How to choose and optimize the transport of your aggregates?

Productivity, environment, costs... Transport is a major adjustment variable for quarries, yet one that is often underestimated.

Faced with a 41% increase in road traffic over the last 30 years, just-in-time customers and environmental requirements to save our planet, the proper management of aggregate transport is a major challenge.

So it's essential to choose the right mode of transport and adopt best practices that have proved successful elsewhere quarries. Synaxe summarizes all its research in this article.

Choosing your means of transport

Road haulage accounts for 95% of transport in the construction and public works sector. This is understandable, as it is the most flexible mode of transport, thanks to its extensive network.

There are, however, alternative modes of transport - river, sea and rail - that are more environmentally friendly and can transport larger quantities of aggregates.

What are the criteria for choosing an aggregates transporter?

The No. 1 criterion for ensuring the profitability of your business is cost. While the service is generally invoiced according to the weight of the aggregates, some companies may also charge extra for fuel, drivers' meals and tolls. Less frequently, you may also have to pay for certain services, such as the use of a hydraulic crane for loading, storage at the depot, or acknowledgement of receipt of your production. So remember to assess all costs in advance, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Criterion no. 2 is delivery quality. By quality, we mean customer service responsiveness, on-time delivery and truck driver professionalism. As the driver reflects your company to your customer, his behavior must be impeccable.

Criterion no. 3 is respect for the environment: what is your carrier doing to limit its ecological footprint?

- What fuel is used by vehicles?
- Are delivery notes electronic?
- Are drivers trained in eco-driving?
- Do trucks comply with European standards?

Few service providers tick all the boxes. Make sure, however, that the environment is one of their concerns and that they have already taken the first steps.

Which modes of transport are most popular?

If we focus on France, we can say that there are 3 main modes of transport for aggregates. We've left out sea transport, which remains the exception in mainland France.

Road transport

Road transport is currently the most popular mode of transport at quarries , as it offers a number of advantages such as:

• availability: in France, there are almost 600,000 lorry drivers, compared with 70,000 freight wagons, for example.
• flexibility: for short- to medium-distance orders, the customer can be supplied several times a day.
• responsiveness: timetables are much more flexible than other means of transport, such as trains or boats.
• availability: drivers can pick up aggregates directly from quarry.

On the other hand, the quantities transported are smaller: skips have to be regularly refilled to meet demand. This mode of transport is also the most polluting and causes many nuisances for local residents: noise, traffic jams, safety risks...

An idea of the direct costs of this mode of aggregate transport: between €7.2 and €8.4 per tonne.

River transport

This mode of transport is a good alternative for transporting aggregates. Not only is it environmentally friendly, it can also be used to move large quantities of materials.

It's also an ideal solution for transporting waste to landfill or recycling sites: with no deadline imposed by the customer, you can afford to choose a slower mode of transport.

Nevertheless, the river solution lacks flexibility and can complicate the logistics chain: low frequency of departures, limited number of waterways, longer delivery times.

‍Idea of the direct costs of this mode of aggregate transport: between €6.8 and €20 per tonne.

Rail transport

When it comes to the environment, rail transport is the big winner! On average, a freight train emits 14 times less CO2/km than a heavy goods vehicle for the same mass transported.

Railroads are also more numerous than inland waterways, although their number is declining due to high operating costs.

Another advantage is that there are plenty of lanes to choose from, even if some of them are destined to be permanently closed in the years to come.

On the other hand, this option requires unparalleled logistical management, as schedules are rarely flexible.

An idea of the direct costs of this mode of aggregate transport: between €6.6 and €7.8 per tonne.

Optimize road transport of aggregates from quarry to customers

Given the network of carriers in France, part of your delivery will inevitably involve road transport. So we're going to focus on this mode of transport to share a few tips with you.

Asking the right questions from the outset quarry

The question of transporting your aggregates arises even before you install your quarry. Ask yourself the following questions as early as possible:

• Who are your potential customers?
• Where are they located?
• What are their opening hours and delivery access times?
• Which train stations and ports are close to quarry ?
• How much aggregate and waste will you produce?
• Which routes around quarry are off-limits to heavy goods vehicles?

In this way, you can anticipate the delivery of your merchandise and avoid finding yourself up against the wall on the big day.

Managing truck flows

Managing the flow of heavy goods vehicles at quarry is one of the pillars of your aggregate transport logistics.

By optimizing these flows, you can :

• reduce queuing at the entrance to quarry and thus reduce nuisance for local residents
• reduce the time spent on site by drivers and thus increase delivery rates
• limit the number of physical movements required of the weighing operator, and thus reduce safety risks

After observing dozens of carriers in action, we've identified a number of solutions that may well inspire you.

1) Regulate the flow of heavy goods vehicles on the quarry

The idea is to make it easier to move and load heavy goods vehicles at quarry.

Or you opt for the manual solution, i.e. you create schedules in Excel format, which you entrust to your weighing agents, who will be responsible for directing the vehicle drivers.

Or opt for the automatic solution. After setting the maximum number of vehicles in each loading zone, you let the system manage it for you. As soon as this number is reached, the software redirects drivers to the available zones.

The advantages of this second option:

• drivers adapt to the quarry situation in real time
• trucks spend less time on site
• you load your goods more quickly, so you can concentrate on other tasks for the rest of the day

2) Use site entry and exit terminals

This solution consists of installing automatic bollards at the entrance and exit of quarry.

On arrival at the site, the terminal automatically detects the truck's license plate. The weighing agent receives a notification and validates the driver's entry into quarry. The driver then proceeds to the storage area to pick up the load. Back at the weighing point, the plate and weight of the load are automatically detected. The driver can then print out the delivery note or receive it on his application, if quarry uses dematerialized delivery notes.

The benefits:

• the weighing agent no longer needs to interact physically with the driver
• manage several toggles at the same time
• employees and drivers no longer have to walk and are therefore less exposed to accidents.

3) Set up dematerialized delivery notes

This solution involves replacing paper delivery notes with digital ones.

The benefits:

• you save time: no need to take out a pen and a signature pad
• you save your weighing operator unnecessary trips back and forth between his cab and the trucks
• you convey a modern image to your customer
• you save paper, and that's good for the planet!

In conclusion, optimizing the transportation of your aggregates is a key lever for :

• your production rate
• customer satisfaction
• the environment
• the safety of your employees

If you would like to discuss the implementation of one of these solutions, Synaxe team members are available to advise you free of charge.

Simply fill in this form and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.