References
Jan de Rijk
State-of-the-art technology is basis for ‘Lean & Green’ transport
Jan de Rijk Logistics is driving more sustainably with CarCube on-board computer
“The driver is an important factor in sustainable transport. If he drives economically, fuel consumption will drop and CO2 emissions too. Yet you only know if that is so if you can actually measure it,” says Caspar Lievaart, Purchase Manager at Jan de Rijk Logistics in Roosendaal. “A good on-board computer provides the right technology for this, so it forms an essential link in our quest to reduce emissions.”
On-board computer recording is condition for calculating emissions
Last year, Jan de Rijk Logistics received the ‘Lean & Green’ Award, the result of preparing a Plan of Action in which the company committed itself to reduce CO2 emissions demonstrably by 20% in 5 years.
“With the ‘Lean & Green’ initiative, as a sector, we are working very actively on reducing CO2 emissions,” says Lievaart. “Almost everything you do can be expressed in CO2 emissions. You could argue that CO2 reduction is directly related to improving efficiency within the enterprise”.
He indicates that CarCube is an important tool in this. “Accurately recording the number of kilometres travelled and the actual consumption enables us to calculate the CO2 emissions of our shipments.” For this, under the motto ‘Activity Based Carboning’, the logistics service provider works closely with the CAPE group.
Lower consumption with Driving Style Wizard and FMS reporting
Monitoring fuel consumption and driving style is now a permanent part of the internal processes at Jan de Rijk. “The drivers use the Driving Style Wizard on the CarCube and in the office we monitor the consumption through the FleetWorks FMS reporting,” says Lievaart. “If a driver’s consumption is excessive, he will be followed up actively.”
Knowing that more attention is being paid to fuel consumption and driving style has a positive effect on the drivers’ driving behaviour. “They begin to find it a challenge to drive as fuel-efficiently as possible,” explains Lievaart. “However, the measured fuel savings that we are now achieving are not just attributable to driving behaviour, since Jan de Rijk is simultaneously endeavouring to minimise fuel consumption in many areas. But the fact is, if we were to stop actively monitoring, consumption figures would rise considerably.”
Link with trailer is important
Also important at Jan de Rijk is the interface between CarCube and the monitoring system on the trailers. This is used for security reasons and sometimes for monitoring the condition of the cargo too.
“For several reasons, we find it interesting to link the trailer monitoring system to CarCube,” says Lievaart. For instance, the on-board computer recognises and records what trailer is being coupled or uncoupled. “Unauthorised uncoupling makes CarCube send an alert to home base and/or emergency service,” says Lievaart. “If this occurs at the wrong place and time, we know at an early stage that we could be dealing with an incident (theft) and can take targeted action rapidly.”
Always the right temperature
In addition, Jan de Rijk establishes a link between CarCube and the temperature monitoring systems on the refrigeration equipment. “Until now, the planner has received an alert when temperature is exceeded. In itself that works fine, but we are striving for the fullest possible integration of all processes through CarCube,” explains Lievaart. “We now also see an opportunity to inform the driver in the cab about the situation in the trailer without installing additional equipment. A common complaint from drivers is that there are so many ‘boxes’ in the cab. In our experience, the CarCube and Trimble’s innovative way of working provide a good opportunity to do something about this.”
Ready for the future with CarCube
Decisive in Jan de Rijk’s choice of CarCube on-board computers, which since 2010 have been fitted on all their international transport lorries, were its modern technology and the flexibility of Trimble Transport & Logistics. “Trimble’s organisation is open and flexible, understanding not only us but even our customers. Something that is extremely important for a service provider like Jan de Rijk. Trimble actively thinks along to find new solutions and responds adequately to market developments,” believes Lievaart. He says Jan de Rijk will be using the on-board computer increasingly intensively. “The system is suitable for processing all kinds of data and relaying them to our back office systems. In this way, CarCube enables us to take significant steps forward in optimising our processes.”
Website: www.janderijk.com
Number of employees: 1,000
Vehicle fleet: approximately 700 tractor units, of which about 400 equipped with CarCube
Activities: international transport, Benelux distribution, intermodal transport, warehousing and Value Added Logistics, forwarding, Supply Chain Management
Territory: Europe
Application: CarCube on-board computer
Integration with the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) from CAPE Group. CarCube is linked via the ESB to the Advanced Planning System from Quintiq, Chainware TMS from Kewill Logistics and MDRS hours/expenses module from TeamSoft.