CV Focus

CV Focus
CV Focus

Matt Eisenegger interviews leading figures in the commercial vehicles sector. Matt and his guests discuss current issues, future issues, future technologies, and where the industry seems to be going in the short, medium, and long term.

  1. CV Focus episode 19 - Kieran Smith

    11/10/2021

    CV Focus episode 19 - Kieran Smith

    Getting to the bottom of the driver shortage If you only select one podcast episode this year, then this is the one you must to listen to. In a powerful analysis, Kieran Smith, CEO of Driver Require, explains why the current HGV driver shortage has happened, why no-one saw it coming and what should be done to solve it. He describes the current situation like “trying to grab onto a train passing through the platform – it’s just ripped our arms off.” Kieran heads an influential think-tank comprising key people from the e-commerce, grocery, pallet, training, fleet, trade body and statistical analysis sectors, that has produced a comprehensive, thoughtful, detailed report setting out everything you ever needed to know about HGV drivers.. Host Matt Eisenegger asks Kieran: “Have we been carried away on the news hype?” In the most comprehensive, accurate, compelling and fully-validated study of the UK HGV driver market ever produced, the think-tank uses original research and hard facts. It also debunks the distorted views and numbers bandied around over the past weeks and months – such as the impact of Brexit and EU drivers – to uncover the real truth. The results are truly surprising. Kieran then sets out the root of the current problem and why no-one saw it coming. And, the think-tank sets out the short, medium and long-term measures that the industry and government need to take to address the situation - which also draws on best-practice from the EU. https://driverrequire.co.uk/resources/the-answer-to-the-uks-hgv-driver-shortage-updated

    45 min
  2. CV Focus episode 17 - Alan Hunt

    28/06/2021

    CV Focus episode 17 - Alan Hunt

    Intelligence is the difference…  From the outside a trailer looks like a box on wheels; but now technology will tell you everything about it from where it’s going, where it is in real-time, what the temperature is (if it’s refrigerated) and so much more – even when the door was last opened. Alan Hunt, MD at Schmitz Cargobull UK and Ireland explains why the intelligent trailer – such as reporting the brake pad and tyre pressures – is so important, by benefitting operators with reduced downtown and improved productivity. Chatting with Matt Eisenegger, he talks about why – curiously - Schmitz Cargobull wants to see fewer trailers on the road, and how intelligence from local markets is incorporated into its trailer designs. Its technology ranges from fuel efficiency, to telemetry and the running gear. Alan talks about why an integrated trailer makes more sense as it brings everything together in one portal to increase operating efficiency. The system can also recognise ‘smart pallets’ as they are loaded and unloaded from a trailer, removing the burden of keeping track of your loads. Alan also explains how its trailers’ telematics work with the tractor unit – and how it is integrated with all major manufacturers – so that operators can decide what reporting they want, to get the best utilisation from their trailers. Looking to the future, they chat about removing diesel-powered generators for refrigerated trailers with Schmitz Cargobull’s new move to electric-only refrigeration, and how the changes to the market are influencing trailer design.

    27 min
  3. CV Focus episode 16 - John Proctor

    20/04/2021

    CV Focus episode 16 - John Proctor

    It’s the star of the silver screen, from James Bond movies to Top Gear and soaps, yet the Bedfordshire-based test facility is also a top-secret site. John Proctor, Technical and Special Projects Director – UTAC CERAM Millbrook, lifts the lid on what happens at the comprehensive testing facility, comprising laboratories and real-world testing environments. He explains how they test electric vehicle’s batteries to destruction – literally - by setting fire to them, and simulating high-impact collisions. The work to test vehicle emissions – 19,000 large vehicle tests completed and counting – is explored as is the new VTEC2 chamber, designed to deal with the next generation of vehicles, such as electric. They also chat about the developments in autonomous controls, such as emergency braking, and how ‘connected vehicles’ will ‘talk’ to each other and other equipment, such as traffic lights. They conclude by considering the different driving styles needed for electric vans and trucks, and how the facility trains drivers to break their ‘bad habits’. More info about UTAC CERAM Millbrook UTAC CERAM Millbrook is a market-leading group in vehicle testing, type approval and emerging technologies for autonomous, connected and electric vehicles. It provides services and systems to customers in the automotive, transport, tyre, petrochemical and defence industries. The group delivers regulation and homologation support, specialist vehicle conversions and test systems as well as training, consulting, audit and certification, technical inspection, standardisation and events. UTAC CERAM Millbrook operates eight test centres - in France (including the official Euro NCAP facility), the UK (including the 5G-enabled Millbrook Proving Ground), the USA and Finland; it has subsidiaries in Germany, Russia, China and Japan. The group will be opening a proving ground in Morocco in 2021. UTAC CERAM Millbrook employs around ,1280 people across its various locations. In 2019, the group recorded turnover of €173m.

    42 min

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Matt Eisenegger interviews leading figures in the commercial vehicles sector. Matt and his guests discuss current issues, future issues, future technologies, and where the industry seems to be going in the short, medium, and long term.

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