Productivity, environment, costs... Transportation is a major adjustment variable for careers, yet it is often underestimated.
Faced with the increase in road traffic of nearly 41% over the last 30 years, with customers who work on a just-in-time basis or with environmental requirements to save our planet, the proper management of aggregate transport is a major challenge.
It is therefore essential to choose the right mode of transport and to adopt good practices that have been proven in other careers. Synaxe summarize all of his research in this article.
Choosing your means of transport
Road transport represents 95% of transport in the sector of BTP. It can be understood: it is the most flexible mode of conveying due to the importance of its network.
However, there are alternative modes of transport - fluvial, seaborne, Railway - more environmentally friendly and which make it possible to transport larger quantities of aggregates.
What are the criteria for choosing an aggregate hauler?
The number one criterion, which is essential to ensure the profitability of your business, remains the cost. While the service is generally invoiced according to the weight of the aggregates, some companies may also charge additional fuel, drivers' meals and tolls. Less rare, some services offered may also be at your expense, such as the use of a hydraulic crane for loading, warehouse storage, and the acknowledgement of receipt of your production. So remember to assess all the costs beforehand to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Criterion No. 2 is the quality of delivery. By quality, we mean the responsiveness of customer service, the respect of deadlines, the professionalism of truck drivers. Since the driver is a reflection of your business to your customer, his behavior must therefore be impeccable.
Criterion No. 3 is respect for the environment: what does your carrier put in place to limit its ecological footprint?
- What fuel do vehicles use?
- Are delivery notes dematerialized?
- Are drivers trained in eco-driving?
- Are heavy goods vehicles up to European standards?
Few providers check all the boxes. However, make sure that the environment is one of their concerns and that they have already taken initial actions.
What are the most used modes of transport?
If we focus on France, we can say that there are 3 main modes of transport for aggregates. We have put aside maritime transport, which remains exceptional in mainland France.
Road transport
Road transport is the most used mode of transport at the moment in quarries because it has certain advantages such as:
- Availability : in France, there are nearly 600,000 truck drivers, compared to 70,000 freight cars for example.
- Flexibility : for short to medium distance orders, it is possible to supply the customer several times during the day.
- Responsiveness : timetables are much more flexible than other means of transport such as trains or boats.
- Accessibility : drivers can pick up the aggregates directly from the quarry.
On the other hand, the quantities transported are smaller: it is therefore necessary to recharge the skips regularly to meet requests. This mode of transport is also the most polluting and also causes a good number of nuisances to local residents: noise, traffic jams, risks to the safety of users...
Idea of the direct costs of this method of transporting aggregates: between €7.2 and €8.4 per ton.
Inland waterway transport
This mode of transport is a good alternative for transporting aggregates. Not only ecological, it also makes it possible to move a large quantity of materials.
It is also an ideal solution for transporting waste to landfills or recycling sites: without requiring a delay on the part of the customer, you can afford to choose a slower mode of transport.
However, the waterway solution lacks flexibility and can complicate the logistics chain: low frequency of departures, limited number of waterways, extended delivery times.
Idea of the direct costs of this method of transporting aggregates: between €6.8 and €20 per ton.
Railway transport
When it comes to rail transport, on the environmental side, it's the big winner! A freight train emits 14 times less CO2/km on average than a heavy vehicle for the same mass carried.
Railways are also more numerous than waterways, although their number is tending to decrease due to excessive operating costs.
Another advantage: the routes are very numerous, even if some are destined to be permanently closed in the years to come.
On the other hand, this option requires unparalleled logistical management because the hours are rarely flexible.
Idea of the direct costs of this method of transporting aggregates: between €6.6 and €7.8 per ton.
Optimizing the road transport of aggregates from the quarry to customers
Given the network of carriers on French territory, part of your delivery will necessarily involve road transport. So it is on this mode of transport that we are going to focus on to share some tips with you.
Asking the right questions when creating a career
The question of transporting your aggregates arises even before the establishment of your quarry. Ask yourself the following questions as soon as possible:
- Who will be your potential customers?
- What is their location?
- What are their opening hours and the access times to the delivery locations?
- What are the stations and ports near the quarry?
- What will be your volume of aggregate and waste production?
- What routes are forbidden for heavy vehicles around the quarry?
This way, you can anticipate the delivery of your goods and avoid finding yourself at the foot of the wall on D-Day.
Managing the flow of heavy vehicles
Managing the flow of heavy goods vehicles in the quarry is a pillar of your aggregate transport logistics.
By optimizing these flows, you will be able to:
- Reducing the queue at the entrance to the career and therefore reduce the nuisances to local residents
- Decrease the time spent on site by drivers and therefore increase the delivery rate
- Limit the physical movements of the switching agent and therefore limit security risks
After watching dozens of quarries at work, we identified a number of solutions that may well inspire you.
1) Regulate the flow of heavy trucks in the quarry
The idea is to make it easier to organize the movement and loading of heavy goods vehicles within the quarry itself.
Or you opt for the manual solution, i.e. you create schedules in Excel format that you entrust to your switching agents, who will be in charge of directing the vehicle drivers.
Or you opt for the automatic solution. After setting the maximum number of vehicles in each loading area, you let the system manage for you. As soon as this number is reached, the software redirects drivers to the available areas.
The advantages of this second option:
- Drivers adapt to the career situation in real time
- Trucks spend less time on site
- You load your goods more quickly and can then focus on other tasks for the rest of your day.
2) Use entry and exit terminals from the site
This solution consists in installing automatic terminals at the entrance and exit of the quarry.
Upon arrival on site, the terminal automatically detects the truck's license plate. The switching agent receives a notification and validates the driver's entry into the quarry. The latter goes to the storage area to pick up the load. Once back at the weighing point, the plate and load weight are automatically detected. The driver can therefore print the delivery note or receive it on his application, if the career uses dematerialized delivery notes.
The advantages:
- The tipping agent no longer needs to interact physically with the driver
- You manage several flip-flops at the same time
- Employees and drivers no longer travel on foot and are therefore less exposed to accidents.
3) Set up dematerialized delivery notes
This solution consists in replacing paper delivery notes with digital delivery notes.
The advantages:
- You save time: no need to pull out a pen and a signature holder
- You avoid your agent
To switch unnecessary back and forth between his cabin and the heavy goods vehicles
- You transmit a modern image to your customer
- You save paper, and that's good for the planet!
In conclusion, optimizing the transport of your aggregates is a key lever for:
- Your production rate
- The satisfaction of your customers
- The environment
- The safety of your employees
If you want to discuss the implementation of one of these solutions, the members of the team Synaxe are at your disposal to advise you free of charge.
All you need to do is fill out this form and we will get back to you within 24 hours.