East Waste under control with Isuzu

South Australian refuse company East Waste services seven member councils with up to 40 domestic side and rear loaders including a fleet of new Isuzu FVY 240-300 Dual Control trucks.

The roads and services may differ markedly across the seven council areas, but East Waste’s approach remains constant: high quality, efficient waste and resource recovery that adapts with growing South Australian communities.

East Waste’s operations team headed by Operations Co-ordinator, Ray Pawa, Manager of Operational Services, Brian Krombholz, and Risk & WHS Co-ordinator, Ian Lampre are helping to ensure the company is keeping one step ahead of the competition, and living up to their Councils and community expectations.

Covering over 1200 square kilometres of collection area in the seven member councils, East Waste runs a five-day-per week operation.

In the suburbs close to Adelaide’s CBD, Ray’s operations logs record the drivers navigating around 100 kilometres a day of waste collection. Up in the Adelaide Hills precinct, it’s closer to 300kms per day.

Getting behind the wheel at least once a week Ray, Brian and Ian note how new innovations in truck manufacturing are slowly changing the face of waste and resource recovery by driving safety, efficiency and environmental standards, while improving on the job working conditions for drivers.

“The development of the equipment over time is chalk and cheese, comparing these new models to what we used to run,” said Ray.

“We take our rules and regulations very seriously, constantly monitoring the weights, making sure we don’t overload the vehicles and looking out for the staff.”

Telematics improvements play a huge role here, giving both East Waste’s drivers and operations team detailed feedback on performance.

Related reading:
Isuzu offers servicing minus the stress
JDM and Hazell Bros cement their future with Iuzu
Review: Isuzu FYJ2000 8x4 tilt tray

“All our trucks are hooked up with a 3Logix GPS system and six cameras around the vehicle. We know what speeds they’re doing, where they stop, how long they stop for, and this means we can make sure our drivers are having sufficient fatigue breaks,” said Ray.

“The community needs to have confidence that we’re doing the right thing, always.

“An independent auditor comes out annually to check the fleet, but we keep a close eye on repairs and make sure our vehicles are roadworthy,” Ray continues.

“North East Isuzu has already been a big help to us in this regard. They took on the audit this year and got through the whole fleet in just over two weeks—it was fantastic.

“It usually takes us three months to get through a comprehensive audit like that.”

With community and driver safety of utmost priority, Ray’s new fleet of Isuzu FVY 240-300 Dual Control models come highly recommended, featuring Isuzu’s standard offering of ABS, large electric mirrors and cornering lamps for urban laneway safety. Additionally, the FVY Dual Control comes updated with further elements including interlocks for control change over, and highly visible safety grab handles and steps.

With 20 years of experience behind the wheel as a side-lift operator and eight years in management, Ray’s industry knowledge stands him in good stead supporting East Waste’s operations team. And when it comes to waste and resource recovery, economy and reliability are non-negotiable, notes Ray.

“The councils are absolutely focused on financial performance and efficiency of the business, in terms of how we’re running things and the equipment we use to assist us, as they should be.

“We need to keep a close eye on the return figures, and a big part of that is the weight.”

Typically, the company looks at changing over their side and rear loading trucks every 190,000 to 250,000 kilometres, ensuring the fleet is up to date with the latest technology.

Ray commenced the latest round of fleet upgrades in 2019, choosing Isuzu Trucks to provide a solution for East Waste’s growing requirements. North East Isuzu put in a successful tender to support East Waste with 15 new Isuzu FVY 240-300 Dual Control models, the last of which is due to hit the roads in early 2021.

“The FVY Dual Controls offered 500kg in weight savings per truck, maintaining our internal goals, while offering us the latest technology too,” said Ray.

“When you talk about 500 kg across an entire fleet, that’s a considerable weight saving of around a truck or a truck and a half.

With greater focus on productivity in local government and civil services, Isuzu’s Dual Control offering has been gaining steady traction with operators seeking improved payload and operating efficiency. Certainly, the practical mix of price, smart engineering and capability for application is what brought the FVY 240-300 Dual Control to East Wastes Operations Team’s attention as a suitable fleet option.

Hendrickson airbag rear suspension and double acting shock absorbers provide excellent weight advantage. For East Waste’s requirements, Ray also notes the six-cyclinder Isuzu engine is well up to par: with peak power reaching 221kW (296 HP) at 2400rpm and torque of 981Nm at 1450rpm.

Meritor axles in the front and rear (with the rear axle tandem set featuring driver-controlled inter-axle lock and cross-lock), Meritor “Q-Plus” air brakes and Allison LCT 3500 Series six-speed automatic transmission rounds out the engineering package.

Ray says driver acceptance of the new FVY models has been high, with positive feedback provided on the functional dual control layout—which can be adjusted with a simple switch on the dash.

The comfort of an ISRI 6860 pneumatic lumbar support driver’s seats on both sides of the cab have also been well received.

“Anyone driving a truck and operating the controls knows the physical toll it can take on you. It’s exhausting. It can be up to 8 or 10 hours a day,” he adds.

“The comfort in these new cabs is fantastic… and the Allison auto is definitely appreciated. The package is bullet proof.”