Silent Deliveries – Shhh!

I have just read an article in the Telegraph about Sainsbury’s issuing guidance to it’s delivery drivers in the Cambridge area.

Drivers have been told to “keep conversation to a minimum” and “speak softly” while unloading cages and other goods.

Slamming truck doors has also been banned, while vehicle gear changes must be carried out as quietly as possible.

Engine revs must be kept to a minimum and drivers have been asked to accelerate gently until they are out of earshot.

The measures were introduced at a store in March, Cambridgeshire, in a bid to extend its weekday delivery times from 6pm to 10pm.

Sainsbury’s bosses hope the tactic will convince Fenland District Council to give the application the green light.

But local residents claim the instructions are a “cynical ploy” which will end if the firm’s proposal is passed.

source;  The Telegraph

This isnt the actual drivers that carry out the home deliveries but the drivers that deliver the goods into Sainsbury’s itself.

The residents have a right to be concerned, engine noise does carry and good planting around the delivery bays can do a lot to absorb the noise. Better still would be to tranship the goods into the stores in smaller less noisy vans, but that will cost more.

Buffers on the doors so they can be shut without slamming is a step in the right direction, it would be good to have the loading areas in a different direction from the residential area, but it’s too late for that now.  Reducing noise emissions by modifying or filtering the source of that noise is a good way of dealing with noise pollution. Exhausts, gear changes and engine noise can all be reduced this way.

What about measures to obstruct the path of noise  such as screens and enclosures?  What are the measures to protect the public from noise?  Double or triple glazing can make a big difference when it comes to music and radio.

Sainsbury’s and the residents can work together and make this so that planning permission can go ahead. Planting isnt the only  able to absorb noise It absorbs air pollutants too. If the radios’s / music in the warehouse are carrying then it’s double glazing or don’t turn it on; I know it’s not exciting to work in  a warehouse and the radio is a welcome background noise. There has to be solutions and compromises that don’t result in drivers having to whisper! If done correctly no one will have to ‘go back on their word’. It will also help Sainsbury’s with their carbon footprint, to be greener isn’t just about air pollution and how many miles an item travels from store to door.

Sarah

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Tags: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Carbon Cycle, Carbon footprint, Environment, Noise Pollution, Sainsbury, sainsurys tell drivers to whisper