Extreme logistics: 41st Zurich Logistics Colloquium

The Zurich Logistics Colloquium has now become a traditional event in logistics circles. Dr. Acél & Partner always manages to provide insights into complex logistics projects. This gives outsiders an idea of the fact that logistics means more than simply transporting goods from A to B. 

95% Logistics, 5% Scaffolding

The first presentation of the evening showed that logistics is also crucial for a scaffolder. «Scaffolder or logistician?» René Schmid, member of the management of Roth Gerüste AG, started with this question. In addition to the actual work on the construction site, scaffolding construction requires logistics: planning, material flow and transport organization are crucial for a smooth process. Schmid said, among other things, that only the last step of their work is actually scaffolding, the lion's share is logistics.

The immense logistics performance is already evident during transportation: Roth Gerüste AG transports around 225,000 tons of scaffolding material across Switzerland every year. Compared to logistics in industry, which has already established automation, robotics and AI, most processes in scaffolding construction are manual. The weather, construction phases, changes at short notice, other parties involved in the construction and factors such as the accessibility of the construction site and external controls, to which it is necessary to react quickly, always present challenges.

With regard to logistics optimization, René Schmid presented his pilot project, a concept for night loading, to those present. This has been running since 2022. By preparing the vehicles during the night, the scaffolders have more time for assembly during the day. As the speaker explained, other logistics models are also being tested, for example with central transshipment points in Switzerland, bundled material flows and data-supported route calculation.

René Schmid also discussed the question of what the scaffolding of the future will look like. Solutions for heavy loads for man and machine, such as exoskeletons and transport drones, are already under development.  

Large construction site logistics

The presentation by Silvan Eberhard, Head of Logistics at Eberhard Bau AG in Kloten, dealt with very large transport volumes. He gave the audience an impression of the large construction site at Zurich University Hospital, where Eberhard Bau AG is responsible for the excavation work. The challenge: to transport the enormous volume of 427,000 tons of excavated material out of the city efficiently and yet in compliance with the specified requirements. This was also a very large and complex logistical undertaking.

The excavated material had to be transported 100% by rail in order to relieve traffic in Zurich North. This was a political requirement, as transferring the material from truck to rail and back only makes limited sense from an environmental point of view. In total, over 17,000 trucks were filled with pure excavated material. This corresponds to seven trains per day.

The environmental impact of the vehicle fleet is one of Eberhard's specialties. Excavation logistics generates a total of around 570 tons of CO₂. This is a fraction compared to the production of concrete for civil engineering, which exceeds this figure by a factor of two - not to mention building construction. The efforts for electric vehicles are there. The problem here, however, is the additional weight of 3 tons of battery per vehicle, which means more journeys are necessary, as Silvan Eberhard explained. All in all, the large construction site in the city requires modern and adaptable logistics.

Operational logistics in the military

Dr Philipp Blumer, process engineer at Sensirion AG, concluded by taking the audience on an unusual military exercise: «TRIAS 25», a tri-national exercise organized by Switzerland, Austria and Germany in Austria. 920 members of the Swiss army were involved, with a further 190 from Austria and 180 from the German armed forces. The scale of the mobilization was particularly impressive. Over 350 vehicles, including tanks and tankers, were moved on a total of eleven trains with 177 wagons with a total length of around 4.3 km. In addition, 15 tons of food alone were used to supply the soldiers.

Supplies must be ensured at all times, even under difficult conditions and enemy action: «Deliver - always - anywhere». Supply and procedures must be flexibly adapted to the respective combat situation. This was to be practiced during the operation. Basic things such as the six mobile kitchens, workshops, medical bases and the delivery of ammunition and fuel to the field were challenging, and some of the organization had to be learned ad hoc by soldiers fresh from the RS. 

The speaker concluded his presentation with fundamental questions, not only for the military, but for logistics in general, about the balance between efficiency and redundancy, between control and delegation and between specialization and flexibility in complex logistics systems. How much buffer does a supply chain need under pressure, for example? How much redundancy is acceptable? And in relation to the too thin personnel base from which the Swiss army is currently suffering: What happens if the most important specialists are absent? This is a question that all organizations should ask themselves.

Conclusion: nothing works without logistics

The examples shown were extreme in many respects. They made it clear that modern logistics is and remains a highly complex interplay of planning, supply, technology and management. The discussions following the presentations were correspondingly stimulating. The closing words of Prof. Dr. Wegener and Dr. Acél certainly confirmed the extremes, and the evening ended with a drink on the roof terrace of the ETH in glorious spring weather.

Source: www.acel.ch