MAN Truck & Bus UK acquires HRVS Group

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd has purchased the HRVS Group and, in so doing, has acquired five dealerships located in Ripley, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Scunthorpe and Sleaford, and a customer workshop in Burton-upon-Trent.CEO of MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd, Thomas Hemmerich, said: "The acquisition will undoubtedly strengthen our wholly-owned branch network which, following the HRVS purchase, now numbers 24 vehicle service and sales locations."This acquisition is of major importance to our business as it both strengthens our network footprint and further ensures our presence in several key strategic locations. HRVS will continue to operate as usual for now. The only difference is that the business is now owned by MAN Truck & Bus UK."

Magic carpet ride

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:Fundamentally, wheel hubs have not changed in design for a hundred years, with some combination of tapered roller bearings (TRBs) taking axial and radial forces, and seals to keep lubricant in and water and dirt out. But there are developments even now, and it is useful to be aware of what these mean for inspection, maintenance and replacement."It's such a small area of the repair side of trucks, but with big consequences," says Paul Bodycot, product quality engineer for Volvo Group UK.Inspection can involve static testing using a dial test indicator (DTI) - in which case even a very small amount of play is unacceptable. But Alistair Baldwin, master technician at TruckEast Scania in Norwich, prefers to spin the wheel and listen to the hub bearings - a straightforward test which needs no specialist equipment. He says: "When we inspect [trucks and trailers] we always jack them up and spin them. You'll hear if it's gone, whether it's a tapered bearing or a cassette.

Licence to skill

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:While the irtec technician licensing scheme might have started as a customer requirement,over the years it has become evermore integrated into workshop staff management structures, at least judging from the testimony of truck rental firm Fraikin, bus operators Arriva and National Express, truck dealers Rygor Group and Scania and training provider GTG.As the UK imposes no legal minimum requirements for heavy vehicle technicians, irtec provides an independent assessment of technician competence at four levels (service and maintenance technician, inspection technician, advanced technician and master technician). Assessment may be either through third-party assessments, or certification of internal assessors. Once achieved, however, irtec licences only last five years. Which is why some of the first adopters of the relaunched irtec scheme have now completed technician reassessments. Others' plans, delayed by COVID, will roll out later this year.

Trailsrs as a service

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:Not content with supplying refrigeration units plus aftersales support, Thermo King is now promoting an all-in deal for operators of temperature-controlled trailers under the 'premier+' banner.As well as the fridge unit, it includes the trailer itself, the necessary funding and an all-embracing service and maintenance package. Everything can be covered by a single monthly payment.Support is delivered with the help of the company's dealer network. "Our dealers are familiar with trailers and do a lot of work with our trailer partners," says Thermo King vertical integration programme leader, Brian O'Donoghue."In the UK, we have eight fixed service locations which are supplemented by approximately 200 mobile service vans with fully-trained technicians," adds a Thermo King spokesman.

Maritime awards £1.3m in driver safety bonuses

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:Maritime Transport reports that it saw a significant reduction in road-related incidents and an increase in the number of drivers who achieved top-end telematics grades in 2020.As a result, the company rewarded over 2,000 drivers in December with a bonus payment averaging around £600 per driver. Furthermore, 69 drivers across Maritime's depot network who achieved optimal telematics grades for safe and efficient driving and remained incident-free throughout the year received an additional £1,000 uplift.Maritime's safety bonus initiative, now in its eighth consecutive year, was introduced as a means of encouraging its driver workforce to maintain higher levels of safety and compliance on UK roads. Based on vehicle telematics scores, drivers are graded between A - G on their driving performance via a range of key performance indicators, such as fuel efficiency, braking, and acceleration. In 2020,99.4% of drivers finished 2020 with A-C grades.

Cartwrights expands fleet with Hiab loaders

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:West Midlands-based Cartwrights Waste Disposal has added four new Hiab Multilift skip loaders and a hook loader installed on DAF chassis to its fleet of specialist trucks.The investment will help the family-run business manage increasing demand from skip hire and commercial waste customers across the region.Hiab's remote-controlled operation on the skiploaders and automatic sheet coverings is said to give the drivers more time to increase the number of daily drops and collections by up to 60%.The four Futura12 skiploaders and additional Ultima24 hookloader join an existing fleet of 18 trucks and four trailers.

in brief…

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:England's first-ever hydrogen double decker buses have launched in London. The 20 new hydrogen fuel cell double decker buses are first being introduced on route 7 between East Acton and Oxford Circus run by operator Metroline. It is not the first use of hydrogen-powered buses in London; Tower Transit operated a fleet of single-deckers out of a depot near the Olympic park in east London. The double-deckers were manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland. Ambulance conversion specialist VCS is set to unveil Europe's first 5.0t front-wheel drive, single rear-wheel modular ambulance. Designed and produced specifically for St John Ambulance as a bariatric ambulance, the new vehicle is based on a MAN TGE and uses a new Promech-developed floor architecture.

Daimler launches serial production of eActros

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:Following two years of user testing, Mercedes-Benz is launching serial production of the battery-electric eActros truck, with the first vehicles rolling off the line in autumn 2021. The 4×2 and 6×2 urban distribution vehicle offers a capacity of up to 27t, wheelbases from 4-5.5m and range of up to 400km (250mi) with fou r batteries, or 300km (186mi) with three batteries. (Those figures were calculated after battery preconditioning for a partially-loaded vehicle without a trailer at a temperature of 20℃). The 105kWh batteries, which each weigh 740kg and are mounted below the chassis rails, power two e-axles as well as ancillaries such as goods and cabin cooling.

Letter to the editor

[国外交通期刊数据库] 作者:Andy Latham

摘要:On a week off I caught up with the last two Transport Engineer journals and especially enjoyed the May 2021 publication. I feel that I need to comment upon the article 'Making and Breaking' by Peter Shakespeare, along with the comment from Michael Sweetmore. One aspect of the reuse of vehicle parts that was not mentioned anywhere in the piece is that the UK now leads the world in certification of vehicle dismantlers and recyclers through VRA Certification. The aim of the certification is very clear: the reclaimed part has been accurately identified, recorded, tested, removed and sold by a vehicle recycler that operates a robust quality management system, and has the appropriate environmental authorisations in place.

ENFORCED Lane discipline

[国外交通期刊数据库]

摘要:The aim of the new passenger car systems is said to be to reduce the number of accidents caused by human error - the Department of Transport claims it plays a role in over 85% currently. According to DfT, they will enable drivers to "...hand control over to the vehicle, which will constantly monitor speed and keep a safe distance from other cars." The driver must, however, be ready and able to resume driving control when prompted by the vehicle. The way that this technology has been classified is not without its critics: see sidebar, p11. Within the truck world, there are currently four manufacturers offering some form of active lane departure warning systems (LDWS): Volvo, Scania, MAN and Mercedes. All of these require drivers to keep their hands on the wheel at all times, but deliver differing levels of haptic (vibration) warning or physical assistance when the system 'sees' it as necessary.