Detailed Design Report Cive1186 grp-15

Detailed Design Report 13/10/2020
Cive1186 – Introduction to Environmental and Sustainable Systems Engineering
Group Project
Detailed Design
October 2020
Michael Palmer - s3779744

Kyle Solomon - s3850919
Zakee Mohamed Hilmi - s3840487
Ali Adnan Zaki Matar - s3849949
Mohammed Abdullah Alsayed - s3789530
Group Number: 15
‘The Future Movement Group’
Detailed Design Report
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to address the main issue of road freight & develop
design criteria for possible solutions to the industries sustainable shortcomings.
Road freight in Australia is an industry that we have relied on since late into the 20 th
Century. All States & Territories in Australia rely on truck-drivers to move goods and
services to & from locations, a strong position being held by diesel and petrol-
powered vehicles. Diesel & Petrol are efficient sources of energy & is commonly
used for long haul travel as it is economically viable, accessible, & serviceable. Many
intertwining factors that are associated with diesel & petrol long haul freighting
includes; negative impacts on the environment due to large quantities of emissions
of gases & particulate matter, high workplace casualty rate, market holdings, high
employment, government investments, & empty & idle trips. Efficient & sustainable
freighting networks have the potential to integrate into Australia’s current freighting
systems to reduce emissions, produce new employment opportunities, reduce road
freight travel accidents, & increase productivity of freighting before resources of fossil
fuels are exhausted. To support the growing need for all industries to be more
sustainable to combat high rates of climate change, differing solutions that are
currently available were analysed & considered in the approach to make road freight
more sustainable in Australia. Rail freight, electric fuelled light rigid transport, liquified
natural gas fuelled heavy rigid transport, & automated upload programs are at the
forefront in Australia’s future freight, & transport industry & are the main points of
interest that were pursued.
Ultimately, the technologies & systems, in conjunction with each other, may produce
a sustainable road freight industry in Australia as determined by the design
objectives. The scope timeline, based off road freights most predominant & pressing
issue of fossil fuel exhaustion, is set at 20 years, for the purpose of constraining
implementation plan limits & design objectives to have effect by the year of 2040.
Through filtering various design options & pathways gained through the coalesced
available technologies and systems, against in-development designs, a comparison
can be evaluated, & preferred design option progression be undertaken within the
limitations of the scope timeline. Analysis of the environmental & socio-economic
benefits & restrictions that development plans entail will further progress into the
possible outcomes that may be achieved in the near future for Australia’s road freight
industry. Establishment of possible future sustainable freighting systems
implemented into the Australian trucking industry, needs to be concise, & to where
the transition will not compromise the design objectives ability to reach optimal levels
of sustainability and the systems longevity as whole. The issues of inefficiencies and
unsustainable practices within Australia’s current road freighting systems is
recommended by our design team to be targeted for solution, for the benefit of
Australia’s environment, financial wellbeing, and social clarity.
List of Abbreviations
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

ALC Australian Logistics Council
AMT Automated Manual Transmission
BITRE Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics
CNG Compressed Natural Gas
EV Electric Vehicle
GDP Gross Domestic Product
FCV Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
LNG Liquified Natural Gas
NHS National Highway System
TKM Tonne kilometre – where one tonne kilometre is equivalent to one tonne
moved one kilometre.
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
GJ Giga Joules
km Kilometres
hr Hour
3
Table of Contents
1 Introduction............................................................................................................8
1.1 Context/Scope.................................................................................................8
1.2 Key Stakeholders............................................................................................9
1.3 Problem Definition...........................................................................................9
2 Design Objectives...............................................................................................10
2.1 Minimization of Freight Transportation Caused Road Incidents...................10
2.2 Minimisation of Environmental Impact..........................................................11
2.3 Improvement of Economic Growth in The Industry.......................................11
2.4 Suitable Transition Procedure.......................................................................13
2.5 Longevity.......................................................................................................13
2.6 Frugality.........................................................................................................14
2.7 Eco-efficiency................................................................................................14
3 Available Sustainable Design Concepts.............................................................15
3.1 Automation....................................................................................................15
3.2 Data/Load Collection and Sharing................................................................18
3.2.1 Overview.................................................................................................18
3.2.2 Case Study – “GreenFox”, Linfox...........................................................18
3.3 Emission friendly fuel sources.......................................................................20
3.4 Online Freelance Freighting Platforms.........................................................21
4 Detailed Design – Data & Load Collection and Sharing Service........................22
4.1 Overview........................................................................................................22
4.2 Data Collection/Sharing.................................................................................22
4.2.1 Main Data Variables of Analytical Focus Through Measuring Devices. 22
4.2.2 Optimization of Vehicle Efficiency..........................................................24
4.2.3 Load Consolidation.................................................................................24
4.2.4 Eco-efficient Practices Within Data Centres...........................................24
4.3 Website..........................................................................................................26
4.4 Mobile Application.........................................................................................27
4.5 Governing Requirements..............................................................................28
4.6 Participant Requirements..............................................................................29
5 Design Deliverables............................................................................................30
5.1 Overall Aim....................................................................................................30
5.2 Vision of Sustainability..................................................................................30
5.3 Performance Indicators.................................................................................30
5.3.1 Minimization of road incidents................................................................30
5.3.2 Minimization of emissions.......................................................................30
5.3.3 Financial considerations.........................................................................31
5.3.4 Frugally Innovative..................................................................................33
5.3.5 Transition Plan Suitability.......................................................................33
5.3.6 Longevity................................................................................................33
5.3.7 Eco-efficiency.........................................................................................34
5.4 Financial Concept..........................................................................................35
5.4.1 Overview.................................................................................................35
5.4.2 Initial Costs.............................................................................................35
5.5 Product Lifecycle Management.....................................................................35
5.6 Risk Management.........................................................................................35
5.7 Project Management.....................................................................................35
5.8 Testing...........................................................................................................35
5.9 Theoretical Long-term Targets......................................................................35
6 Conclusion...........................................................................................................37
6.1 Final Word.....................................................................................................37
6.2 Reflection.......................................................................................................38
7 References..........................................................................................................39
8 Appendix A – Gantt Chart...................................................................................42
9 Appendix B – Website.........................................................................................44
Appendix C – Mobile Application................................................................................45
5
Tables
Table 1: Road deaths by jurisdiction (Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport
Research Economics, 2020)........................................................................................9
Table 2: Costs of road congestion and public transport crowding are
forecasted to double from 2016 to 2031 (Infrastructure Australia, 2019)..............11
Table 3: Candidate technologies for forecasts (Austroads, 2020).......................14
Figures
Figure 1: Energy Intensity Levels During “GreenFox” Program (Linfox, 2014)..16
Figure 2: Projected future freight task, by major transport mode, 2018–2040
(Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2019)......................17
Figure 3: Fatality rates by road transport (Department of Infrastructure and
Regional Development, 2016)....................................................................................18
Figure 4: Federal Government Investment In Rail (Australian Railway Association,
2014)...........................................................................................................................19
Figure 5: Team Gantt Chart.....................................................................................24
7
1 Introduction
1.1 Context/Scope
Road freight in Australia is an industry that reaches nearly all sectors in the
economy. It is vastly diverse in commodities and/or sectors including, & not limited to
construction, wholesale trade, animal & live animals & beverage, retail, & machinery
& manufacturing. Road freight accounts for about 35 per cent of total freight in
Australia [CITATION Bur14 \l 3081 ], with the majority (30 per cent) of freight
tonnages coming from the delivery of crude construction materials (e.g. sand, gravel
& cement) [CITATION Bur19 \l 3081 ].
Road freight transport is the dominant transport system for the Australian non-bulk
market, therefor requiring large numbers of workers, businesses & financial inputs in
the sector. In 2015–2016, the ABS recorded that all transport related sectors
accounted for the employment of around one million persons, & contributed $122.3
billion to the Australian economy, accounting for 7.2 per cent of the period’s
GDP[CITATION ABS18 \l 3081 ]. This indicates the importance of the transport &
freighting industry and that continued financial evolution needs to be considered in
the approach for sustainable freighting systems.
Alike with all areas of industry within the Australian economy, the freighting sector
coincides with relative changes & implementations of upgrades, reforms & tariffs.
Since the establishment of the NHS in the mid 1970’s, transport & freighting in
Australia has seen a rapid increase, then slowing towards a more linear relationship
with time. It is expected that road freight will grow at a slower rate of around two per
cent per annum after 2012 [CITATION Bur19 \l 3081 ]. Future growth of the
freighting transport & logistic services has been calculated by government
departments (e.g. BITRE) & independent researchers alike (e.g. IBISWorld), both
pointing towards Australia (under median condition scenarios of GDP growth,
population & oil prices) being subject to relatively slow positive growth per annum,
similar to today’s growth figures mentioned previously. The kilometres truck drivers
complete are distributed with a strong bias. Freighting transport TKM predominantly
occurs between Australian State & Territories capital cities & regional areas, & inside
capital cities, as road is the main route of transport for Australian consumed and/or
produced commodities. Almost all of transport is completed using heavy vehicles
that make up 95 per cent of Australia’s road freight fleet that weigh 4.5 tonnes or
more, & only occupy less than ten per cent of all total road usage[CITATION Bur14 \l
3081 ]. The dominance of articulated heavy vehicles (Trucks with a primary mover,
towing singular or multiple trailers or containers attached by turntable) illustrates
trends in business & efficiency bias towards these trucks compared to light rigid
vehicles which are vastly outnumbered. Business trends on preferred or more
efficient vehicles is a tying factor to the impact road freight has on the environment.
As climate change rates continue to grow and so does the awareness for the need to
adapt business & everyday concepts, road freight is seen to face a big challenge in
this transition. In 2012, it was recorded that from Australia’s total transport
emissions, 20 per cent was from trucks, outlining the dissimilarity in improvement
of fuel efficiency in vehicles & the development of alternative energy vehicles,
against the growth of the amount of transport activity[CITATION Cli14 \l 3081 ].
Demand for reform and improvements of the road freighting system is increasing in
Australia. Knowledge of fossil fuel exhaustion, high rates of workplace deaths, slow
economic growth & significant emission levels has led to this problem gaining
momentum & requiring detail defined solutions.
1.2 Key Stakeholders
1.3 Problem Definition

Ultimately, the road freight industry in Australia is imperfect, unsustainable and
needs to change to be as progressive as society demands it to be. Greater effort is
required in scoping, problem identifying & problem solving in relation to this issue.
Our role to play in this effort has been collectively decided to produce a design
process in hopes to answer the question – “How might we solve efficiency & safety
issues with Australia’s road freight practices, making it more sustainable?” The main
task of this report is to address this question, with specific relevance to our decided
upon design objectives, determined by research of Australian road freight case
studies, factors, impacts & influences.
9
2 Design Objectives
2.1 Minimization of Freight Transportation Caused Road

Incidents
Road safety in Australia has been a major social issue in the 21 st century, with
specific focus on reducing fatalities in regional and remote areas of Australia. Road
deaths are seen to be decreasing slowly by an average of around three per cent
over the last five years (refer to Table 1). Though this indicates that Australian road
practices are making differences in casualty rates, improvements are still needed to
be able to make road a sustainable practice. Rail freight is seen to be ‘up to nine
times safer than road freight’ (Australian Railway Association 2020, para. 2) and
‘10% of all road crash fatalities in 2018 involved heavy trucks’ (Budget Direct, 2019,
para. 5). This outlines that the necessity that is road freight, is burdening the safety
of the public & freight employees. The design option selected has been dictated by
the design team that it will not hinder & further current improvements towards safe
road travel.
Table 1: Road deaths by jurisdiction [ CITATION Bur20 \l 3081 ]

2.2 Minimisation of Environmental Impact
Road freight is responsible for emitting a large amount of pollutants & the transport
sector is a significant contributor to air pollution at the local, regional & global levels.
Besides air pollution transport gives rise to other environmental problems such as
the uptake and fragmentation of land, noise pollution, generation of waste, and risk
of accidents. Around the world, road transportation emissions contribute to 24 per
cent of the total emission in 2016[ CITATION Wan19 \l 3081 ]. Transportation is
expected to grow faster than any other sector, which poses a major challenge to all
countries around the world to reduce the amount of their emissions as well as
adapting their climate laws to ensure environmentally friendly transport progresses.
Road transport emissions has risen by 44 per cent over two decades starting from
1990 [CITATION Bur09 \l 3081 ].
These environmental disadvantages are prominent & will always heavily on the
sector, but reliance on the road freight industry will continue. The implementation of
the design solution must result in the minimization of the overall environmental
impact for which road freight is guilty of.
2.3 Improvement of Economic Growth in The Industry

Australia contains one of the largest freight network systems in the world, therefore
large challenges pose stresses on the current & future economy. The increasing cost
of fuel prices, exhaustion of fossil fuels, the maintenance of roads & trucks are
issues where new solutions and technologies need to be developed.
21st century consumerism has seen growth since its establishment in Australia and
is expected to continue in growth within our growing ‘gig economy’ which “almost two
thirds of Australians rely on”. [CITATION INC20 \l 3081 ]
Issues currently being faced is the lack of planning to create proper consigned
warehouses/processing facilities for exported/imported goods with easy to access
links for freight transport at docks, terminals. This causes long unnecessary trips &
extended idle time for heavy and light freight vehicles adding extra costs & burdens
the social & environmental aspects of sustainability. Also, this lack of land planning
causes unnecessary freight handling when facilities are at different locations. Other
issues would be the use of small roads or residential streets which need to be used
when there is not appropriate road freight. Congestion has a large impact on the
freight industry and is quite costly on companies and consumers.
As the freight industry is set to double over the next 20 years most congestion of
freight transport occurs on roads which are shared with passenger and commercial
vehicles[CITATION Inf19 \l 3081 ]. With 80-90 per cent of freight being delivered to
city ports and container facilities by road[CITATION Inf19 \l 3081 ], a high level of
congestion is faced by freight coming in and leaving the city.
As shown in Figure 1, Melbourne and Geelong alone incurred around $5 billion in
costs from road congestion in 2016 which is set to almost double by 2031.
These issues indicate the growing need for improvements in Australia’s road
systems and its impacts financially.
11
Table 2: Costs of road congestion and public transport crowding are

forecasted to double from 2016 to 2031 [ CITATION Inf19 \l 3081 ]
2.4 Suitable Transition Procedure
There are over 300 thousand active freight trucks in Australia, and with trucks
costing consistently well over $100,000 it is not reasonable to expect all truck owners
to dispose of their currently used stock and upgrade immediately to more automatic,
and cleaner models [ CITATION Sou15 \l 3081 ].Long term financial, social, and
environmental benefits can only be attained after first overcoming short term
financial burdens. The primary methods used globally to quicken transition are
combinations of financial incentives and legislative bans. Any transition plan in
Australia will account for the vast distances that trucks travel, especially with regards
to routes involving Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
An example of what a good design option transition plan would entail, is Singapore.
In 2020, they announced simultaneous incentives for the purchase of any new
electric vehicle, along with a phased-out ban on all gas or diesel vehicles by 2040
[ CITATION The201 \l 3081 ]. Government rebates of up to $20,000 per electric
vehicle, along with aggressively increasing the number electric charging points on
the island, helps to position Singapore as a global leader in the clean road freight
industry.
These phase-out plans will be a key deciding factor in the chosen design, and will
weigh heavily on the opportunities for long-lasting success
2.5 Longevity
The road freight industry will continue to exist in Australia in some form for decades
to come. The Australian landscape with multiple primary producers spread across
multiple terrain types prevents rail, sea, and air from removing road freight
completely. Phasing in the correct balance of automated and emission free
technology could allow for the road freight industry to operate sustainably
indefinitely. Decisions made over the course of the next 20 years will lay a
foundation for a new era for road freight. Desired deign options to be implemented
will address previously mentioned issues and reap positive impacts on social,
environmental, & financial aspects of sustainability for many years in the future.
13
2.6 Frugality
2.7 Eco-efficiency
Eco-efficiency is a diverse category within sustainable development and helps
characterise products and their suitability in the sustainable future. The main
difference between eco-efficiency and sustainability, is that eco-efficiency does not
measure or cater for social impacts and aspects. ‘The WBCSD defines eco-
efficiency as… Product or service value / Environmental influence’ [ CITATION
GDR20 \l 3081 ]. The concept of eco-efficiency stems from consumers using fewer
virgin resources, meaning that recycling has occurred. This concept furthers onto the
aspects of reduction of energy, water, waste pollution as well as increasing PLC,
products end of life characteristics and its serviceability. These aspects are
fundamental principles to sustainability; however, it specifically delves into energy
and resource consumption, life cycles and material characteristics, their financial and
environmental benefits, or repercussions. For example, eco-efficiency would include
developments into older but still functional and relatively sustainable technologies,
improve, adjust and utilize their capabilities to its maximum sustainable potential
before moving the product to the next stage of its life cycle.
3 Available Sustainable Design Concepts
For all the many challenges facing road freight in Australia, there are just as many or
more concepts and technologies available to address them. Some technologies
(adaptive cruise control) are established and now require higher rates of adoption.
Some technologies (automated data gathering and sharing, FCVs or EVs) are in the
early stages of implementation and require further testing. Some technologies (Fully
Automated Vehicles for all environments) are still at concept stage and require
engineering.
The sections below explore concepts and technologies at each stage and consider
the benefits, risks, and likely resistances of implementing them. The explored
concepts are not intended to be exhaustive but rather are targeted at some of the
primary issues identified earlier in this report, and illustrative of concepts that can be
implemented successfully to significantly increase the sustainability of road freight in
Australia.
3.1 Automation
Safety concerns continue to be at the forefront of issues facing the road freight
industry in Australia. As an industry road freight employs two per cent of our
population [ CITATION Saf15 \l 3081 ]and yet accounts for over 30 per cent of all
work fatalities [ CITATION New17 \l 3081 ]. This is not only an issue on our
highways, as E-commerce continues to bring freight vehicles to local streets
increasing concern over traffic safety in urban areas [ CITATION McD19 \l 3081 ].
Automation may have the power to diminish road freight prevalence in urban areas
with the uptake of UAVs or “drones” [ CITATION Dep17 \l 3081 ], however
automation also has the power to promote road freight by significantly addressing
safety concerns.
Automation can mean very different things and while drivers will not always be
required, there are many ways that automation can increase safety on the road
between now and that eventual goal. The stages of automation have been given 5
categories by Austroads, as shown in Table 2.
Austroads notes that there has been relatively slow uptake of A1 automation so far
for heavy vehicles. 77 per cent of car sales are for models with auto-emergency
braking, across heavy vehicles this figure drops to six per cent. While this is not
encouraging, there is optimism that the benefits of automation become increasingly
pronounced as progression continues down the table. At the point where highly
automated driving on motorways is viable, it opens the ability for drivers to perform
other tasks while in the cabin, at least for parts of the journey (Austroads, 2020). This
will open the industry up to not only safety enhancements, but also very tangible
upswings in productivity, and drive a market-led transition.
15
Autonomous vehicle takeover is not a simple solution, in fact as seen it comes with
lots advantages and disadvantages (refer to Table ) that need to be thought of when
taking this decision. Figure … shows us an estimate of how long it is going to take
before autonomous vehicles reach a point where they are fully reliable and common.
Table 3: Candidate technologies for forecasts[ CITATION Aus20 \l 3081 ]
Title Brief
A Active Safety Systems Vehicles equipped with multiple Active Safety

1 Systems that provide driver support (such as Auto
Emergency Braking also known as AEB, lane
keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control)
A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver

2 driving (motorways) available to take over control on motorway
segments, but not for full door to door journeys
A Low Speed Highly Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on a

3 Automated shuttles very limited Operational Design Domain (ODD)
(such as low speed “shuttles”)
A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on a

4 Driving high proportion of full door to door urban journeys,
(urban/motorways) as well as on urban and higher volume rural
motorways
A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on

5 Driving (rural) rural roads as well as motorways
A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating everywhere and in all

6 Driving (All) conditions without a driver
Advantages Disadvantages
Increased protection and safety through Prone to chances of other risks, such as
reduction in vehicle accidents crashes caused by system failure or
Figure 1: Autonomous vehicle adoption curve
17
Figure 2: Aircraft and automobile software code comparison [ CITATION Lit20 \l 3081 ]
3.2 Data/Load Collection and Sharing
3.2.1 Overview
For the road freight industry is to be more efficient, data must be shared more freely
than it currently is. Data sharing already plays a role in route planning in Australia
with accident reporting allowing for changes to be made to schedules and high traffic
zones potentially avoided. Increasing levels of data sharing, as in the Austrian pilot
study whereby corporate electronic data is automatically transferred to national
statistical institutions will only increase efficiency further[ CITATION Für19 \l 3081 ].
The Australian government has already launched a discussion paper exploring the
benefits of government access to vehicle generated data looking at costs, benefits,
issues, and barriers of access[ CITATION Nat20 \l 3081 ]. With established data
sharing available, there is stronger potential for load sharing with could dramatically
increase the number of TKMs of trucks. Efficiency would also be improved through
the gathering of variable information such as acceleration, average velocity, drag,
traffic congestion load occupancy and the corresponding fuel consumption.
3.2.2 Case Study – “GreenFox”, Linfox

Linfox launched a program known as “GreenFox” with the main goal to reduce
current carbon emissions. Linfox is the largest privately owned trucking company in
the world spanning across 10 countries, over 19,000 employees & nearly 5,000
vehicles under their name [CITATION Lin \l 3081 ]. By incorporating the “One planet
framework” Linfox set out to establish set goals which would achieve varying results.
One of them being to reduce their carbon emission by half by 2015 compared to their
2007’s carbon emission record[CITATION Lin \l 3081 ].
Concentrated processes followed:

 Conducting audits on their electricity usage & to install sensor-controlled
energy efficient lighting systems in their warehouses
 Implementing carbon footprint modelling software which allowed them to
see which routes could reduce their carbon emissions for their supply chains.
 Implementing a driver training program which taught their drivers the most
fuel-efficient way of driving which in turn leads to cost cutting.[CITATION Lin \l
3081 ]
These initiatives that were carried out showed great success. As much as a 36 per
cent reduction in carbon emissions was seen by 2009[CITATION Lin \l 3081 ], only
two years after the program had started, majority of this stemming from proper driver
training & retrofitting of warehouses. These massive changes were achieved
predominantly by many minor changes within the company which lead to large
successful outcomes in long-term. Supply chain improvements, vehicle optimisation,
new tyre technologies, aerodynamic vehicle design & electrical efficiency are other
initiatives carried out by Linfox to lighten their carbon footprint. The improvements
made towards a more sustainable system has led to an energy consumption level
that was half of what it was at the start of the eight year program[ CITATION Lin \l
3081 ]. Energy consumption levels in 2007 (the start of the program) was 25GJ per
1000km which dramatically decreased to 12.5GJ per 1000km in 2015 (refer to figure
1), reaching the set goal.
Linfox reported that most of their carbon reduction came from ‘improved use of
operator equipment’ & minimal energy usage[CITATION Lin \l 3081 ]. The trucking
company has also made efforts to research alternative fuel solutions such as
biofuels & LNG for implementation into their business scope.
Ultimately, the operations Linfox utilized to reduce carbon emissions have shown
great advancements towards a more sustainable road freight industry through its
vast extent of energy consumption analysis & problem solving.
Figure 3: Energy Intensity Levels During “GreenFox”

Program [ CITATION Lin \l 3081 ]
19
3.3 Emission friendly fuel sources
With the ever-growing transport industry, supply and demand has been ever
increasing for quality consumerism and delivery. With many options available out
there for transportation systems there has been a lot of debate over the last half
century as to what efforts can be made to address climate change and running a
sustainable system. With many new technologies emerging there is a vast array of
options available for companies and governments to implement to account for their
part in contributing to a more friendly carbon emission output.
One of the latest technologies set to come forth is the use of hydrogen fuel as a
source of powering vehicles. This would mean a shift from diesel to hydrogen with
net carbon of emissions being zero. Hydrogen fuelled trucks would consist of a fuel
cell as their source of power. The source of hydrogen itself would be produced from
things such as biomass, natural gas or even water through a process known as
electrolysis. The infrastructure surrounding hydrogen fuel use would require
hydrogen fuel stations which would contain hydrogen pressed fuel chambers to store
them. Although hydrogen gas is a sustainable system and option of energy to use
much needed thinking and management practices need to be put in place for its
storage. With a low ignition risk yet high combustion energy there needs to be
extensive measures to ensure transportation and storage safety, as leakages can
lead to dire explosions and casualties.
Another option that has been booming over the last decade is electric vehicles. As
much research has been done over the past years, a completely electric system
produces zero carbon emission and holds little risk in operating. Running through
powered batteries, electric vehicles can be powered through charging stations or
even solar- powered panels as suggested by prominent technology companies.
Emerging European companies have invested plenty into the research and
manufacturing of trucks. Dutch researcher Auke Hoekstra from the University Of
technology Netherlands has suggested that “a truck could run all day without
refuelling and charge overnight” [ CITATION Cle19 \l 3081 ]. His research highlights
the efficiency of the potential electric trucks have. Like hydrogen gas extra funding
would be needed surrounding the infrastructure of electric vehicles such as electric
fuel stations, training for drivers and technicians. If successful planning is done and
the implementation is done correctly electric transportation would cut down fuel
emissions drastically and would be a very reliable clean source of energy.
Biodiesel is also an alternative option prompting positive results. Although it is not

carbon free it is a much more viable option when compared to Petro diesel (the main
source for Heavy transport). Made from the waste of biomass and crops biodiesel
has a lower carbon intensity figure and is a cleaner fuel to run.
3.4 Online Freelance Freighting Platforms
21
4 Detailed Design – Data & Load Collection and

Sharing Service
4.1 Overview
Our decided upon design is focussed to solve the efficiency, load consolidation and
truck driver safety issues that are prevalent in the road freight industry. This is to be
achieved through the collection, sharing, grouping and analysis of data gathered
through mobile devices or laptops within freighting vehicles, the installed devices on
said vehicles, and eco-efficient data centres. Trends that have already been
observed are going to be extended upon and individualized to all participants to
ensure non-affluent clients are not disadvantaged, and produce a more eco-friendly,
safe, and profitable business and industry model. This solution is to serve as an
intermediate transition phase from fossil fuel and renewable fuel freighting practices
which require significant developments that will take multiple decades before I semi
or full transition occurs.
4.2 Data Collection/Sharing
Related efficiency issues will be catered to through the implementation of road

freight data analysis through variables like velocity, acceleration, drag, road traffic
conditions and the corresponding fuel consumption. Load efficiency is also a target
for changes to improve TKM using load consolidation techniques and smart vehicle
booking systems. Though these improvements may seem small in scale individually,
when added in conjunction with each other, companies and employees will see
substantial benefits combining into a less environmentally impactful, safer, more
profitable, and competitive industry.
4.2.1 Main Data Variables of Analytical Focus Through Measuring

Devices
4.2.1.1 Acceleration
Vehicle speed is an important factor when pursuing efficient road freight practices,
more specially the change of speed and the effects on fuel efficiency that directly
correlate with said changed in velocity. Speeds greater than 80km/hr are seen to
require significant power requirements and does not follow traditional thoughts of
linear relationships between speed and required power. For trucks, the reduction of
speed from 100km/hr to 90km/hr ‘can reduce fuel use by nearly 10%’ [CITATION
Dep201 \l 3081 ].
Additional benefits that would be observable through the gathering and completion
of speed data and regulation would be the reduced tyre wear, driver stress, and
crash risk. In developing speed regulatory systems through the data analysed, users
will need to be aware of the changes in logistics to ‘labour, rest breaks for drivers
and delivery schedules’[CITATION Dep201 \l 3081 ].
From the noticeable positive changes to fuel economy gained through the
advancement in knowledge of individual speed measurement and policy,
acceleration will be a heavily targeted data type in our design. The data will be
measured through the use accelerometers…
4.2.1.2 Drag
From gained data on acceleration and mass, other aerodynamic factors like drag are
of importance to achieve a positive accumulative effect on the fuel efficiency within
the road freight industry. The carrying of irregular loads on drop deck system trucks
can induce a drag affect 10% to 30% higher than that of a regular load [ CITATION
Dep201 \l 3081 ].
An immediate solution to this problem which should be sort out would be the use of
aerodynamic side skirtings, however the focus of the data gathered on irregular data
loads would be focussed on more permanent system improvements. The gathering
of images, data drag forces gained through acceleration, mass calculations and their
derived formulas would allow for future advancements in aerodynamic freighting
structures to combat the inefficiencies associated with open, low deck freighting.
This data would be used in conjunction with other relevant data with aims to reduce
drag forces and therefor the required road load force, which under basic calculations
is the force to move a vehicle, with consideration to initial vehicle speed. It can be
described through the equation: Road load force = a + bv + cv 2, where ‘a’ comes
mostly independent variables. ‘b’ is derived from variables like rolling resistance of
tires and the friction of the inner components of the vehicles, and ‘c’ is derived from
aspects affecting aerodynamic drag [ CITATION How00 \l 3081 ].This illustrates the
importance the factor of drag has on the required power needed to move heavy load,
which led to the decision to make it a key interest of data collection.
23
4.2.1.3 Load Capacity and Occupancy
4.2.1.4 Idle Time
4.2.1.5 Fuel Injection
4.2.2 Optimization of Vehicle Efficiency

4.2.2.1 Vehicle Mass
4.2.2.2 Vehicle Maintenance
4.2.2.3 Gear Settings
4.2.2.4 Ancillary Equipment
4.2.3 Load Consolidation
4.2.4 Eco-efficient Practices Within Data Centres
4.2.4.1 Utilization of Existing Available Equipment
4.2.4.2 Additional Sustainable Equipment
4.2.4.3 Temperature and Cooling Systems
4.2.4.4 Server Usage
4.2.4.5 Power Supply

25
4.3 Website
+ training page
4.4 Mobile Application
27
4.5 Governing Requirements

4.6 Participant Requirements
29
5 Design Deliverables
5.1 Overall Aim
5.2 Vision of Sustainability
5.3 Performance Indicators
5.3.1 Minimization of road incidents
Road incidents that occur because of freighting practices are significant as

previously mentioned in Section 2.1 of this report. An understanding of trends that
occur before and after the implementation of our design will significantly develop an
insight into whether the products processes have a positive output on the safety of
workers and products.
It was decided to focus on the three main indicators as seen in Table 1.
Indicators: Sub-indicators:
ABS gathered road incident statistics Total annual road deaths
Truck collisions – One party involved
Truck collisions – Multiple parties
involved
Identification of high-risk areas/issues High-risk road area identification
Time of continuous driving before
people crash or mistakes, etc.
Written entries of near miss incidents
Indication of time pressure induced onto
freight employees
Improvements in skills and education of
freight employed persons
5.3.2 Minimization of emissions

Emission levels that occur because of freighting practices are significant as
previously mentioned in Section 2.2 of this report. An understanding of trends that
occur before and after the implementation of our design will significantly develop an
insight into whether the designed product processes have a positive output on the
environment and more specifically the atmosphere.
Indications that may produce useful comprehension of the resulting effects from
the implementation of our design are:
· Quizzes on sustainability by workers: Improvements in the knowledge of acceptable

level of idle times, fuel efficiency, load capacity, etc.
· Total idle time is seen to reduce after the first few years of the design’s employment
· CO emissions are observed and show a decrease in overall greenhouse gas impact.
2
5.3.3 Financial considerations

Road Freight is a massive industry that employs lots of people and affects every
citizen. The importance of the Australian financial sector to selection is expanded in
the previous section of 2.3.
Financial considerations are a massive sector of deliberation and has many aspects
for analysis. These aspects have been divided into 4 main sections, shown in Table
2.
Sections Indicators:
Up-front Initial costs for the start-up would be significant as for any business.
Costs The goal would be to reach a profit margin a short while from the start
of operation. E.g. 3-5 years. This would indicate that so far, the design
is financially viable and can afford to cover the up-front costs.
Design handling
Is the design financially viable against the cost of direction and

implementation?
Is the design performing and giving qualitative and quantitative

data/results?
Up-front A good indicator for the up-front income from our services would be
Income the number of businesses that sign up for our service.
31
If most people are purchasing or applying to be a part of the program

or design if it is a free one, we know that the cost is not the issue if
people are not joining the service.
Could be done through a survey or through queries gained through an

app or website
Ongoing After the initial points of negative growth in the business, typically 3-5
Costs years, costs should not outweigh income
If newer products or developments emerge which could be utilized, an

evaluation of their potential effectiveness and roll them out as part of
the renewed detailed design.
How much is being inputted into the economy via the processes
followed?
Ongoing Profit margins are stable for people, businesses or affected parties by
Income the detailed design.
For users/customers – the improvements seen based on the

data/success gathered significantly outweighs the cost/work/effort of
the service/design.
Amount of tax paid to the government.

5.3.4 Frugally Innovative
Our goal to make road freight in Australia more environmentally, socially, and
financially frugal proves to be a difficult topic to analyse and produce performance
indicators. Instead we have decided what some sub-goals for which the decided
upon design should strive towards.
· · Emerging markets within freighting and supply chains have requirements met,
as well as allowing opportunities for non-affluent consumers to use our product.
· Most if not all amounts of waste from truck drivers are sustainably disposed of.
· Overall cost of the detailed design is seen to reduce over decrease or stay stable
after the initial phase of roll out.
· Tonne kilometres is seen to decrease while still transporting the same or more
amount of product. Or the ratio is seen to be a lower one.
5.3.5 Transition Plan Suitability

‘The Future Movement Group’ decided that for the selected design option to be
implemented into the road freight industry in Australia, is to be suitable to a variety of
transition plans. The adaptability and suitability of the introduction and phaseout
plans/designs is described in further detail above in section 2.4.
· Is the plan or design accepted seen as a positive one by customers, government

officials and employees – This may be completed through a survey, query
information, or any other opinion gathering platform?
· Is the transition reaching or nearing predetermined expected usage, environmental,

social, and financial goals/expectations/predictions?
5.3.6 Longevity
The ideation, research, installation, and maintenance of the chosen design option
will affect its prosperity and effective, sustainable duration.
Indications that may produce useful gauges of the resulting long-lasting effects from
the implementation of our design are:
· Financial stability for the business
· Government and other bodies are seeing improvements financially, environmentally,

and socially
· After 10 years, do most road freighting companies use the service/design, and have
not sustained significant repercussions?
33
5.3.7 Eco-efficiency
Refer to section 2.7 for eco-efficiency criterion definition.
Effective performance indicators for eco-efficiency are determined to be

predominantly involved with management practices such as the use and
implementation of different policies, plans and strategies (GDRC, n.d.). Identification
of both positive and negative trends, the prioritization of the most impactful issues,
the following actions and the reporting involved with all involved processes. These
are key steps to make sure performance indicators for eco-efficiency are carried out,
relevant, correctly recorded and communicated.
5.4 Financial Concept
5.4.1 Overview
5.4.2 Initial Costs
5.5 Product Lifecycle Management

5.6 Risk Management
5.7 Project Management
5.8 Testing
5.9 Theoretical Long-term Targets
35
6 Conclusion
6.1 Final Word

The goal of the report developed by the design team was to research, analyse, &
theorise the issues & possible solutions to the problem selected, unsustainable road
freight in Australia, regarding its scope & characteristics. The foundations of
research & chosen design objectives in the report allowed future development to be
undertaken in suitability of design options. ‘The Future Movement’ team has
successfully provided a variety of design options that cater to the design criteria of
minimization of fatalities in the industry, minimization of environmental impacts,
financially backed to cope with Australia’s growing population & economic demand,
suitable to fit into Australia’s freight sector, & is likely to lead to long-term positive
repercussions. By addressing the social burdens, the freighting industry may see
declining number of fatalities on Australian roads caused by freighting activities, & in
term reduce financial strains on businesses & the health sector. This focus would
also lead to a lessening in negative stigma directed towards the safety of road
freight. Utilizing the data gathered, further research into how positive the impacts on
the environment each design option may incur can be achieved readily. Financial
considerations were accounted for in the ideation phase of the team’s selection
process to try & increase economic stability in a growth declining industry. In
conjunction with the other design goals, a focus on whether the researched design
options could be suitable for Australia & its freighting needs. The sustainability of
design option would also be heavily influenced by the longevity of the positive results
that would occur from its implementation. The team’s concerns of exhaustion of
fossil fuel and climate impacts would be the forefront of the driving factors of behind
the sustainable longevity of the chosen design.
The next phase of development will be the further analysis & choosing of design
options with team scoring based off the design criteria. The highest-ranking designs
may be decided to be executed in singularity or cooperatively with other options to
achieve the optimal results. Decisions of hypothetical applications of the final
solution would occur, set to a smaller, individual plan that would not hinder our
sustainability goals, & eventually be replicated throughout Australia.
Ultimately, the main objective of achieving an in-depth scope of the social,
environmental & financial factors changing the present and future road freight in
Australia to a sustainable industry was accomplished. Our personal expectations of
success were met through the conceptualization and analysis of the solutions
present in the document.
37
6.2 Reflection
7 References
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018. Australian Transport Economic Account: An

Experimental Transport Satellite Account, 2010-11 to 2015-16. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/5270.0Main
%20Features402010-11%20to%202015-16
[Accessed 23 August 2020].
Australian Railway Association, 2014. Australia's Rail Industry. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ara.net.au/sites/default/files/Australian%20Rail%20Industry
%202014%20web.pdf
Australian Railway Association, 2020. Key Issues - Freight. [Online]
Available at: https://ara.net.au/key-issues/freight
Austroads, 2020. Future Vehicles 2030, Sydney: Austroads Ltd..
Budget Direct, 2019. Car Accident Statistics. [Online]
Available at: https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/car-insurance/research/car-accident-
statistics.html
Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, 2020. Road Deaths
Australia, July 2020, Canberra: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional
Development and Communications.
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2009. Greenhouse gas
emissions from Australian transport: projections to 2020, Working paper 73,
Canberra: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2014. Freightline 1 -
Australian freight transport overview, Canberra: Commenwealth of Australia.
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2019. Australian
aggregate freight forecasts - 2019 update, Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Clevenger, S., 2019. The Dawn of Electric Trucks. Batteries, Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Poised to Power a New Segment of Commercial Transportation, 6 December.
Climate Change Authority, 2014. Opportunities to reduce light vehicle emissions in
Australia. [Online]
Available at: https://www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/reviews/light-vehicle-
emissions-standards-australia/opportunities-reduce-light-vehicle-emissions
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, 2016. Trends - Transport
and Australia’s Development to 2040 and Beyond, Canberra: Commonwealth of
Australia.
39
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, 2017. Inquiry into National

Freight and Supply Chain Priorities, Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Fürst, E. et al., 2019. Journal of Statistics and Management Systems. Innovative
methods in European road freight transport statistics : A pilot study, 22(8), pp. 1445-
1466.
GDRC, n.d. SD Features - Sustainabilty Concepts - Eco-efficiency. [Online]
Available at: http://gdrc.org/sustdev/concepts/04-e-effi.html
[Accessed 1 October 2020].
Government of Canada, 2020. Canada’s actions to reduce emissions. [Online]
Available at:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-
plan/reduce-emissions.html
INCLEAN, 2020. Almost two thirds of Australians rely on gig economy platforms,
study finds. [Online]
Available at: https://www.incleanmag.com.au/almost-two-thirds-of-australians-rely-
on-gig-economy-platforms-study-finds/
Infrastructure Australia, 2019. Australian Infrastructure Audit 2019, s.l.: Infrastructure
Australia 2019.
Linfox, 2014. [Online]
Available at: www.sustainablefreight.com.au/files/567_linfox.pdf
Litman, T., 2020. Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Predictions - Implications for
Transport Planning, s.l.: Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
McDonald, N., Yuan, Q. & Naumann, R., 2019. Traffic Injury Prevention. Urban
frieght and road safety in the era of e-commerce, 20(7), pp. 764-770.
National Transport Comission, 2020. Government access to vehicle-generated data
discussion paper, Canberra: National Transport Commission.
Newman, S., Goode, N., Salmon, P. & Stevenson, M., 2017. Reforming the road
freight transportation system using systems thinking: An investigation of Coronial
inquests in Australia. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Volume 101, pp. 28-36.
Safe Work Australia, 2015. Road Transport Industry Profile. [Online]
Available at:
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1705/road-transport-
industry-profile.pdf
South Australian Freight Council, 2015. Profile of Australia's Trucking Fleet: Age and
Emissions, Adelaide: South Australian Freight Council.
The Strait Times, 2020. Singapore Budget 2020: Push to promote electric
vehicles in move to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles.. [Online]
Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/singapore-budget-
2020-push-to-promote-evs-in-move-to-phase-out-petrol-and-diesel
Wang, S. & Ge, M., 2019. Everything You Need to Know About the Fastest-Growing
Source of Global Emissions: Transport. [Online]
Available at: https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/everything-you-need-know-about-
fastest-growing-source-global-emissions-transport
41
8 Appendix A – Gantt Chart
Figure 4: Team Gantt Chart With Topic Allocations

9 Appendix B – Website
43
Appendix C – Mobile Application

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Detailed Design Report 13/10/2020

Cive1186 – Introduction to Environmental and Sustainable Systems Engineering

Michael Palmer - s3779744

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

1.2 Key Stakeholders

1.3 Problem Definition

2.1 Minimization of Freight Transportation Caused Road

Table 1: Road deaths by jurisdiction [ CITATION Bur20 \l 3081 ]

2.3 Improvement of Economic Growth in The Industry

Table 2: Costs of road congestion and public transport crowding are

Table 3: Candidate technologies for forecasts[ CITATION Aus20 \l 3081 ]

A Active Safety Systems Vehicles equipped with multiple Active Safety

A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver

A Low Speed Highly Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on a

A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on a

A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating without a driver on

A Highly Automated Vehicles capable of operating everywhere and in all

3.2 Data/Load Collection and Sharing

3.2.2 Case Study – “GreenFox”, Linfox

Concentrated processes followed:

Figure 3: Energy Intensity Levels During “GreenFox”

3.3 Emission friendly fuel sources

Biodiesel is also an alternative option prompting positive results. Although it is not

4 Detailed Design – Data & Load Collection and

4.2 Data Collection/Sharing

Related efficiency issues will be catered to through the implementation of road

4.2.1 Main Data Variables of Analytical Focus Through Measuring

4.2.1.3 Load Capacity and Occupancy

4.2.1.4 Idle Time

4.2.1.5 Fuel Injection

4.2.2 Optimization of Vehicle Efficiency

4.2.3 Load Consolidation

4.2.4 Eco-efficient Practices Within Data Centres

4.2.4.1 Utilization of Existing Available Equipment

4.2.4.2 Additional Sustainable Equipment

4.2.4.3 Temperature and Cooling Systems

4.2.4.4 Server Usage

4.2.4.5 Power Supply

4.5 Governing Requirements

5.1 Overall Aim

5.2 Vision of Sustainability

5.3 Performance Indicators

5.3.1 Minimization of road incidents

Road incidents that occur because of freighting practices are significant as

It was decided to focus on the three main indicators as seen in Table 1.

5.3.2 Minimization of emissions

· Quizzes on sustainability by workers: Improvements in the knowledge of acceptable

5.3.3 Financial considerations

Is the design financially viable against the cost of direction and

Is the design performing and giving qualitative and quantitative

If most people are purchasing or applying to be a part of the program

Could be done through a survey or through queries gained through an

If newer products or developments emerge which could be utilized, an

For users/customers – the improvements seen based on the

Amount of tax paid to the government.

5.3.5 Transition Plan Suitability

· Is the plan or design accepted seen as a positive one by customers, government

· Is the transition reaching or nearing predetermined expected usage, environmental,

· Financial stability for the business

· Government and other bodies are seeing improvements financially, environmentally,

Effective performance indicators for eco-efficiency are determined to be

5.5 Product Lifecycle Management

6.1 Final Word