Avoiding Urban Traffic Jams with Low-noise

To remove the barriers to authorizing off-peak deliveries, permit authorities in municipalities need reliable noise emission threshold values for alternative fuel trucks. This is why the researchers have launched a mobility study on noisefree logistics (Mobilitätsstudie geräuscharme Logistik), as part of another funding project by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MUNV). In this study, which is set to be published in September 2024, the researchers aim to provide the first reliable data on noise emissions for commercial alternative fuel vehicles. “With this study, we want to contribute to the development of consistent regulations for Germany and make it easier for municipalities and local authorities to assess noise emissions from alternative fuel trucks,” says Daniela Kirsch, a team leader at Fraunhofer IML. The data in question was collected over the last two years. In collaboration with Peutz Consult, a consultation firm specializing in sound and noise, the researchers visited manufacturers and logistics service providers all over Germany to measure typical driving conditions for trucks during delivery in urban areas. They included a variety of alternative fuel vehicles in their tests, such as electric, hydrogenand gas-powered trucks, and covered the entire range of vehicle weights, from 7.5 ton trucks to 40 ton semis. To mark the publication of the manual, Fraunhofer IML and the MUNV in North-Rhine Westphalia are planning an informative event for municipalities, logistics service providers, retail companies, sound consultant firms and other interested parties on September 25, 2024. The event will present lectures and information around the area of “low-noise logistics.”

The noise level measurements conducted for the low-noise logistics manual (Handbuch Geräuscharme Logistik) have shown that the alternative fuel vehicles are not especially loud. But there is still the noise that is generated during loading and unloading to consider: refrigeration units, closing loading flaps, warning sounds when vehicles reverse, moving trolleys over loading ramps and the employees themselves. Low-noise solutions for technical equipment are always a possibility. The trolleys can be fitted with quieter wheels, and the tail lifts can be covered with sound-absorbing coatings so that the trolleys can move on them even more quietly. But how can you keep the people quiet? “The employees are the make-or-break factor,” explains Arnd Bernsmann. “Because no amount of rubber seals can stop people from turning their radios way up, having loud phone calls or slamming the tail lift down.”

“Our European neighbors have provided a positive example of how to overcome this challenge,” says Daniela Kirsch. The PIEK certificate has been in use in the Netherlands since 2004. PIEK-certified trucks are approved for delivery during off-peak hours. In the Netherlands, trucks and transportation equipment must undergo an acoustic test to be certified for arrangements such as night deliveries, for example. To pass the test, the vehicles and equipment must not exceed the set decibel limits of less than 60 dB(A) at a distance of 7.5 meters. The PIEK certification is a standard for quiet delivery vehicles and other quiet technologies that is awarded by the PIEK quality seal foundation. Once you have a certified lownoise vehicle with the corresponding markings, you can start making supply deliveries in city centers at off-peak times. “As part of the PIEK certification, the trucker drivers also receive training on how to unload vehicles quietly,” explains Kirsch. However, as the Dutch PIEK certification cannot be transferred to Germany on a one-to-one basis, the research team has plans to initiate a similar certification for Germany.

This is the point at which the currently ongoing project in this series has picked up. The follow-up project has received around 565,000 euros in funding from the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia via its mobility and mobility management funding program (FÖRI-MM). Between now and the end of the project in March 2026, the researchers primarily plan to study employee behavior during loading and unloading processes, along with the handling equipment used at the retail stores. They are looking for a sensor service provider to collaborate with on this, so they can measure employee behavior in the area of noise emissions. “We want to use the sensors to detect the sources of the noises produced by employees during loading and unloading and to measure and reduce the sound levels they produce,” says Arnd Bernsmann. “To do this, we will attach a sensor system to the employee’s shoulder, belt and wrist, and, in addition to measuring motion sequences, we will also measure the noise level produced by each work process with a microphone to determine how loud the process in question was.” The research team is measuring both the current, actual acoustic conditions and the noise levels produced if equipment such as quieter rollers is used. “Employees will then receive training to raise their awareness of this topic so they can change their loading and unloading behavior accordingly. That’s why training is so important,” says Bernsmann.

One conclusion that can be drawn from the research conducted so far is that transferring commercial transportation to off-peak times would ease the traffic situation in cities during rush hours and improve traffic safety and efficiency. However, for this to happen, every stage of the entire goods transportation and handling process – from driving through the city to loading and unloading – must be as quiet as possible. When it comes to noise emissions, employee behavior and handling equipment require particularly close attention. “We definitely do not want people in their homes to be startled out of bed,” says Bernsmann. “Everyone should get an undisturbed night’s sleep. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to make delivery traffic and the related logistics processes quieter.” With a reliable permit system that allows low-noise trucks to make deliveries during off-peak hours and night time, this aspiration could become a reality. This outcome would be a win-win situation for residents, the environment, road users and retail companies, who could deploy their vehicles more efficiently, while the extra costs incurred in the process could be offset by the extended operating times. The researchers are hopeful that they will soon be able to put their findings and the data they have collected to the test in a lighthouse project, and they are looking for an innovative city and interested companies to act as partners in this. Because with the continuation of this research project, North Rhine-Westphalia is maintaining its position as a trailblazer in the field of “low-noise logistics.” Germany has yet to see any comparable research projects, where technical innovations and behavioral instructions for logistics personnel are developed under real-world conditions with the aim of complying with applicable threshold values and significantly reducing noise emissions for citizens and the environment.