With transport activities set to boom over the next 30 years, rapid digitalisation is the only way for the global transport industry to expand its capacity to deal with the needs of the industry.
This was the warning from International Road Federation (IRF) Director General Susanna Zammataro in her plenary presentation at the Southern African Transport Conference yesterday.
Zammataro cited IRF projections that total global transport activity would double by 2050, with passenger transport increasing 2.3-fold, and freight transport 2.6-fold, with the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic creating extra uncertainty.
“Continuing economic development and a growing world population will translate into more demand for transport overall,” said Zammataro. “The transport community must encourage behaviour change and look to employ stimulus packages for economic recovery to fast track decarbonisation of transport and accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility.”
She said that within this context, innovation was not just an option, but an imperative. She said it needed to be 360 innovation, including technology, materials, sustainability, processes, as well as diversity and inclusion.
“As an industry, our collective task should be to create a truly safe, sustainable, efficient, multimodal transportation system,” said Zammataro. “Roads are fundamental to this, but our sector is still lagging behind other sectors in terms of harnessing technology.
“Adopting and mainstreaming digitalisation and new technologies into the planning, design and construction of infrastructure will really be a game changer for our industry.”
She said digitalisation could bring about a complete revolution in the sector by applying artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and analytics to solve infrastructure challenges and move towards a truly circular economy.
By way of example, Zammataro showcased Oris, a digital tool used in the road sector. Oris connects local construction materials to road projects to enhance the design, efficiency, sustainability and the decision-making process.
It evaluates each solution, taking into account carbon footprint, the use of local materials, the lifespan and the cost of the project using 25 norms and standards. The tool is already being used in 13 countries.
Such digitalisation allows road designers to cut costs by an average of 15%, reduce carbon footprint by up to 50%, and reduce the cost of maintenance by up to 70%.
“Digitalisation is crucial for our sector, as it allows us to deliver projects faster,” said Zammataro. “It also brings a different level of efficiency and transparency to the procurement processes, it allows more effective asset management, and a more sustainable use of resources.”
