Transport Minister Guy Opperman ‘Transport is valued by society and by Government’

Microlise Transport Conference Coventry Arena

EUROPE'S LARGEST ROAD TRANSPORT CONFERENCE

Transport Minister Guy Opperman – ‘Transport is valued by society, valued by Government.’

JCB Hydrogen engine in green

‘Connecting the industry of transport.’ A highlight of the road transport year, a unique event for the sector. The Microlise Transport Conference, free-to-attend one-day event for those involved in the operation of a road transport fleet. Life on the blue carpet, new soft green logo of Microlise, an opportunity to Increase knowledge of the key topics of today and those of tomorrow. Meet the Transport minister, Guy Opperman. Key notes to learn from industry leaders and subject matter experts and to acquire new insights into the future of the road transport industry. Don’t forget the exhibition, wall to wall green trucks, systems, compliance and latest legals for transport. JCB Tom Whitaker, showcased green with a real live hydrogen engine. Carmen, Allison Kemp MBE opened the driver CPC review seminar in the workshops.

?IOC chair Carl Lomas MBE and CEO Dr Tracey Worth took the stage selfie below the giant screens. 1,200 fellow industry professionals there to ensure you are armed with the information and knowledge you need to be successful now, and in the future.

?OPENING VIDEO – Lights camera action in a twenty number countdown to Microlise event, Nicki Shields, Motorsport, Science & Automotive Presenter opened., ‘Get involved, get interactive, live poll from every seat via the phone apps and poll questions.

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CEO INTRODUCTION - Nadeem Raza , Chief Executive Officer, Microlise over fifteen years of the conference, this year Microlise have expanded with three company acquisitions, empowering us to add value to customers. Adding telematic support, supporting alternative fuel data, EV and hydrogen, and investing in security to see data is safe. AI has become integral to our products. From AI cameras to AI in monitoring trailer performance. Innovation and collaboration driving change and working with you for solutions to your problems.

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CHAMPIONING FREIGHT - Guy Opperman, Minister for Roads And Local Transport, Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom . At his conference I see a sector with optimum, the glass is half full. I have enjoyed the exhibition and well done JCB with their hydrogen truck engine. I have visited freight sites, transport people have influence, without you the country grinds to a halt. We have backed the freight innovation fund with 1.3 million pounds in the next awards. Amongst the ten companies receiving more than a hundred thousand pounds each is Teleports for drone deliver project to the Ise of Wight. We launched this cluster to drive inspiration and new ideas in transport.

• On crime we are aware there is a problem, we are working with home office on freight crime.
• On planning none of us want red tape to get in the way of transport solutions.
• There is funding for apprenticeships.
• Govt is supporting truck stops, we want to see more women drivers.
• The task and finish group on safe and secure parking is something we are supporting strongly.
• The govt is utterly behind the sector to support innovation, we have published the future freight plan, there is massive steps forward in de-carbonisation.
• Transport is valued by society, valued by Govt.

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AI IN LOGISTICS - Simon Dixon, Founder and CEO, Hatmill. AI will make your lives easier – Trust, it’s only a matter of time before those people speaking do not really exist. Chat GPT accelerates your work. Most of this presentation has been written by AI. Chat GPT or Microsoft co-pilot is changing our world. Beware if the AI does not have the answer, it will generate something that may be incorrect. Moving on to AI in logistics, the What Car review of ten vehicles self-driving last year showed a poor response. AI vision is not always interpreted correctly. Example of a shadow spotted by a Tesla in an American tunnel that braked causing rear shunt accidents. Self-driving taxi in San-Fransisco wrongly interpreted a missing traffic cone to land in the road builders concrete. It works better in a controlled environment. Goods to person in the warehouse works very well in sortation. Robot arm over box of items works very well for picking. Document handling is a rich field for the benefits of AI, the future is an end to people re-keying data.

DVSA - DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT - Marian Kitson, Director Of Enforcement, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) – ‘Enable, prevent and respond.’ We must all invest in making our roads safer. We want to improve and grow earned recognition scheme. We have enhanced rider scheme for two wheelers. 17 years since the i-phone was introduced. People are used to their goods delivered today, its important the services of DVSA meet modern demand. 39.5 million vehicles registered on the UK roads. That’s a n increase in nine million in the last decade.26% of people killed on the roads in 2021 were aged 17 to 29. 34.8 million licence holders in England. 1558 people killed on the roads in 2021. Marian opened with case studies of issues including a vehicle SORN that was operated on trade plates. Driver quote was, ‘the flat tyre was only flat at the bottom.’ Marian talked about technology to review vehicle driver times and hours electronically. National ANPR data. The DSA vision to 2030, we are expecting ten million electric vehicles by the end of the decade. Clean air, ‘A worn tyre is 1.5kg lighter at end of its life, that debris is in the air you are breathing. We want to work with you, walk round checks are translated in 21 languages to make sure drivers have the information where they need them. Question time – what did we do next – example of a truck with no o-licence coming of the Woolwich ferry, answer, we impounded the vehicle.

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Microlise Driver of the Year winner – Fraser Macalister Co-op. ‘Consistency, excellent across the board, helped mentor other drivers. Managers relied on him for integration of new technology in the fleet, a trusted pair of hands.’ The category winners announced at the Microlise awards, 1 billion miles down to a single winner. Nicki Shields, Motorsport, Science & Automotive Presenter at the Microlise conference announced the big winner from the awards of individuals at the gala event on the previous evening.? From 240 thousand drivers, 1 billion miles. Take a look at the whole awards evening celebrations on the IOC web at www.ioc.uk.co

TRANSAID UPDATE - Caroline Barber, Chief Executive, Transaid – Reflecting on a remarkable twenty-five years of the transport charity. A seventeen per-cent increase in road accident deaths in Africa. We strengthen supply chains and mobile ambulance for maternal and newborn in rural areas. IOC chair Carl Lomas MBE was with Caroline Barber Transaid to celebrate the final mile entry for London Marathon, just five weeks to go, Lomas will be running in a shirt and Carmen livery tie.

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