Kristian Kaas Mortensen Q&A ahead of the IRU Logistics and Innovation Forum
On 21st February 2020, IRU will host its second Logistics and Innovation Forum in London. The conference will be a unique opportunity for transport operators, service providers and national transport associations to share knowledge, connect and learn about new solutions on a subject of utmost importance to the industry: safety.
Among other leading figures in the road transport sector, attendees will hear from Kristian Kaas Mortensen, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Girteka Logistics, who will deliver a keynote speech at the conference. Girteka Logistics is a Lithuanian Logistics Company that operates over 6,000 trucks and employs more than 13,000 truck drivers.
Ahead of the LIF Event, IRU caught up with Kristian to talk little bit about safety in the road transport sector.
IRU: Hi Kristian, you’ll be travelling to London for our Logistics & Innovation Forum in February. What is Girteka Logistics most looking forward to getting out of the event?
– Firstly, I’m grateful for the invitation and truly looking forward to joining everyone in London!
My primary interest at events is always to meet other people from across the industry, and to listen and learn about the very latest trends and developments.
Secondly, I hope to be able to share some of Girteka Logistic’s experience and challenges both today and going forward.
Girteka Logistics sees a strong opportunity for continuous, sustainable organic growth in our industry. Our vision is to own and operate a fleet of 10,000 trucks and trailers by late 2021, so at the event I look forward to discussing how we plan to achievethis growth while at the same time remaining focused on road safety and innovation.
IRU: You mentioned safety there, which happens to be the theme of this year’ forum. How is Girteka Logistics using innovation to improve safety?
– We are working on a number of initiatives to improve safety throughout our fleet, including working on our own e-Transport platform in the years to come, which I will speak about in much more detail at the forum.
We are also making the most of what technology can offer us. Just last year we invested in a high-technology tablet for every single truck and a paired smart phone in the hands of every single driver.Now we have 6,000 high-tech trucks where we can support the driver on the road in real time, wherever he or she is.
Additionally, we havea new fleet equipped witha high degree of systems such as automatic emergency braking systems, stability control, and lane departure warning. Longer term, automation will improve safety by reducing human error and congestion on the roads.
IRU: What role do you see governments playing in improving driver safety?
– I believe our number one priority is our core asset – our more than 13,000 fantastic drivers.
For years, we have invested in our professional driver’s academy, to ensure safety on the road. This has helped us to attract and keep the best drivers in the industry.
From governments, we value investment in infrastructure, i.egood pavement quality, lane-markings, road signs and signals. These are all vital to improving safety.
IRU: Finally, what does Girteka Logistics see as the major innovation opportunities for road transport?
– You can’t pick up a newspaper these days without reading about automation. It will obviously be revolutionary when we start being able to fully benefit from it. Although full adoptionis still some way off, at least part automation is already on the horizon. This will improve safety in many ways, andwe are eager to adopt these technologies into our business.
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