Where there’s waste
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there’s wonga!
Bristol & Avon has invested in a new fleet of eight-leggers, but they aren’t all Euro-5!
Words: Will Shiers / Images: Nigel Spreadbury Where there’s muck, there’s brass – and judging by waste management specialist Bristol & Avon’s impressive fleet of new Scania tippers, there must be a lot of muck in the South-West.
The 15 new arrivals, which joined the 25-strong Bristol & Avon tipper fleet earlier this year, consist of 14 eightleggers and one six-wheeler. They replace a mix of DAFs and Hinos, and are being used by the company’s aggregates division.
Commercial manager Paul Dolan cites a number of reasons why the Avonmouth firm opted for Scania; one key reason is the reliability of the 06-plate versions that remain on the fleet. “They’ve performed really well both on and off the road, and they’ve been well accepted by the drivers,” says Dolan. “Plus it’s easy to sell a used Scania and the whole life costs are good too.” Local dealer Scania South-West gets plenty of praise too. Dolan explains that the dealership, which is just down the road from the company’s Avonmouth head office, has a 24-hour service department. And it’s on the strength of this that the decision was made to take the new trucks on R&M contracts.
Night shift
“Everything gets done at night,” he says. “We drop them off in the evening and collect them at 6am the next morning.” He says South-West is extremely attentive and any problems that arise are quickly resolved. “It’s been staggering the MoTs for us too, because the last thing we wanted was for all 15 to be due at exactly the same time,” he says.
The Scania P400 8x4s have all been fitted with manual gearboxes. “We have tried the Opticruise before,” says Dolan. “In fact, we have one in our low-loader. But for tippers we prefer manual transmissions.” In his opinion no truck maker is yet to produce an automatic gearbox that rivals a manual for tipper work. “Manual boxes are better off road. It’s tried-and-tested technology, and the drivers prefer them,” he says.
When it came to the tipper bodies, Bristol & Avon rekindled its relationship with Thompsons, specifying the Charlton Quarrymaster with Edbro tipping gear. “As a company we are proud of our corporate image. The look of our fleet is important and we specify equipment to aid us in ensuring our vehicles look good for as long as we own them,” explains MD Kevin Berkely.
“We have specified Charlton and Thompsons tipper bodies for many years; they are recognised for their durability and longevity, not to mention the premium resale values we achieve when it comes to selling the vehicles.” Dolan is also impressed with the company’s quick turnaround.
Health and safety
Not for the first time, Bristol & Avon has opted for automatic tailboards. Although previous ones were cable-operated, the Autoloc tailgates fitted on these trucks are air-operated. “The drivers don’t need to leave the cab, which is a huge safety benefit for us,” says Dolan. Other health and safety features include Covermaster electric front-to-back sheeting systems, reversing bleepers and cameras.
Although the tippers are based in Avonmouth, they travel throughout the South-west, South Wales and the Midlands. The work is varied but, as a general rule, they bring aggregate into the Bristol region and haul muck-away out. At the moment the fleet is spending a lot of time delivering to the site of a future industrial estate, just a few miles
from Bristol & Avon’s headquarters, in the shadow of the Severn Bridge. The land needs to be raised, a task that will see the company deliver 850,000t3 of soil and hardcore over the next couple of years.
The orange Scania tippers are also popular at Hanson’s quarry in Tytherington. The site, which has recently been taken out of mothballs, is blasted by Hanson and processed on-site by Bristol & Avon.
The drivers, who all have two-way radios in their cabs, are co-ordinated by transport manager Dave Taaffe. It’s his job to keep empty running to a minimum. When the drivers set off in the morning they never know exactly what they’ll be doing that day. Once they’ve tipped, they call in to find out their next job.
Needless to say, this type of work is not conducive with good fuel economy. That said, Dolan is happy with the 7mpg average that the Scanias are returning.
Toll on tyres
All this off-road work takes its toll on the tyres. On a bad day, Bristol & Avon gets through 10. Dolan says they fit remoulds, because “we aren’t doing thousands of miles up and down the motorway”. It operates its own tyre service van, which saves the company time and money.
Because of the nature of the business, the trucks are prone to receiving the occasional knock; but any damage is repaired immediately. It operates its own workshop, where emergency repairs are carried out.
Bristol & Avon has a strong health and safety ethos, and this is reflected in its approach to the Driver CPC. While Dolan has mixed feelings on the legislation, he says the company has embraced it and turned it to its advantage. “We ensure the courses are relevant, which means both the company and drivers get something out of it.”
An example of this is EPIC training – the qualification needed to drive a tipper in a quarry. As well as being a beneficial qualification for Bristol & Avon drivers, it also counts as one day of the Driver CPC training. “We don’t want to waste our time – or our drivers’,” says Dolan. ■