A freight shake-up
Monitoring system has eye on road safety
REAL-TIME monitoring of freight movement using a graphene sensing system made in Geelong could lead to increased road safety.
Leading Melbourne transport and logistics company MTAW Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Imagine Intelligent Materials to develop cargo sensing for the next generation of trucks.
Under the agreement, it will provide a truck to use Imagine’s sensing surfaces in the first application of a product that has potential for use worldwide in the trucking industry.
The Imagine system has been developed to measure and report on load rate, unload times and wait times spent in the warehouse or terminal, and to monitor for theft, by providing reports on total weight, changes over time and variations in weight distribution.
MTAW Group managing director Shane Barry said if Imagine’s technology helped it become a leader in chain of responsibility audit practices, it could be a major differentiator for the Laverton-based company.
“Real-time monitoring of freight movement as well as weight changes could well take chain of responsibility reporting to the next level and, of course, that also means more safety,” he said.
“Being able to deliver on these targets is crucial to operating in this country and everywhere else, too.
“Cost is important but safety trumps cost every time.
“Our key customers are global companies dealing with bulk goods and they have stringent internal reporting requirements to their shareholders, particularly those that are headquartered in the EU.”
Chain of Responsibility is a concept meaning anybody in the supply chain interactions with road transport can be held responsible for breaches of road laws.
Imagine Intelligent Materials president Jaakko Kaidesoja said he had an understanding of the challenges faced by logistics operators after running logistics for a major trucking operator in Finland.
“Being able to develop a solution in partnership with an operator is critical because you never know as much as your customer about their challenges,” Mr Kaidesoja said.
“This relationship will enable Imagine to fast track solutions development.”