16


Issue 8 2020 - Freight Business Journal


One in four vaccines damaged in transit, says expert


A quarter of vaccines are degraded when they reach destination because of temperature excursions, said Renaud Foret, analytics product sales manager at Cole-Parmer. He told an online seminar


organised by the monitoring equipment maker that the problems were the result of poor handling, lack of training and products being stored for long on airport tarmac or similar


too


in appropriate locations. Around 30% of pharma that ended up being scrapped was discarded because of logistics issues, he said. And 20% of products were damaged in transport because of temperature excursions, he said. The global cost of these


incidents was estimated at US$34 billion a year, he added. With the mass airliſt of the Covid


vaccine looming, any losses in the supply chain would put pressure


on stocks, raises costs and thrust extra workload onto already hard- pressed manufacturers, he said. Addressing the same event,


field sales specialist Steven Rowley said correct distribution of the different versions of the vaccine now under development would be critical. Some versions of the Covid vaccine, such as that being developed by Pfizer, would need to be distributed at -70 degrees C; some logistics companies like Fedex and UPS were building ‘freezer farms’ to cope with the demand. However, all versions would have to be kept within a narrow temperature range


to


avoid damage by either heat or frost, he said.


Vaccine deliveries? We could do that, says Oakland boss


One of the slightly unexpected side effects of the Covid crisis in the UK has been an upsurge in home deliveries of temperature controlled ‘meal kits’, says Dean Attwell, chief executive of food logistics company Oakland International. “It’s been a big growth area this year,” he told FBJ. The kits contain exactly the


right ingredients to make all manner of exotic dishes, and have proved a hit with locked down consumers up and down the country, along with deliveries of conventional ‘ready meals’, he says. Demand for the kits surged during the first lockdown and has stayed at high levels ever since, he says. But could Oakland use its to humanity’s


expertise even


greater benefit? In logistics terms, delivering individual chilled or frozen packages of food is not so very different from doing the same thing for Covid vaccines, either to peoples’ homes or to clinics. “We’re set up for 100,000 home deliveries a week,” says Attwell. “And we could deliver vials of vaccines in envelopes. There are means of packing them securely and, yes, you can have temperature-controlled parcels. Aſter all, it’s what we do with meal kits.” Even deep frozen vaccines


could be handled by sealing it into a closed container of dry ice, he adds: “It’s expensive, but doable.” He would be delighted to be given the chance to show what


///COOL CHAIN


Misundersta ndings are key cause of damage, says insurer


Almost 30% of incidents involving temperature- controlled freight were due to miscommunication of operational instructions while 23% were because of temperature setting errors, said freight transport insurer, TT Club. Analysis of claims records


over the past three years also showed that reefer equipment failure or damage accounted for a quarter of the claims. TT continues in its


possible out of trucks.” While finding backloads out of a


net importing country like the UK isn’t easy, Attwell believes that it is possible with joined-up thinking. Such loads would not necessarily have to be food, he says. The smaller UK/Ireland/UK


market is rather better balanced. Oakland International also


Oakland can do, as well as make a major contribution to national well-being. The surge in meal kit deliveries


is one element of a year of sustained growth for Oakland, which operates temperature- controlled facilities in the English Midlands, Dublin and Spain. These are more than warehouses; they carry out a wide range of picking and packing activities for the major food retailers. A second Midlands site at Bardon in Leicestershire is now nearing capacity and thoughts are turning to setting up another UK site next year, says Attwell. This could be in a different part of the country, such as the South-East, North-east or South-west, he says. Finding suitable temperature-


controlled distribution centres is not always easy. They are rarely available in the speculative property market so ambient buildings usually have to be retrofitted with lining and refrigeration equipment.


“However, we do have good property partners and can turn a building around in about 12 weeks,” Attwell explains. Oakland’s activities are


also quite labour-intensive compared with most other types of distribution centres, so need plenty of staff welfare facilities. Recruiting staff can still sometimes be tricky,


offers some specialist services to its clients. It is a founder member of the Customs Clearance Consortium (CCC), a joint venture by the Oakland Invicta arm of food logistics company Oakland International and Robert Hardy, who formerly worked for Dover customs clearance agent, Motis. It aims to provide a solution for logistics companies need to get goods customs-cleared aſter the UK leaves the European Union and cope with the expected five- fold increase in declarations. CCC, which has just under


despite


rising unemployment levels, he adds. Oakland is meanwhile


pursuing a policy of building up its own domestic haulage fleet rather than relying exclusively on subcontractors, in order to give itself more control of its own destiny. It uses a lot of international


transport too, but this is generally provided by hauliers working for the supplier in Europe. However: “We are exploring doing more with back loads, in order to reduce road miles. With Brexit looming, and possible delays at ports, it makes sense to get as much use as


30 company members and a headquarters in Worksop, has now recruited 75 staff. As well as managing clearances between the UK and European Union, it will also handle clearances to and from Northern Ireland as part of the UK Government’s Trader Support Scheme – although at the time of writing in mid-November, it was by no means clear what the requirements would be.


attempts to minimise losses for both its Members and all those involved in the cool supply chain with guidance documents such as StopLoss - Temperature Controlled Cargo, and increasingly via


online webinars. At a


recent forum (https://vimeo. com/468481894) TT Club loss prevention managing director Mike Yarwood, his members blamed communications errors “with ambiguous or incorrect instructions


Attwell sees CCC as an


investment for the future, able to handle around 50,000 clearances a day. Oakland International also


offers a Distressed Loads service, which deals with the aſtermath of clandestine immigrants being discovered inside trailers arriving in the UK from the Continent. Launched in 2002, it was the


first registered and recognised service for inspecting and sorting consignments where product safety could be affected by clandestine infiltration or other contamination issues, using approved scientific methods.


It


is a BRC accredited and an EHO approved solution for same day or next day treatment of distressed loads.


Demand for the service had


lately reduced, mainly because immigrants


had switched


making the Channel hazardously in small


to


crossing boats


during the summer months, but it will inevitably increase as the winter weather closes in. If trucks are held in queues at Calais, this could also lead to more attempts to break into vehicles, Attwell believes. The service can typically


recover around 80% of affected loads,


safely and hygienically, says Attwell, and reduces food


passed between supply chain stakeholders.” He added: “Clearly a number


of these processes are outwith the control of forwarder, carrier and terminal operator. But as the demand for unitised transport of perishables continues its upward trend, it is vital that the transport links


in the chain become


more informed about all the relevant processes to improve the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders.”


waste and the likelihood of food being diverted to less safe ‘backstreet’ channels. Brand owners and insurers are quite rightly very aware of the potential risks associated with stowaways damaging or contaminating stock in transit, but throwing away the whole consignment and then seeking to claim off insurers has resulted in an ever increasing burden on insurers and hauliers. It also led to significant food waste, which otherwise would be fit for human or animal consumption. Oakland is now increasing


capacity of the distressed load service, laying on additional resources and space at its UK sites in Redditch, Corby, and Bardon to handle an anticipated increase in demand over the coming months. It is also investing in a dedicated facility for distressed load management, which incorporates a CCTV monitored rework area as well as dedicated multi-temperature


chambers


to store work in progress and in- quarantine products. With the onset of Covid-19,


Oakland installed a box sanitising tunnel which offers additional reassurances for brand owners and removes potential secondary risks of pandemic transfer, with instant digital reports ensuring rapid information transfer flows to stakeholders. Oakland’s solution also works with and treats damaged loads, metal contamination, shot loads, temperature


abuse and pest


contamination. It anticipates that Brexit will


have a major impact depending on delays caused at ports which handle UK-bound traffic, and throughout the transition period into 2021 before falling away as borders become more orderly and summer temperatures make the sea crossing more tempting.


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