Top marks for Visy Logistics Scania driver

A driver for Visy Logistics is making the most of the Scania Driver Support system on his new Scania P 360 prime mover.

Tim Mason regularly achieves a 100 per cent rating from the system, which monitors drivers across a range of criteria, from braking to acceleration, fuel economy and more.

It's a part of the Scania Total Transport Solution package that helped Scania win a major Visy Logistics fleet order of 59 new trucks last year, and which also embodies the full suite of Scania Repair and Maintenance contracts.

The order comprised 29 P 360 4x2 prime movers, 13 P 440 6x2 prime movers, 15 R 560 V8 6x4 prime movers and two P 310 8x2 rigid 16-pallet tautliners.

The Scania Driver Support system, meanwhile, works hand in hand with the Swedish brand's Communicator fleet telematics system, which streamlines a multitude of fleet operations.

The Scania Driver Support system offers tips and advice to drivers in real time, prompting them to improve their driving efficiency.

According to the system, Adelaide-based Mason is one of Australia's best drivers, clocking up 100 per cent scores regularly.

"I'm never below 99 per cent," he says with quiet pride.

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Mason's professional driving career spans 40 years. For much of that period he drove Scanias in the UK, before arriving in Australia some 10 years ago.

He's been at Visy Logistics for nine years, but only recently found himself behind the wheel of a new Scania prime mover – a 4x2 P 360 that hauls a curtainsider of palletised beer cans between the Visy recycling plant and an Adelaide brewery four or five times a day.

Mason says that anticipation is the key to safe, efficient driving.

"You need to read the traffic and read the road," he says.

"Early on I was taught driving consists of three parts: seeing, planning and action. If you get your anticipation right, everything else falls into place, and you shouldn’t need to use the service brakes, just the retarder."

He's driven a variety of trucks at Visy, but says he loves the new Scania.

"I started off driving an eight-speed manual-transmission Japanese truck at Visy Logistics and then I moved to an American bonneted truck, but the Scania has Optimise gear-changing and the retarder, and one of the benefits is that at the end of the day you do feel fresher – you do not get out of the Scania aching," he says.

"One of the best features is the visibility. You can see really well from the seat. It's a comfortable truck and quiet and for Visy safety is very important. If you can see where you are and where the traffic is, you're going to be safer," he said.

He's also readily extolls the virtues of the Scania Driver Support system.

"It contributes to improving safety," he says.

"If you're not paying attention and have to brake sharply, the system prompts you to anticipate better next time. It also has a big impact on the driver score, so you have to work hard to regain the percentage – like if you have a sharp braking event or you forget to switch the retarder to zero, for example. So, you have to be paying attention behind the wheel all the time to get a good score."

Des Bishop, Operations Manager at Visy Logistics South Australia, says Tim is very focused on presenting a positive image, and he keeps the truck spotlessly clean.

"Tim has a great attitude to his driving and his job in general, and he keeps the truck very clean," he said.

"We believe that the care with which he drives will provide a longer working life for the truck, reducing wear and tear as well as running costs."