Measurement and Analysis of Last-Mile Parcel Delivery Truck Vibration Levels in Korea

Abstract

South Korea has one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world. The last-mile delivery segment of e-commerce often causes critical damage to products in protective packages. Despite the rapid growth of the e-commerce market in Korea, the last-mile distribution environment has not yet been thoroughly investigated. The main aim of this study was to provide an understanding of the vibration levels that were measured from various parcel delivery routes within Seoul, Korea, using common types of parcel delivery trucks. Vibration levels of ten delivery trucks were measured and analyzed in terms of power spectral densities (PSDs) and presented as PSD spectra. The last-mile delivery vehicle vibration levels in Korea were found to be consistently lower (in the 1 to 200 Hz frequency range) than those recommended by international standards and lower than the vibration levels of parcel delivery vehicles in the U.S. and Hungary. The results also revealed that the highest intensity peak of the PSD spectrum for Korea was located in the lower frequency range (1.5 to 2 Hz) compared to the ISTA 3A pickup and delivery test profile (3 to 4 Hz) and the test profile recommended for Hungary (13 to 16 Hz). A smoothed composite spectrum was also provided to support Korean packaging engineers in optimizing their packages by simulating proper last-mile truck delivery vibration levels in lab conditions.

Measurement and Analysis of the Shock and Drop Levels Experienced by Small and Medium Packages in the Korean Parcel Delivery System

“…This study selected ground shipping services to investigate since they account for 93% of parcel delivery in Korea [26] due to their shorter delivery distances when compared with larger geographical regions such as USA, Europe, or China. Two out of the three main components of package test protocols, over-the-road truck vibration profiles [27] and last-mile delivery vehicle vibration profiles [28], have recently been investigated for the Korean package distribution system. Despite the above-mentioned critical impact of regionalized package testing standards, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have thoroughly investigated the remaining component of package testing protocols, which is the shock profile for packages in Korea.…”