Cleanaway contracted to clean up Queensland

Cleanaway Waste Management has taken delivery of 18 Scania 6x4 prime movers (six G 480s and 12 R 560 V8s) to service a new contract with a major council in Queensland, to transport non-recoverable general waste from four resource recovery stations to landfill sites.

In order to meet the conditions of the contract, Cleanaway needed to secure prime movers able to effortlessly manage the 22-tonne payloads for the single-trailer rear ejectors and the 33-tonne payloads for the high-volume, side-tipper B-double trailers. The criteria for the prime mover selection centred around reliability, flexibility to undertake a wide variety of tasks and allowance for an increase in payload as the amount of waste increases over time, in line with population growth.

According to Doug Hughes, Cleanaway South East Queensland Regional Manager Post Collections, Scania was able to meet these criteria, which also included a one-stop shop for servicing and maintaining the new trailers as well as the trucks. He said, “We have specified trucks that are able to pull single, B-double or A-double trailers if needed, and they are powerful and capable. They are also comfortable, which is important for our drivers.

“For the G 480s pulling the single rear ejector trailers, the drivers need to exit the vehicle for loading and unloading, so easy access is important for them. The drivers in the R 560 V8s can operate the side loaders from inside the vehicles, including the powered roll-tarps.”

Safety is a key priority for Cleanaway, so the trucks have a full suite of features including an electronic stability program, advanced emergency braking and lane departure warning. Hughes noted, “These vehicles will be on the road approximately 10 hours a day Monday to Friday with some operating on Saturdays, and the volume of material to be transported to landfill sites is consistent, so we need the vehicles to have high availability.

“We don’t travel significant distances annually, perhaps 100,000 km at most per vehicle per year, but the trucks will be in stop-start traffic when loaded, plus the PTOs will be working hard to run the hydraulics of the rear-ejector rams or the side tippers… We have chosen higher capacity trailers than have been used previously, which will give us some additional flexibility with the benefit of fewer journeys each day to transport the waste.

“One of the attractions of Scania was the driver support system that scores the drivers on their driving smoothness and anticipation. We are also using the Scania Communicator and vehicle monitoring system to be able to analyse how the vehicles are being used and how well the drivers are performing.

“There has been positive feedback from the drivers on the star rating system on the dashboard, and we can see a direct correlation between the ability to provide performance feedback to drivers where needed and a reduction in fuel use and wear and tear, which leads to a cost improvement.”

According to Cleanaway Alliance Operations Manager Ben Arthur, who will manage the new contract, Scania trucks have already shown themselves to be solid work vehicles for other waste removal contracts the company undertakes in South-East Queensland. The selection of Scania prime movers for the contract thus makes a lot of sense — a statement reiterated by Scania National Fleet Manager Steven Alberse.

“Around the world Scania is a significant partner with waste transport companies at all levels, from rear load, front load or hook lift collection to bulk industrial waste transport,” Alberse said. “Our trucks are engineered to cope with these payloads and duty cycles, and we are confident the 18 new trucks will serve Cleanaway very well in Queensland.

“In addition, by signing on for our maintenance and monitoring program we and Cleanaway will have a high degree of visibility over the performance of the fleet and drivers, to ensure the vehicles remain available for work, providing maximum uptime.

“With our branches at Richlands and Pinkenba in Brisbane, we will also be able to service the B-double, high-volume side-tipper trailers and the hydraulic ram-driven rear ejector trailers, giving the customer the convenience of being able to transport the entire combination to just one location, enabling reduced VOR time [and] promoting greater fleet efficiencies.”

Image caption: Cleanaway Landfill and Logistics Manager Shannon Gorman and Alliance Operations Manager Ben Arthur in front of the new Scania fleet.