On Line Benchmarking (OLB) is now available across all sectors within the freight transport industry through the Freight Best Practice programme, following a successful pilot within the primary distribution and aggregates sectors.

OLB is seen as the next generation in benchmarking and is designed to allow operators to compare their performance with that of similar operators, instantly and anonymously.

By benchmarking performance, operators gain a thorough understanding of how they are performing against best-in-class, are able to identify areas for improvement and ultimately improve the efficiency of their operation, experts claim.

The internet-based system will allow a transport operator to compare details such as average gross vehicle weight, fuel types, vehicle configuration and fuel efficiency.

Mike MacDougall, transport manager for PS Transport based in Grimsby, which took part in the pilot, said: “The benchmarking process has helped us to identify where we are as a business across a wide range of hauliers and identify areas for us to focus on in the future, particularly with regards to fuel interventions, for example regular wheel alignment."

Eddie Green, managing director of Norfolkline, said: “We have been using OLB since the pilot launched, and have found it to be a very useful tool, particularly for validating our fleet's MPG performance against our existing procedures. The OLB system has allowed us to compare our operational performance on an external basis with other comparable operators. We are committed to using the system across more depots and continuing to assist in the future development of OLB.”