< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.net IT AND COMMUNICATIONS operations by three to four years in the wake of the pandemic. As for the fear of not being able to understand and operate modern technologies – everybody can be taught new skills. Often, when these systems are installed, their use will be demonstrated, while training sessions can be booked for the whole team to take part in. With any transformational action undertaken within a business – be that organisational, management or cultural – digital transformation first needs to be defined. Digital won’t mean the same for every company and nor should it. For some, this kind of transformation will simply mean going paperless, to others it will mean utilising big data, while for others it will be about deploying augmented reality or linking up the factory floor with the Internet of Things (IoT). Certain issues, like cybersecurity, should be inherent, but defining your organisation and its digital aims is going to be a critical first step. Does your company want to streamline in-house operations and processes, automate ordering and inventory, create online sales portals, introduce 24/7 customer service provisions etc. Over the last two years, businesses have demonstrated their ability to quickly adapt to supply chain disruptions, radical declines in stock and inventory, and changing customer expectations. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s been a trial by fire and, sadly, many businesses were forced to cease trading and admit defeat. The financial damage wrought by the pandemic will continue for years to come, so doubtless we’ve not seen the last corporate casualties. Nevertheless, for those that have survived, the burden has been eased by utilising IT and telecoms. In some cases, the pandemic was the first instance of companies embracing digital – whether that was launching websites, or, as staff were forced to work from home, utilising remote desktop and video conferencing technologies. Other examples of digital transformation since the pandemic include furthering the reach of customer support with the use of tools like chatbots, which take the pressure off customer service helplines and free up staff for other tasks, and increasing migration of assets in the cloud, among other things. Our region continues to enjoy roll out of full fibre broadband, which is proving especially advantageous 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:06 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 31 IT AND COMMUNICATIONS for regional areas where businesses have historically suffered with patchy, unreliable internet, but without businesses also investing in digital technology, modern IT equipment and robust cybersecurity measures, they’re not going to fully benefit from the nation’s ever increasing internet infrastructure. Despite the emphasis on computers and mobile devices thus far in this article, companies can’t afford to shirk their telecoms systems. Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) was formally standardised in 1988 and, more than thirty years later, there are still more than one million businesses with an ISDN connection in the UK. This despite the fact that, back in 2017, BT announced that it was switching off its ISDN and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) in 2025 in favour of internet protocol (IP) voice services. Businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive will need to move towards these more modern telecoms systems. With that in mind, businesses will need out for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking which is one of the protocols you can use for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. Essentially, it’s similar to how HTTP functions with internet pages, and provides a way to convert voice signals into data that can be decoded by devices used by a caller. Switching to a modern telecom system has a myriad of benefits for businesses, including better customer service which, at a time when customer loyalty doesn’t hold the same sway it used to – will prove increasingly valuable in the months and years to come. Moreover, modern systems can lead to greater efficiencies and budget savings – for example, expensive businesses trips can be replaced by video conferencing – as well as greater collaboration and teamwork all round. On top of the efficiency and security gains afforded by digital communications technologies, they also offer more flexibility, letting businesses communicate better both internally and externally. Not enough is said on the important efficiency gains that can be made with effective, streamlined communications technologies. Not only does it empower businesses but helps to future proof them. At a time when economic uncertainty is rife, that’s incredibly valuable indeed. © stock.adobe.com/Gorodenkof f 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:06 Page 432 Business Link www.blmforum.net LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT The logistics and transport industry is facing a plethora of challenges, from the driver shortage to reducing emissions. Seeking sustainability and solving driver shortages Seeking sustainability and solving driver shortages 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:08 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 33 LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are attractive locations for the logistics industry, and a key gateway to the UK. With great connectivity, the counties are home to major ports - with the Humber Ports bolstered by the new Freeport Status - strong road and rail links, and a solid labour force. As the pandemic effects consumer habits, the local logistics property market is flourishing, yet the wider logistics industry is facing numerous challenges. As Brexit and COVID-19 continue to cause complications, the driver shortage is one such well-reported problem, with Logistics UK noting in October that 96% of UK logistics businesses were pinpointing issues recruiting HGV drivers, and with the average age of HGV drivers growing, from a current average of 56, there is a clear need to encourage younger people into the sector, to provide incentives with steps already being taken to increase pay and introduce apprenticeship and upskilling schemes. With demand for collections and deliveries booming this will be crucial. To help attract new individuals into the workforce the government recently revealed free, flexible, intensive HGV Skills Bootcamps, alongside increasing driver testing throughput. Then there is the requirement to improve the sustainability of the logistics industry, which is gaining more focus as the country looks to achieve its Net Zero ambitions. Solutions range from using electric modes of transport, low carbon fuels and technologies, embarking on a modal shift, and software solutions with emissions calculators, to constructing greener warehouses and distribution centres with electric vehicle (EV) charging points, as well as using renewable energy sources. At our ports action is being taken to utilise and generate renewable electricity through wind and solar (one of the UK’s largest commercial rooftop solar arrays is at the Port of Hull) and invest in EVs and programmes to promote energy efficiency including installation of low- energy LED lighting. Yorkshire’s ports stand to offer reduced carbon emissions with a comparative study by the University of Hull Logistics Institute indicating that moving just 10% of cargo from southern ports to the Humber could save some 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, by importing goods via ports closer to their final destination. Meanwhile our region also has a role to play in boosting the sustainability of rail freight with the University of Hull 34 © stock.adobe.com/malp 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:08 Page 234 Business Link www.blmforum.net LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT Logistics Institute in 2021 being awarded funding by the Department for Transport (DfT), in partnership with Innovate UK, for a novel Rail freight Energy & Emissions Calculator (REEC) that will be deployed on the Institute’s existing NR+ platform for rail freight planning. REEC will enable rail freight operators to calculate accurate emissions on the fly, driving greater efficiencies and moving the rail industry – already considered the greenest mode of ground-freight transport – a step closer to Net Zero. UK 2050 net carbon-neutral and DfT 2040 “no diesel-only” targets are challenging for the rail industry, with the issue more critical for Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) where a legacy fleet of mainly diesel locomotives will be operational for the next two decades and amplified by only 44% of the GB network being electrified. The calculator will bring a number of benefits to rail and freight operating companies, like being able to look up the precise emissions for their routes and determine the effects on modal shift. In addition Network Rail can use REEC to analyse the impact of delivering more efficient electrification strategies for freight trains. By including energy and emissions in freight bids, Network Rail planners can start incorporating emissions optimisation in timetabling and make informed decisions on the impact of the emissions of, for example, delayed or longer freight trains. In a setback however for the region’s rail freight and transport logistics, the government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), announced in November, removed the proposed eastern leg of HS2 (from the East Midlands to Leeds), putting a stop to an opportunity to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of supply chains in the North and Midlands. The new line would have released extra capacity for rail freight services to assist in connecting industry in the north of England with the rest of the country, though electrification plans in the IRP have been welcomed for progressing decarbonisation. Moreover, use of sustainable vehicles will quickly become more important with an increase in HGV movements predicted and the government’s recent announcement that new, non-zero tailpipe emission HGVs over 26 tonnes will be phased out in 2040, with those under 26 tonnes to be phased out in 2035. EVs have been a central talking point when it comes to bolstering the environmental credentials of logistics and transport, and innovation as well as falling battery costs are boosting opportunities for electric HGVs, while there are plans for an electric motorway with cables to power electric lorries through Lincolnshire, but it is not the only avenue for carbon reduction, with trucks fuelled by compressed natural gas for instance another option. Additionally operators are changing business practices to improve the efficiency of their fleet operations and conducting training to encourage driver behaviours that lower fuel consumption and emissions. There is more to be done however across all transport modes and the entire supply chain. In November Logistics UK launched a route map to decarbonise the £127bn logistics industry, which it said needs to undergo vast transformation for the UK to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. David Wells, the business group’s Chief Executive, said: “Logistics businesses are determined to decarbonise their operations as quickly and as effectively as possible to support the UK’s environmental goals – and those decided on the international stage at COP26 – but the government must provide the policies and infrastructure to make Net Zero emissions by 2050 possible. In The Route to Net Zero: A Manifesto for Logistics, Logistics UK details the measures businesses need from government and other stakeholders to make this deadline a reality. Over the coming months and years, we expect to see vast transformation take place across the logistics industry, as the nature of road, sea, air and rail transport evolves to operate on Zero Carbon.” Advances in digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are offering further methods of making logistics more efficient and sustainable. They allow mistakes to be eliminated and complete visibility of a journey to be provided. Routes and transit methods can be assessed to improve efficiency and carbon emissions, while the Internet of Things (IoT) and its sensors can be used to monitor and collect data on speed, tyre pressure, driver behaviour, et al., which all impact fuel consumption and emissions. All this tech together creates chances for enhanced planning and control, opens up optimisation potential, and is key to setting emission targets by allowing accurate current 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:08 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 35 LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT emissions to be calculated. Real time transport visibility platforms are already becoming standard in the industry and many of these can also be utilised to collect data for sustainability calculations. Opportunities from digitalisation apply throughout a journey, including truck dispatch at a facility - with digitalised processes and intelligent time slot management, truck congestion and waiting times can be reduced and significant CO2 savings made as a result. There are many challenges ahead for logistics and transport, but with innovation and the right government support, the industry will be able to meet skyrocketing demand, talent shortages, and sustainability targets. Whether enough support can be provided however is yet to be seen. © stock.adobe.com/Kirill Gorlov D Davies Turner Celebrating 150 years of pioneering service Your worldwide freight and logistics partner T: 01709 529709 W: www.daviesturner.com E: RotherhamSales@daviesturner.co.uk YEARS 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:08 Page 436 Business Link www.blmforum.net RENEWABLES With concern for the environment and emissions continuing to expand rapidly, renewables are gaining sharper focus as a crucial component for achieving the government’s 2050 carbon net zero target and ten point plan for a green industrial revolution. Reinforcing this, the UK’s biggest ever renewable energy support scheme opened in December. The fourth round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, the renewable energy auction scheme, which aims to secure 12GW of electricity capacity (more renewable capacity than the previous three rounds combined) opened with £285m a year funding for low-carbon technology/building the next generation of green energy projects, moving the country away from fossil fuels - a transition gathering pace. The additional offshore wind capacity resulting from the funding alone could generate enough electricity to power around 8 million homes. The new round is open to a wider number of renewable energy technologies to create a more secure and resilient energy system, with offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, tidal, and floating offshore wind projects, amongst others, eligible to bid for funding in the auction process. Where less than a decade ago more than 40% of the UK’s power was generated by coal, in 2020 it was less than 2%. This has been followed by a boom in renewables project starts in 2021. According to a report from Glenigan, the value of renewable energy projects starting work in 2021 grew by 70%, year-on-year, to be worth £5bn. Moreover, analysis published by RenewableUK shows that major investment announcements totalling over £900m in new factories were made by September 2021 in the UK’s offshore The renewables revolution The renewables revolution In search of a more sustainable future, the transition to renewable energy sources is picking up pace, with fossil fuels being left in the past. 38 Á 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:10 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 37 RENEWABLES © stock.adobe.com/ Ian Dyball 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:10 Page 238 Business Link www.blmforum.net RENEWABLES wind manufacturing sector – the highest annual amount since the industry began in the UK in 2000. Meanwhile the energy sector, at the end of October, committed to investing in and delivering a net zero power system in the 2030s. The sector, through trade association Energy UK, made its pledge in the report ‘Towards Net Zero emissions: the energy industry’s commitment to the climate, customers and jobs’, published the week before COP26 began. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are of course leading locations for the renewables industry, particularly as a host for offshore wind - with one such project, Hornsea Two off the Yorkshire coast, set to be the world’s largest offshore wind power plant - but also solar power and biomass. Indeed in 2021 Molson Coors signed an agreement to use wind power produced in South Yorkshire, and Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) supported the expansion of a Wakefield solar park. Expansion continues in the area to bolster the renewables industry, with GE revealing in March multi- million-pound plans to transform a former steelworks site in Teesside into a high-tech plant producing turbine blades, creating 750 jobs. Subsequently July saw South Korean company SeAH Wind announce a £260m investment over three years in an offshore wind turbine monopile foundation factory at the Able Marine Energy Park on the south bank of the Humber, creating 750 jobs. Furthermore in August Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said that it will be investing £186m in doubling the size of its offshore wind turbine blade factory in Hull, creating 200 jobs, and GRI Renewable Industries unveiled plans to invest £78m in an offshore wind turbine tower factory on the south bank of the Humber creating 260 jobs. Meanwhile the counties are also pushing forward plans to decarbonise industry in the area, specifically the Humber, which is home to energy-intensive industries such as steelworks, oil refineries, chemical processing, and cement production. The Humber cluster’s industrial CO2 emissions are the highest in the 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:10 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 39 RENEWABLES UK – making the region the country’s biggest decarbonisation opportunity. Innovative green energy technologies are set to be used, bioenergy with carbon capture technology scaled up. Seeing this gradually come to fruition, Drax recently announced that it is planning capital investments of around £40m at its North Yorkshire power station during 2022 on the first phase of its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project and ensuring it remains on track to begin delivering vital negative emissions technology in 2027. Concurrently, further innovative, novel forms of clean energy are coming to the fore in the region as government policy looks to end coal-fired power generation in 2024. A site in Goole, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, has the potential to usher in a new era for energy, making the shortlist for what is hoped to be the world’s first prototype fusion energy plant. The site has made it to the final five in a national search for potential locations by the government for alternative energy plants, with the final decision due to be announced in late 2022. The UK government is bidding to be the first to develop a commercial power station that will use the energy produced by fusion reactions to generate electricity. Fusion is said to offer an inherently safe and virtually limitless source of clean electricity by copying the processes that power the sun. The ambitious project – Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production – known as STEP, is being led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs during construction and operations and attract other high-tech industries to its host region, progressing the development of science and technology capabilities locally and nationally. The fusion power station is aimed to be built by 2040. With the Prime Minister committing to decarbonise electricity by 2035, and increasing demand for energy, significant investment and innovation is still needed to develop renewables infrastructure and spur on our journey to Net Zero. © stock.adobe.com/ kishivan 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 08:11 Page 4Next >