EU fuel trial haulier caught by red tape
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Guy Sheppard
A Black Country haulier claims to have been bombarded with a morass of paperwork after agreeing to take part in a 2160,000 EU research project to find out if new technology could help cut its fuel costs.
AE Hawkins (Haulage Contractors) installed three of VDO Kienzle's FM 200 'black boxes to gain an insight into how its 32-strong vehicle fleet was being driven.
It was awarded a European Social Fund grant on the grounds that smaller UK hauliers are particular-[y disadvantaged by high fuel costs because they lack the technological back-up to improve their fuel efficiency.
But Peter Hancox, operations manager of the Kingswinford-based haulier, says information provided by the equipment was very complex and often inaccurate: 'You basically end up with reams and reams of information that you will do nothing with. From a small operator's point of view, you would need someone fulltime to interpret it."
The FM 200 records a vehicle's speed, revs, start and stop times and how long it spends idling, Kevin Green, fleet sales manager of Birmingham-based VDO Kienzle, says the equipment costs about £500 and has been sold in the UK for two years: "It's a small part of someone's daily task to check the information but it's often very difficult for small operations to tie someone down to do that."
He says the FM 200 can also be used to track vehicle movements and fuel consumption. "I am not sure what Hawkins are actually majoring on and that may be the problem behind all this paperwork," he adds.
The research, which ends next month (October) is being carried out in association with Stourbridge College, which runs its own road transport training arm near Hawkins' depot.