RMC’s UK Cement Division has installed a global positioning system (GPS) and Go-Del indicator in each of its 194 articulated vehicles to optimise logistics resources and improve customer service. Following a review of seven alternatives, RMC opted for the Microlise TMC solution; a state-of-the-art, satellite-based navigation system which will enable the company to position and track each vehicle’s exact location to assist the transport management centre’s vehicle use planning.
In partnership with Microlise, RMC has also developed and installed the Go-Del indicator as a final customer delivery check mechanism for drivers. The Go-Del links the GPS system to the existing distribution management system and indicates with a green light in the cab when the vehicle has reached the exact customer location.
Cement is normally discharged by air pressure from bulk tankers into silos and, neither the driver, nor the customer, sees the actual product. The Go-Del indicator ensures that correct products are delivered to the right place at the right time.
Ross Baxter, head of logistics development for RMC’s UK Cement Division, says: “We are the first in the cement industry to install this type of system, which will give us a real-time overview of the status of our deliveries 24 hours a day. This will make it easier to monitor delivery progress, re-route late running vehicles, flag up incidents and estimate departures and arrivals.
By improving vehicle efficiencies, it is estimated that the GPS and Go-Del installations will result in a reduction in fuel consumption and travel distance, and provide a financial return on investment within two years.
