Cumbrian waste specialist, Brampton Skips, is rolling out ContiPressureCheck™ across its fleet. Brampton Skips Fleet Manager, Neil McPhillips, believes the Continental Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) offers two key benefits for the company’s 20-strong fleet of rigids.

Neil McPhilips said: “This system offers us a vital extra level of safety both for our drivers and other road users, by keeping drivers informed about their tyre pressures and temperatures on a continuous basis through in-cab monitors. On top of that, knowing about low-grade punctures in advance gives us a clear chance to reduce tyre losses through eventual blowouts and uneven wear.”

Neil McPhillips was introduced to ContiPressureCheck™ via local tyre dealer, Cumbria Tyre Specialist Ltd, who supplies all the fleet’s tyres. After initial meetings with both dealer and manufacturer representatives, the decision was taken to run a trial of the system on just one truck. “It went extremely well,” recalls Neil McPhillips, “and we recovered the entire cost of the system within the first two weeks.”

He added: “We spotted tyres that had very low-grade pressure losses and so were able to remove and repair them before they got any worse. Before the arrival of ContiPressureCheck™, these would have simply deteriorated further and may have resulted in blow-outs and complete loss of the tyres. Blow-outs can cost more than simply replacing the tyres, with body and light damage always a possibility, and far, far worse, injuries or even fatalities among drivers and other road users.”

ContiPressureCheck™ is now being rolled out across the whole Brampton Skips’ fleet, and the operator has already saved some 15 tyres since installation. Brampton Skips buys in the sensors to be fitted within each tyre from the dealer, together with the accompanying electronics for the drivers’ in-cab monitor. It then fits the equipment in its own workshops. Continental Tyres and the dealer carried out training on site to help the operator reach the required level of competence to ensure perfect operation of the systems.

The Brampton Skips fleet of rigids currently offer a mix of hook-loaders, draw-bars and skip-loaders, with the operator running ‘Super singles’ on the front axles of its eight and six wheel rigids, to cater for the nine tonne loadings they are allowed. A number of 4×2 skip-loaders complete the line-up.

The company work across Cumbria, Southern Scotland, Northumberland and The Lake District on a wide variety of waste collection, from small domestic 3yd skips up to 1050yd giants for industrial customers. The materials collected are all taken to a local Waste Transfer Station, operated by sister company North West Recycling, for sorting and onward disposal or recycling.

Neil McPhillips said: “We are a family-owned business and that makes us very aware of the safety of our team and the general public. You can’t take chances with safety at any level and I am very glad to have the opportunity to fit ContiPressureCheck™ here at Brampton Skips.”

Alongside the primary considerations of safety, the overall cost equation was a fairly simple calculation. The system on the truck only needs to save a couple of tyres from premature failure and replacement to pay completely for itself.

ContiPressureCheck™ sensors fit inside the tyres, and have a life expectancy of some six years. They can be removed and refitted into fresh tyres whenever required, while the in-cab monitor for drivers can be used for much longer. It is, as Neil McPhillips concludes, “Not a very hard sum to do, especially in the tough environments our skips often find themselves operating in.”

ContiPressureCheck

About the Author: John Loughran