Prevention of accidents and occupational diseases in the logistics of goods distribution in city centres: the case of electric trucks

Urban distribution is defined, under ideal conditions, as the delivery of flow of goods as it enters, leaves or circulates in the city. The constraints on the sector are manifold : access, traffic regulations specific to the city centre etc. At the moment, one of the most pressing constraints is environmental pressure (increased regulatory requirements such as exhaust emissions, noise, etc.). One of the strategies to resolve it, is "clean delivery" using electric trucks. This strategy requires a specific organization of logistics distribution in suburban areas particularly in order to handle the constraints related to the autonomy of these vehicles. Key to this organization, are the distribution platforms to be found in suburban areas which are used for delivery of goods coming from multiple suppliers from throughout the country. Then, the goods are sorted out into small batches, loaded by the truck drivers into their electric vehicles and distributed to each customer. In the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases approach, the aim of this study is to analyze the organization of logistics distribution and the difficulties associated in the delivery by electric trucks. Special attention was given to the interactions between the employees activity of the platform and drivers carrying out the deliveries. The methodological approach is based on an ergonomics analysis of the activities (observing employee activities in real work situations with/without camera, formalization of tasks, systematic coding of actions and interviews). The results highlighted the difficulties linked to the organization of the platform (planning, stock management...), to the interaction between the various jobs activities (communications problems, information sharing...) to the delivery with electrical trucks. Regulatory strategies to overcome these difficulties were also identified. Based on these results, recommendations were made to the company of how to improve working conditions, organization and performance.