In a new series, the ESPORG team will be interviewing prominent figures within the logistics industry who we feel embody the values of safety, security, connectivity, sustainability and wellbeing and who serve as role models for best practices and innovative ideas within transportation. Our first interviewee is Clarisse from ESPORG member and SSTPA La Londonienne.
ESPORG: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Clarisse: My name is Clarisse Hénon, I am the assistant to the director and I have worked for La Londonienne for almost 3 years now.
ESPORG: What is your favorite project you or your company is currently working on?
Clarisse: We are currently working on developing the parking area by offering new services/commodities, particularly outdoor fitness installations and also activities in order to improve the well-being of our customers.
ESPORG: What kind of activities?
Clarisse: In the future, we maybe want to organize a chess competition for drivers, for example. We have so many drivers from all over the world who speak different languages and this is an easy way for them to interact without language being a problem. Also, sport activities with a coach or group lessons led by someone. We want to stimulate them to be together and be social.
ESPORG: What do you think sets your company apart from the rest in the market?
Clarisse: I think that the level of security of our secure parking area is very high thanks to great investments, our internal security service and the state-of-the-art technologies which are in place set our parking apart from the rest in the market.
ESPORG: What do you think are the biggest challenges the industry faces today?
Clarisse: I think that the biggest challenge the industry of secure parking faces today is constantly insuring security in a context where migration issues are having a growing impact on hauliers (covert intrusion, BORDER FORCE penalties, damage to goods and vehicles, delivery delays, multiplication of controls), customers (risk of aggression, stress, risk of accident) and also secure parking areas, especially when the public authorities do not listen to us.
ESPORG: What kind of issues have you had?
Clarisse: There are migrants waiting for opportunities to climb into the cargo. They want to get into UK and are willing to risk their lives. We have serious issues with them cutting the top of the trailer without the driver seeing and entering the cargo—not in our parking area. We check for this, but outside of the parking area between two roundabouts. Our customers pay for secure parking and have no intrusions in the parking area but when they exit 100 m away, there’s an opportunity for someone to climb into the trucks.
This has serious consequences for drivers and for transport companies: even if the driver doesn’t know there’s an intrusion, if the migrants are discovered by UK Border patrol, there is a penalty for the driver and another for the company which can be up to 16,000 GBP.
We aren’t the only ones; several other transporters have this issue. In our zone (Transmarck-Turquerie) there are hauliers and secure parks as well as the other different companies of the zone who are facing this issue related to hidden intrusions. It’s why we have created an association with the companies of Transmarck-Turquerie in the zone next to the highway, A16, exit 48. In this way, we can assert our interests to authorities and politicians and have more power.
ESPORG: Who is part of this association?
Clarisse: We, La Londonienne, for example and among others, C4T, Calais Truck Stop, RDV, Polley, XPO transport, Pidou Logistics and also Maison Roches or even Transdev.
ESPORG: What kind of extra security have you already invested in to mitigate these risks?
Clarisse: We have a drone to detect any cuts in the trailers, dogs who detect people before they enter, security staff are trained with the drone and do routine aerial checks.
ESPORG: What do you like to do in your free time?
Clarisse: What I like the best is cooking and being outside in the countryside for walking, reading, enjoying the land and animals.
ESPORG: What’s your favorite thing to cook?
Clarisse: Many things, but I don’t like to follow the recipe. I look at what I have in the pantry and I like to be creative. I love to cook for my family, for example roast turkey, with potatoes and french fries.
I do not like to bake ! I also love nature and I cannot live in the big city. It’s impersonal.
ESPORG: What topic do you think the industry should be focusing more on?
Clarisse: I think that the industry should take part to improve the well-being of drivers; however,in order for parking operators to be able to invest in installation/equipment, it would be important to have EU grants or subsidies to help the operator who want to make these investments . We know that the EU promotes this important aspect to solve the lack of drivers in Europe and that could help improve the secure parking program.
We want to improve the parking area and grant/subsidies to stimulate the parking areas that are already there to attract new drivers, and young drivers. Generations are changing and new/young drivers no longer particularly want to stay in their cab for 1 week without going home. They want to have activities with other drivers. They want to have a feeling (and we want to give them that feeling) of a home away from home.
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