Recommendations To Tackle The Impact Of Driver Shortage In The European Chemical Transport

## Issue 1 – August 2020

CONTENT

Introduction
Recommendation 1: Infrastructure Redesign
Recommendation 2: Digitalisation and Smart Planning
Recommendation 3: Truck Driver Communication and Comfort
Recommendation 4: Chemical Truck Driver Training, Engagement and Retention
Appendix 1 - Root Cause Analysis of Driver Shortage
Appendix 2 - Examples of Site Pictograms
Appendix 3 - The Six Chemical Truck Driver Qualification Dimensions
Appendix 4 - Overview Truck Driver Competency Levels
Appendix 5 - Use Case Example
References
Contributors

Disclaimer

This document is intended for information only and sets out recommendations to tackle the impact of the driver shortage in the European chemical transport. The information provided in these guidelines is provided in good faith and, while it is accurate as far as the authors are aware, no representations or warranties are made with regards to its completeness. It is not intended to be a comprehensive guide. Each company, based on their individual decision-making process, may apply these guidelines, in full or partly or apply any other adapted measures. No responsibility will be assumed by ECTA/Cefic in relation to the information contained in these Guidelines.

These guidelines were drafted before the Covid-19 outbreak and the recommendations therein do not account for Covid-19 related safety and preventive measures. They also don’t consider the European Commission’s Mobility Package I adopted in 2020.

Introduction

Safe, sustainable and efficient transport is the backbone and lifeblood within the chemical industry to serve our customers and to secure the overall agility and industry competitiveness.

The transport and logistics sector has been facing a shortage of truck drivers over the past decades. Before the crisis in 2008, the truck driver shortage already significantly affected the availability of transport capacity. Waiting times on sites were increasing and the driver’s comfort level decreased. Drivers didn’t feel well treated at loading/unloading sites. Acknowledging this situation, Cefic and ECTA already worked together in 2009, and have released their recommendations for loading/unloading sites through Best Practice Guidelines on “How to reduce time spent by drivers on site and improve their treatment”, on Cefic and ECTA websites.

Due to the 2008 global economic crisis and the inflow of new truck drivers from the new eastern EU member states, the overall pressure on the transport market suddenly released, and driver shortage was no longer a critical business priority.

After some years of crisis, the economic recovery started, though still by 2017-2019, some countries have yet to completely bounce back. For the major European economies that have reached their pre-crisis level, this growth came with an increase in demand for transport and with a decrease in truck driver availability and productivity due to road congestion, stricter driving regulations, unfavourable demographics, increased truck driver waiting times and an overall lower job attractiveness for young drivers. In addition, the recent truck driver demand for more local e-commerce logistics activities has created a truck driver job rotation within the transport sector towards easier, more “work-life balanced” and local-oriented transport jobs. Consequently, now and for the years to come, truck driver demand exceeds the supply of a qualified truck driver workforce. Compared to 2008, Europe was lacking by about 75.000 drivers, new studies have shown that in 2017 this number exceeded by far the 200.000 across a group of just eight European countries (Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, UK, Sweden, Denmark and Norway). Additionally, The ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage survey held in 2017, ranked the job of driver as the second most difficult position to fill in Europe (EMEA). In the next 5-15 years, about 40% of the current active truck drivers in Europe will retire. This situation requires immediate attention and focus programmes to attract new truck drivers, including truck driver training & qualification.

The truck driver shortage as faced today, is from a structural nature, much wider than Europe and hitting all industry sectors. This results in increasing difficulties for shippers to deliver goods to their customers “on-time” and “in-full”. The chemical sector makes no exception to this evolution. For our industry, this structural driver shortage is putting the entire chemical supply chain at risk. Besides increased transport costs, the service level to customers is also declining. In addition, it becomes more and more difficult to find qualified chemical drivers who are able to cope with ever more demanding legislation and site requirements. This lack of qualified truck drivers may pose safety as well as product quality risks. All of this endangers the security of supply in the European chemical industry with possible disruptions.

With these guidelines, Cefic and ECTA want to support their members to secure and increase efficiency in chemical road transport by improving the productivity of chemical drivers on the one hand and by improving the attractiveness for the truck driver profession in the chemical sector on the other hand. The chemical sector has the ambition to achieve this goal while fulfilling the highest safety, mobility and sustainability requirements from customers and from society. These guidelines provide practical recommendations for various stakeholders.

Given all interrelations, it is evident that in the coming decade, the chemical industry, transport companies and authorities will need to work more closely together to further explore the proposed recommendations and innovations. New mobility and digital technology solutions will be evolving and create new opportunities. However, focusing on safety and people at loading/unloading will remain a key success factor. It is crucial that we look at this issue from a truck driver perspective, and that we improve truck driver job attractiveness, comfort and respect, by establishing an open dialogue and strong collaboration amongst all actors, enabled by the new emerging technologies.

Priority setting

To develop this list of recommendations with hands-on proposals, Cefic and ECTA have conducted a root-cause investigation based on interviews and surveys amongst members.

[Fig. 1: A “mind-map” with the underlying causes of driver shortage in the chemical industry. See enlarged picture in appendix 1]

The conclusion is, due to the structural nature of the driver shortage, it is important that the chemical industry adapts and rethinks how it will organise road transport in the coming decade. The chemical industry will have to adjust to the reality that the availability of drivers will always be limited. This implies that collective actions will be needed by industry, logistic service providers and authorities to secure a safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable road system. Additionally, automatization and digitalisation will change the job content of a driver, requiring a change plan to ensure the right driver qualification.

First key conclusion is that the road system needs to be redesigned by decoupling the long-distance driving from the first and last miles and the on-site driving. This decoupling allows to combine optimised long-haul driving with safe and efficient first and last miles and on-site distribution. Long-haul driving in the future:

Should be possible outside peak hours and by night,
Should not be driven by (narrow) estimated time of arrival (ETA) time slots,
Should minimise waiting times outside driving and resting times,
Should not give any language issues,
Should allow for new multimodal/combined transport concepts including platooning,
Should allow for digitalisation, e.g. central monitoring of product and equipment for increased safety and security and dynamic ETA calculation that considers traffic and weather,
Should allow easy access to the profession, almost no site-specific training.

First and last miles and on-site distribution in the future:

Should maximise asset and resource utilisation,
Should be executed by well trained and qualified drivers/operators, being familiar to the local loading/unloading production site requirements, warehouses, depots, terminals and cleaning stations,
Should be highly automated and digitalised,
Should strive for zero or low emissions,
Should reduce the number of incidents, especially at loading/unloading sites.

Overall the safety and security performance of all involved parties along the whole chain will increase.

The second key conclusion is that we cannot accept losing more qualified drivers due to job dissatisfaction or bad working conditions. The chemical industry, together with the road sector needs to have a strong focus on truck driver health & comfort, adapted training & qualification, two-way communication, a market conform remuneration, efficiency and safety of the truck drivers in order to retain truck drivers and keep them engaged within the chemical industry. Policy makers should support driver availability by lowering the entry costs to the access to the profession, by lowering the minimum age, and by providing enough safe and secure parking areas. Logistics reliability could also be improved by limiting the impact of road works based on proper impact assessments or creating smart fast lanes.

The following practical best practice recommendations will help to tackle the above main conclusions:

Recommendation 1: redesign of the logistics infrastructure at loading/unloading sites. Several infrastructural measures are proposed:
- Option 1: Decoupling last mile from long haul
- Option 2: Fast lane
- Option 3: Self loading
- Option 4: Capacity. Combinations of the above options allow for safe, optimised and efficient loading processes.
Recommendation 2: digitalisation and planning.
Recommendation 3: truck driver communication and comfort.
Recommendation 4: chemical truck driver training, engagement and retention.

Recommendation 1: Infrastructure Redesign

This recommendation focusses on the infrastructural design of the end to end process, aiming to reduce the overall lead time and increase the productivity of the driver and the assets. The proposed improved process is shown in the picture below.

Fig. 2: Decoupling last mile from long haul - drop & swap concept

Decoupling last mile from long haul (drop & swap concept)

The basic idea of decoupling is to divide the entire journey of the transport equipment and cargo into a long and a short haul (or first/last mile), each being carried out by a different driver. The drop-off zone can be an on-site parking zone or depot, a private carrier zone or a neutral/open terminal access zone. This drop & swap zone can be designed with additional intermediate storage and services, including a zone or terminal where a switch can happen between transport modes. Different operation models are possible using this basic idea:

Operations model 1: Site operations controlled
In this model, the “fit to load” transport equipment is put at the disposal of the loading site by the haulier. Site personnel performs the short haul, the loading operation and prepares also the required shipment documentation. The long-haul haulier will pick up the loaded transport equipment at the drop-off zone at his convenience in accordance with the required delivery date of the customer. In this practice the haulier is not involved at all in the loading process. Typically, this drop-off zone is a parking zone closely linked to the site.
Operations model 2: Service provider controlled
The second model is an operational model in which a small number of dedicated drivers perform the transport from the drop-off zone to the site and back, including the loading. Another driver carries out the long-haul transport from the drop-off zone to the end customer. This operations model gives the haulier the possibility to load in off-peak hours and outside the admin office hours (provided the required shipment documentation can be made available upfront and/or is digitally available for sign off by the long-haul driver outside office hours). Additionally, the haulier only needs a limited number of well-trained and qualified short-haul drivers to execute the loadings.
Operations model 3: Service provider collaboration
The third model requires a higher collaboration between different carriers, as this model is using multiple dedicated drivers from multiple carriers to perform the transport from the drop-off zone to the loading site. Site operations and/or the service provider perform the loading and delivers the loaded equipment back to the drop-off zone. The follow-on transport is following same principle as within the second model. Such model is frequently used in multimodal transport where the drop-off zone is a rail or barge depot.

Fig. 3: a drop & swap parking zone

The drop & swap parking zone can be a temporary buffer for empty trailers and loaded trailers “in transport”. For the latter it is essential that CMR (Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road - transport document) and SDS (Safety Data Sheet) information is always available, to support and proof the transport chain. In the case no customer has been allocated yet, the drop & swap zone is used as intermediate storage or depot. In that case all legal requirements for storage of tank containers need to be fulfilled. Especially for ADR (European Agreement on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) products, additional safety and security measures are required, such as fire protection and emergency intervention, closed and secure area, regular supervision. See also the Cefic-ECTA best practice guidelines on “Safe storage and handling of containers carrying dangerous goods and hazardous substances”, on Cefic and ECTA websites.

Key considerations for implementing “drop & swap” concepts

The producer needs to investigate which product streams can be involved and for which customers this could be beneficial.
Every loader and carrier should know the product, loading/unloading and equipment specifications per segment (packed, dry bulk, liquid bulk and gases).
A contractual agreement between the loading site, including Third Party Logistics (3PL), and the haulier is required. Any equipment liability aspect needs to be discussed and agreed upon by the haulier and the loading site (including 3PL). This liability framework should be in place before starting drop & swap between parties.
For small sites, an agreement with one single haulier is recommended in order to benefit from economies of scale.
Enough (well cleaned) trailers and related equipment must be made available.
The use of yard tractors may be envisaged if this is applicable and more convenient than the use of road trucks.
The site planning needs to take account of the impact of “urgent” drop & swap operations.
Mixed loads are more complicated for drop & swap. Fully empty trailers are the best to use for drop & swap activities.
There may be a need to invest in additional parking area, including equipment inspection and waiting area where drivers can wait or work safely (e.g. safe working at height).

Critical success factors

Quick access for drop & swap drivers is needed on sites to make drop & swap a success (see option 2: fast lane).
The availability of the shipping papers should be synchronised with the loading flow. Otherwise, waiting times occur after loading and the benefits of the drop & swap concept are lost.
Technology (digitalisation) is critical for success and will help the drop & swap process, especially with regards to shipping and loading/unloading papers.
To avoid overloading, the maximum total payload of the equipment must be known before loading by both the transport company and the loader in case of preloading activities. This may require the sharing of equipment data for the equipment involved.
The loading site will have to adapt its site organisation, as well as its loading process. Site personnel need to be trained in the safe handling of the different types of transport equipment.
Clear work instructions must be established and communicated to trained drivers and site personnel, as certain products require strict and specific product training and the appropriate immediate measures (in case of incident in transit).

Summary of key benefits of decoupling last mile from long haul

Dedicated drivers have better experience of site safety & security specifics, and speak the local language resulting in lower incidents rate.
Limited dedicated drivers allowing a higher utilisation rate of trucks and drivers.
Better work-life balance for drivers due to local activities.
Shorter distances allow better options to implement zero emission vehicles.
Drop & swap areas nearby terminals support multimodal transport and improve transport safety & sustainability.
The concept allows to have a better utilisation of the loading capacity and less infrastructure needs on the loading place (parking/loading bridges). The loading/unloading areas have more space and time to organise the loading/unloading activities better, safer and more effectively.
Time on site for the haulier is reduced. There should be no handling or waiting time for drivers anymore.

Fast lane access

Providing a fast lane access will help drivers to get faster access on sites. With this solution, time is no longer lost at registration desks, as the truck and driver can enter the site without any administrative intervention when the truck arrives at the site.

Benefits

Lead time: no waiting time at check-in of a site (safety test, waiting time at check-in, etc.). Faster gate processes, efficient site security.
Driver treatment: less stress as the fast lane is bypassing queues and communication issues. Higher safety standards (only trained, experienced drivers on site).

Driver Biometric Identification
Fig. 4: biometric identification of the driver

Requirements

Transporter and equipment need to be pre-registered. Such pre-registration includes:
- Registration of driver passport or identity card
- Registration of truck driver licences and