AUTOMATE VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY TO PROTECT SUPPLY CHAIN TO REDUCE THE COVID-19 RISK

Dr.D.Sathishkumar, Asst.Professor, MBA, Sankara College of Science and Commerce.

Covid-19 Pandemic has radically changed the life style and work of every individual and industry. Video Chats, e-mail, teleconferences etc are keeping many on the job business, but technological tools cant protect every business from the negative effects of mandated stay at home orders and social distancing protocols. This is especially for production facilities, warehouses, logistics and other industries that make or move the products, business that might not be able to operate virtually. Many of these companies could soon face an existential choice to either shut down or find a way to adapt to new socially distance world.

Delivery and transportation services are more important in the current pandemic situation, and are already adjusting their operations to comply with guidelines aimed to reduce the covid-19 risk to their drivers and delivery personnel. Mask requirements and rules minimizing human contact are a solid first step, automated vehicle technology could be the key to protecting the global supply chain.

Industries in developed countries have been moving towards increased automation for years, modern warehouses are already using autonomous technology to move goods. Automated forklifts and other vehicles are becoming more common in distribution yards and other facilities. Automated trucks can take automated technology even further, transporting goods within or between facilities, with reduced human to human contact.
The Federal Motor Carrier safety Administration, which regulated the interstate trucking industry, has been generally supportive of vehicle automation in commercial vehicles, and is considering ways to adopt its regulation to allow trucks that have no human drivers present in the vehicle. Currently there is no national standard regarding how companies should build automated trucks or operate them across state lines. As a result automated truck developers could face state and local regulatory roadblocks.
Conflicting state by state rules on who can test or operate an automated vehicle and under what circumstances, can ultimately affect the trucking routes which could take advantage of automation in the near future. Some routes that could be prime candidates for automation could instead become non-viable if portions of the route run through a jurisdiction with more restrictive rules, and the path work of state regulations can create difficulties and delays, as companies must parse out different rules to determine if there is an planned operations of risk and non- compliance.

Now is the time for increased adoption of automation that could boost freight capacity while reducing delivery delays and burdens on human drivers. Legislators and regulators should recognize the immediate benefits that vehicle automation can have a critical supply chain infrastructure, and consider ways to enable and promote the use of automation technologies. However, with our political leaders currently focused on addressing immediate Covid-19 concerns, it is essential for automation companies to help lead the way by creating best practices and industry standards for automated trucking.

During this pandemic situation automated technology gets recognised means it will help to transfer goods from point of origin to the destination by maintaining social distance without human beings.