Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Government's road fixing robots ideal 21st century solution says FTA
If you're fed up with delays to deliveries or are responsible for fleets and the equipment they contain that are being damaged by our nation's ever growing legion of potholes, you will no doubt have been heartened by the Government's announcement at the start of this year that it is to invest in the creation of robots to help repair the UK's vast underground pipe network and prevent disruption of roadworks in the future. Malcolm Bingham of the Freight Transport Association, most certainly is.
"FTA is delighted the Government has realised the extent of the disruption caused to road users by unexpected roadworks and taken an innovative approach to combat this serious issue," he says. "Unexpected roadworks are one of the biggest challenges to the logistics industry; they prevent hauliers from operating at maximum efficiency, and ultimately, hinder the growth of the UK economy.
"While the UK logistics sector is judged as eighth in the world in terms of performance - a drop of one place from last year - on close analysis it becomes clear that most of the issues faced by the country's operators are due to poor infrastructure and roadworks. These cause unnecessary delays and force companies to add additional journeys to catch up on jobs. And this extra mileage, emissions and fuel use only add to a fleet operator's bottom line and, inevitably, to the price the customer pays for goods and services.
"The development of these robots is a perfect example of how government should be deploying advanced technology to solve the problems facing the logistics sector, where appropriate, keeping the cost of repairs to a minimum and ensuring that traffic keeps moving while work is undertaken. FTA hopes the robots are successful in their mission and set a precedent for ongoing government innovation and future investment."
7th February 2019