1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194 
Knowledge is power
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Barry Proctor sees that we don't help ourselves as we need to and that the transport industry needs to turn information into knowledge into working wisdom...
We live, apparently, in the information age. Data, facts and figures, news and gossip are all available at the touch of a button, 24/7 from virtually anywhere in the world. This makes it all the more perplexing that while you can obtain the latest updates on the political situation in Burkina Faso (stable since the 1987 coup, since you ask), people within the transport industry seem unable to supply you with the most basic data.
Take, for example, the issue of supermarket RDCs. I'm told by those who work with supermarkets on a regular basis that delays would be so much easier to avoid if the people at the RDC ever answered the phone. They must be able to tell, simply by looking out of the window, that trucks are queuing out of the gate and that in-bound deliveries are delayed. So why not relay this information to any operators due to deliver later that day so they can make better use of their drivers or trucks? It isn't rocket science after all, and this sort of information will be like gold dust when the VVTD gets going next year. It's all very well having these fabled periods of availability which might help a little, but given the incredibly tight working limits that will be imposed, being able to sweat your asset will be absolutely vital.
Without the information you are effectively powerless and are left to the vagaries of the RDC staff, when you should be in full control of your own fleet. It would be nice to think that things will change come the introduction of the WTD and that everybody will tackle the ridiculous number of hours wasted simply waiting to load or unload. However, if unlimited periods of availability are allowed there will not be the same incentive for all the parties concerned to finally get their act together.
Which is why I'd like the government to adopt a compromise —somewhere between the demands from the unions and those of the employers. I think it's the only way we will begin to face up to the changes we need to make.
"It's not rocket science. And this sort of information will be like gold dust come the advent of the WTD"