Scania aids construction waste recycling

A family-owned and run company that specialises in resource recovery and recycling for the Victory construction industry says its success is underpinned by Scania trucks.

Melbourne-based Fieldmans Waste Management captures pre-sorted waste materials from large construction sites before transferring the material to suitable recyclers. The company even recycled its own name, with 'Fieldmans' the result of a little rejigging of the Mansfield family name...

And according to the firm’s Operations Manager, Jake Mansfield, business is strong, with many construction companies doing all they can to achieve a Green Star certification.

“Waste has become a focal point for construction,” he says. “Builders are doing their best to limit waste that goes to landfill, partly due to the increasing cost of EPA levies and landfill access, and partly to safeguard their Green Star accreditation. We are helping them by placing collection bins on site for self-sorting by material type, and waste recycling levels are now approaching 80 to 85 per cent.

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“As members of the Green Building Council of Australia and the Victorian Waste Management Association, we provide builders with an end-to-end service, including reports detailing the waste removal that they need for accreditation.

“Our family comes from a construction background so we understand what our customers need and how they work. That gives us a competitive edge, although you still have to deliver on your promises.”

The company also supplies waste recovery solutions for large shopping centres and property groups, utilising its array of hundreds of commercial bins ranging in size from 1.5 cubic metres to 31 cubic metres. The skip, bulk and crane bins are supplied and retrieved by the Fieldmans’ fleet of 10 hooklift or crane trucks, while it also runs rear and front lift truck waste removal services.

“We started off with some smaller Japanese trucks but, as the business has grown, we have shifted to heavier-duty Scania trucks,” Jake says. “The Scanias give us a much bigger payload, especially in 8x4 configuration, plus excellent fuel efficiency, while the drivers love them for their comfort and quietness. The drivers say it’s like being in the cinema with a big comfy seat with very user-friendly controls and a large suite of safety systems.

“Initially we acquired a P 440 truck and then a 4x2 P 280 followed by two 8x4 P 450s and a P 360 6x4, with another one on order. We have found these trucks are perfect for inner-city work. European trucks are designed to cope with narrow streets and tight turning circles and long driving days, so our drivers find the Scania truck is ideal for their daily use. Our trucks work from around 6.00am to around 4.30pm six days a week.

“The first Scania was exceptionally reliable,” Jake says. “It never let us down, and only needed oil and tyres, and the fuel savings compared with the Japanese trucks were huge. We have had a couple on the Scania Repair and Maintenance programme, a P 280 and a P 360, and that gave us peace of mind, with all of the servicing scheduling done by Scania.

“Scania understands the need for our business to have trucks on the road during the day so having a workshop with an evening shift means we can drop the truck off at the end of the day and have it ready to go first thing the next morning.

“Even more impressive is the totality of the service support. The Scania Dandenong workshop guys don’t just service the truck but they’ll grease the hook and look over the whole truck. These service guys really take a pride in their work,” Jake says.

“We’ve also had excellent service from our Account Manager, Tevfik Onguc. He’s been excellent at keeping us up-to-date with timing of the new truck’s arrival, and every stage of the fit-out. He is very reliable and keeps his word.

“We took up the offer of the driver training from Scania early on, and we will have this again now we have just added a new truck. We know there’s always room for our drivers to improve and there’s a lot of interest in the onboard driver efficiency scores. The driver scoring system has encouraged good habits, and as an example, brake wear has been significantly reduced.

“The Scania tracking system helps us to know exactly where the vehicles are and we can monitor fuel use and easily identify unexpected increases.

“Generally, we find our drivers take very good care of the Scania trucks, and will put them through the wash-bay at the end of the day. This level of care reflects the pride they have in their vehicles and their employer,” Jake says. “From our perspective it is very important for our company and our brand to be seen with clean, smart trucks, and this is very much the case with the latest P 450 8x4 hook lift with a new HIAB Multi-lift Ultima 21 crane we have just commissioned. It has shiny mudguards and a new livery that we designed with this truck in mind, to make our truck look even more distinctive on the road and on site,” Jake says.

“Again, this feeds into the issue of builders wanting to be seen to be doing the right thing regarding waste, so having a smart waste truck collecting and moving it off site sends a positive message.

“We take safety very seriously so there’s a new three-camera system on the back of the vehicle that allows the driver to offload the bin into a precise spot without getting out of the cab. For busy construction sites, this provides another layer of protection for our drivers.

“We can see a lot of further potential for developing the business, and we have big expansion plans, and Scania will be part of this,” Jake says. “We have built a niche for ourselves and have grown our reputation by providing a reliable service, assisted by the dependability and strength of our Scania trucks. As a family business we only like to say ‘yes’ to our customers when they call with a job.”