A new survey of UK food and drink transport operations is set to give good companies a new measurable standard in efficiency, according to Scala Logistics Consulting.

The Department of Transport (DfT) has commissioned Scala to monitor the environmental impact of transport in the food and drink sector, and it follows on from a similar survey undertaken by the consultants in 2007.

The key performance indicators that will be monitored on a continuous basis during the survey day include vehicle fill, empty running, time utilisation, delays to schedule, and fuel consumption.

Environmental efficiency brings its own rewards in lower operation costs, and he said that participation in the survey will provide logistics managers with comprehensive data showing how efficiently their vehicles are operating including how full they are, how many miles they run on empty, and the effect of traffic and loading/unloading delays.

Scala is running support workshops in relation to the scheme to ensure that company personnel understand what is involved in the process and how to run the software.