Grundon opens
Page 89
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Elm workshop
I Special attention was paid the foundations and floors at le new E1 million workshop nd office complex opened last ionth by the Grundon Group t Beenham, near Reading.
The reason was that there an unusually high water able on the Grange Lane ite. The main workshop floor as eight-inch deep precast oncrete sections to take the 0.5-tonne axle loads of a laen waste vehicle.
Floor space in the main vorkshop, where vehicle aaintenance and repairs are arried out, is 590m2 5,900sqft), comprising four all-size vehicle bays, two of hem equipped with 20-tonne apacity Castle pillar lifts, corndete with jacking beams to 3,Te "wheel free" maintennee access.
An overhead Verlinde )ower-travel gantry crane proides for easy cab and/or en;ine removal. A Crypton 630 oiler tester enables vehicle waking performance to be :hecked. Engine and hydraulic ill as well as water and cornwessed air are dispensed via ovenient wall-mounted hose'eels. Exhaust gases are renoved via underfloor ducts. Replenishing the fuel each day in Beenham's fleet of refuse lorries, vans and cars is a major logistical and administrative operation. The depot was planned from the outset to be fully self-contained, with nearly 50,000 litres (11,000 gallons) of underground storage comprising two 5,000 gallon diesel tanks and a 600 gallon petrol tank.
A fuel "island" is situated at the entrance to the depot, where diesel duel and petrol can be drawn from three pumps. Precise monitoring of fuel use is ensured by an electronic Monitronix remote metering installation, controlled from inside the spacious traffic office, whose large windows overlook the fuel island area.
Each driver carries a key giving him "access" to the refuelling system. Both the vehicle and the driver are identified each time fuel is dispensed, without the need for manually completed paperwork.
Vehicle operations are controlled from the traffic office nerve centre by transport manager David Barnard and his colleague Kate Van Dyk, who was at Caversham for 12 years before the move to Beenham.
When waste compactors need repair or routine main tenance, service engineers David Fairey and Kevin Mee go into action. The five regular vehicle fitters in the workshop include two newcomers, Nick Goldup and John Caulfield, recruited from Reading's former Leyland dealer AB Trucks. Their experience is proving invaluable in looking after Grundon's mainly Leyland fleet.
The Reading depot is located close to the group's established 43-acre Beenham landfill site, alongside the main A4 road west of Reading, close to M4 junction 12. Richie Bray is the director in charge.
Land reclamation is an integral part of Grundon's waste management policy and 15 acres have already been restored to agricultural land. Planning consent for the new depot, which comes within Newbury District Council's jurisdiction, was conditional on extensive landscaping and the buildings meeting acceptable 1980s standards of appearance, harmonising with rural surroundings, as well as construction. Vandyke Brown precolour coated steel is used, for example, for the upper cladding on the workshop building. Trident Construction of Slough was the main contractor.
Trade waste customers being served from Beenham now number nearly three thousand.
Industrial and trade waste customers come from the areas of Berkshire, Hampshire and beyond served by the group's Reading depot. Waste containers will be refurbished on the premises in the interests of appearance and serviceability. The administration has been streamlined thanks to computer-based customer records, invoicing and control of the 26-strong fleet of waste collection lorries.
Over 50 people, including lorry drivers and crew, are employed at the seven acres greenfield depot site.