Archive

Archive for March, 2011

Truck Lock to Secure Pallets, Lee Lock

March 25th, 2011 No comments
Lee Lock secures Pallets whilst in transit

Lee Lock secures Pallets whilst in transit

The recent FTA Safety In Transport conference in Coventry heard that VOSA is increasing their focus on checking load safety and security when operators trucks and trailers are stopped by the organisation.

Speakers from VOSA and the HSE explained how the two organisations have been working together on road-side checks to improve VOSA’s understanding of load safety and educate the industry’s front-line staff.

It is reported that 1200 people a year are injured during the loading and unloading of vehicles at the workplace: 64% of these accidents involved someone falling from height, while 17% saw the victim hit by a falling object or material. To give a comparison against other vehicle injuries, in contrast only 11% of casulaties were from someone being hit by a moving vehicle.

A substantial number of the incidents occurred when people had climbed onto the vehicles where loads had shifted in transit and were struck by falling objects. The majority of which were sustained when opening doors or curtains.

There is a simple solution to this health and safety issue, invest in a product like Lee Lock to secure pallets in a truck whilst they’re in transit. 

aide automotive has a range of automotive products to suit your needs.

FUEL THEFT HOT SPOT REPORT from aide automotive

March 24th, 2011 Comments off

February 14, 2011

A truck driver had up to 200 litres of fuel stolen from his vehicle while he was asleep in the cabin in Woodley Nr Reading overnight.

The lorry was parked in London Road on Monday, January 31, when the fuel cap to his vehicle was removed and between 120 and 200 litres of fuel was stolen.

 

February 3rd 2011

POLICE have sent out a warning to lorry drivers in East Yorkshire after fuel was stolen from a vehicle. The theft happened between 9pm and midnight on Tuesday when a Scania heavy goods vehicle was parked in a lay-by on the A63 westbound, close to the South Cave slip road.  Thieves had removed both the lorry’s fuel caps and siphoned diesel from the tank. East Yorkshire Police officers are asking drivers to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious activity.

 

March 2011

Kent Police reckon they arrested a Lithuanian gang last week for stealing diesel, they were flogging it back to the own countrymen to save them filling up over here.

 

Contact aide automotive today to see how our Anti Syphon Devices can help protect your fuel.

Tyre Pressure Monitoring

March 21st, 2011 No comments

Tyre Pressure Monitoring is an essential part of your vehicle maintenance routine because statistics prove that you’re more likely than not to be driving on under-inflated tyres!  One company  checked the tyre condition of 38,000 cars in nine European countries, the results showed a staggering 71% of participating motorists were driving on tyres inflated to a lower than recommended pressure.

The majority of these under-inflated tyres were admittedly less than 0.5 bar under pressure, yet 7.5 per cent of motorists’ tyres were more than 0.5 bar under pressure and half a percent of motorists were driving on tyres at least 0.75 bar under pressure.

By checking the pressure of your tyres, you’ll be preventing the chance of blow outs, which could result in a serious  or fatal accident.  Also by maintating the correct tyre pressure of your vehicle you’ll run a mnore efficient vehicle too.

Check out tyre pressure monitors such as PressurePro or Air Alert.

Truck and Trailer Brake testing

March 16th, 2011 No comments

Trailer Brake Testing is becoming an essential element of vehicle maintenance as VOSA puts more pressure on operators to not only brake test the truck but also test the trailer as well!

Brake Testers such as BrakeCheck are excellent tools to test brakes and demonstrate their efficiency for both the truck and the trailer, but it won’t allow you to test each individual wheel. To identify which wheel is defective you’ll also need to use a tool such as a Infra Red Thermometer. Using this device in addition to a brake tester is a very useful way of checking individual wheel disks or drums to determine brake activation. VOSA recommend the use of Infra Red Thermometers and see them as good practice in any workshop, in fact they’re also using themsleves for road side tests. With the ease of just pointing the gun at the wheel hub from the outer edge of a trailer or truck and without removing wheels this device is ideal to complete a brake check.

aide automotive have also introduced another new product in response to this growing demand, The BrakeCheck TT. This new brake tester tests both the Truck and the Trailer! It allows operators to use the report produced to demonstrate brake effiency on the vehicle. Using a decelerometer to test trailer brakes is a positive method for any operator to achieve further regular testing that can be recorded and used as evidence if required. In today’s world of “Duty Of Care” all management staff need to increase their awareness of reporting and detailing what best they can do to achieve a safe working environment for employees and the general public. BrakeCheck TT will conduct a tractor unit and then tractor and trailer test, reporting both tests on one simple report. With the option to download the test to a PC or print out through a portable printer, hard copy evidence of trailer braking can be recorded with ease and at a cost effective solution.

Brake Testing for trucks and trailers

Brake Testing for trucks and trailers

Pallet Truck Lock , Lee Lock

March 12th, 2011 No comments

The majority of transport companies require a pallet truck to manoeuvre goods when they’re delivering to customer’s premises. This presents a few concerns to the operator, as the pallet truck could damage the goods in transit or damage the truck curtains. Also there is concern for the operator if a tyre is used to secure the pallet truck there is a risk of injury to the operator through lifting it into the tyre

One European operator was so concerned with these issues that they have used Lee Lock on their entire fleet of vehicles.

Lee Lock is a device that locks the pallet truck in place at all times, so there is no danger of the truck slamming into other pallets, slashing the curtain side and as the pallet truck slots into the lock there’s no chance of any back injury from lifting.

Lee Lock addresses all of these issues in a simple but effective way! As fleet managers are now faced with demonstrating they are addressing health and safety issues, the modest one-off price for the Lee Lock is an attractive solution. For a small investment these managers can secure a pallet truck in transit and avoid costly repairs to damage the truck could cause in the vehicle. As this European Operator found for a small investment in Lee Lock, they reduced repair costs and insurance claims on damaged goods, not to mention having a driver off work recovering from a back injury.

aide automotive sells a range of automotive products

Pallet Truck Lock, Lee Lock

Pallet Truck Lock, Lee Lock

Diesel Key News

March 10th, 2011 No comments

Following Mercedes Dealer interest in the Mis fuelling Device Diesel Key, aide automotive are please to announce two new dealers to purchase  Diesel Key for their customers.

 

 

 

Orwell Truck & Van in Ipswich and Sharshatts of Kent have recently purchased a number of Diesel Keys.

With major fleet orders taken by aide automotive to fit the Walkers Snacks and Ginsters Sprinters there is an opportunity for any Mercedes dealer to offer this product to their customers and help against the FLEET HEADACHE OF MIS FUELLING!

aide automotive can help with marketing or promotional activities and with a free sample offer, Mercedes Dealers have an excellent opportunity to offer customers a major cost saving and a less hassle product to help keep a fleet on the road.

PRODUCT UPDATE!
Diesel Key Approved by Mercedes Australia.

PRODUCT FEEDBACK:
Following some driver feedback, we have been informed by some drivers that they believed the red cap needed to be screwed on as tight as virtually possible.

This is not the case; this cap needs to be screwed on with no excessive force and with one hand until the cap cannot be turned anymore.

Click on Diesel Key or Mis Fuelling to read more.

 

 

Brake Testing and Tyre Pressure Monitoring are Essential Health and Safety checks for Fleet Managers

March 7th, 2011 No comments

Brake Testing and Tyre Pressure Monitoring have never been so important for fleet managers!  The first ever criminal case of corporate manslaughter recently reached it’s final verdict and Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings were found guilty of the death of a 27-year-old geologist, who died when a trench in which he was working collapsed. Prosecutors successfully argued that the company had failed to take reasonably precautions to prevent the trench from collapsing and protect Alex Wright, the geologist from his working conditions.

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, his employer has been fined £385,000, this is a smaller amount than originally anticipated and there was no prison sentence either. However this is a significant fine however small or large your business. This case acts as an example to all organisations to ensure that helath and safety is top of the corporate agenda.

Companies running fleets of vehicles should take heed of the sentencing and ensure that they are not only regularly testing and checking brakes and tyres of their vehicles but can also demonstrate that they have been following these procedures.

aide automotive have two products that can ensure these health and safety checks are carried out and to avoid any such cases being bought against your company!

For Tyre Pressure Monitoring use PressurePro or Air Alert to ensure your vehicle has the correct PSI for your tyres

For Brake Testing use BrakeCheck,

Many companies are still not taking these procedures seriously but this first case should now demonstrate how serious an issue corporate manslaughter is to a business

Brake Testing for commercial vehicles
Brake Testing for commercial vehicles
Tyre Pressure Monitoring

Tyre Pressure Monitor, PressurePro

Air Line Breakdowns. Bessie Is Faster Than A Phone Call & Could save Hundreds of Pounds a Year

March 5th, 2011 No comments

Following major interest from transport companies in the New Bessie Quick Air Line Replacement System.

We are pleased to now offer the Bessie Semi Kit following customer feedback and reviews of the Bessie.

The Bessie Semi Kit is designed to help reduce costs and save on existing air lines.

 

The Bessie Semi Kit contains 2 new lines and the additional items required to convert 2 existing air that were removed from the vehicle to Bessie Lines and then to be used as the spare lines.

 

Matthew Burke stated “we always like to listen and take on board all comments with regard to our new and existing products, cost is always something we try to improve on and in this occasion we have found a way make a product more cost effective and not to create unnecessary waste.”

 

Broken airlines are reported to be 10% of truck breakdowns and a persistent problem to transport firms as breakdown fees and down time could lead to missed delivery slots and fines.

The Bessie Air Line Replacement System is designed to reduce breakdown down time, fees and missed delivery slots. As Bessie is effectively a normal airline with a quick release coupling on both ends a driver can replace a broken line within minutes and then be on the way to make that all important delivery time slot.

Contact aide automotive to lear more.