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Technology, bringing down cash heist robberies P6ISSN 1684-7946 Nov/Dec 2011 Vol. 9 No. 4 / R30.00 incl. VAT www.3smedia.co.za

MEDIA

Truck hijackingIt’s big business

Trans-CuneneGearing up for trade

Port efficiencyA strategic imperative

Vehicle tracking taken to a new level

FESARTAIntraregional trade: The key to Africa’s prosperity 3

Industry perspectivesTruck hijacking is big business 6RFA speaks out on E-Tolls 8

Regional focusThe Trans-Cunene Transport Corridor 10

Transport featureTransporting money 14

Africa RailTransnet Freight Rail’s National Command Centre 19

Materials handlingImproving port performance 21Beyond limitations 23Durban container terminal reaches new milestone 24

Supply chain logisticsSupply chain management in the FMCG industry 28

Fuel science Factors affecting truck fuel economy 30

Johannesburg International Motor ShowTechnology advances in the global truck market 32

Cover storyDIGIT Vehicle tracking for fleet management 4

ESARTA

I N S I D EI N S I D ETWA November/December 11 Vol 9 No5

2424 1111

0606 19191414

Cover story

Product newsGone green with speed 35Tough molecules protect engine 36 RegularsEditorial comment 2SADC projects 26The Tail End 40

4

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 1

2 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

Publisher Elizabeth Shorten

Editor Tony Stone • tony@3smedia.co.za

Creative chief executive Frédérick Danton

Contributors Barney Curtis, RFA, John Batwell.

Goodyear, Madhu Bala, Dr Shakti Prakash,

Dr Dinesh Kumar

Chief sub-editor Cindy Maulgue

Sub-editor Danielle Hugo

Production manager Antois-Leigh Botma

Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise

Financial manager Andrew Lobban

Administrator Tonya Hebenton

Subscription sales Nomsa Masina

Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham

Printers United Litho JHB • t +27 (0)11 402 0571

Advertising sales Hanlie Fintelman

h.fintelman@lantic.net • t +27 (0)12 543 2564

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ISSN 1684-7946 © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Editorial advisory board

• Barney Curtis, executive officer of FESARTA

• Garry Marshall, CEO, SA Express Parcel Association

• Bill Cameron, director, Transport Research

Consultancy

• Graham Ross, retired road engineer

• Dr Andrew Shaw, principal transport analyst for

Development Bank of South Africa

• Captain Colin Jordaan, CEO and commissioner of

the Civil Aviation Authority

• Prof. Leon Raath, board member, Chartered Institute

of Logistics and Transport, South Africa

• Barlow Manilal, CEO, Automotive Industry

Development Centre and National President of The

Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILTSA)

• Anthony Cole, COD, Concorde Maritime Academy.

All articles herein TWA are copyright-protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.

The phenomenal growth of Asia over

the last few years can be attributed

to a number of factors, one of which

is intraregional trade. If we are to learn any-

thing from the Asians, we should follow suit.

Fortunately, SADC has recognised this as an

opportunity and are turning the idea into reality.

But, we have a few hurdles to overcome, those

being tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The Road Freight Association, amongst other

industry associations, has taken a very strong

stand against Gauteng’s E-Tolls and has rec-

ommended that its members not register for

E-Tolling. It has also come out that government

was aware of the private sector’s opposition to

the Gauteng toll roads project right from the

start, but chose to ignore this. Now, with all the

money spent, we sit with a real problem. Quite

a debacle! Two things come to mind – the old

adage ‘look before you leap’, and the universal

law of cause and effect.

Truck hijacking is a billion rand plus a year

business. Even in winning the numbers game,

it remains a huge problem. Now that it’s get-

ting tougher on the cash-in-transit robbery side

due to advances in technology, criminals are

going for soft targets. Do we need more effec-

tive policing instead of men and women sitting

behind bushes with speed cameras? And, while

we are on the subject of trucks, looking at the

2010/11 versus 2009/10 truck accident statis-

tics, we can see that something is very definitely

wrong. Are the stats incorrect or are drivers

becoming increasingly reckless, thinking that

they are driving mini bus taxis?

The Johannesburg International Motor Show

was a huge success. Sven-Erik Bergendahl and

truck designer, Jan Richter, enthralled visitors

with their Scania R999 ‘Red Pearl’. This truck

features a monstrous twin-turbocharged 16-litre

V8 engine that pushes out 1 000 hp and 4 500

Nm. The engine is powerful enough to propel

this 4.5 tonne truck to 100km/h in five seconds

through a specially-modified Allison automatic

transmission. Now that’s something! Imagine

taking on the bikers at a breakfast run!?

One thing is for sure, and despite the criti-

cisms levelled at it, Transnet is methodically

building a better, world-class organisation.

With their latest achievement, a state-of-the-art

In this cooking pot

With the road safety summit coming up we will have much to talk about – as per usual

National Control Centre, they are one step

closer to achieving their goal.

In running around southern Africa in the last

few months, I have become increasingly aware

of the strategies and plans of our neighbours.

Tired of South Africa being the ‘gateway’ to

Africa, they are determined to upgrade and

open up their port facilities to take a slice of

the pie. South Africa would do well to take cog-

nisance of this and look at ways of improving

port efficiencies, which are nowhere close to

first-world standards. Using materials handling

technology, this can be achieved.

Namibia, with its four transport corridors, is

eager to compete with South Africa. We take a

look at their Trans-Cunene Transport Corridor

that will open up northern Namibia and south-

ern Angola.

As to road safety, pedestrian deaths are far

too high. From my own driving experiences,

pedestrians seem not to have been schooled in

road safety and this is a huge problem.

Last but not least, and as is becoming tradi-

tion, I have my say about something on the last

page. This time round, I take a swipe at China.

Are we sleeping with the enemy?

Wishing you a safe and restful festive season.

Editor

FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT

ENDORSED BY

The key to Africa’s prosperityJust as an engine needs oil, Africa’s economies need international trade, especially intraregional trade. The promise of a brighter future is there, but there are a few problems standing in the way. By Barney Curtis

In 2010 the World Bank reported that

Africa’s intraregional trade was standing

at only 10%, which is the lowest among

the trade groupings instituted by govern-

ments since 2000. While we have seen some

improvement in 2011, many obstacles still

stand in the way.

Looking at the stars in world economics there

are five attributes that distinguish these coun-

tries from the less fortunate. These are:

• education

• infrastructure development and maintenance

• technology adoption and deployment

• the implementation of robust, efficient pro-

cesses

• common standards.

Economic growth and development, in which

the road transport companies of east and

southern Africa play an integral part, is being

hampered by the inability of governments to

embrace and realise these attributes effec-

tively. As a result, the road transport companies,

which carry the bulk of goods being imported

and exported in and out of Africa, face prob-

lems and challenges directly owing to inad-

equate infrastructure, process

inefficiencies and incongruent

laws and standards across the

sub-continent. This reduces

productivity, increases costs

and, overall, makes Africa

less competitive. Unless we

change this we will always

play second fiddle.

The Federation of East

and Southern African Road

Transport Associations

(FESARTA), working in col-

laboration with world, continental and regional

organisations, wishes to take an active role

and effect positive change. To this end, a quick

survey of road transporters revealed a plethora

FESARTA NEWS AND VIEWS

• Self-regulation/accreditation: e.g. Tanzania

really does need this.

• Corruption and smuggling: e.g. Zimbabwe

is particularly fraught with these problems.

• Fitness of vehicles: e.g. many vehicles

are not roadworthy but have roadworthy

certificates.

• Hijacking: e.g. South Africa and Tanzania

have a serious problem.

• Insurance of vehicles and/or loads: e.g. third

party insurance is not harmonised across

east and southern Africa.

• Road user charges: e.g. in some countries

fees are far too high. More and more cash is

being carried by drivers.

• Load limits/weighbridges: e.g. load limits

are not harmonised across the region and

weighbridges are not always calibrated cor-

rectly.

• Abnormal loads: e.g. there are too many

difficulties with procedures when moving

abnormal loads.

• Dangerous goods: e.g. Zimbabwe has a

huge problem with its curfews and corrup-

tion.

• Left-hand drive trucks: e.g. Mozambique

is intending to ban left-hand drive vehicles.

• Charges and taxes: e.g. Zambia has intro-

duced a K360 000 border entry charge and

South Africa’s CBRTA permits increased by

over 200%.

• General: e.g. recommendations by region-

al economic communities (RECs) are not

implemented at national level.

To give truckers a voice, FESARTA will be hold-

ing a regional workshop, not a talk shop, with

world, continental and

regional organisations,

road transport associa-

tions and national govern-

ments attending, to identi-

fy and address these and

other issues.

As such, it is expected

that road transporters

from at least 14 differ-

ent countries will attend

the workshop, which will

be held at the Sandton

Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South

Africa, from 24 to 26 March 2012.

If ever there was a time to speak, and be

heard, it will be at this workshop.

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 3

Barney Curtis, executive officer, FESARTA

The time has come to give truckers a voice in intraregional trade

of issues causing serious problems to the free

flow of regional road transport, some of which

are listed below:

• Infrastructure: roads/bridges/city bypasses:

e.g. the design and construct of the Tete

Bridge restricts the supply route’s maximum

loads to Malawi to 48 t.

• Border post infrastructure: e.g. poor infra-

structure at a few of Zimbabwe’s border

posts leads to inefficiencies and corruption.

• Border posts procedures/documenta-

tion: e.g. inadequate vehicle control at Beit

Bridge results in security problems.

• Customs/transit guarantee and bond: e.g.

Tanzania needs a single transit bond.

• Driver wellness: e.g. Uganda needs facili-

ties for driver wellness along its transport

corridors.

• Drivers’ immigration/visas: e.g. Malawi‘s

immigration rules for drivers are too stringent.

• Driver’s licence/PRDP: e.g. drivers’ licenc-

es not recognised in all countries.

• Road safety: e.g. in the DRC, many drivers

are inadequately trained and are therefore a

danger to other road users.

• Bilateral road transport agreements/mar-

ket access: e.g. Mozambique’s transport

permits to different countries are not har-

monised.

4 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

Transport World Africa offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a two-page cover story and a cover picture to promote their

COVER STORY

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 5

products and services to an appropriate audience. Please call Hanlie Fintelman on +27 (0)12 543 2564 to secure your booking. The article does not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

COVER STORY

6 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

The good news, taking the 2010/11

crime statistics of 999 hijacked trucks

for the year, is that we are down by 30%

on the previous year’s total. The bad news,

however, is that it is still too high. Gauteng

(60.0%), Mpumlanga (16.3%) and KwaZulu

Natal (9.4%) are the hot spots.

In fact, every day of the year in South Africa

three trucks are hijacked. It’s not so much

the truck that the criminals are interested in,

but rather the cargo which, in some reported

cases, has been worth as much as R2 million.

In that particular case, the truck was found

abandoned but the cargo was lost.

To mitigate one’s risk by taking out insur-

ance is all well and good, but if truck hijacking

Truck hijacking is BIG business

Organised crime syndicates target their victims very carefully, plan well and execute their plans with precision. Truckers are often the victims. But, are we winning the fight against organised crime? By Tony Stone

continues unabated, the insurance industry

will reconsider the sustainability of affordable

comprehensive motor insurance. This warning

came from Dawie Buys of the South African

Insurance Association (SAIA), a speaker at the

recently-held Vehicle Tracking and Recovery

Conference. What is important to note here is

that Buys is referring to the insurance of the

vehicle only and not its cargo, which is insured

separately and to which the same considera-

tion will be given.

Fighting the crime of truck hijacking has

and must be a key priority area for the South

African Police Service,

as it is for SAIA. Motor

insurance constitutes

40% of the short-term

insurance business.

The high cost of claims is negatively impacting

the profitability of the motor insurance industry.

Organised crimeThe people who hijack trucks are usually

members of crime syndicates or serve as sup-

pliers to highly-organised crime syndicates.

Most truck hijackings occur for the cargo,

to sell it locally or export some or all of it to

It’s not so much the truck that the criminals are interested in, but rather the cargo

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 7

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

Graph 1 (top)Truck hijacking in South Africa. We are seeing a directional change in the trend. But, will it continue?

another country. Where the truck is not recovered, that is

because it has been exported to another country (15%),

cloned and re-entered into the legal market (75%) or dis-

mantled for spare parts in chop shops (10%).

To succeed, truck hijacking, in the vast majority of cases,

requires the involvement of organised crime and it can

only succeed with higher-level planning, the corruption of

certain South African Police Services personnel, individuals

within the Department of Home affairs, staff members of

the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and licensing

officials. It also involves money laundering.

Vehicle trackingInsurers insisting on anti-theft devices being fitted to motor

vehicles does not solve the hijacking problem, which led

insurers to insisting that tracking devices be fitted. However,

research carried out by one insurer into the operational state

of vehicle tracking devices shows that, of the first tracking

company, 54% of the units were active and 46% were inactive.

And, of the second tracking company, 57% were active and

43% inactive. If the vehicle owner does not ensure that his

or her vehicle tracking device is active, it does not help the

fight against hijacking and will ultimately lead to an increase

in insurance premiums – the minority making it bad for the

majority.

Recovery ratesWhere vehicles are fitted with tracking devices, tracking com-

panies recover between 80% and 85% of these vehicles when

stolen. Where no tracking device has been fitted, insurers

recover anything between 20% and 40%. The 24-hour window

period after a vehicle is stolen is crucial. As much as 57% are

recovered in this time frame.

Within the first week, 73% are recovered, and within three

months, 90% are recovered. Of all the vehicles stolen,

97% are ultimately recovered, but more than a year

later. The 3% that are not recovered, ever, is by no

means a small number given the theft statistics. After

recovery, the value of the vehicle is anything between

40% and 50% of market value.

As to trucks, this is a small number – 30 trucks in

all with an estimated replacement value of R15 million.

This does not take into account lost productivity and the

associated costs of replacement. Unfortunately, in vehicle

theft reporting, cargo loss is not recorded. Given that we

know the majority of cargos stolen are not recovered, it

is important to record that lack of this specific category

of statistical reporting is detrimental to the fight against

truck hijacking.

Another moot point is that tracking devices in the truck

simply don’t work if the trailer is towed away

If we were to assume, in saying ‘the majority’, that this

number be 65%, it can be conservatively estimated that

in 2010/11 at least 649 cargos were lost – at an estimated

total value of R2.85 billion. Even if it were half this figure, that

is a lot of money. And, without question, with over 10 million

vehicles on South Africa’s roads, and only 35% of them being

insured, the problem is far bigger than we perceive.

Where are we now?Technology today has advanced to such an extent that one

can watch via video link, in real time, the driver, the cab and

the road ahead. One can also see exactly where the truck is

on a map and see how fast they are travelling. If the vehicle

leaves a predetermined route, notification will be given.

And, with a modified cell phone, one can also determine the

driver’s proximity to the vehicle. Should the driver move too

far away from the vehicle, be it on the road of any southern

African country, one can see this in the control room. A quick

call to the driver will determine why.

Amazing stuff, for those who can afford it! Nonetheless, it is

probably this technology that has resulted in there being

a decrease in truck hijackings.

Finding a solutionSo, what do we do? In conjunction with insurers

and tracking companies, we continue to devel-

oping new and better technology. We move to

the next level and, via telematrix monitoring,

monitor driver and truck behaviour. We use

new insurance product innovations such as

‘Pay as you Drive’, ‘Pay as you Go’ and

‘Motorvation’ to reduce insurance premi-

ums, and thereby cut costs. We com-

bat fraud, together with Business Against

Crime South Africa (BACSA) and the South

African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB), with

the assistance of tracking companies and the

South African Police Service. We take our fight

to the Department of Home affairs, SARS and

licensing officials, and unmask the syndicate insid-

ers. We leave no stone unturned. Because, if we

do not and we allow criminals to prevail, anarchy

will reign!

Transport World Africa is in favour of reclassifying

certain crimes as economic sabotage, punishable

by stiff jail terms.

We need to unmask syndicate insiders. We need to leave no stone unturned. We need to prevail!

RFA speaks out on E-TollsAs with COSATU, the RFA has careflly considered the E-Tolls implementation plan and found it to be problematic.

The most recent announcements by the

South African National Roads Agency

Limited (SANRAL) have been that the

Gauteng E-Tolls will be implemented from

February 2012, following a period where the

system needs to ‘go-live’. For the system to be

tested by the ‘go-live’ period, SANRAL requires

that all future users purchase an E-Tag and reg-

ister in the system.

SANRAL will commence with the registration

and issuing of E-Tags from 01 November 2011

(or soon thereafter) to ensure that a reason-

able number of vehicles are registered for the

‘go-live’ test phase. However, the Road Freight

Association (RFA) has received no response

from SANRAL in terms of its recent request for

further discounts on the proposed toll tariffs or

enquiries into the creation of new categories to

accommodate medium sized freight vehicles

in line with the tolling structure implemented by

other toll-concessionaires across the country.

The RFA has also had no further response from

SANRAL in terms of the following unresolved

queries/issues relating to accountability for key

account holders (and individual E-Tag owners):

• Dispute process: there is no process associ-

ated with transactions that appear on your

account which you may wish to challenge/

query.

• Toll enforcement: no finalisation has been

reached in terms of how defaulters will be dealt

with as Administrative Adjudication of Road

Traffic Offences (AARTO) cannot deal with

these in their current form.

• Violation processing: SANRAL intends to pros-

ecute once a number of tolls are outstanding,

but this is contrary to common law (prosecu-

tion must happen when an offence is com-

mitted).

• Standard contract: this contains clauses that

allow SANTRAL to blacklist account holders

and make account holders responsible for

tolls, irrespective of the risk of fraud.

• Cloned/false number plates: no system has

been created to ensure that victims of cloned

number plating are not unduly prejudiced.

• Access to personal account: SANRAL has not

submitted guarantees that registered accounts

will not be accessed for fraudulent activities.

• Payment deadline: SANRAL requires full set-

tlement of tolls within 07 (seven) days of the

transaction (business practice is 30 (thirty)

days).

In addition to the above, the following two items

are cause for great concern:

• Individuals/companies that propose to utilise

a bank to process toll fees (as is currently

the case in other toll-road situations) will only

receive their statements 30 (thirty) days after

payment and will then need to query transac-

tions with their banks (where necessary). The

banks will then need to query with SANRAL

and there is no proposed process for this part

of the transaction (but banks will settle with

SANRAL every night at 24:00, so you will, in

effect, have paid and still be liable).

• Should you decide not to register for an E-Tag

(there is no ‘manual’ process), SANRAL will not

send you an account in the mail and will just

hand over the offending registration details to

a violation processing centre, which will then

take action to enforce payment. This is unac-

ceptable as users must be given the choice of

how they will pay and not be confined to a sin-

gle process that is beneficial to SANRAL only.

Register or don’t register?Numerous queries have been received from

members as to whether they should register and

purchase E-Tags when these are released.

Whilst the RFA cannot advise members to fol-

low a route that would prejudice them, it is con-

cerning that the roll-out of the tolling system is

taking place irrespective of the concerns raised

by the RFA and many other fleet operating asso-

ciations. A number of associations and bodies

are now actively advocating not to register for

E-Tags until such time as SANRAL has resolved

the operational challenges still facing the system.

E-Tags can always be purchased at a later date,

once issues of concern have been addressed.

Finally, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement

Project (GFIP) issue (to toll or not to toll) has

not been finalised. The ministerial task team has

yet to finalise its own investigation, whilst the

Gauteng Provincial Government has scheduled

a session with its citizens (and petition signato-

ries) for 11 November.

The RFA maintains that the best method of

recovering the development and maintenance

costs for the GFIP is a fuel levy of around 35

cents per litre (countrywide). The costs associ-

ated with administering and implementing the

collection of tolls through the gantry system

remains an exorbitant and fruitless expenditure

that the country should reject outright. Spending

between R6 and R14 billion (the latest figure

quoted by the Democratic Alliance) to collect

R21 billion just does not make financial sense.

The RFA will keep members updated on the

progress of the ministerial task team, as well as

any other developments linked to the roll-out of

the GFIP E-Toll.

Sharmini Naidoo, CEO of the Road Freight Association, with Jeremy Cronin, deputy minister of Transport

Civil society at large are against E-Tag registration

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 8

Opening up southern AngolaTHE TRANS‐CUNENE CORRIDOR

10 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

REGIONAL FOCUS

T he Republic of Namibia and the Republic of Angola

formally agreed to create the Trans-Cunene corridor

in May 1997 as a means of opening up northern

Namibia and southern Angola to economic development

opportunities – much needed after the protracted 27-year civil

war between the principal protagonists, the Popular Movement

for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the

Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the

Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

The corridor, comprising road, rail and air links, runs between

the Port of Walvis Bay in Namibia and Lubango, near the small

Port of Namibe, in south-western Angola. By road, it is a dis-

tance of 1 551 km, with a (sensible) transit time of four days.

In all likelihood, the Trans-Cunene Corridor will link up with the

east-west Benguela Corridor at Lobito and/or Huambo in west-

central Angola.

The road to Santa ClaraFrom Walvis Bay, the road, a little narrow for two big trucks

passing each other, but they do, travels north-east through

the desert to Usakos, an old watering station, and then on to

Karibib, which is well known for its aragonite and marble. This

Rebuilding a region ravaged by decades of conflict takes time. As the wounds heal, new infrastructure opens up endless opportunities. This is a success story in the making. By Tony Stone

initial 210 km section of the road is in

good to fair condition.

Just outside Karibib, on the Windhoek

road, a right turn south takes you onto

a sweeping left-curving onramp north

to Omaruru, a town famous for its dino-

saur footprints. From here it’s on to

Otjiwarongo, where fat cattle graze, and

on to Otavi, a famous old mining town,

after which comes Tsumeb, the ‘gate-

way’ to the north. All along this 384 km section, work teams

keep the road well maintained. And, while travelling this road,

keep an eye out for the frequently-sighted bush pig (some of

them get quite big), and the occasional antelope, crossing

the road.

From Tsumeb, the road travels north-west to Ondangwa,

the residence of Ovambo kings and on to Oshakati, a once

military base that has now been now civilised. This 250 km

stretch of road is in good condition. From here the road

continues 56 km north-east to Oshikango, Namibia’s border

town with Angola. Oshikango is Ovamboland’s reputed she-

been capital and it would seem Santa Clara, a stone’s throw

away across the border in Angola, has been duly influenced.

The Oshikango/Santa Clara Border PostThere are a number of things one needs when travelling to

another country, the two most important of which, before you

even leave, are money and fuel. The Angolan currency is the

Kwanza, of which Kz100 will buy R8.42.

Unleaded petrol and diesel are readily

available throughout the country. All fuel

stations are well equipped and each

town always has petrol and diesel (or

at least diesel) available. Some of the

new petrol stations also have lead-free

petrol.

With these basics dispensed with,

we now look at what documentation is

needed. Except for Namibian citizens, a visa is required. This

will set you back R1 800, with a 30-day waiting period, or R5

000 for a two-day waiting period. You will need an interna-

tional driver’s licence or a SADC driver’s licence. Certificates

proving your inoculation against yellow

fever and vaccination against cholera

are compulsory. Certification of typhoid,

hepatitis A, tetanus and polio vaccina-

tions are recommended, as is taking

bottled water. Malaria is a medium to

high risk. And, as with travelling to for-

eign destinations, having medical insur-

ance cover is strongly recommended.

As to your vehicle and insurance, com-

prehensive vehicle insurance is compul-

sory, as is third-party insurance, which

you can buy for R230 in Oshikango. The

original vehicle registration documents,

REGIONAL FOCUS

THE MISSING LINK The railway line from Santa Clara to Lubango, a crucial component of the Trans-Cunene Corridor, is currently on the drawing board

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 11

as well as certified copies (the registration document from

which you cut the disc too) need to be on hand for inspection

at the border. If you owe money to a bank for the purchase of

the vehicle, you will need a bank letter, with dates, permitting

you to take the vehicle across the border. The bank letter and

licence documents have to be certified by a commissioner of

oaths (find out beforehand where your vehicle’s engine num-

ber is displayed).

You need a letter of invitation from the person or company

you are visiting or delivering goods to. Your name and pass-

port number must appear on the letter. Get a police clearance

certificate from the South African or Nambian police, whichever

is necessary. As a trucker, you will need your manifest, com-

mercial invoice, F178 for goods over R50 000, SAD 500 (Bill of

Entry), SADC 500 (Certificate) and packing list.

It is important that you make seven to ten certified copies of

all documents.

As a road user you will need a road permit, which will costs

about Kz3 850. Make sure you

have a ZA sticker on your vehicle

and emergency equipment, includ-

ing an emergency triangle and

reflective jacket.

As to what you may take into Angola, general items for

personal use, gifts or souvenirs up to the value of R3 500,

including 400 cigarettes or 500 g of cigars or other tobacco

products, two litres of wine and one litre of spirits, 250 ml of

eau de toilette or 50 ml or perfume

and aftershave, or similar prod-

ucts, are permissible.

Have all electronic equipment

such as cameras, video record-

ers and computers certified by

the police or customs. There are

restrictions on firearms and ammu-

nition, pornographic materials,

plants from infected areas, gam-

ing machines, pure alcohol (such

as methylated spirits), animals

without corresponding certificates,

dangerous medicines or foodstuffs

and fiscal or postal stamps or

valuables. Don’t bring any meat back. It

will be confiscated in Namibia.

The Namibian border authorities are

very strict. Remember that the border

times are 08:00 to 18:00. And, very

importantly, remember that Angola is an

hour behind South Africa.

The road to LubangoCrossing a border always seems to

bring on a new atmosphere. Perhaps

it’s just the fact that you are in a different

country. From Santa Clara the road con-

tinues 40 km in a north-westerly direc-

tion to Ondjiva (formally Villa Pereira de

Eca). Its only claim to fame is being

the the administrative capital of Cunene

Province. After continuing in a north-

westerly direction for a while, the road turns to take an almost

westerly route to Xangongo (previously Villa Rocados), a town

99 km further up the road, which, up until this point, is in a good

condition. Xangongo was a focal point in the civil war and the

site of a number of battles between Cuban and South African

forces. Old rusted Russian T26 tanks destroyed by the South

Africans litter the bush. Once you cross the mighty Cunene

River, travelling in a north-westerly direction again and now on

your way to Lubango (previously Sá da Bandeira), the road

becomes truly African. For 292 km you travel along a dirt road,

which in rainy season becomes a challenge for any driver,

especially trucks.

RailwaysThe Trans-Cunene Corridor’s road infrastructure is com-

plimented by the northern railway line, which comprises a

long established section, a recently completed section and

a soon-to-be-completed section. The railway line doesn’t

deviate from the road route except to

bypass Karibib.

From Walvis Bay, the now long-estab-

lished section of the railway line travels

north-east to Tsumeb. From here, the

recently completed railway line travels north-west to Ondangwa

and the soon-to-be-completed section, from Ondangwa to

Oshikango, will end with the last stretch, a short piece, to

reduce congestion at the Oshikango border post, one kilome-

tre into Angola at a railway station

yard close to Santa Clara. There

it stops. The Angolan authorities

intend building a railway line from

Lubango to Santa Clara at some

point in the future.

TransNamib is the national trans-

port logistic provider in Namibia.

This parastatal specialises in break

bulk and containerised freight

transport and is able to provide a

dependable, cost-effective cargo

delivery service, through a combi-

nation of rail and road transport, to

the greater SADC region.

REGIONAL FOCUS

It is important that you make seven to ten certified copies of all documents

Unlike other countries, Namibia's roads are regularly maintained

TransNamib Railways

12 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

NAMGOLAlogistics

NAMGOLA was born out of our freight expertise in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi, as well as our desire to create a successful freight company that understands logistics services in Africa.

We are based in Johannesburg but operate all over Africa. We have agents at all major border posts as well as the main ports and cities. We also have a sister company operating out of Windhoek that plays a large role to streamline our movements into Namibia and especially Angola.

We combine technology, information, our people and other resources to create an integrated system that offers our customers the best possible solution to their unique requirements. We believe in doing everything right the rst time.

P.O. Box 10730, Fonteinriet, Boksburg, 1464t +27 (0) 11 395 3472 | f +27 (0) 86 661 8414e info@namgola.co.za | www.namgola.co.za

3 The Right Product

3 To the Right Customer

3 At the Right Time

3 In the Right Place

3 In the Right Condition

3 In the Right Quantity

3 At the Right Cost

In this quest to provide quality service and satisfy our customers, we guide ourselves by the “seven R’s” de ning logistics:

REGIONAL FOCUS

AirlinesIf you do not wish to travel by rail or road,

you can fly - yourself or use Air Namibia,

SonAir, SAA Express or TAAG Angola Airlines.

There are three airports along the Trans-Cunene

Corridor, all of which are IATA registered and

approved. These are:

• Walvis Bay Airport serves Walvis Bay, a town

in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The airport

is found approximately 15 km east of the

town at an elevation of 91 m above sea level.

It has one runway designated 09/27, with an

asphalt surface measuring 2 134 m by 30 m,

with extensions on either side, giving it an

overall length of 3 500 m. Air Namibia flies

from Walvis Bay to Windhoek and Cape Town,

while South African Express flies to Walvis

Bay from Cape Town and Johannesburg.

• Ondangwa Airport serves the town of

Ondangwa in the Oshana Region of Namibia.

The airport is found 5 km northwest of the

town at an elevation of 1 097 m above sea

level. It has one runway designated 08/26,

with an asphalt surface measuring 2 987 by

30 m (9 800 × 98 ft). It also has a secondary

runway measuring 1 348 m by 30 m that is

designated 16/34. Air Namibia flies between

Walvis Bay and Ondangwa.

• Lubango Mukanka Airport serves Lubango,

the capital of the Huíla Province, in Angola.

The airport is found at an elevation of 1 761

m above sea level. It has one runway des-

ignated 10/28, with an asphalt surface

measuring 2 917 m by 45 m. Air Namibia

flies from Windhoek to Lubango and on

to Luanda, SonAir flies between Lubango

and Luanda, and TAAG Angola Airlines

flies from Lubango to Huambo, Luanda

and Windhoek.

Important contact details

Customs and roads authorities• Namibia Northern Region Oshakati t +264 65 229705 • f +264 65 220546 • Oshikango Border Post t +264 65 264613/264623• Angola Ministry of Transport t +244 222 311581/311303 • f +244 222 311303/395933TransNamib (freight and container services)• General manager: operations t +264 61 298 2169• Container pick-up/deliveries t +264 61 298 2296• Emergency train operations t +264 81 124 4772Air Namibia Commercial Services Department t +264 61 299 6160 • f +264 61 299 6159Consulate near border post in Santa Clara t + 244 65 221799

TRANSPORT FEATURE

There comes a time when one takes a

stand and says enough is enough. This

was the case when three SBV cash-in-

transit security guards were deliberately burned

to death in their vehicle in 2006 near Polokwane

in a cash-in-transit heist gone wrong. A forth

guard was shot dead. A gang of nine, including

an SBV guard who turned against his own, stole

a Mercedes Benz car and forced the security

van off the road. It flipped onto its side, making it

difficult for the robbers to gain access to the safe

compartment (mobile vault). The robbers then

allegedly set the vehicle alight with the guards

trapped inside.

Over the last eight years there have been a

staggering 2 695 cases of cash-in-transit (CIT)

robberies. For security companies providing CIT

services, that’s bad for business, not to mention

the millions in cash that have been stolen. Good

men have died and most, if not all, of the crimi-

nals have been caught and sent to jail. Short

term gains for long tern losses – life in prison.

When this year’s crime statistics were

announced in August, police minister, Nathi

Mthethwa, said that the tide was turning against

Transporting moneyTransporting money is a high-risk occupation, and staying one jump ahead of hardened criminals is a constant challenge. But the ‘MPV’ has arrived. By Tony Stone

criminals and that the police were gaining the

upper hand. As can be seen in table 1, the num-

ber of cash-in-transit robberies has dropped con-

sistently since 2006/7. While we must acknowl-

edge the SAPS for their good work, the Council

for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has

played a significant role in the fight against CIT

robberies. Guided by SBV’s business needs, the

CSIR, together with armoured

transport vehicle manufactur-

ers such as OTT Technologies,

amongst others, have devel-

oped a formidable set of com-

plimenting technologies that

are the real reason why these

figures have dropped.

The classical modus operandi for CIT heists is

the ‘tap-tap’ method, where a stolen or hijacked

vehicle, usually a BMW or a Mercedes because

of the car’s weight and the fact that it has airbags

to protect the ‘crew’ inside, is used to smash

into the CIT vehicle’s right or left back tail. The

execution and timing is such that the impact

causes the CIT vehicle to flip on to its side, allow-

ing the robbers to gain access to the van and

the money. But now that has changed, for SBV

at least. After the Polokwane massacre, SBV’s

determination to thwart these vicious criminals

turned their attention to technology, not just to

protect the money, but more importantly to pro-

tect the lives of their security personnel.

The first challenge was to build a vehicle sturdy

enough not to be flipped. The second was to

prevent, as far as possible, unauthorised access

into the vehicle and the third was to secure the

money should the robbers get into the vehicle.

Then, if by chance the vehicle was spirited

away, there would be no place to hide. Last,

but not least, building on the wise old adage,

forewarned is forearmed, with the control room

being able to ‘see’ the vehicle and its surrounds,

help could be dispatched within seconds of

Cash-in-transit security guards were deliberately burned to death in their vehicle

14 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 15

Table 1 Cash in transit Reported cases for April to March 2003/04 to 2010/11

Diagram 1 Schematic of the MAV's modular compartments

trouble being detected. A tall order

indeed but, with necessity being the

mother of all invention, solutions were

found, which, in combination, makes

the task of trying to rob an SBV CIT

vehicle a foolish endeavour indeed.

And, because of this, robbers have

turned to pavement attacks - stealing

boxes of money as the guards walk

into or out of banks and/or shopping

centres. But, just as Verne Troyer made

the Mini-Me character famous, so SBV,

working with the CSIR, has come up

with solutions for this problem too.

The modular armoured vehicle Designed and built by OTT Technologies, the MAV or modu-

lar armoured vehicle, dubbed the ‘Protector’, is unique in

that, as the armoured vehicle it is, it does not suffer from the

problems that seem to plague more traditional armoured

vehicles. Problems such as:

• poor performance (power to weight ratio)

• overloading of the axles and other mechanical compo-

nents

• fixed body configurations

• poor access to mechanical components for routine main-

tenance

• overheating

• poor service/maintenance networks

• inflexibility in terms of future upgrades or role changes.

Built on the rock solid Hino 500 or similar drive train (chassis,

engine and gearbox), with a 7 961 cc engine putting out 170

kW @ 2 500 rpm and 710 Nm @ 1 500 rpm that gives it a top

speed of 135 km/h (governed), this 8 tonne beauty has a brak-

ing capability, from 100 to 0 km/h, of 5.3 seconds or 72 meters.

Its modular design of the crew compartment allows the vehicle

to be configured to suit a variety of roles whilst maintaining the

same mechanical underpinnings. The drive train is supported

by the original equipment manufac-

turer (OEM) and enjoys the benefit of

a comprehensive global service centre

network. The MAV is available in a either

4x2 or 4x4 drive configuration, thus offer-

ing a configuration to suit all operational

requirements economically. The MAV

has its crew compartment constructed

in 8 mm armoured steel. This material

offers protection against small arms fire

of up to 5.56 x 45 ball ammunition. This

protection extends to all sides, roof and

floor of the capsule. All cabin glass is

32 mm laminated bullet resistant glass,

capable of withstanding 5.56 x 45 ball

ammunition. The engine is protected by armoured steel side

plates and a proven ballistic radiator protector. The engine pro-

tection has been designed to maintain adequate airflow to the

engine compartment. The MAV has been specifically designed

to accommodate a variety of armour upgrades (both to body

and windows) to offer additional protection, from armour pierc-

ing (AP) rounds to protection from powerful devices such as

rocket propelled

grenades (RPG)

and improvised

explosive devic-

es (IED), whilst

remaining within

the OEM gross

vehicle mass.

So, any attempt

to ‘tap-tap’ this

baby is going to

fail, as a few fool-

ish robbers have

already discov-

ered.

Vehicle accessThe base principle behind the design

and operation of the MAV is to have two

things make one thing happen. The vehi-

cle is fitted with an armoured interlock

door system, which, with the interaction

of the driver and a biometric fingerprint

reader, controls crew access or exit at

any given time. One without the other

will not open the door. The door between

the driver’s cabin and the crew area can

only be opened by the crew once the outer door of the interlock

is locked. Similarly, access from the crew compartment into

the vault is controlled by biometric fingerprint recognition and

remote authorisation via a onetime security code (diagram 1).

The Polyurethane Dispenser Unit (PUDU)The PUDU is a rather clever way of securing money. Developed

in conjunction with the CSIR and introduced in 2001, and since

improved, it was developed as a deterrent for road vehicle

attacks where cash in transit vehicles were being rammed and

overturned.

The PUDU system includes an anti-tilt system, which is

designed to activate if the vehicle is tilted past a 45° angle

for longer than 40 seconds, vehicle ramming sensors and

a driver-activated panic button activator option. The sys-

tem deploys automatically in the event of the vehicle being

rammed or tilted. On activation, the foam created by the

special polyurethane mix fills the vault and solidifies as

Province 2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

Eastern Cape 19 23 26 20 40 56 69 51

Free State 4 2 1 14 11 17 17 18

Gauteng 79 95 157 180 120 126 117 122

Kwazulu-Natal 35 22 66 121 101 103 80 48

Limpopo 12 14 46 24 26 22 21 8

Mpumalanga 22 30 17 16 13 12 19 13

North West 10 10 19 11 19 6 4 9

Northern Cape 0 4 0 2 3 2 2 1

Western Cape 11 20 53 78 63 42 29 21

RSA 192 220 385 467 396 386 358 291

TRANSPORT FEATURE

SBV Services (Pty) Limited

Cash Risk Management at its best!

SBV Services (Pty) Limited is a South African company jointly owned by the four major banks and provides its clients with world-class cash risk management solutions. We complete the cash value chain by partnering with our clients in providing cost effective end to end solutions to reduce their cash management risks.

With a risk pro le and a national footprint together with operations in Nigeria, SBV has become a recognised name in the business of cash risk management over the last 25 years. We are the trusted Cash in Transit and Cash Processing service provider to the four major banks as well as the South African Reserve Bank and have experienced the lowest number of successful attacks – despite moving the

secivres edivorp ot ssenisub sti tliub yllaitini gnivaH .acirfA htuoS ni hsac fo ytirojamto the banking industry, SBV now also offers its clients their Secured Banking Vehicle Service, providing the retail industry with a world-class Cash in Transit service. SBV offers its clients the peace of mind that comes with a comprehensive and seamless cash management solution allowing clients to focus on what they do best.

SBV operates across the whole cash cycle, servicing a wide range of clients ranging from banks and retailers to fuel outlets and wholesalers. Our extensive service offering includes:

» Cash and valuables transportation» Retail Cash Management» Risk consultancy services» Fully outsourced cash centre management» ATM replenishment and management

“The business environment of the 21st century demands that organisations continually respond to evolution, change and transformation. SBV has done this successfully and built trusted relationships with its employees, customers and shareholders, which has resulted in it becoming the leading cash risk management company in South Africa.”

VBS fo rec fO evitucexE feihC puorG ,notgninnuD tnarG

Contact us nd out more about our services and how we can provide you with a solution to better manage your cash risk requirements.

Tel: +27 11 283 2000Email: communications@sbv.co.zawww.sbv.co.za

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 17

a pungent teargas is released into the vault. The time

and effort required to free the money from the solidified

polyurethane mix thereafter is prohibitive – two hours of

backbreaking work. Even if, by some miracle, in a cross

pavement attack, the robbers manage to get into the vault,

the driver, who is safely ensconced in his/her armoured

module, will activate the PUDU. The last thing a robber

will want is to be caught in the vault when the PUDU

is activated. In the 11 seconds it takes to fill the vault,

the temperature of the polyurethane mix at this point is

140°C, enough to burn the flesh off any person it touches.

Once the vault is full, the polyurethane mix cools rapidly

and solidifies.

The PUDU is designed to protect the cash. Activation, even

to a perceived threat, is preferred rather than a loss of money

due to a failure to activate. All CIT staff receive training in

the PUDU and activation of the system as part their training

course. There should be no excuse for the system not being

activated in the event of a robbery unless the driver and/or

crew are part of the planning of the robbery. But, even this

is being addressed. There are further enhancements which

will be actived within the next six months. Sensors monitor-

ing a number of aspects will send this information via coded

signals to the centre manager to ensure compliance with all

procedures, as well as to ensure that any panic alarms are

dealt with immediately.

The PUDU is the tool

designed to protect the

cash but, in essence, also

to reduce the likelihood of

attack and thereby reduce

the threat to CIT security

guards.

Vehicle trackingBesides voice radio com-

munications with the con-

trol room, the MAV is fitted

with the latest in tracking

and monitoring technol-

ogy. No matter where the

MAV travels, it is tracked

by satellite and its position

displayed on a digital map

in the control room. At the

same time, video cameras

monitor the driver and the

crew’s compartments and

can ‘see’ outside the vehi-

cle. Digital recording is

standard.

Procedural precautionsBuilding on the philoso-

phy that prevention is bet-

ter than cure, prospective

staff members are careful-

ly screened before being

appointed. Once on the

job, new staff members are given thorough training. And,

because one of SBV’s own CIT security guards was involved in

the Polokwane incident, behavioural monitoring is an ongoing

practice. SBV alternate their varied routes on a random basis

and only advise bank branches that they are arriving ten min-

utes beforehand.

In closingThe MAV is a formidable tool. For secu-

rity reasons, a number of its protec-

tive and defensive features have not

been mentioned. Even hardened and

experienced CIT robbers need to think

twice before taking on the MAV. And,

if they think that hitting the crew at

drop points may be simpler, they need

to think again. The ‘Mini-Me’ is just

as effective.

TRANSPORT FEATURE

The vault when the PUDU is activated

Advanced Armoured Transport ddvvaanncceedd AArrmmoouurrvvaanncceeAAAAAAddvvvvaanncceeSpecialists in the development and manufacture of new armoured vehicles and the refurbishment of military vehicles

We design, manufacture and develop

We design, manufacture and develop Cash in transit vans

Armoured personnel carriers (APC) Riot control vehicles Escort vehicles

Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV/MRAP)

OTT has supplied

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Anglo American De Beers Diamond Mines Numerous large Mining Houses

CIT operators in South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Botswana

t +27 (0) 12 802 1200/1/2/3 t +27 (0) 12 802 1200/1/2/3 f +27 (0) 86 504 9003 f +27 (0) 86 504 9003 c +27 (0) 82 460 5840 c +27 (0) 82 460 5840 otttec@gmail.com / clivel@ott.co.za otttec@gmail.com / clivel@ott.co.za

Forty or so years back, one would have

expected to see Transnet Freight Rail’s

(TFR’s) semi-circular shaped, multi-

terraced, 24/7 operational control centre on a

black and white, futuristic television episode of

Star Trek! Just over three years ago, the impos-

ing, open-plan National Command Centre

(NCC) in Transnet’s Parktown office block start-

ed up – an ‘umbilical cord’ in so many facets

of a well-greased, integrated railway operation.

Following TFR’s CEO Siyabonga Gama’s visit

to the United States last decade, the local

R90 million NCC launched on 4 August 2008

is based on the observations gleaned from

Burlington Northern and Union Pacific.

From a seamless managerial point of view,

the control centre has incorporated into one

physical complex the planning, operational

execution and day-to-day troubleshooting of

four principal, geographically oriented corridors

– the Cape, Central, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern

regions. These comprise 8 441 km of electrified

Transnet Freight Rail’s National Command Centre

TRAILBLAZING SHOWPIECE

This superbly engineered project places Transnet Freight Rail at the forefront of technology deployment in a strategic and operationally critical installation. John Batwell takes a look.

railway and 11 606 km of non-electrified routing.

The hardware running along any of these four

management corridors consists of 813 diesel

locomotives, 1 161 electric units and 115 types

of wagons. Each ‘corridor team’ of designated

personnel is responsible for:

• service planning

• an Integrated Train Plan

• a Monitoring and Deviation Plan

• the provision of appropriate types of motive •

power and rolling stock

• locomotive distribution

• availability of infrastructure

• customer care

• security on the ground.

There are teams of personnel who run with the

quirks, characteristics and specific rail trans-

portation profile of their individual corridors.

Pre-planning and budgeting in terms of the

profile of product movement in these corridors

is executed well in advance. In late August,

the 2012/13 business plan was almost in situ.

The budgeting process running in Transnet’s

financial year of April to March embraces firm

rail orders from customers, which are reviewed

quarterly within the particular financial year,

hand in hand with the prospective motive

power, wagons and crews required to fulfil cus-

tomers’ tonnage expectations.

This dovetails down to the customers with

their weekly orders. The customer service

managers look at the variable permutations

within this operational component alone.

In terms of new weekly business, a week-

ly planning meeting is run – an Integrated

Train Plan (ITP) covers the entire coun-

try and focuses on issues such as empty

wagons’ distribution, types of wagons required,

line occupation management and locomotive

maintenance, with resultant availability versus

non-availability of relevant motive power.

Multiple freight offeringsThere are varied types of freight services

offered: MegaRail, made up of block load trains

(all one commodity) on fixed days and times;

FlexiRail, which, as the name suggests, is ‘flex-

ible’ for things such as seasonal rail traffic and

AccessRail, which is dictated by specific days

and times. When it comes to major railway

maintenance occupation such as the servicing

of the coal and iron ore corridors and Natcor

(the Johannesburg-Durban high-volume line),

this is built into train movement planning a good

12 months or even longer in advance.

Other planned occupations of a particular

rail section are in place 21 days ahead of the

particular week’s traffic being analysed for such

a route. The regional operational executives

(ROEs) pull up the ITP for their region to view

the holistic situation particular to their rail sector.

Meeting customers’ needsA typical operational week at the NCC consists

of seeing what new weekly business is at hand

by 12:00 on a Wednesday. Two hours later, at

14:00, a ‘pre do-ability’ exercise is underway

AFRICA RAIL

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 19

AFRICA RAIL

to determine the ability to meet the

customer’s transportation request and

by Thursday morning at 11:00, the ‘do-

ability’ has been determined. Twenty-

five hours later, on a Friday at midday,

the ITP is signed off.

Then there is the unexpected, expedi-

tious think-on-one’s-feet troubleshooting

that can colour any operational day at

TFR. The occurrences include derail-

ments, cable theft, a power failure,

weather conditions (last winter’s snow in

parts of the country was a point in case,

with stranded train crews being helicop-

tered out), permanent railway problems

such as cracked rail and signalling hiccups. In such situations,

monitors are initially informed by staff on the ground at the par-

ticular incident. Transnet Rail Engineering and the Infrastructure

Team would be advised in the case of a derailment, for instance.

Each level informed of the irregularity issues a reference num-

ber of the occurrence and the information trail passes to the

particular corridor manager and then the duty manager. The

latter is in essence the ‘incident commander’ who follows up

on who and what needs to be deployed to the scene relative to

the specific problem. This is only one aspect of what is termed

Deviation Management. It is a broad-spectrum process and in a

24, 48 and 72-hour review, the source of any deviation from the

planned train movements is analysed.

Deviations might be as mundane as the customer failing to

load their wagons timeously; the wagons not being cleaned in

time for the loading client or the customer having an opera-

tional glitch which has not enabled the

wagons to be loaded as expected. A

few months back, for example, the NCC

had to deal with the unexpected ‘curve

ball’ of Newcastle’s furnace blast and

that particular customer requiring the

Vanderbijlpark complex picking up the

transport load.

The NCC had to review train movements (wagon availability,

types of motive power, crew familiarisation with the motive

power, etc.) according to the customer’s proposed crisis man-

agement solution. In the case of a route closure, sometimes

traffic can be diverted along other rail sections with careful,

alternative planning, but TFR acknowl-

edges that there are also times when

it has to bite the bullet financially with

lost custom. The majority of potential

problems and problem-solving by TFR

personnel is still handled manually, with

only the coal export corridor having

computer intervention, but only to a lim-

ited, and certainly not a ‘fix-all’, degree.

Staff working at the four geographical

corridor terminals – in the dimmed-light,

eerie control centre – are on duty for 12

hours at a time. Huge, wall-mounted

screens rotate images of things happen-

ing there and then on the rail system.

Even sobering visuals of previous train collisions come to be

placed on one of the panels as a psychological reminder to the

floor staff ‘to keep one’s act sharp’! Prior to each shift change,

a handover period of one hour is built in. The handover briefing

includes a monitoring report, i.e. the current situation in the field,

a recovery plan to return traffic movements to the initial opera-

tions plan and a coordination of any line incidents.

A really impressive facilityAll in all, one comes away reflecting that TFR’s hub in Parktown

is certainly impressive, manned by professional staff who are

overtly passionate about what they contribute to the efficacy

of the centre and its round-the-clock function nationally. Senior

management seeks to achieve safely 219 million tonnes in the

2011/12 financial year – general freight business 89 mt, export

coal 74 mt and export iron ore 56 mt. This desire represents

at least a 17% increase in volumes from

the previous financial year. Staff members

were noticed wearing motivational ‘219

Safely’ printed T-shirts!

Seeing the NCC first-hand did, how-

ever, trigger a most daunting thought:

in the light of pressure on govern-

ment to separate TFR into infrastructure on one side and

allow private operators onto TFR’s lines on the other, one

does wonder what a huge challenge – a nightmarish para-

digm shift – would be imposed on the management and

staff of this very specialised, well-honed in-house ‘railway

nerve centre’.

The control centre incorporates the complex planning and operational management of four regions

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 20

MATERIALS HANDLING

Improving port performance We would do well to remember that the short-

est route is not always the best route. However,

if it is efficient and cost effective, it will be.

Slowest, yet the most expensiveA recent study by the Ports Regulator, looking at

port costs and productivity, revealed Durban to

be the most expensive among 12 international

ports researched. This was at a time when

Transnet’s National Ports Authority (TNPA) was

applying for an 11.91% tariff increase for the

2011/12 financial year.

Total marine and infrastructure costs for an

average container vessel visiting the Durban

port once a month amount to $182 151.30,

compared with an average of $86 251.58 at

the other 11 ports. After Durban, the second

and third most expensive ports are in the USA.

Long Beach, California, charges $175 230.48

and Los Angeles charges $164 431.77. The

cheapest ports are Kaohsiung in Taiwan, with a

total fee of $18 609.65 per tanker per visit, and

Antwerp at $25 605.46.

Although Durban has the highest port costs,

its productivity is, according to Transnet’s act-

ing chief executive, Chris Wells, 30 container

shifts per hour (this number was 21 a year ago),

compared with Antwerp’s 94 container shifts

an hour. According to Wells, container shifts at

Cape Town and Ngqura are between 25 and 26

an hour. The research is available for public

comment on the Ports Regulator’s website.

The solutionSo, the question is, how do we increase produc-

tivity? Besides labour and management issues,

port container terminals need to enhance

their planning and operational capabilities by

deploying innovative materials handling equip-

ment and state-of-the-art technology in order

to optimise the container ter-

minal logistic process. That

much is clear.

The other, perhaps more

important, thing is attitude –

worker attitude, shaped by an

understanding of what productivity is, and

means, and why it is necessary. If we are to

compete with the rest of the world and soar

with eagles, we can’t afford to flap around with

the turkeys.

We also need to remember that there are two

harbours up the west coast and another two up

the east coast that are gearing up to become

serious competitors. This is not the time to

be complacent.

Since containerisation emerged to revo-

lutionise freight transport in 1976, turn-

around time has been the key indicator

of a port’s capability and ability to maintain

high levels of productivity and performance

management in servicing port users. The most

important objective for a port’s container ter-

minal is to increase its throughput and reduce

the amount of time a vessel spends in port.

Achieving this objective is dependent on the

effectiveness of allocating and scheduling key

resources, such as quay cranes, yard cranes,

berths and trucks. And, to do this effectively,

careful planning and efficient organisation is

required so that queue build up and conges-

tion costs are avoided. For the shipper, vessel

turnaround time relates directly to berthing

costs and increment voyage costs for the

vessel itself. For the customer, within the entire

supply chain process, high turnaround time

ultimately translates into lower input costs and a

lower goods price for the customer’s customer.

Now, with globalisation an entrenched real-

ity, trade and the subsequent breakdown in

trade barriers, growth in marine transport is

at an all time high, and growing. This has

led to fierce competition between port opera-

tors to attract port users who, by default,

bring with them all the accompanying eco-

nomic benefits. Therefore, port operators must

achieve shorter turnaround times for ves-

sels in order to benchmark high productivity

and performance. At the same time, berthing

costs need to be competitive and kept as low

as possible.

In southern Africa, South Africa has had it

all its own way for many decades, while civil

war and conflict raged in Namibia, Angola and

Mozambique. Now that peace prevails in these

countries, they are rebuilding their economies

and, along with that, road, rail, port and airline

infrastructure. South Africa’s ports will soon be

facing stiff competition from the Port of Walvis

Bay, the Port of Luanda and the Port of Maputo

as they develop and promote their transport

corridors to Africa’s interior. Even the Port of Dar

es Salaam is gearing up to take on the rest of

southern Africa. When these ports are geared

up and running, South Africa will no longer be

the ‘gateway’ to Africa.

Doing it better and faster, and being consistently more reliable than your competitors, is the means to building a sustainable business and securing the future. By Tony Stone

Vessel turnaround time relates directly to berthing costs and increment voyage costs

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 21

LOWEST COST PER PALLET

INTERESTED? www.youtube.com/LindeSouthAfrica

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 23

MATERIALS HANDLING

Beyond Beyond limitationslimitationsA product continuously improved delivers a value way beyond human capability.

Liquids in motion or under pressure did

useful work for humanity many centu-

ries before Blaise Pascal and Daniel

Bernoulli formulated the laws on which modern

hydraulic-power technology is based.

The City of London, in 1882, built the first

hydraulic system, which delivered pressurised

water through street mains to drive machinery

in factories. In 1906, an important advance

in hydraulic techniques was made when a

hydraulic system, using oil rather than water,

was installed to raise and control the guns of

the USS ‘Virginia’. In the 1920s, self-contained

hydraulic units consisting of a pump, controls

and motor were developed.

The next quantum leap came in 1960 at the

Hanover Trade Fair when Linde First unveiled

the Hubtrac forklift truck with its bipedal

Hydrostatic Drive System. Today, this technol-

ogy has brought about substantial gains in

productivity, with the associated reductions

in costs, and applications in moving delicate

foodstuffs and medical supplies to extreme

operating conditions(such as brick fields and

mines) are the norm, even in smelting plants

where, with specially-fitted, heat resistant com-

ponents, it functions effectively.

In transport, with the advent of containerisation

in the 1960s, lifting and moving loaded ship-

ping containers with a crane provided some

degree of productivity gain, but not enough.

More versatile, mobile technology was needed.

This is where Linde’s original Hubtrac forklift

truck and its more advanced successors come

in.The hydrostatic drive is at the heart of every

internal combustion-engine Linde forklift truck

in the lifting capacity range of up to 18 tonnes.

It is inseparably linked to the trucks’ sensitive,

precise driving and lifting characteristics, as well

as its economical fuel consumption and ease of

maintenance. Even though the principle behind

hydrostatic drive has not changed right up to the

present day, the development engineers at Linde

MH have made crucial technical improvements

time and time again.

Since the 1970s, Linde MH has used axial-

piston motors, which are characterised by high-

pressure capability and adjustability, to convert

the mechanical energy of the internal combustion

engine into hydraulic energy. At around the same

time, the company’s engineers moved away

from bent-axis pumps to swash plate pumps

and motors, and thus created the precondition

for more compact installation dimensions, a

longer service life and a very high power density.

Moving forward, since the mid-1980s, the

swash plate pumps and motors have been

used in all Linde truck applications, both in

open (lifting hydraulics) and closed (traction

hydraulics) oil circulation systems. Numerous

other functions were standardised and integrat-

ed in the early 1990s, with the introduction of

the 02 series of modern axial-piston machines

of swash plate design.

In 2002, the 39x-series of forklift trucks rep-

resented a decisive breakthrough in terms of

speed reduction, which led to a saving in gear

speed and therefore made the drive not only

quieter and less prone to wear, but also more

energy-efficient. Many hydraulics experts were

amazed at the power density and precision

achieved with swash plate drives. In practice,

swash plate drives proved superior to their

radial-piston counterparts, in which the main

pistons, in contrast to an axial-piston pump, are

arranged vertically (radial) to, rather than parallel

(axial) with, the drive shaft.

With the introduction of the fourth genera-

tion hydrostatic system, Linde is asserting its

position as a technological leader, e.g. the

two slow-running hydraulic motors, which have

been integrated into the compact drive axle,

drive the drive wheels directly (without speed

reduction gears).

FROM TOP Today’s low-speed motors reduce noise, fuel consumption and emissions

Fifty-years of success - left: the Hubtrac H3K; right: the 39X-series Linde H25

Linde's Hydrostatic innovative performance improvements over the last 50 years

Reaching new milestonesmilestonesDURBAN CONTAINER TERMINAL

The Port of Durban, having lost a little wind, is getting back on course. The upgraded container terminal, newly-acquired modern materials handling equipment and a few more hands on deck should make all the difference.

T ransnet Port Terminals (TPT) celebrated

a milestone in its ambitious plan of

normalising operations to levels similar

to those experienced by customers prior to

the NAVIS system launch. The plan includes

accelerated spend of CAPEX, an increase in

gangs to a total of 15 by next year and improv-

ing the Reefer capacity.

Speaking at a gathering of stakeholders,

Transnet Port Terminals Container Sector act-

ing chief operations officer, Velile Dube, told

the audience that this was the first of many

milestones on the way to making Durban

Container Terminal (DCT) an efficient and

competitive business that served the needs

of its stakeholders. As part of Transnet Port

Terminals’ 2011 accelerated capital expendi-

ture plan, 28 Straddle Carriers (Straddles)

have been purchased for DCT at an estimated

total cost of R205 million. These include 14

Straddles that have twin-lift capability.

“We commissioned four of these Straddles

and the delivery of the remainder will be

rolled out until December 2011. We intend to

complete the assembly of the second batch

of eight Straddles by end October,” says DCT

Terminal executive, Hector Danisa.

Straddles are a crucial piece of equipment

in a container operation environment, in both

the water-side and land-side aspect of the

MATERIALS HANDLING

24 – TWA 11 & 12 | 201124 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

the Reefer yard has easily-accessible walk-

ways, which makes the operation safer for

the operator and reduces the risk of damag-

ing electric cables. Ultimately, the new yard

will have a capacity of 1 068 Reefers, allow-

ing the terminal to meet customer expecta-

tions during the next Reefer season.

Furthermore, TPT recruited 70 operators

of lifting equipment (OLE) trainees in July,

all of whom have undergone a certification

process, with 68 OLEs to be releases to

operations by next week. An additional 70

have been recruited and they too will be

certified after four months. This recruitment

drive is implemented with the objective of

terminal. The new Straddles are ‘four-high’

machines, which mean that they can hold up

to four containers in a stack and will add great

value to the stack capacity of the terminal. The

addition of the 28 Straddles will also enable

the terminal to improve its productivity levels

considerably over the next year. Current plans

are to have a total of 113 Straddles in opera-

tion by January 2012.

TPT also unveiled a new refrigerated con-

tainer yard (known as the ‘Reefer’ yard) at DCT

Pier 2, which consists of 232 container slots

valued at R9 million. This Reefer yard is the

first at DCT to stack four containers high with

a Straddle operation. The layout and design of

equipping DCT with 15 gangs by next year

and includes cross training of OLEs to operate

ship-to-shore cranes.

Included in the milestones highlighted at

DCT is the roll-out of the Pre-Advice System,

effective 1 October 2011. The system will

become mandatory at DCT on 1 February

2012. This system is already successfully in

operation at Ngqura Container Terminal. It will

be phased in at DCT Pier 1 and 2 over a three

month period.

According to Danisa, TPT will continue to

engage with the shipping lines and industry

at large with regards to the implementation

of the pre-advice service. The follow-up to

this project will be a Truck Booking system,

planned for rollout in 2012, which, as the name

suggests, will release containers to the truck-

ers based on an appointment process, further

enhancing the flow in the terminal.

MAIN IMAGE Durban Harbour's container terminal

OPPOSITE PAGE TOP LEFT Terminal executive for Durban Container Terminal (DCT), Hector Danisa (in the yellow safety jacket), with three of the 70 trainee operators of lifting equipment (OLEs), all of whom have undergone a certification process

LEFT Aerial view of Durban Harbour

MATERIALS HANDLING

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 25TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 25

26 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

Project Cankuzo – Muyinga Road Project

Description Contractors are invited to submit bids to build and asphalt 60 km of National Road No. 19 from

Cankuzo to Muyinga. Works include the installation of drainage infrastructure and the construction of

a bridge over the Ruvubu River.

Status Tendering. Deadline for submissions: 24 January 2012

Funding European Development Fund (EDF)

Implementing agency Roads Department Tel +257 2222 2940 • Fax +257 2222 0959

Project Construction of Greater Cairo Metro Network

Description Consultants are invited to prequalify to provide supervision services for the construction of the third

phase of the Greater Cairo Metro Network Line 3 (17 km) between Attaba Square and Kit Kat, with

branches to Embaba and the Ring Road, and to Boulak El Dakrour and Cairo University.

Status Tendering. Deadline for submissions: 13 November 2011

Funding European Development Fund (EDF)

Implementing agency National Authority for Tunnels Tel: +202 2574 2968 • Fax: +202 2574 2950

Project Mombasa – Nairobi – Addis Ababa Road Corridor Project (Phase III)

Description Contractors are invited to prequalify for the following road rehabilitation contracts:

• Contract 1: Hawassa – Chuko (66 km)

• Contract 2: Chuko – Yirgachefe (60 km)

• Contract 3: Yirgachefe – Ageremariam (72 km).

Status Tendering. Deadline for submissions: 11 November 2011

Funding African Development Fund

Implementing agency Ethiopian Roads Authority Tel: +251 11 551 5002 • Fax: +251 11 551 0082

Project Road Programme (Phase 2) Project

Description The programme is aimed at opening up production zones within the country and boosting regional

trade. Specifically, it will help improve the movement of goods and people on the Libreville –

Tchibanga road and on the road/river link between Port Gentil, Lambaréné and Ndjolé. Contractors

and consultants will be required to carry out the following tasks:

• upgrading of three roads: Mouilla – Ndendé (70 km), Ndendé – Tchibanga (85 km) and Port Gentil

– Mandorové (34 km)

• resurfacing of 74 km of rural roads

• construction of a road terminal and weighing station at Mbadi

• construction of two footbridges

• rehabilitation and construction of five river docks

• a study on the restructuring of the road sub-sector

• a study on road construction costs in Gabon

• a feasibility study on the Lambaréné River port.

Status Funding approved

Funding African Development Bank

Implementing agency Ministry of Public Works and Equipment Tel: +241 722 209 • Fax: +241 722 342

Project Mombasa – Nairobi – Addis Ababa Road Corridor Project (Phase III)

Description Contractors are invited to tender for the upgrading of the Turbi – Moyale Road (A2). The contract

includes bridge building and installation of drainage infrastructure.

Status Tendering. Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2011

Funding African Development Fund

Implementing agency Kenya National Highways Authority Tel: +254 20 801 3842 • Fax: +254 20 271 5483

Project Mombasa – Nairobi – Addis Ababa Road Corridor Project (Phase III)

BURKINA FASO

EGYPT

ETHIOPIA

GABON

KENYA

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 27

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

Description Consultants are invited to submit expressions of interest to carry out the following tasks for the reha-

bilitation of the Mombasa Northern Bypass.

• preparation of a feasibility study

• preparation of an environmental impact assessment

• preparation of a social impact assessment

• preparation of a resettlement action plan

• preliminary and detailed design

• preparation of tender documentation for works contracts.

Status Tendering. Deadline for submissions: 9 November 2011

Funding International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank

Implementing agency Kenya National Highways Authority Tel: +254 20 801 3842 • Fax: +254 20 271 5483

Project Transport Project

Description The project will include:

• rehabilitation of the Northern Railway Network, including rehabilitation of 70 km of rail track, con-

struction of rail access sidings and rehabilitation of metallic bridges.

• installation of mobile weighing facilities to preserve road assets

• construction of jetties

• urban road works, including rehabilitation of tunnels.

Status Planning

Funding International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank

Implementing agency Ministry of Public Works and Meteorology Tel: +261 20 222 3215 • Fax: +261 20 222 4321

Project Nouakchott Port Development Project

Description The project involves the extension of the port of Nouakchott while improving the environmental

impact of the port’s initial construction and development. Components include:

• construction of a container terminal

• construction of new quays specifically aimed at oil, bulk and general cargo traffic.

Status Planning

Funding International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank

Implementing agency Port Autonome de Nouakchott (PANPA)

Tel: +222 525 3859 • Fax: +222 251 794

Project Transport Sector Support Project

Description Contractors and consultants will be sought to carry out the following tasks:

• rehabilitation of the Korogwe – Same road (172 km) and the Arusha – Minjingu road (98 km)

• supervision services for the above contracts

• preparation of design and bidding documents for the rehabilitation of a further 911 km of paved

trunk roads

• paving and rehabilitation of runways and aprons at the Bukoba, Kigoma and Tabora airports

• feasibility studies for potential PPP projects and transaction advisory services.

Status General procurement notice issued; specific procurement notices will be issued in due course

Funding International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank

Implementing agency Tanzania National Roads Agency Tel: +255 22 215 257 • Fax: +255 22 215 002

NB: Projects with imminent closing dates for submission of bids are listed to alert readers to subcontracting opportunities.

KENYA

MADAGASCAR

MAURITANIA

TANZANIA

28 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

These SCM planning approaches are as

follows:

• Concurrent planning: Simultaneously address

capacity and material issues:

• Capacity issues: to produce goods, store

goods and deliver goods.

• Material issues: obtaining necessary raw

materials to produce goods.

• Safety stock issues: maintaining inventories

to respond to different sources of uncertainty.

• Continual planning: Variable horizons allow

near-term detailed execution plans to mesh

seamlessly with coarse, longer-term master

plans.

Constraint management: Constraints can be

hard or soft:

• Hard: If violated, the plan cannot be executed.

• Soft: If violated, the plan can be executed, but

will have some undesirable aspects.

• Global visibility: The supply chain planner

should possess detailed and continually

updated information about the status of the

entire supply chain.

• Erroneous re-planning efforts can occur if there

is pure backwards or forwards propagation.

Sales and operations (S&OP) planning sup-

port: S&OP is a collaborative, cross-functional,

monthly process designed to reach consensus

SUPPLY CHAIN

on a single operating plan that allocates critical

resources (capacity, materials, people, time

and money) to most effectively meet demand in

a profitable way.

SCM elements and levelsThe relationship between the supply chain func-

tions and the planning elements for a FMCG

supply chain with reference to strategic, tacti-

cal, operational and scheduling levels are ana-

lysed. These levels refer to different planning

time frames and horizons across the business

functions. The relationships involve the various

supply chain activities linked to the supply chain

functions (see figure 1).

SCC defines the supply chain planning levels

(up to level 3) for a FMCG organisation as fol-

lows, based on its SCOR model. Numerous

FMCG companies (such as P&G, Unilever and

SABMiller) are using the SCOR model to design

and define their supply chain models.

SCM organisation structure• Five different types of organisation structure

are possible for a FMCG supply chain:

• Decentralised: Authority and responsibility

are dispersed throughout the business units.

• Centre-led: This is a hybrid model with

The role of supply chain managementFMCG INDUSTRY PART TWO

Five basic SCM planning approaches are studied, with the desired benefits of an increase in customer service levels, a reduction in inventory levels, better use of available resources, reliable order quotations and the reduction of planning efforts. By Madhu Bala, Dr Shakti Prakash and Dr Dinesh Kumar

strategic activities centralised and execution

decentralised.

• Centre of excellence: Develop best practice

and disseminate this to business units with

limited implementation support.

• Shared services: This refers to common

repetitive processes for multiple business

units, centralised with service level agreement

(SLA) and chargeback mechanism.

• Centralised: Authority and responsibility are

assigned to a central organisation. Resources

can be located at operations.

Supply chain risk managementSupply chain risk is any strategic uncertainty or

potential disruptive event that affects the flow

of information, material or final products across

organisational borders, resulting in the inability

to meet customer demand. \The categories of

supply chain risks are (see figure 2):

• The four-step approach of supply chain risk

management (SCRM) includes:

• Identify the risks.

• Design a strategy to eliminate the risks.

• Implement the strategy.

• Monitor the progress.

SCM collaborationOne of the key issues with FMCG supply chains

is the bullwhip effect. In fighting against bull-

whip, the first step is creating a quality forecast.

However, the next step is to share it with part-

ners along the supply chain. Four collaborative

practices exist:

• quick response

• continuous replenishment

• vendor-managed inventory

• collaborative planning, forecasting and

replenishment.

The potential collaboration opportunities

between suppliers and manufacturers, identified

FIGURE 1 The inter-relationships

between supply chain activities and supply chain functions

SUPPLY CHAIN

for a FMCG company, are listed below:

• production schedules

• manufacturing sales forecast

• manufacturing inventories

• manufacturing material requirements

• supplier inventories

• supplier product availability

• product design and specs

• new product calendars

• material/component catalogue

• subcontracting terms and conditions

• product costing.

The potential collaboration opportunities

between manufacturers and customers, identi-

fied for a FMCG company, are listed below:

• customer pricing plan

• customer promotional plan

• customer finished goods inventory

• manufacturing consumer promotional cal-

endar

• manufacturing raw materials, work-in-pro-

gress and finished goods inventory

• manufacturing product introduction schedule

• manufacturing production capacities

• assortment planning

• retail store layout and shelf space planning.

ConclusionIn summary, the supply chains are playing a sig-

nificant role in defining the competitiveness of

an organisation and FMCG companies are also

joining the bandwagon. The FMCG industry is

unique in terms of its characteristics and owing

to the virtue of its processes, components and

typology. The industry is faced with a unique

set of challenges, most of which relate to the

planning and distribution segments of the

supply chain.

The role of SCM is analysed in this two-paper

series with respect to five planning approach-

es – concurrent, continual, constraint, global

visibility and S&OP. These five approaches are

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then looked at in terms of elements and lev-

els, organisation structure, risk management

and collaboration opportunities in a FMCG

supply chain. The benefits indicated are an

increase in customer service levels, a reduc-

tion in inventory levels, better use of available

resources, reliable order quotations and the

reduction of planning efforts.

FIGURE 2 The categories of supply chain risks

Demand

Process

Environmental

Supply

Control

Mitigation/contingency

Vulnerability

30 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

FUEL & TYRES

Factors affecting truck fuel economyAs a vehicle travels down a road, there are a number of factors that contribute to the amount of fuel it will use in getting from point A to point B. The main parameters are vehicle weight, aerodynamic drag, mechanical losses and tyre rolling resistance.

Although tyres are just one of these

factors, they can affect up to a third

of the vehicle’s total fuel consump-

tion. As each tyre on a vehicle rolls down the

road, it creates a drag force. It is composed

of the energy loss created by the deflections

of the tyre sidewall and the movements, com-

pression and deformation of the tyre tread in

the footprint at the road’s surface. This drag

force is called rolling resistance and can be

measured very accurately in a laboratory (see

figure 1).

Aerodynamics and speedA vehicle’s aerodynamics and its travelling

speed have an extremely large effect on how

much fuel is consumed. The force created by

the aerodynamic drag of a vehicle increases

exponentially with the speed of the vehicle.

Tyre rolling resistance increases linearly with

speed, but tyres are a proportionally smaller

percentage of the total drag on a vehicle as the

speed increases (see figure 2).

Other factorsAmbient air temperature, weather conditions,

road surfaces (sand, gravel, asphalt, con-

crete) and terrain (flat, hilly or mountainous)

are environmental factors that are impossible

to control but have a direct effect on fuel con-

sumption.

Vehicle configurationOn a typical 40 t, 5 axle truck, each axle

contributes to a portion of the total vehicle

tyre rolling resistance. Drive and trailer axles

combined contribute about 83% of the total

tyre rolling resistance. To minimise the vehi-

cle’s fuel consumption, it is recommended to

equip all axles with low rolling resistance, fuel-

efficient tyres. The contribution of tyres to the

total energy required to move a vehicle down

the road is dependent on the effects of many

outside factors, which include (see figure 3):

• Tyre inflation.

• Tyre rolling resistance is heavily dependent

on inflation pressure. A 1 bar deviation from

the nominal inflation pressure could lead to

a 5% difference in rolling resistance, which

may result in significant fuel cost increase

(see example below). For optimum rolling

resistance, it is important to have the tyres

inflated correctly, as recommended for the

respective axle loads. In addition, under-

inflation may have negative effects on tyre

durability.

• Fuel difference per truck based on: 150 000

km/year – €1 (R10.86)/l – 35 l/100 km (see

figure 4).

• 1 bar under-inflation in every tyre can cost

€900 (R9 770) of fuel per year and the car-

cass can be lost for retreading.

Wheel alignmentIncorrect vehicle alignment may drastically

influence rolling resistance and consequently

fuel consumption. If any of the wheels on a

12-wheel tractor and trailer are not properly

aligned, the total drag on the vehicle increas-

es. There is greater ‘scrub’ of the tyres against

the road surface and, potentially, greater aero-

dynamic drag when the tractor and trailer are

not tracking parallel to the direction of travel.

The example below of a 3-axle trailer shows

that correct vehicle alignment helps to opti-

mise fuel economy (see figure 5).

Driving styleThe driving habits or ‘style’ of the operator of a

vehicle can have a very large influence on the

amount of fuel consumed. Aggressive driving

can wipe out many of the gains obtained from

investments in fuel-efficient tyres and engines,

aerodynamic devices or synthetic lubricants.

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 31

FUEL & TYRES

However, today’s modern automated truck

drivelines tend to reduce the effects that driv-

ers can have on fuel economy while driving,

further increasing the saving potential of ade-

quate tyres. With today’s technology, it is pos-

sible to measure accurately the amount of fuel

an engine uses over a period of time, allowing

for programmes to be set up to reward drivers

for good fuel efficiency (see figure 6).

Fuel efficient truck tyresGoodyear’s modern truck and bus tyres are

developed to provide optimum fuel efficiency.

Most of the gains in fuel efficiency can be

obtained from the crown area of the tyre

(tread compound, tread design and/or the tread

depth, belt package). The crown area contrib-

utes about 75% of the tyre rolling resistance,

sidewall and bead areas for about 25%. This is

also why using the optimum inflation pressure is

very important: it makes the tread area deform

just enough to carry the load and avoids unnec-

essary tread movement generating heat, and

consequently rolling resistance (see figure 7).

General considerationsIn addition to the recommended use of spe-

cific ‘fuel-efficient’ tyres, here are a few general

comments concerning factors affecting tyre

rolling resistance:

• Rib type tyres are better on rolling resist-

ance than block type; this is mainly due to

less movement of the tread in the contact

patch area.

• Low aspect ratio tyres are stiffer, allowing

for less flexing under load, so they typically

have lower rolling resistance compared to

high aspect ratio tyres.

• Worn tyres have less rolling resistance than

new tyres: as a truck tyre wears down, the

tread pattern stiffens, which leads to less

flexing/deformation in the tread area.

The use of fuel-efficient tyres on all axle posi-

tions can make a significant difference in fuel

consumption. A reduction of 10% of rolling

resistance on a complete vehicle results in

approximately 3% reduced fuel consumption

(approximately 0.9 ℓ/100 km on a vehicle that

consumes 30 ℓ/100 km).

10% tyre rolling resistance decrease (all

axles) = 3% fuel economy

ExampleA standard 40 t truck, with average fuel con-

sumption of 30 ℓs/100 km, yearly mileage of

150 000 km, fuel price €1/ℓ, equipped with

‘standard’ tyres:

• Yearly fuel cost: 1 500 (100 km) x 30 ℓ/100 km

x €1 = €45 000

• The same truck equipped with ‘fuel-efficient’

tyres (10% reduced rolling resistance)

• Yearly fuel cost: 1 500 (100 km) x 29.1 ℓ/100

km x €1 = €43 650

• Potential saving: €1 350 per year per truck.

SummaryWe cannot influence road conditions, but the

use of low rolling resistance, fuel-efficient

tyres, in combination with good vehicle and

tyre maintenance, as well as adequate driv-

ing style, allows fleets to minimise truck fuel

consumption compared to with the use of

‘standard tyres’ on the same vehicles or same

operations.

With today’s fluctuating fuel prices, as well

as more and more restrictive emission legisla-

tions, fuel consumption is a major economical

and ecological factor in transport operations.

Goodyear’s modern, fuel-efficient truck and

bus tyres provide an ideal option to:

• maximise fleet efficiency

• minimise cost per kilometre

• reduce CO2 emissions.

Acknowledgements: Goodyear Tyre & Rubber

Holdings (Pty) Ltd

FIGURE 4

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 6

FIGURE 7

MOTOR SHOW

Johannesburg International Motor Show Technology advances

in the global truck market

In any discussion on the current state of

the art in vehicle technology, there is little

differentiation between its relevance to

cars, trucks and buses, although the taking up

of new technology can vary quite substantially

between the three vehicle categories. This is

driven mainly by economic imperatives, and

when a measurable benefit from change can

be reflected in reduced operational costs, the

commercial side of the business is sure to be

quicker off the mark.

So, the full gambit of alternative fuel internal

combustion engines, hybrid drivelines, and all-

electric vehicles is well-represented in the truck

manufacturing industry, although most of these

have tended to find early acceptance in shorter-

distance operations such as urban delivery and

refuse collection. Some of this technology was

on display at the Johannesburg Truck & Bus

Show at Expo Centre in October.

Volvo Trucks, however, recently launched an

extended range version of its FM model, which

runs on a variable combination of diesel fuel

and up to 75% methane, with a potential

operating range of 500 km, while

grossing 40 t.

(about R10.86 billion) to develop, and pro-

vides an excellent example of current industry

design philosophy, as the following features

clearly illustrate.

Power for the new Actros is provided by the

first European application of Daimler’s global

Heavy Duty Engine Platform family, which has

been progressively rolled out since 2007. This

12.8 ℓ diesel is designated OM 471 and is con-

figured with six cylinders in line, representing

a significant departure from Mercedes’ recent

use of Vee-format engines in its most powerful

road trucks.

It also sports an amplified common-rail

X-PULSE multiple event fuel injection sys-

tem, synthetic sump, compacted graphite

one-piece cylinder head, double overhead

1 2 3

4

This development creates greater potential

to use gas-fuelled trucks in heavy long-haul

operations than has previously been the case.

Compared with conventional gas-powered

spark ignition engines, Volvo claims that this

technology is 30 to 40% more efficient, and

uses 25% less fuel. The methane component

can be made up of either biogas or liquefied

natural gas.

However, advancing technology is not limited

to radical changes in propulsion systems.

State-of-the-art trucks incorporate a great deal

of safety and convenience technology, while

developments in conventional diesel engine

and transmission designs are producing

unprecedented levels of fuel efficiency, clean

emissions and productivity.

Mercedes-Benz’ new Actros flagship,

announced in June, cost more than €1 billion

1 FAW 2 DAF 3 Hino 4 MAN

32 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

5 6

7

8

9

10

5 Hyundai 6 Power Star 7 Mitsubishi8 TATA 9 UD 10 Scania

optimised, although some will be seen as

logical developments of aggregates used in

earlier models.

The new Actros has been subjected to five

years and around 20 million kilometres of ‘real-

world’ testing, in areas as diverse as the Arctic

Circle and South Africa. The design life of the

engine before major overhaul has been set at

1.2 million kilometres.

in G211 or G281 versions. This has permitted

the use of a steering-column-mounted trans-

mission control stalk, providing unimpeded

cross-cab movement and removing the need

for any holes in the cab floor for gear linkages

or cables, which assists with cab insulation

from heat and noise.

The Powershift gearbox now incorporates

a crawler function, enabling slow-speed

manoeuvring without accelerator inputs, and

is available with various optimised software

programmes to suit differing application

profiles.

Front uspension options are steel or air,

while the Mercedes-Benz HL6 hypoid drive

rear axle is air suspended. The optional three-

stage engine brake delivers 400 kW (544 hp)

of retardation, while an optional water second-

ary retarder can provide an additional 750 kW

of braking force. The European market Actros

is available in 4x2 and 6x2 versions, with the

non-driven rear axle positioned either ahead

of or behind the drive axle. Available fuel tank

capacities range from 290 to 1 300 ℓ.While this new Actros is state of the art

in every way imaginable, it does present

as a less radical step forward than did the

original bearer of the name back in 1996. The

first Actros was greatly admired, but suffered

some early marketing setbacks because of its

advanced specification, and Daimler will have

been careful not to repeat that situati on.

Despite the carryover

name, the manufacturer

insists that this is a clean-

sheet design, with every

feature and component

camshafts, four valves per cylinder, three-

stage 400 kW (544 hp) exhaust brake, asym-

metric fixed-geometry turbocharger and twin-

cylinder air compressor. Euro 6 compliance,

compulsory after January 2013, is achieved

through a combination of cooled exhaust gas

recirculation, particulate filter and urea-based

selective catalytic reduction.

Mercedes says that more than 2 600 hours

of wind tunnel development have gone into the

new Actros design, and that this has contrib-

uted significantly to improved fuel economy

outcomes. Intended exclusively for line-haul

operation, the new Actros offers no less than

seven cab configurations.

Five of these feature a completely flat floor to

facilitate crew movement within the cab, while

those with an engine ‘tunnel’ only have a nomi-

nal 170 mm of intrusion. The fully galvanised

cab is 2.3 m in length and options include four

roof and two width profiles, with the range-

topping GigaSpace version offering an internal

volume of 11.6 m³ and 2.13 m of headroom,

within an overall height of almost 4 m.

The other cab configurations are labelled

ClassicSpace, StreamSpace and BigSpace,

while a massage function will be available on

Mercedes’ in-house-developed driver’s seat

from 2012. The cab is fully aerodynamic

and the standard rooftop deflectors can be

adjusted to suit bodies and trailers of up to 4.6

m in overall height. The air management sys-

tem also controls the airflow under the vehicle,

while the wheel arches have been designed to

suppress spray and reduce wind resistance.

Driver assistance features include the new,

unique Proximity Control Assist system to

take the irritation out of continuous starting

and stopping in traffic jams, adaptive cruise

control, Lane Keeping Assist, Stability Control

Assist and Active Brake Assist. Crew com-

fort is enhanced through air conditioning,

automatic climate control and auxiliary air

conditioning.

Because of its defined long-distance mission,

it comes as no surprise that the new Actros

is only available with Mercedes’ Powershift

12-speed direct-top automated transmission,

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 33

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TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 35

Gone green with speed

Some just talk while others get on and do. This is the story of one that does. By Tony Stone

than petrol or diesel. According to

the US Environmental Protection

Agency, CNG can reduce carbon-

monoxide emissions by 90 to 97% and nitro-

gen-oxide emissions by 35 to 60% when

compared with petrol and/or diesel. CNG can

also potentially reduce non-methane hydrocar-

bon emissions by 50 to 75%, while producing

fewer carcinogenic pollutants and little or no

particulate matter.

And, the cherry on the top is that CNG is

cheaper to buy than petrol or diesel.

One 2007 study in the United States found

that natural gas deposits are sufficient to sup-

ply 118 years’ of U.S. demand at 2007 levels.

Natural gas is similarly abundant around the

world. Essentially, it is as abundant as oil was

50 years ago, primarily because it has not yet

been exploited on a large scale. Such abun-

dance means that it is likely to cost much

less than oil.

“The NGV industry is mature and commer-

cially viable in many countries. More than

50 vehicle manufacturers are now produc-

ing factory-built, natural gas vehicles,” says

the International Association of Natural Gas

Vehicles’ secretary-general, Dr Garth Harris.”

Seems like it is the way to go.

Existing petrol or diesel engines may be converted to use CNG or LPG

PRODUCT NEWS

DHL, an international courier compa-

ny, recently opened the doors of its

new logistics facility in Midrand. On

the face of it there was nothing too significant

about this event other than appreciating that

it will enable them to achieve greater levels

of efficiency which, no doubt in the courier

business, is all important. However, after lis-

tening to their MD, Michael Druce, say a few

words, it became clear that they had in fact

achieved somewhat more than the obvious

process efficiencies of quicker turnaround

times. Their fleet of 15 VW Caddy panel vans

had been converted to run on either petrol or

compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alterna-

tive to petrol. And, to alternate between the

two fuels, all that is necessary is a flick of

a switch.

Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) that use com-

pressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natu-

ral gas (LNG), as a clean alternative to tra-

ditional fossil fuels are not new. Worldwide,

there were 12.7 million NGVs by the end of

2010.

Existing petrol or diesel engines may be

converted to use of CNG or LPG. An increas-

ing number of vehicles worldwide are

being manufactured to run on CNG,

including some of the major vehicle

brands – VW being one.

As a leading British motor group

says, there’s not much the Caddy can’t

shift. The powerful 104PS TDI PD

engine, with 250 Nm of torque, is

designed to take the strain and

get things moving. So you can

benefit from

the Caddy

van’s gen-

erous 724 kg

payload, or its

trailer weight of

up to 1 425 kg. Even

when fully loaded, the

Caddy is well balanced and

never feels out of control.

With front and rear anti-roll bars, supple

suspension and car-like handling, the Caddy

takes every road surface in its stride, ensur-

ing that both load and driver always arrive

safely. The Caddy is designed to more

than measure up to your expectations.

Packed with practicality, the load

compartment combines versatile

access with masses of load space.

In line with DHL’s target to

improve its carbon effi-

ciency by 30%, by 2020,

the company has cho-

sen to go the VW

Caddy, CNG route.

It is expected that

their fleet of NGVs

will reduce carbon

emissions by at

least 30 to 35%,

perhaps more.

CNG is much

c l e a n e r- b u r n i n g

Michael Druce, CEO, DHL

Specifications• SAE viscosity grade: 5W-30 Approvals• ACEA: E6 and E7• Cummins: CES 20077• MAN: M3477• Mercedes Benz: Approval 228.51

Tough molecules protect engineWith the effects of global warming ever more present, energy saving and emission reductions are hot topics. Increasingly, truckers are being drawn into the science of fuel and lubricants. But, there’s another justification – profit.

PRODUCT NEWS

Fuel is a huge input cost for truck-

ers, and because of this they have

to look very carefully at minimising

fuel and maintenance costs per

kilometer travelled. To do this,

they need to consider a number

of factors. Driver behaviour is

one, the condition of road infra-

structure is another, and climate

is an all-important factor. But,

the heart of the matter is the

truck’s engine. Precision engi-

neered, the engine will deliver

against expectation if it is well

maintained and if the right fuel

and lubricants are used. This

‘potjie’ brew demands that truck-

ers be a little more scientific.

LubricantsA heavy-duty diesel engine oil,

to lubricate the engine, needs

to work relentlessly in three

critical areas:

• Acid control – well-proven perfor-

mance additives help to protect

against corrosion from acids formed as fuel

burns.

• Deposit control – helps to keep the engine

clean for consistent performance and long

life.

• Wear control – keeps moving metal engine

surfaces apart for long engine life.

This requires a lubricant that meets the physi-

cal and chemical needs of an engine under

ever-changing conditions, no matter how hot,

cold, steep, dusty, muddy or extended a

trucker’s operations may be.

How does it do this?A well-constituted lubricant will con-

tribute to the efficient operations of

an engine by preventing hot spots,

which typically form when a poorly-

constituted lubricant breaks down.

Shell’s Rimula R6 LME has special

molecules that resist compression

and keep moving parts separated,

particularly in highly stressed areas of the

engine, and thereby reduce wear. This in turn

helps to control emissions and extend oil

drainage intervals, which results in less waste

oil and lowers fuel usage.

Low emissions - Emission control is not only

important to ensure that your vehicle complies

with legislative requirements, it also ensures

that your engine runs efficiently. For exam-

ple, blocked diesel particulate filters (DPF)

can actually increase fuel consumption. Shell

Rimula R6 LME is formulated to reduce levels

of ash and sulphur to help maintain the effi-

ciency of the latest, and future, engine tech-

nologies such as Euro 4 and 5 engines and

the coming introduction of the Euro 6 engine.

Mercedes-Benz, MAN and other original

Developed in close co-operation with leading engine and vehicle

manufacturers

equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have tested

Shell Rimula R6 LME for reduced sulphur and

phosphorus content and have given their nod

of approval.

Energy savings - The fuel con-

sumption of a vehicle is a signifi-

cant business input cost. Shell, in

developing its Rimula R6 LME

in close co-operation with lead-

ing engine and vehicle makers,

find that it not only delivers fuel

economy benefits, but also meets

the durability and performance

demands of the latest low-emis-

sions equipment. In trials carried

out on a fleet of trucks operating

for a leading UK supermarket,

customers confirmed that Shell

Rimula R6 LME realised up to

2.0% fuel savings over a 100 000

km oil drain interval, compared

with a typical 10W-40 oil.

Maintenance savings - Shell

Rimula R6 LME was developed in

conjunction with leading engine

makers and delivers exception-

al piston cleanliness in the latest engines.

Approved for long-drain application by

Mercedes-Benz and others, Shell Rimula R6

LME exceeded the piston cleanliness of the

reference oil by 25% in the MB OM501 engine

test. It has been tested to assist in achieving

long engine life and protection throughout

the oil maintenance interval. It also greatly

reduces ‘SAPS’ for enhanced catalyst/filter

compatibility when comparing OEM limits and

other competitors.

So, if you are a trucker on highway or in

heavy-duty applications, with fleets of varied

engine technology ranging between Euro 2,

3, 4 and 5 engine types, and for a wide range

of trucking and public transportation applica-

tions in modern, low-emission vehicles from

Mercedes-Benz, MAN, DAF, SCANIA and oth-

ers, then Shell Rimula R6 LME exceeds the

performance requirements of industry specifi-

cations such as ACEA E6 and E7, and is ideal

for vehicles fitted with DPFs.

36 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

PRODUCT NEWS

New ‘Swingbin’ design

Creativity and innovation are key attrib-

utes that infuse the value-add culture

at Top Trailers, a proudly South African

Get clever and conserve your fuel!

With petrol prices rising and October having been Transport

Month, now is the time to start conserving fuel. From the com-

mercial trucker trying to transport his load across the country to

the everyday motorist trying to get to work in the 21st century, we rely on

oil (petrol) for every aspect of transportation.

Brendan Horan, general sales and marketing manager: MiX Telematics,

says there are a number of simple things every motorist can employ to

conserve fuel. “It is in everyone’s interests to conserve our limited fuel sup-

ply and I would like to encourage motorists to adopt driving measures that

minimise fuel consumption,” says Horan.

The latest measurements confirm that the world’s oil and natural gas

supplies are running out more quickly than expected and it is predicted that

sometime between 2010 and 2020 the world’s supply of oil and gas will

fall below the level required to meet international demand, reaffirming its

global status as ‘black gold’. With this in mind, and

the ever-rising cost of petrol making it increas-

ingly difficult for the average consumer to

tighten belts and cut costs, “fuel-saving

measures could be our only option,” says

Horan. Horan offers the following top 10

fuel-saving tips for motorists:

• Change gears efficiently: Move up to

the highest gear as soon as appropri-

ate. When you drive slowly in a higher

gear, you’ll burn less fuel.

• Drive smoothly: Don’t drive

aggressively and avoid hard acceleration. You’ll burn up to a third less

fuel if you drive smoothly.

• Avoid sudden braking: Keep a good distance from the car in front of

you and avoid braking too hard as this will use more fuel.

• Make sure your tyres are properly inflated: Check your tyres regularly

and ensure that they are correctly inflated.

• Avoid over-revving your car: Don’t over-rev when you’re pulling away

or accelerating. Never ‘redline’ the rev counter.

• Avoid carrying excess weight: Empty your boot out now and again

and clear your car of unnecessary items.

• Switch off your engine when it’s not in use: Avoid excess idling – it

burns fuel unnecessarily. Turn the engine off until you need it again.

• Use air conditioning sparingly: Air conditioning puts extra strain on

your engine and can increase your fuel consumption by 8%. Rather use

your car’s internal ventilation system

where possible.

• Keep your engine well tuned and serviced: Service

your car regularly – a poorly maintained engine with

dirty spark plugs can increase your fuel con-

sumption by up to 50%.

• Avoid high speeds: High speed equals

more wind resistance equals greater fuel

consumption. Keep it slow.

“If we all work together and do our bit to

drive with fuel conservation in mind, per-

haps the next petrol hike or the next strike

will have far less of an impact,” con-

cludes Horan.

company that exhibited its newly designed side

tipper at the Johannesburg International Motor

Show in October this year. The company’s

motto, ‘The sky’s NOT the limit’, prompted

MD, Louis van den Berg, to partner with Johan

Kotze on his revolutionary concept for an inter-

link side tipper known as the Swingbin.

This new technology trailer has been added

to the existing side tipper link range and has

undergone stringent testing. The prototype

model performed exceptionally well under all

conditions and applications. The major differ-

ence between the traditional side tipper and

the Swingbin lies in the design and mechani-

cal operation of the bin. The designers of the

Swingbin claim it has many benefits, including:

• It tips at a third of the normal hydraulic pres-

sure.

• The floor is a separate part that can be

replaced, making relining of the bin less

expensive.

• The bin rotates only 50 degrees, compared

to the 135 degrees of a traditional side tip-

per.

• It is not limited to a 50 m3 load capacity.

• The Swingbin can be mounted on a standard

side tipper chassis.

• The existing hydraulic cylinders can be used

when doing the conversion.

It's not the car that is important, but how smartly you drive

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 37

The Ford Kuga is a five-seater cross-

over vehicle that offers an elevated

seating position, a versatile interior,

dynamic on- and off-road ability and striking

styling. With its intelligent all-wheel drive sys-

tem, the Kuga is perfectly suited to changes

in road conditions. Traction is maintained by

automatically applying power to the wheels

that need it most, ensuring that you stay in

control no matter what the road throws at you.

An ingenious split rear tailgate means there

are two ways you can access the rear, depend-

ing on what you want to load or unload. If you

have something small to pop in the back or

you are in a restricted area you can simply

open the upper section of the tailgate.

When transporting something bigger, you

can open the tailgate fully. In addition, the floor

can fold completely flat, ensuring maximum

load space.

The Kuga conveys a sense of energy in

motion through Ford’s Kinetic Design.

Distinctive headlights, a contoured bonnet and

a large trapezoid grille create a powerful, icon-

ic profile that sets it apart. The pronounced

wheel arches, stylish air vents and muscular

shoulder line provide an energetic stance. The

sporty off-road look continues with the Kuga’s

front and rear bumpers, as well as standard

twin exhausts.

PRODUCT NEWS

New FAW at Truck & Bus Show

The new Ford Kuga The new Ford Kuga

The all new Ford Kuga

Chinese truck maker, First Auto Works

(FAW), previewed its new J6 truck-

tractor at the Johannesburg Truck &

Bus Show, which ran concurrently with the 2011

Johannesburg International Motor Show at the

NASREC.

The FAW J6 will officially be launched onto the

local market in the first quarter of 2012 and the

company believes the vehicle, which will com-

pete in the extra-heavy segment of the market,

will revolutionise the long-haul trucking segment

in South Africa while increasing FAW’s footprint

on the African continent.

FAW has a long history going back to 1953 and

is now one of the largest truck and bus makers in

the world, with 133 000 employees.

It already exports to more than 70 countries,

with its South African operation having been

established in 1993. The company says it is

investing R700 million in a new production plant

in the Eastern Cape, where construction is due to

start before the end of 2011.

Its current range of trucks, from a payload of

4.5 to 16 t, is assembled at a plant in Spartan,

Gauteng. The new facility will be used as an export

base for shipping trucks into Africa. This new

development will go hand in hand with the expan-

sion of the dealer network, while other products

are currently being tested to ascertain

their suitability for introduction to African

markets. The new 6x4 FAW

38 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

Road safety rules should be hotwired into everyone's thinking

TWA 11 & 12 | 2011 – 39

Pedestrian attitudesIf you can drive in Johannesburg, you can drive anywhere. Then again, that’s what every city says. But, in South Africa, dodging taxis and pedestrians is a daily car, truck or bus driver’s challenge.

Whether you live in the city or in a

rural area, what should be drummed

into your head are the words 'Look

right, look left and look right again'. These

words should be hotwired into every preschool

learner’s thinking.

Phrases such as 'Never step into a road

unless you plan to cross over at a zebra cross-

ing' and 'Green means GO and red means

STOP!' set the way for safety etiquette when

using the roads as a pedestrian. But, generally

speaking, it seems that people who come from

rural areas, where traffic is at a minimum, don’t

seem to understand the rules of the road or are

not taught these in school. There is a total lack

of understanding of the rule 'Give way to pedes-

trians' as this only applies at zebra crossings

and at street intersections where pedestrian

crossings are clearly marked. It does not mean

that pedestrians can cross roads anywhere

they want to, which they arrogantly do.

We have seen a sudden increase in pedes-

trian-related collisions in the past few weeks

and have attended to 247 pedestrian acci-

dents in the last month. One of the more

recent incidents occurred in Cape Town when

two pedestrians were struck at high speed

while walking next to the N1 highway near

the Okavango off-ramp. One of the men died

at the scene and the other was left with

various injuries.

Paramedics who attended the scene noted

that this specific area is known for high-speed

pedestrian accidents as pedestrians are known

to cross the busy highway at that point. On

the same day, the ER24 Discovery Medicopter

was dispatched to assist with the transporta-

tion of a seriously injured patient who had

sustained broken bones in both of his legs. The

35-year-old male was struck by a vehicle as he

was attempting to cross the R59 highway in

Meyerton, Gauteng.

Most of the fatal pedestrian accidents involve

pedestrians crossing a busy freeway at any

given time during the day. Contributing factors

such as a lack of education and alcohol abuse

may play a role in the large number of pedes-

trian-related vehicle collisions around South

Africa. ER24 would like to advise all pedestrians

and road users on the following precautions

when using the roads around the country:

• Always cross the road at a designated

crossing point such as an elevated freeway

walkway, a zebra or humped pedestrian

crossing or a robot activated crossing.

• Look right, left and right again to ensure

that all traffic has come to a complete stop

before stepping into the road.

• Wear visible or reflective clothing when walk-

ing, jogging or standing next to a road or

freeway.

• Motorists should utilise their headlights even

in daylight to improve visibility of pedestri-

ans, also giving pedestrians a better chance

of seeing a vehicle that may be approaching.

• Drivers should pay attention to their sur-

roundings and be pre-emptive to pedestri-

ans walking next to or on the roads.

As December approaches and the tempera-

ture rises, more individuals will be seen out-

side enjoying the weather. Slippers will be

swapped for running shoes and boots will be

swapped for flip-flops as joggers and beach-

goers enjoy the great outdoors. Drivers and

pedestrians should be mindful of one another

as an unexpected run-in may have devastating

consequences.

ROAD SAFETY

40 – TWA 11 & 12 | 2011

THE TAIL END

With only 22 cars per 1 000 peo-

ple, China is the world’s largest

auto market. In all, it has 62 million

registered passenger vehicles, and by 2020

this is expected to exceed 200 million. Of its

annual motor vehicle production, 56% com-

prises international brands such as GM, VW,

Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Volvo,

PSA and Toyota. The balance of 44% is its own

local brands such as

BYD, Lifan, Chang’an,

Geely, Cherry, Haifel,

Jainghuai, Great

Wall and Roewe. In

2010, China exported

369 000 units. And

between 2011 and 2030, production is expect-

ed to grow eightfold. Without a doubt, this will

place a huge, added demand on the world’s

already limited oil reserves.

Nonetheless, these numbers provide an

insight as to why China, now the world’s sec-

ond largest economy, so voraciously consumes

Africa’s raw materials. It also exports its own

branded motor vehicles, and other products, to

Africa. South Africa, Africa’s economic engine,

holding position 28 in the world’s 2010 GDP

rankings, pales by comparison. In Q2 2011,

China cooled to a 9.5% GDP growth in real

terms. For the same period, South Africa came

in with a measly 1.3%. What is Interesting

is that China, a poorer country than South

Africa when measured against GDP per capita

by approximately 25%,

provides economic aid

to Africa. However, it is

estimated that by 2016,

China’s GDP per capita

will exceed that of South

Africa.

So, what is it that makes China so success-

ful? To the historian, post 1989’s Tiananmen

Square protests, China reflects the hallmarks of

a well thought out and executed Marshall Plan,

one that is led by a drive to educate its people,

especially in the scientific and technical fields.

China produces 500 000 engineers per annum,

compared to the USA which produces 150 000.

By comparison, and relatively speaking, South

Africa does even come close. Conversely,

Japan, for which the original Marshall Plan was

conceived, and which was rebuilt after World

War II (as was Germany) is hugely successful

– today the second largest producer of motor

vehicles in the world.

Digging a little deeper, if we take a closer look

at Asia and the Far East (India, ASEAN, China,

Japan and South Korea), we will observe that

they have large domestic markets, free trade

agreements and massive intraregional trade.

This, coupled with a competitive spirit, a pro-

ductive workforce and a focus on producing

quality products and services, produces a high

GDP growth rate – consistently.

And, herein is our cautionary warning: if we,

Africa and South Africa, do not beneficiate our

natural resources and compete on an equal

footing with China, we will be surreptitiously

duped, exploited and overrun by them. It’s a

case of Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’, and

China wants not just to survive but to dominate.

That much is very clear.

Beware the dragon

INDEX TO ADVERTISERSEmirates Sky Cargo IFC

Namgola Logistics 33

Caltex Chevron SA 38

Digicell OFC

MTU South Africa IBC

Linde Material Handling 22

OTT Technologies 11

SBV Services 14

Shell Lubricants OBC

Volkswagen South Africa 26

It was Sun Tzu who wrote the classic The Art of War. Applied in the commercial sphere, it's just as effective. By Tony Stone

It’s a case of Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’, and China wants not just to survive but to dominate

2010 Vehicle production volumesRank Country Passenger Commercial Total Population

1 China 13 897 083 4 367 584 18 264 667 1 339 190 0002 Japan 8 307 382 1 318 558 9 625 940 127 380 0005 Korea 3 866 206 405 735 4 271 941 49 773 1457 India 2 814 584 722 199 3 536 783 1 184 639 00012 Thailand 554 367 1 090 126 1 644 513 63 525 06221 Indonesia 496 524 205 984 704 715 234 181 40022 Malaysia 522 568 45 147 567 715 28 306 70028 Taiwan 251 490 51 966 303 456 23 061 68929 Australia 205 334 38 161 243 495 22 421 41724 South Africa 295 394 176 655 472 049 49 991 300

Note: Excludes three- and two-wheeled vehicles Source: International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers

Dancing with the Chinese, Mercedes-Benz

(top left) and GM (top right)

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Shell RimulaENERGISED PROTECTION