifecycle, as well as being lighter than tradition parts. The company has done this by taking technology used in motor racing and applying it to the building of Matthew Lodey panels for their first model, the Volta Zero, which is launched next month. Head of Sales e: [email protected] Meanwhile others are making their trucks more sustainable by using solar technology to help charge batteries and save on fuel and CO2. You can read more SUBSCRIPTIONS about this on p18. But there are other relatively easy ways that operators can save on fuel and CO2 Stuart Masson emissions of trucks already on the road – and without having to spent copious Editorial Director amounts of cash. For example, waste management firm Biffa is on target to save t: 07543 300 719 £200,000 this year, just by adjusting its transmission service intervals. Read more e: [email protected] of that on p30. PUBLISHED BY There are plenty of ways like this that operators can make trucks on the road more efficient, and these, along with more fundamental changes will be necessary Immediate Network Ltd as governments around the world get to grips with climate change and how to address it and reduce CO2. Commercial vehicle manufacturers and operators can be leaders in this and show how vans, trucks and buses can be made in a more sustainable way without compromising on safety, strength longevity or, most importantly, range. THE TRUCK EXPERT THE VAN EXPERT THE CAR EXPERT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > SEPTEMBER 2020 3 CONTENTS 6>> POINTS OF VIEW Teletrac Navman’s Scott Hutchins on the importance of demonstrating the tangible impact of adopting new technology; Pailton Engineering’s Roger Brereton talks about why electric and hydrogen both have a future role in filling our transport needs. 8>> NEWS StreetDrone secures funding for 5G autonomous vehicle project; RVS signs deal to repower refuse vehicles; transport operators use Covid-19 break to rethink operations; ADL offers new range to protect buses from Covid-19; HGV registrations plummet in second quarter. 12>> FLEET NEWS New vans for Spartan Motor Factors; first new DAF tridem on the road; Openreach invests big in electric vans; Abacus talks delivery of first new MAN TGX in the UK; Carrier Transicold launches new refrigeration units. 18 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER CONTENTS 14>> A NEW REALITY Augmented reality is an emerging technology that could improve efficiency and reduce downtime. 18>> SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT Sustainability is at the forefront of manufacturers’ and operators’ thinking alike, but it is about more than tailpipe emissions. 24>> SAFE SPACE Health and safety should be a top priority for everyone if dangers are to be mitigated. 30>> A WEIGHTY MATTER Adjusting transmission service intervals could save fleets 14 thousands of pounds every year. 24 COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > SEPTEMBER 2020 5 POINTS OF VIEW WHY METRICS MATTER With digital transformation taking hold in the transport and logistics sector, Teletrac Navman’s Scott Hutchins discusses the importance of demonstrating the tangible business impact of adopting new technology. he uptake of digital fleet software is on the rise, helping operators maximise efficiency, compliance and safety, as Twell as remove cumbersome manual processes. In times of uncertainty, when fleets are under pressure to show continuous improvement regarding cost effectiveness, it becomes especially critical that results can be measured, and the investment validated. Whether a fleet is embarking on its first form of digital transformation or continuing with its journey by accelerating its digital capabilities, being able to calculate return on investment (ROI) is critical in being able to secure the financial outlay required. Indeed, many operators are interested in taking their telematics and tracking capabilities to the next level but can face opposition So, the question remains: how do of a year it will total a certain amount in the boardroom. you measure the ROI of digital of speeding incidents. Moreover, if just While technology investments are transformation? 0.10% of those speeding incidents are undoubtedly on the rise, so is the It could be suggested that customisation caught, at an approximate rate of £100 expectation from the C-suite that those is what makes it most effective. It is fine per incident, then that amounts to a investments will drive greater business important to take time to define your significant cost to the business per year. value. Even though adopting advanced principal motivation for going digital, Combined with other data such as the fleet management solutions can or for improving the systems already in annual accident rate and their transform a fleet’s operations tenfold – place. Then work with your telematics respective costs, as well as the projected with safety, environmental, operational, provider to firstly build a solution that impacted on insurance premiums, and compliance gains to be made – the aligns with your business objectives, to fleets can easily identify opportunities key decision makers will ultimately be maximise ROI, and secondly to make sure to leverage technology in order to looking at the potential cost savings or you have the right metrics and reporting improve performance and reduce efficiencies that can help grow the bottom methods in place to evaluate success. running costs. line. While benefits such as reducing fuel Better yet, involve the teams from the Knowing these costs, benefits, and the usage may be easy to quantify, others, platforms you want to work with early in proven return on investment upfront will such as the improvement in duty of care the process, to build a reporting baseline give operators the confidence to invest to drivers, are harder to put a figure to. and track ROI from day one – measuring in their digital transformation, and as a Having proof points and concrete long-term outcomes is key in seeing the result develop and adapt to make their examples of how it can benefit the value of your investment over time and in fleets more efficient, compliant and most business is a great way to lay the securing future investment. importantly safe. groundwork around the value new There are tools that make it possible to systems can add and encourage show, for example, that if the entire fleet Scott Hutchins is Teletrac Navman’s stakeholders to embrace the change. speeds at the same rate over the course UK vice president of sales 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER POINTS OF VIEW POWER STRUGGLE Hydrogen or electric vehicles? The answer is probably both should fit together in our greener future. Roger Brereton from Pailton Engineering explains why hydrogen and electric vehicles have a role to play in our future transportation needs. ydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles could constitute up to 20% of H the world’s vehicle fleet by 2050, according to the Hydrogen Council. This estimate rests on the assumption that hydrogen will play a wider role in our energy needs and be particularly suited for powering vehicles with heavy payloads and longer ranges. Battery powered electric vehicles (BEVs) are gradually displacing the internal combustion engine in the move toward greener forms of transportation. An alternative to the BEV is the hydrogen large enough scale yet. However, a recent alternative, then the fact that hydrogen vehicle, or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). report from Ballard and Deloitte China powered buses take so much less time to Both vehicles are propelled by electric concluded that FCEVs will be cheaper to charge is an obvious selling point. motors, but where the BEV is powered by run than BEVs within a decade. By asking which of these two a lithium ion battery, the FCEV uses a fuel The FCEV boasts great benefits in those technologies is superior, we risk falling cell to convert hydrogen into electricity. areas where BEVs typically struggle. into the trap of always seeing them in It is common to see the two technologies A major drawback of the BEV is range competition. That need not be the case. pitted against one another as alternatives. anxiety — fears the vehicle won’t travel The answer will depend on which sector The major point of contention is whether far enough on a single charge.