Desempenho operacional do transporte de cargas: o caso de um agente transportador autônomo do Município de Porto Xavier/RS

Abstract

Cargo transport in Brazil is one of the fundamental services to assist in the development and productive growth of the country. Currently, the transport of road cargo is the source of income of many autonomous workers, who are dedicated to the activity of transporting goods both in the national territory and in neighboring countries. In this sense, performance analysis through indicators is very important for the self-employed, because the operations performed for the movement of loads require knowledge and control of all costs. Thus, the problem of this study can be translated into: how can the study of vehicle performance indicators assist in the operational management of an autonomous cargo transport agent in the municipality of Porto Xavier/RS? To answer this question, we analyzed how these indicators can assist in the operational management of the autonomous carrier agent. To achieve the general objective it was necessary: to describe the operations performed in the provision of cargo transport service; identify the management of the current operating costs of the carrier agent; verify the relationship between current operating cost records with vehicle performance indicators; and suggest an operational management model with vehicle performance indicators. As a theoretical support for the study, the concept of logistics and its operations were used; road modal; road freight transport; operational cost management; and methods and systematics of evaluation of performance of cargo vehicles. Regarding the method, this study is classified as qualitative, descriptive and case study. To collect data, observation techniques and documentary research were used in the carrier's cost control records. To process the data, the analysis of three defined categories was performed: [1] transport operations; [2] operational management; and [3] performance indicators. The main results show that to perform a trip it is necessary to pay attention to all processes, from knowledge regarding vehicle characteristics, cargo scheduling, cargo processing and travel. Similarly, it is perceived that the self-employed does not take into account all items that influence their operational performance, which are loading and unloading time, hours worked, and fuel expenditures. Thus, an operational management model with vehicle performance indicators, proposed through a spreadsheet, was suggested to assist the autonomous carrier more efficiently.