The growth in the fleet at Collins Transport in recent years has meant that new trucks are not replacements for existing trucks, but extra trucks needed to work in the fleet.
“We’ve still got some of the older trucks, we just keep them and keep rebuilding them,” say Carl Hamilton, Collins’ National Workshop Manager.
“I’ve only been here five years or so and I think we’ve only sold one or two trucks in that time. We’re have been growing very fast. So we can’t afford to let them go just yet.”
Because of the maintenance that we do, a truck that’s 10 years old has got the same drivability as one that’s just been bought yesterday. There’s never an argument with a driver about a truck being an old truck, we just keep replacing what needs to be replaced to keep them up to our high standards.
The drivability and presentation of all the trucks is excellent, it is only the radiator grill shape which gives away the trucks’ age on the road. The first K 200 in the Collins fleet is number 109, and the latest trucks in the fleet, the K220s bring the numbers up to 226.
“Our model is keeping trucks and to keep rebuilding them,” says Carl. “On average, trucks on the Sydney run are doing about 500,000 km per annum.
“The system keeps our drivers rested and, obviously, legal, and it keeps our trucks fully utilised.”
The philosophy for drivers revolves around precision changeovers. Collins has got drivers living in regional towns on the Adelaide to Sydney route. The stages are designed so that each driver is only required to do minimal legal driving hours per day.
A typical day will see some drivers go from Adelaide to Mildura, swapping trailers and then coming back to Adelaide, six hours out and then six hours back. Other drivers will go through to other regional locations where we have accommodation available 365 days a year.
“It’s harder getting drivers than it used to be, no doubt,” says Carl. “There are a lot drivers now that are applying for jobs and coming on board so we have increased our driver training considerably.
“So the demographic of the driver is changing, it used to be kids out of school, that drove the truck with their dad, and they just grew up with the industry. Some of the new guys that come from overseas just need tweaking, and some of them need full-on training.”
A dedicated member of the operation team monitors the driving data from the MTData system, for any issues like, over-revving, harsh braking etc. The operation uses both BFM and AFM for fatigue management, if needed, to manage the different schedules.
The older trucks in the fleet are K104s, and they predominantly work on the Melbourne runs which are easier and shorter.
Most of them have Caterpillar engines in them. Caterpillar reckon Collins are one of the biggest operations running yellow engines to power their trucks. It is still possible to get a remanufactured C15, but these older K104 models are likely to be retired in the coming years, as the operation’s growth settles down.
The trucks use the standard sleeper cab. The big cab would get the operation into dimension trouble because of the extra length caused by the trailer fridges.
Less than two years ago the entire fleet was running as B-doubles, but after introducing B-triples and seeing them become a growing percentage of the fleet, productivity is growing fast. Last year, the operation began using A-doubles and has recently grown that part of the business.
A large part of Collins’ transport businesses, involves warehousing, freezer freight and chiller freight. The main storage facility has been developed to the North-East of Adelaide, in Virginia handle the collection and consolidation of the freight.
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