Mobius Waste Recycling Group, our parent group at RTS Waste Management, is always looking to challenge and push boundaries of traditional methods, bringing innovative ideas to its vehicle operations. Waste is not just about moving something you no longer need, there are backroom things we do to continuously improve.
Did you know that around 30% of trucks running cost is just fuel alone? In some cases it's close to 40%, and the reason we focus on fuel use as well as our carbon footprint.
Looking Greener
In the last few months we have added or renewed 42% of the fleet, this has improved our CO2 emissions to euro 5 or higher. Fuel usage has reduced resulting in improved MPG and therefore automatically reducing our carbon footprint, good news all-round.
We have also looked at the way manufacturers make and sell trucks and we have broken the mold there too by specifying a different wheel plan allowing better fuel consumption, tire wear and manoeuvrability.
Out with the old. In with the New…
By the end of June 13 we will also have replaced the entire fleet with a new vehicle telematics system similar to those found in F1 cars. Gone are the days of merely tracking vehicles. This exciting innovation gives us 2 further ghost people (metaphorically) in the truck, a driver trainer and manager, we are able to monitor everything a driver is doing in just about real time.
We will obtain reports on the driving style of the driving including harsh acceleration yes; trucks today are so powerful it is possible to wheel spin the tyres, harsh braking, harsh cornering, fuel consumption, engine idling, speed, even the number of times the footbrake has been pushed or the % of accelerator used. The full reports will be discussed with each driver to improve his techniques and get the best performance from the vehicle and its many components.
Improving Safety
Safety does not escape our thinking either; we are now rolling out on all vehicles above 18 tonnes (gross weight) a 4 way view recording camera system, simultaneously recording left and right side views as well at the front and rear of the truck.
This will provide clear evidence in the event of and accident, the driver also has a cab based monitor to enable him/her to view the vital blind spots, particularly relevant when in London with the increasing number of cyclists and experienced car users who have little logic when attempting to pass these vehicles on the inside, our advice is keep clear at all times and don't place yourself in harms way, in many cases the truck driver cannot see you.
