Transport efficiency
Transport efficiency is a parameter in logistics that is used to describe the fastest and most capacious transport of goods or people with the lowest possible energy consumption .
Efficiency factors
Traditionally, factors such as capacity , transport time and freight costs are used to determine transport efficiency:
“The transport efficiency of a transport system can be read from the effort that has to be made for a given transport task. The transport task is determined by the transport route and the goods to be transported. The effort required for this is described by the factors of time, energy and costs. "
More recent approaches also take into account aspects such as the safety of the goods being transported and the carbon footprint of each individual item or trip.
Advanced approaches
To define and improve transport efficiency, more and more key figures and influencing factors are used today
- 1. Technical influencing factors
- The most important influencing factor is the utilization of the transport containers or vehicles (efficient loading units ); the transport weight is also influenced by loading aids.
- A reduction in the curb weight plays z. B. plays an important role in rail cars , trucks and cars to reduce energy consumption and increase transport capacity. Lightweight construction materials (e.g. aluminum , carbon fiber reinforced plastic , high-strength steels ) reduce the curb weight so that more payload can be transported.
- The air resistance makes up a large part of the energy consumption at higher speeds; therefore, good aerodynamics improve the transport efficiency of the means of transport. In the case of airplanes, the air resistance cannot be reduced at will because Buoyancy is generated. In the area of ship transport, speed is also a major influencing factor.
- Much of the world's transportation uses petroleum fuels as an energy source. That is why the development of more fuel- efficient engines plays an important role in improving transport efficiency (see also energy saving in transport ).
- 2. Environmental aspect
Against the background of a forecast increase in global transport performance (transport volume) due to increasing globalization , sustainability is becoming increasingly important. For example, it is important not only to bring transport to its destination particularly economically, safely, quickly and on time, but also to be environmentally friendly, especially climate-friendly ("Green Transport"). In addition, more ecological vehicles not only reduce the cost of energy required for transport, but also reduce the cost of environmental taxes . Approaches to make better use of the transport infrastructure also have an impact on transport efficiency.
Alternative energy sources reduce the consumption of crude oil and enable almost climate-neutral transport, for example electricity from hydropower , which is fed into the railway electricity network. Some biofuels for cars and commercial vehicles such as BTL ( Biomass-to-Liquid ) also meet this goal.
- 3. Total cost
When considering transport efficiency, other "soft" variables are added in addition to classic factors such as capacities, transport times and freight costs. They play a role in the calculation and comparison of means of transport, routes, etc., and help to avoid unnecessary transport costs: Reliability and flexibility of the means of transport as well as the security that transported goods arrive undamaged at their destination contribute to risks and possible additional costs minimize. From a business point of view, i.e. for transport companies, transport efficiency is synonymous with optimizing overall vehicle costs ( Total Cost of Ownership , TCO).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volker Gollnick: Studies to evaluate the transport efficiency of different modes of transport. Dissertation TU Munich, 2004. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:91-diss2004031618499
- ^ Association of the Automotive Industry: The commercial vehicle - environmentally friendly and efficient. 2nd edition, Frankfurt am Main.
- ↑ VDI Wissensforum 10th Commercial Vehicles Conference May 2009
- ^ Harald Dyckhoff: environmental management. Berlin 2000. Chap. 2
- ^ Hans-Christian Pfohl: Logistics management. 2004