Bulk haulier G Webb has seen an improvement in its fleets tyres after rolling out ContiPressureCheck and the ContiConnect yard reader.
After a successful trial, Continental’s tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) has been fitted to the majority of G Webb’s fleet, with all new vehicles receiving the equipment upon delivery.
Fleet engineering director, Paul Broker, has immediately noticed both financial and time savings as a result with the data collected allowing his team to more efficiently plan and prioritise vehicle maintenance.
“We were experiencing low tyre pressures and punctures on a relatively frequent basis but weren’t always aware of where, when or how they were happening,” Broker explains. “Sometimes, we didn’t know that there was a problem brewing until we did our weekly tyre checks on a Saturday. The ContiPressureCheck system has eliminated that doubt. The risk to our tyres is arguably higher than other areas of the haulage industry. We can be on quarries, landfill sites, fields – all places where sharp, abrasive materials can damage the rubber. Even out on the road the risk is still there. On one occasion, before we had the TPMS installed, we put a new tyre on one of our trucks for it to then blow out 100 miles down the road. A bolt had gone through it and the driver didn’t know until it was too late. I’m pretty sure that we would not have been in that position had we had a system in place. That acted as the catalyst really to begin the trial with Continental,” he added.
The company’s tippers and arctics are fitted with ContiConnect telematics which feeds back to head office in real-time, while inside the cab the ContiPressureCheck in-cab display gives real-time tyre pressures and alerts the drivers to a problem immediately as it occurs.
Continental has also installed a ContiConnect yard reader for the day trucks, which takes a reading every time a vehicle passes by it.
“Every week ContiPressureCheck is making us aware of issues that the drivers weren’t noticing or weren’t actioning,” Broker said.
“It means that, where we can, it’ll be a workshop repair rather than a call out to the roadside. Each call out costs us something in the region of £100, so it does start to add up. That’s on top of a disgruntled customer, the risk of having the load cancelled and a truck not in service earning revenue.”