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Is the industry too professional?
Page 26
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A WISE MAN ONCE said the true definition of a professional transport operation is when "the customer receives the required goods, without needing to understand the operations required to ensure the required goods arrive when required".
Well, the UK transport industry has now met that definition.
Many of you will have heard the Radio 2 poll on the Jeremy Vine show, in which HGVs came in at third place in the top four vehicles to be voted off the road (cars did not feature in this poll).Even that pre-mechanical transport mode, the horse, managed to be included in fourth place.All in all, not a great result for the UK road transport industry.
The industry should now start a constructive campaign to inform the general public exactly how the goods they require arrive where they want them. when they want them.Many individual campaigns have been tried before and,to put it bluntly, they have failed. Various publications, trade bodies and operators have tried to educate the public with limited success.
Is it asking too much for the transport industry as a whole— ie the road transport, rail, maritime and inland waterway sectors— to participate in some joined-up thinking to promote the transport industry as a whole to the public?
The general public has absolutely no idea how the separate sectors interact to provide the required goods on time regardless of size or quantity required.The general public has no idea how as an industry we strive to undertake logistical operations in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way.
All the general public ever hears are the pressure groups condemning the industry,and the reports of accidents and road closures. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that our political representatives, who listen to the same information, implement legislation that has a negative effect on the transport industry, wi thout seeking the input of the industry.
Following the fuel protests, how did we as an industry manage to lose the support of the general public so spectacularly?
Only when a sustained education campaign starts to roll out across all social groups in this country will the public realise just how important HGVs, trains, ships and barges are to everyone's life.
Many intelligent people of all ages work in the transport industry, so constructing an educational campaign that improves the public image of the transport industry would not be difficult:Think of it as a sales pitch to your future customers!
Martin Barnes Freelance project manager East Huntspill, Somerset