Academic literature on the topic 'Heavy vehicle transport industry'

The article considers the problem of heavy cargo transporting as an integral part of functioning of industry in the country. The transportation of such types of cargo is regulated by the legislation related to the national transport infrastructure. There have been considered the ways of transporting heavy sea containers by road transport in the Russian Federation. Definitions of the divisible and indivisible cargo, the maximum mass of the road train have been given, the indicators of the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle and the axle load on the roads of Russia, approved by legislative acts of the Russian Federation, have been presented. The issues of the correct choice of freight vehicles and compliance with the rules for transportation of heavy cargo, in particular compliance with the permissible total weight and axle loads, have been considered. There has been proposed the method for calculating axle loads and the solution to the problem of redistributing axle loads by moving the seat of the towing vehicle, transporting a heavy sea container by train being used as the example. The obtained values make it possible to estimate the possibility of carrying heavy cargo without violating standards approved by the legislation of Russia

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current level of technology in automatic vehicle identification (AVI). The technology is often referred to as electronic licence plate technology, due to the use of unique vehicle identity transponders (electronic licence plates) affixed to particular highway vehicles. Interrogator or roadside receiver units placed at strategic locations or nodes on a highway network can locate and identify the particular vehicle.The main thrust of the paper is on the different types of AVI systems and the technologies employed. The discussion includes the widespread applications for AVI from both a highway administrator and road transport industry point of view. Finally, the paper discusses two AVI demonstration projects. These projects are the urban system implemented in Hong Kong and the highway system in the United States and parts of Canada known as the Heavy Vehicle and Electronic Licence Plate Project (HELP). Key words: automatic vehicle identification, electronic licence plate, road pricing, automatic vehicle classification, weigh-in-motion, commercial transportation, vehicular traffic control, pavement, Heavy Truck and Electronic Licence Plate Project.

Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) company, Arrow Energy (Arrow), has been implementing a strategy to improve land transport safety across its business. The present paper examines the strategy Arrow has taken to better understand and mitigate the risks associated with land transport. It looks at current transport risk, specific examples of existing good practice adopted by Arrow and future opportunities. Land transport-related incidents have historically been the main cause of fatalities in this sector. To address this risk, Arrow has developed a seven-pillar strategy, comprising safe vehicles, safe drivers, safe speeds, safe roads, Arrow assurance program, industry collaboration and contracting strategy. The strategy applies equally to light and heavy vehicles and both professional and non-professional drivers. The unique approach focuses on changing driver behaviours, having a robust assurance and controls program, appointing a third party logistics (3PL) specialist transport provider and developing key relationships with contractors and internal stakeholders. A continuous improvement approach to safety culture, positive driving behaviours, transport safety education, industry focus group participation (Safer Together), better vehicle technical standards, and having supplier relationships to drive outcomes will further ensure that land transport safety is a key priority across the business. Arrow believes this integrated approach yields the best results, but that it is an ongoing journey, as long as the industry has vehicles and is driving.

The electrification of vehicles from the automotive and public transport industries can reduce harmful emissions if implemented correctly, but there is little evidence of whether the electrification of heavy freight transportation vehicles (HFTVs), such as multi-articulated vehicles, used in the freight industry could see the same benefits. This work studied heavy multi-articulated freight vehicles and developed a comparative analysis between electric and conventional diesel power trains to reduce their total emissions. Real-world drive cycle data were obtained from a heavy multi-articulated freight vehicle operating around Melbourne, Australia, with a gross combination mass (GCM) of up to 66,000 kg. Numerical models of the case study freight vehicle were then simulated with diesel, through-the-road parallel (TTRP) hybrid and electric power trains over the five different drive cycles with fuel and energy consumption results quantified. Battery weights were added on top of the real-world operating GCMs to assure the operational payload did not have to be reduced to accommodate the addition of electric power trains. The fuel and energy consumptions were then used to estimate the real-world emissions and compared. The results showed a positive reduction in tailpipe emissions, but total greenhouse emission was worse for operation in Melbourne if batteries were charged off the grid. However, if Melbourne can move towards more renewable energy and change its emission factor for generating electricity down to 0.49 kg CO2-e/kWh, a strong decarbonization could be possible for the Australian road freight industry and could help meet emission reduction targets set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Connected and fully automated or autonomous vehicles (CAVs) may soon dominate the automotive industry. Once CAVs are sufficiently reliable and affordable, they will penetrate markets and thereby generate economic ripple effects throughout industries. This paper synthesizes and expands on existing analyses of the economic effects of CAVs in the United States across 13 industries and the overall economy. CAVs will soon be central to the automotive industry, with software composing a greater share of vehicle value than previously. The number of vehicles purchased each year may fall because of vehicle sharing, but rising travel distances may increase vehicle sales. The opportunity for heavy-truck drivers to do other work or rest during long drives may lower freight costs and increase capacity. Personal transport may shift toward shared autonomous vehicle fleet use, reducing that of taxis, buses, and other forms of group travel. Fewer collisions and more law-abiding vehicles will lower demand for auto repair, traffic police, medical, insurance, and legal services. CAVs will also lead to new methods for managing travel demand and the repurposing of curbside and off-street parking and will generate major savings from productivity gains during hands-free travel and reduction of pain and suffering costs from crashes. If CAVs eventually capture a large share of the automotive market, they are estimated to have economic impacts of $1.2 trillion or $3,800 per American per year. This paper presents important considerations for CAVs’ overall effects and quantifies those impacts.

With the gradual development of economy, the scale of transportation industry continues to expand. The problem of overload or overrun in the vehicle transport has emerged. Therefore, how simply and conveniently to know the vehicle load and how to effectively limit overload has become a key issue. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of vehicle load control system from the above problems. Through the pressure sensors installed in the vehicle suspension, the single-chip microprocessor receives the information transmitted by the pressure sensors, and calculates the total weight of the vehicle load; if overweight, the single-chip microprocessor will send commands to the ignition system, to stop the ignition system working. Its purpose is to improve vehicle safety and effectively reduce heavy workload of the vehicle detection station to improve their work efficiency.

Transport automation is increasingly being studied from different perspectives; however, the perceptions of road haulage companies have received less attention. This study explores the views of representatives of small- and medium-sized road haulage companies on transport automation in Finland. We conducted an online survey to gather perceptions of automation, which received 254 responses from representatives of a range of different transport industries. The respondents’ views towards automation were generally negative. The overall view was that automation may not be possible for heavy vehicles in Finland due to the adverse weather and driving conditions. The perception was that road haulage automation is unlikely to occur before 2050 in Finland. The results provide valuable insight for vehicle manufacturers, technology developers, policy makers, and haulage companies. As the road haulage industry is dominated by small- and medium-sized companies, hauliers should be supported in actively implementing new technologies.

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) is a potent pollutant because of its effects on climate change, ecosystems and human health. Black carbon has a particularly pronounced impact as a climate forcer in the Arctic because of its effect on snow albedo and cloud formation. We have estimated BC emissions from diesel sources in Murmansk Region and Murmansk City, the largest city in the world above the Arctic Circle. In this study we developed a detailed inventory of diesel sources including on-road vehicles, off-road transport (mining, locomotives, construction and agriculture), fishing and diesel generators. For on-road transport, we conducted several surveys to understand the vehicle fleet and driving patterns, and, for all sources, we also relied on publicly available local data sets and analysis. We calculated that BC emission in Murmansk Region were 0.40 Gg in 2012. The mining industry is the largest source of BC emissions in the region, emitting 70% of all BC emissions because of its large diesel consumption and absence of emissions controls. On-road vehicles are the second largest source emitting about 12% of emissions. Old heavy duty trucks are the major source of emissions. Emission controls on new vehicles limit total emissions from on-road transportation. Vehicle traffic and fleet surveys show that many of the older cars on the registry are lightly or never used. We also estimated that total BC emissions from diesel sources in Russia were 56.7 Gg in 2010, and on-road transport contributed 55% of diesel BC emissions. Agricultural machinery is also a significant source Russia-wide, in part because of the lack of controls on off-road vehicles.

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) is a potent pollutant because of its effects on climate change, ecosystems and human health. Black carbon has a particularly pronounced impact as a climate forcer in the Arctic because of its effect on snow albedo and cloud formation. We have estimated BC emissions from diesel sources in the Murmansk Region and Murmansk City, the largest city in the world above the Arctic Circle. In this study we developed a detailed inventory of diesel sources including on-road vehicles, off-road transport (mining, locomotives, construction and agriculture), ships and diesel generators. For on-road transport, we conducted several surveys to understand the vehicle fleet and driving patterns, and, for all sources, we also relied on publicly available local data sets and analysis. We calculated that BC emissions in the Murmansk Region were 0.40 Gg in 2012. The mining industry is the largest source of BC emissions in the region, emitting 69 % of all BC emissions because of its large diesel consumption and absence of emissions controls. On-road vehicles are the second largest source, emitting about 13 % of emissions. Old heavy duty trucks are the major source of emissions. Emission controls on new vehicles limit total emissions from on-road transportation. Vehicle traffic and fleet surveys show that many of the older cars on the registry are lightly or never used. We also estimated that total BC emissions from diesel sources in Russia were 50.8 Gg in 2010, and on-road transport contributed 49 % of diesel BC emissions. Agricultural machinery is also a significant source Russia-wide, in part because of the lack of controls on off-road vehicles.

The fundamental aims of sustainable urban development and the pro-automobile oriented economic development are on a collision course. It is obvious that automobile-dependent urban development is under heavy/powerful influence of the automobile lobby (automobile and oil industries, along with construction). In this domain famous land-use-transportation studies (or ?grand transportation studies?) are, unfortunately, still prevailing - a vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophecy of congestion, road building, sprawl, congestion and more road building. Until recently, it was commonly thought that investment in public transport was not economically sustainable and that focusing on the development of the automobile industry and financing the construction of roadways stimulated economic growth. In this paper we clearly show that automobile industry is now overcapitalized, less profitable than many other industries (and may become even less profitable in the future), that transport market is characterized with huge distortions (more than a third of motor-vehicle use can be explained by underpriced driving), while new road investment does not have a major impact on economic growth (especially in a region with an already well-developed infrastructure), and that pro-automobile transport strategy inexorably incurs harmful global, regional and local ecological consequences.

Cette thèse fournit des clés pour mesurer, améliorer et piloter la performance de circularité de produits industriels à différentes échelles d’implémentation de l’économie circulaire (micro, meso, macro). Plusieurs indicateurs de circularité y sont expérimentés au travers d’un cas d’étude industriel et une analyse critique de ces indicateurs est effectuée au regard, entre autres, du paradigme de l’économie circulaire, et de leur intégration dans les pratiques industrielles de (re)conception et développement de produits et services. Dans le même temps, en réponse au nombre croissant d’indicateurs de circularité développés, de périmètres et d’ambitions inégales, une taxonomie d’indicateurs de circularité est proposée dans le but de clarifier le flou actuel autour de cette nébuleuse d’indicateurs de circularité. Cette classification ordonnée d’indicateurs est accompagnée de son outil informatique d’aide à la sélection afin de faciliter leurs usages appropriés. Un nouvel indicateur de circularité est également développé et expérimenté, puis des recommandations pour le développement d’indicateurs futurs sont discutées. Bien que les indicateurs évoqués dans la thèse aient pour vocation à être utilisés pour tout type de secteur, l’industrie des véhicules lourds en est le cadre d’application. En effet, en l’absence de réglementation européenne sur la fin de vie de ces véhicules, il s’agit d’identifier, de questionner et de tester les leviers d’actions que cette industrie peut activer pour améliorer sa performance dans une perspective d’économie circulaire.Tout d’abord, les meilleures pratiques et les défis actuels de l’industrie des véhicules légers et des véhicules lourds sont mis en exergue au regard des quatre pierres angulaires de l’économie circulaire définis par la Fondation Ellen MacArthur (conception circulaire, nouveaux modèles d’affaires, logistique inversée, écosystème) et des quatre boucles principales du modèle circulaire (maintenance, réutilisation, reconditionnement, recyclage). Ces pratiques exemplaires sont synthétisées au sein d’un guide de deux pages pour faciliter leur diffusion et adoption par les praticiens industriels désirant mettre en oeuvre de tels modèles de circularité. Par la suite, une étude industrielle pilote a été menée avec un constructeur d’engins de manutention cherchant à développer son activité de reconditionnement d’engins en fin de vie. Inspiré par des investigations sur le terrain couplé à un état de l’art étendu, une modélisation multi-échelles – a) engin et composants clés, b) processus de démantèlement, c) filières de valorisation – a permis (i) de proposer et de valider une amélioration (en temps et en ressources) des opérations de démontage d’un point de vue organisationnel et technique, (ii) d’effectuer une analyse économique et environnementale des activités de démantèlement et de valorisation. Un premier outil d’aide à la décision a également été conçu pour accompagner l’industriel dans la valorisation optimale de son engin en fin de vie. Des réflexions sur la généralisation et transposition des approches développées à d’autres engins ou secteurs sont données, ainsi que des pistes de recherche prometteuses pour accomplir davantage la transition vers une économie circulaire – effective, efficiente et durable
Implementing circular economy practices is increasingly acknowledged as a convenient solution to meet the goals of sustainable development. Meanwhile, there is at present no recognized way of measuring how effectively a region or a company is in making the transition to a circular economy, nor holistic monitoring tools for supporting such a process. New methods and tools are required to support industrial practitioners in their transition towards more circular practices, as well as to monitor the effects of circular economy adoption. In absence of regulations addressing the end-of-life management of their fleet, the heavy vehicles industry is both a challenging and promising industrial sector – of huge economic and environmental importance, but barely addressed from a research perspective – that needs to be boosted in its move to a more circular economy. An in-depth preliminary study reveals indeed huge potential to develop circular strategies and solutions in the heavy vehicles sector. This research explores the improvement potential for closing industrial material and components loops.On this basis, the objectives of the present Ph.D. thesis are: to provide an integrated and comprehensive framework to measure, improve and monitor the circularity performance of complex industrial systems; to identify the best mechanisms and action levers to close the loop on heavy vehicles and associated key components - providing thus decision-making support for the end-of-life management of heavy vehicles. At the intersection of design engineering and industrial ecology, this Ph.D thesis - by articles - aims to provide new meaningful insights both for academics and industrial practitioners. In fact, for each chapter, academic publications and industrial deliverables are given, illustrating and disseminating both theoretical contributions and practical implications. For instance, it includes: a proposed taxonomy of circularity indicators and its associated selection tool; an experimentation and critical analysis of several circularity indicators on a heavy vehicle’s key component; the design of a multi-tool methodology to model, simulate and quantify the impact of potential circular strategies; an industrial pilot study on an end-of-life heavy vehicle, dealing with the techno-economic and environmental analysis of possible recovery options

This research proposed a new framework for safety culture and examined the influence that culture has on safety in the heavy vehicle industry. The results gave evidence for an industry wide culture, allowing future safety interventions to be designed in a culturally-relevant manner. Designing culturally-relevant interventions may maximise their effectiveness and reduce the levels of resistance to safety that have been evident in past years.

This study aims to improve transportation held between six auction centers, Inter-Auction Transportation, of FloraHolland. FloraHolland serves ninety eight percent of the Dutch market and is the largest auction in floriculture industry. The company wants to give the best sale opportunities with the costs as low as possible and this is the main initiative of this study. In this line of thought, FloraHolland wants to have a improvement on its current routing and scheduling mechanism. Exact models do not work due to the complexity and the size of the problem. Therefore, we developed a two-stage approach specific to this study. With this approach, we split exact approach into two, a mathematical model followed by a heuristic. In the exact approach, trucks are routed and scheduled at the same time. On the other hand, our solution approach first determines most efficient routes to be followed with Cycle Assignment Model and then, with Scheduling Heuristic, trucks are assigned to the routes, so within day transportation is planned in detail. Overall, each stage of this approach works in harmony and brings good solutions in a short CPU time.

The demand for road freight transport continues to grow with the growing economy, resulting in increased fossil fuel consumption and emissions. At the same time, the fossil fuel use needs to decrease substantially to counteract the ongoing global warming. One way to reduce fuel consumption is to utilize emerging intelligent transport system (ITS) technologies and introduce heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) platooning, i.e. HDVs driving with small inter-vehicle gaps enabled by the use of sensors and controllers. It is of importance for transport authorities and industries to investigate the effects of introducing HDV platooning. Previous studies have investigated the potential benefits, but the effects in real traffic, both for the platoons and for the surrounding vehicles, have barely been explored. To further utilize ITS and optimize the platoons, information about the traffic situation ahead can be used to optimize the vehicle trajectories for the platoons. Paper I presents a dynamic programming-based optimal speed control including information of the traffic situation ahead. The optimal control is applied to HDV platoons in a deceleration case and the potential fuel consumption reduction is evaluated by a microscopic traffic simulation study with HDV platoons driving in real traffic conditions. The effects for the surrounding traffic are also analysed. Paper II and Paper III present a simulation platform to assess the effects of HDV platooning in real traffic conditions. Through simulation studies, the potential fuel consumption reduction by adopting HDV platooning on a real highway stretch is evaluated, and the effects for the other vehicles in the network are investigated.
Efterfrågan på godstransporter på väg fortsätter att öka i takt med den växande ekonomin, vilket resulterar i ökad förbrukning av fossila bränslen och ökade utsläpp. Samtidigt behöver användandet av fossila bränslen minska för att motverka den pågående globala uppvärmningen. Ett sätt för att minska bränsleförbrukningen är att utnyttja den teknik kring intelligenta transportsystem som är under utveckling och introducera lastbilskonvojer, det vill säga lastbilar som använder sensorer och regulatorer för att kunna köra med korta avstånd mellan sig. För transportföretag och -myndigheter är det viktigt att undersöka effekterna av att införa lastbilskonvojkörning. Tidigare studier har undersökt de möjliga fördelarna, men effekterna vid körning i trafik, både för konvojerna och för omgivande fordon, är outforskade. För att ytterligare utnyttja intelligenta transportsystem och optimera konvojerna kan information om trafiksituationen längre fram på vägen användas för att optimera konvojernas körning. Artikel I presenterar en optimal hastighetsregulator baserad på dynamisk programmering och som inkluderar information om trafiksituationen längre fram. Den optimala regulatorn appliceras på lastbilskonvojer under ett inbromsningsscenario och den potentiella minskningen i bränsleförbrukning utvärderas genom en mikroskopisk trafiksimuleringsstudie där lastbilskonvojerna kör i verkliga trafikförhållanden. Effekterna för omgivande fordon är också analyserade.Artikel II och artikel III presenterar en simuleringsplattform för att utvärdera effekterna av lastbilskonvojkörning i verkliga trafikförhållanden. Genom simuleringsstudier analyseras den potentiella bränsleförbrukningsminskningen då lastbilskonvojer körs på en verklig motorvägssträcka och effekterna för de övriga fordonen på vägen undersöks.

QC 20180516

Dagens företagsklimat och dess kontinuerliga förändringar av teknik och kundbehov tvingar alla företag att tänka om och ändra sina strategier. Scania är kända för att producera modulära produkter och vill i dagsläget undersöka modulariseringen för andra områden såsom testa riggar. När det gäller att uppfylla olika kundernas förväntningar, att snabbt anpassa sig till eventuella förändringar i testsfältet, att tillämpa omställbara modulära och återanvändbara styrsystem är de oundvikliga.Det viktigaste syfte för detta projekt är att undersöka hur Scanias befintliga centraliserade styrsystemet testriggar kan omvandlas till ett modulärt system, och ge riktlinjer för att stödja denna omvandling.En metod som kallas Modularisering Assessment Method (MAM) föreslås av författaren för att producera en modulär arkitektur för det befintliga styrsystem testriggar i Scania i Södertälje, Sverige. Det skapade metoden (MAM), som integrerar både hård- och mjukvaraperspektiv för att hitta modulgränser och undersöker den optimala nivån för distributionskontroll i testriggar som kan betraktas som en styrka för att tillämpa denna metod.För att verifiera metoden har en testrigg valts och modulerats med MAM metoden som en fallstudie.
The current business environment and continuous changes of technology and customer needs force all companies to re-think about their strategies. Scania is a famous company for producing modular products and the company wants to investigate modularization for other areas such as test rigs these days. Regarding various customer expectations, to adapt quickly to any changes in testing field, applying reconfigurable, modular, and reusable control systems is inevitable.The main goals of this project are to investigate how the existing centralized control system of test beds at Scania can be potentially converted to a modular distributed one, and provide guidelines to support this transformation.A methodology that is called Modularization Assessment Method (MAM) is proposed by the author to produce a modular architecture for the existing control system of test beds inside Scania in Södertälje, Sweden. This created method (MAM) integrates both hardware and software perspectives to find modules boundaries, and investigates the optimal level of control distribution in the test-beds which can be considered as strength points of applying this method.To verify the method, one of the test beds is chosen and be modularized by MAM method as a case study.

Society of today is struggling with both large amounts of emissions as well as congestion on the roads. For this reason, AFRY in collaboration with Volvo GTT is working on develop and implement longer and heavier transports in traffic network. These combinations are called high capacity transport and have high performance-based demands. Dynamic stability is one demand that can be improved for the DUOCAT, which is a high capacity transport combination. The hypothesis is that a displacement backward in the direction of travel of the v-stay can improve the dynamic stability. The v-stay is a component of the rear wheel suspension and has an important function regarding dynamic stability by absorbing lateral forces. To achieve better dynamic stability, the goal is to create counter steering on the rear axle of the DUO-CAT through small design changes on the v-stay. The suggestion from Volvo is to move the v-stay backward in the direction of travel, which in this thesis has become the focus in both concept generation and design work. The thesis includes development of new concepts of the v-stay. An extensive evaluation process consisting of dynamic analysis was carried out in PTC Creo Parametric, which made it possible to compare the new concepts with the current v-stay. An important part of the thesis is to obtain a simplified model that simulate the physical conditions. The delimitations are to examine lateral acceleration with load on the axle and friction between asphalt and wheels. The maneuver in the analyses emulates a quick lane change at 80 km/h. This has resulted in a new concept that includes the current v-stay where only the position on the frame and axle is changed with the help of new fastening components. The new concept provides an increased counter steering of 6%. The conclusion is that a displacement backwards in the direction of travel of the vehicle gives an increased counter steering. Future work is required to achieve the desired improved steering and safety requirements.

The transport industry is in the middle of a conceptual shift driven by delivering the targets set by the Paris Agreement. Proactive heavy-duty vehicle companies seek to further gather knowledge in a structured way on environmental impacts of its products and services. The method to be implemented is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). For implementation of LCA certain organisational and operational factors pre-requirements need to be addressed. The study takes key factors of Life Cycle Management (LCM) as a framework for assessing the readiness of Scania CV AB to implement LCA. Said key factors of LCM are analysed through company-based case study observations and literature review. The results indicate the company is in the process of introducing majority of the key factors of LCM. The case study tested the possibilities of the company for LCA, and attempted second phase of LCA, Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). The greatest challenge to LCA is low availability and format of data for LCA. However, the case study deeply tested the data limits and offers good insight in actions to be taken.

Road transport is responsible for a significant share of the global GHG emissions. In order to address the increasing trend of road vehicle emissions, due to its heavy reliance on oil, Nordic countries have set ambitious goals and policies for the reduction of road transport GHG emissions. Despite the fact that the latest developments in the passenger car segment are leading towards the progressive electrification of the fleet, the decarbonization of heavy-duty vehicle segment presents significant challenges that are yet to be overcome. This study focuses, on the first part, on the regulatory framework of fuel economy standards of road vehicles, highlighting the absence of a European regulation on fuel efficiency for the heavy-duty sector. Energy efficiency technologies can be grouped mainly in vehicle technologies, driveline and powertrain technologies, and alternative fuels. The fuel efficiency of HDVs can be positively improved at different vehicle levels, but the technology benefit and its economic feasibility are heavily dependent on the vehicle type and the operational cycle considered. The electrification pathway has the potential of reducing the carbon emission to a great extent, but the current battery technologies have proven to be not cost efficient for the heavy vehicles, because of the high purchase price and the low range, related to the battery cost and inferior energy density compared to conventional liquid fuels.   A scenario development model has been created in order to estimate and quantify the impact of future developments and emission reduction measures in Finland, Sweden and Norway for the timeframe 2016-2050, with a focus on 2030 results. Two scenarios concerning the powertrain developments of heavy-duty vehicles and buses have been created, a conservative scenario and electric scenario, as well as vehicle efficiency improvements and fuel consumption scenarios. Additional sets of parameters have been estimated as input for the model, such as national transport need and load assumptions. The results highlight the challenges of achieving the national GHG emission reduction targets with the current measures in all three countries. The slow fleet renewal rates and the high forecasted increase of transport need limit the benefits of alternative and more efficient powertrains introduced in the fleet by new vehicles. The heavy-duty transport is expected to maintain its heavy reliance on diesel fuel and hinder the improvements of the light-duty segments. A holistic approach is needed to reduce the GHG emissions from road transport, including more efficient powertrains, higher biofuel shares and progressive electrification.

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how life cycle thinking can be applied to road freight transport supply chains and explain some important matters in the management of the sustainable business model of a heavy vehicle manufacturer. The base for this dissertation is a case study within and beyond the international research project in collaboration with road freight transport industry. The purpose is addressed through a compilation of five research papers and a kappa. The first research paper addresses contextual issues of drivers and conflicts while managing sustainable supply chains in road freight transport industry. The second research paper explores the specific interaction patterns and capabilities within road freight transport supply chains for more sustainable business models. The third research paper brings an overview of the literature in the intersection of sustainable supply chain management and life cycle thinking areas. The fourth research paper questions the employment of life cycle thinking in road freight transport supply chains from a systems perspective. The last research paper analyses the components and structure of a sustainable business model in road freight transport supply chains from a social network perspective. The contributions of this study are both theoretical and practical. The application of systems theory and social network theory as external and internal lenses contributes to the theoretical development of the sustainable supply chain management field. The growing conceptualization of the sustainable business model, specifically in road freight transport industry, is also addressed in this dissertation. The practical contributions are seen through the empirical example of the adoption of life cycle thinking in road freight transport supply chains.

Includes five research papers.

AbstractThe car industry faces some extreme challenges. Alongside the key task that we face of making individual transport climate-neutral, and alongside the new technological opportunities for communication and networking across our whole environment, it is clear that the user behavior of vehicle drivers and of all other road users is also going to change. Bearing all these aspects in mind, our overriding goal remains to make the traffic on our roads safer. Many of the activities in this context are summarized in the Mercedes-Benz “Vision of accident-free driving.” The current plateauing of road fatality statistics across the countries of the West is a clear signal that we need to intensify our efforts even further. And indeed, there are still plenty of levers that can be applied in order to optimize and improve these figures.Following a review of the current situation from the perspective of Mercedes-Benz, the opportunities for further optimization of vehicle safety are now presented in the guise of the latest Experimental Safety Vehicle, ESF 2019, which above all addresses the new possibilities offered by increasing connectivity and automation. Many of the innovative concepts under consideration have a chance of reaching the market in future vehicles, either as they are or in a modified form; in other cases the discussion around them will lead to new ideas and proposed solutions.The Integral Safety Strategy by Mercedes-Benz is a holistic approach that defines safety in four phases: (1) safe driving, (2) assisting in a critical driving situation with accident prevention systems and anticipatory protection elements such as PRE-SAFE® systems, (3) during a crash, for example, occupant and partner protection, and, finally, (4) after a crash, deploy systems for the rescue phase. All four phases must be high priorities during the development of the vehicle.Even with an optimistic view of the vehicle-based opportunities, this chapter will demonstrate that vehicle measures alone will not be sufficient to solve all traffic safety issues, as road transportation is just too complex. All the factors that impact road safety, and which will need to play their part in delivering “Vision Zero,” must be addressed; in other words, infrastructural measures and people in traffic, too. As with the Mercedes-Benz strategy of Integral Safety, we shall only be able to make major advances toward “Vision Zero” if all influencing factors are properly investigated as part of an integrated examination of road safety.

The development of unmanned self-driving vehicles appears to have great potential to increase safety and transport productivity. In industry, these vehicles are expected to be adopted first in confined contexts (hubs), such as mines. However, there is a need to better understand how to design interaction models to handle complex situations when professional operators interact with such vehicles in collaborative tasks. Research has suggested that verbal communication may facilitate interaction between automated vehicles and humans. Augmented reality (AR) has also been investigated to support operators in various work domains. Overall, research has indicated that these emerging technologies can improve operators’ productivity and safety.ObjectivesThe main study aim was to investigate the potential of verbal interaction and AR to support the user experience and facilitate collaboration between operators and unmanned self-driving heavy vehicles in hub environments. The second aim was to gain better insights into the effects of more social and natural verbal human–machine interaction. The study focused on loading scenarios in two hub types: logistic centers and underground mines.MethodsThe study had 32 participants: 16 forklift operators and 16 rock-loading operators. Two variants of concepts were designed for each hub type. The natural voice interaction (NVI) variant was designed to mimic natural and social verbal interaction between two human operators. In the basic voice interaction (BVI) variant, verbal interaction was kept to a minimum, and the operator controlled the vehicle with short verbal commands. AR was used in both variants to provide visual guidance, for instance how to distribute the load in the vehicle. The concepts were implemented in animated movies in which the operator in the movie collaborated with the unmanned vehicle to prepare and conduct a loading task. The study was conducted using online interviews in which the participants watched the movies. Subjective opinions related to acceptance, work efficiency, and other aspects of the user experience were assessed using rating scales and open-ended questions.Results and discussionOverall, the concepts generated high scores of user expereince and work efficiency in both user contexts. For instance, on a scale of 1 (inefficient) to 7 (efficient), forklift operators’ mean scores were 6.4 for the NVI and 6.4 for the BVI. The results support the use of verbal interaction and AR to facilitate collaboration between human operators and vehicles. The proposed concepts also provide promising examples of interaction models for further investigation and implementation. Interestingly, most forklift operators stated that they trusted the vehicle more in the NVI because the interaction felt, for instance, more human-like and safe. These results indicate the potential to include more natural dialogues when developing future verbal interfaces for human–vehicle collaboration. However, no difference in trust between concept variants was found among the rock loaders. Also, more rock loaders preferred the BVI, and several subjects highlighted that the extensive use of verbal interaction could become a disturbance. These results support the importance of adapting interaction design in future implementations to the needs of specific users to gain high acceptance and productivity.

In forestry and agriculture industry, robust and power-dense hydraulics have long played an important role for a rational and cost-effective logistics. In these fields there is a trend towards longer, larger and heavier vehicles and machines. Within the forestry business there is a need to develop transport vehicles with lower energy consumption. This can be done by improving the vehicles' aerodynamics. The air resistance of unloaded timber trucks and timber trains will be significantly reduced if stakes and banks are put together. Furthermore, there is a need to place banks and stakes at individual distances individually to accomplish different load combinations. In agriculture when sowing, it is an advantage to be able to flexibly position row units on a seed drill in optimal distances from each other to secure productive and sustainable farming. However, most present seed drills have fixed row distances and thus have a low adaptability for different crops or soil conditions. There is also a need for a faster transport of the seed drill between different fields. Future actuation systems for forestry and agricultural vehicles and machines can be improved by utilizing a new sort of hydraulic linear actuator technology, the Hydraulic Infinite Linear Actuator (HILA). HILA technology also has an impact on heavy and dangerous manual steps when changing banks and stakes on timber vehicles. The adjustment can be controlled from the cabin, thus eliminating manual steps. Heavy bank elements on a timber vehicle can be positioned individually with high locking force. In the agricultural context, it is possible to quickly change between different inter-row spacing on a seed drill when using HILA technology, enabling a multi-purpose seed drill and inter-row cultivator. HILA long stroke capability also facilitates a smooth folding into a compact transport position. With the bills are gathered, a low center of gravity will be accomplished. This enables a more stable vehicle dynamics and enables a higher speed. HILA is based on a well-known hydraulic clamping element technology, where the piston and the piston rod can be coupled and uncoupled by means of the clamping element. The HILA invention, in its simplest usage, provides new features to hydraulic cylinders, such as providing very long strokes and small chamber volumes, which means high stiffness and low capacitance. However, the invention also enables lower weight and volume of the actuator when compared to conventional hydraulic cylinders. This is a new way to generate and distribute mechanical linear movement and force by using hydraulic actuators in a cost effective way. The technology also represents a new sort of digital hydraulics. The technology is best suited for relatively slow dynamics and where the movement pattern is well-known.

A narrow focus on electrification and elimination of tailpipe emissions is unlikely to achieve decarbonization objectives. Renewable power generation is unlikely to keep up with increased demand for electricity. A focus on tailpipe emissions ignores the significant particulate pollution that “zero emission” vehicles still cause. It is therefore vital that energy efficiency is improved. Active travel is the key to green economic growth, clean cities, and unlocking the energy saving potential of public transport. The Challenges of Vehicle Decarbonization reviews the urgent need to prioritize active travel infrastructure, create compelling mass-market cycling options, and switch to hybrid powertrains and catenary electrification for long-haul heavy trucks. The report also warns of the potential increase in miles travelled with the advent of personal automated vehicles as well as the pitfalls of fossil-fuel derived hydrogen power.

The inexorable use of electronic technology and rising user expectations of motorised transport are quickly moving the service industry towards a rapidly changing environment. To maintain the ability to deal with new and emerging technologies, industry leaders will need to rethink how they will address their staffing strategies. In this research, we found that the New Zealand automotive service industry is markedly different from what it was twenty years ago as technology in vehicles have been increased due to environmental legislation and customer demands. The service industry is going through a technological revolution as new more environmentally friendly vehicles are introduced into the fleet. Further technological complications are added as vehicle safety is improved through automation of vehicles and soon to become common, fully autonomous vehicles. Service technician training programmes must be modified to ensure that the industry is capable of dealing with high technology vehicles when they come up for service or repair.

1 Introduction 1.1 The urgency of industrial decarbonization The last few years have seen several of the world’s largest carbon dioxide-emitting countries and leading heavy industry companies committing to mid-century net-zero targets (Buckley 2021; Denyer and Kashiwagi 2020; McCurry 2020; Myers 2020). Consequently, the discussion on economy-wide transition to net-zero is accelerating, with focus shifting from “if” to “when” and “how”, even for heavy industry sectors like steel, cement and chemicals. This makes it increasingly urgent to analyse not just whether it is technologically feasible to decarbonize heavy industry, but also investigate issues more directly related to practical implementation. This includes site-specific planning, infrastructure availability, and consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders. Many of the latter considerations are formalized as part of the permitting processes that are an essential vehicle to ensure that industrial interests are balanced against interests of society at large. However, doing this balancing act can turn out to be very complicated and associated with uncertainties as to their outcome, as well as being demanding in resources and time. At the same time, to ensure broad buy-in and support from society, the investments needed must be implemented in a way that takes a broad spectrum of sustainability concerns into account, not just climate change mitigation. A key question is if and how permitting processes can run more smoothly and efficiently while still ensuring inclusive consultations, fair procedures and adherence to legal certainty. This policy brief discusses this question from the starting point of Swedish conditions, but many of the points raised will be relevant for a broader international discussion on taking industrial decarbonization to implementation. 1.2 Industrial transition and permitting processes in Sweden Decarbonization of the industrial sector in Sweden essentially entails a relatively small number of investment projects in the cement, steel, petrochemical and refinery sectors, where the vast majority of carbon emissions are concentrated (Karltorp et al. 2019; Nykvist et al. 2020). However, while few in number, the size of these investments means that their implementation will by necessity become relevant to many other parts of society. In connection with the increasing focus on how to implement industrial decarbonization in Sweden, discussions about permitting processes have been brought higher up on the agenda. While there has been an active discussion on permitting processes in Sweden for quite some time, it has primarily been focused on aspects related to mining and wind power (Larsen et al. 2017; Raitio et al. 2020). The last few years have, however, focused increasingly on industrial projects, in particular related to a proposed – though eventually cancelled – expansion of an oil refinery in the southwestern part of the country (Blad 2020). In terms of political discussions, both the governmental initiative Fossil-free Sweden (2020) and the Swedish Climate Policy Council (2020) emphasize that permitting processes need to become faster in order for Sweden’s industrial transition to be implemented in line with the time plan set by the 2017 Swedish Climate Act. Business representatives and organizations are also voicing concerns about the slow speed of permitting (Balanskommissionen 2019; Jacke 2018). At the same time, criticism has been raised that much of the environmental damage done in Sweden comes from activities conducted within limits set by environmental permits, which could be a flaw in the system (Malmaeus and Lindblom 2019). Finally, recent public inquiries have also discussed permitting processes.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.