WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANIES CHOOSE NATIONAL ONE FOR BASE TO VEHICLE COMMUNICATIONS
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At a time when the close control of waste disposal operations is being brought sharply into focus by The Environmental Protection Act, Leigh Environmental has taken the first step towards improving communications with its vehicle fleet by installing National One two-way radios at both dry and wet waste depots.
Enthusiastic response
At the Coventry depot, the first purposebuilt dry waste depot in the country, Depot Manager Dave Hughes is enthusiastic about the system.
"We had already bought a private mobile radio system but the coverage could not be extended when the Corby operation was merged into Coventry. Vehicles at the Corby depot were con nected to a regional Band Ill radio system but this wouldn't cover Coventry. The extended coverage requirements could only be catered for by installing cellphones or switching to National One. We chose National One on the basis of cost and for operational reasons. We only need vehicle to depot communications and the discipline of one minute call duration avoids time wasted in chat and means that the driver is always available to answer calls from the depot. If the driver is absent from the vehicle when called, the identity of the radio unit that called him is left on the radio unit display so that he can quickly return the call. In comparison with our private system we notice the improvement in speech quality with National One as there is a total lack of interference."
Continuous use
National One is fitted to rear-end loading vehicles, roll-on roll-off, skip and trade waste vehicles, operated by Leigh Environmental in Leicestershire, Warwick shire, Northants and the West Midlands. Vehicles handle up to 40 jobs per day and National One is used continuously for messages, directions, problems such as overloaded skips, breakdowns and account queries.
Wet waste
Steve Robinson, the Depot Manager at the Mountsorrel wet waste depot in Leicestershire is equally enthusiastic since National One radios were installed in Leigh Environmental's fleet of 15 tankers. Nine of these are at Mountsorrel and the remainder at Derby and Burton on Trent. The tankers are used for domestic sewage removal, drain descaling and both hazardous and non-hazardous waste. Leigh has contracts involving collections and disposals throughout the UK so a national mobile communications system is required.
Duty of Care
Steve says "The new Duty of Care legislation underlines the responsibilities of the waste producer all the way through the disposal system. Mobile communications helps Leigh to share their customers' duty of care by ensuring that proper procedures are followed from the point of collection through to the disposal point. If a driver has a problem he can refer back immediately to his depot for guidance. We also use National One for diverting vehicles for emergency requirements e.g. road accidents or chemical spillages and for the subsequent re-routing of other vehicles in the fleet.
"As well as depot to vehicle communications it has proved useful for drivers to be able to talk to each other to pass on detailed knowledge on such items as the location of particular septic tank access points."
Growing use
Leigh Environmental are one of a growing number of major waste disposal companies using National One. Other users include Drinkwater Sabey, Biffa, Onyx, Shanks McEwan, Wimpey Waste Management and Hales as well as a number of small independent skip-hire firms. With the introduction of competitive tendering for domestic waste disposal contracts some local council operations who have won contracts outside their traditional operating areas are replacing their restricted range private radio systems with National One trunked radios and taking advantage of the wide area coverage options available.
Low cost communications
The simplicity of operation of the mobile radios and the familiar ruggedness of the fist-microphone mobiles make it a popular choice with drivers who reject the "yuppie" image of cellular phones. National One also beats cellular phones on operating cost with fixed monthly subscriptions from £12.50 per vehicle and no call charges. If you want to com A serious chemical spillage on the Ml motorway prompted a swift response from one of Leigh Environmental's emergency team. eommunicatation is vital when responding to such incidents pare costs for a range of fleet sizes and operating areas, a handy calculator is available from National One. To obtain this or further information on the National One two-way radio network, call Joanna Clark on 0245 275325 or write to GEC National One, Elettra House, Westway, Chelmsford CM1 3BH.