07 August 2018

Multi-regional operator Stagecoach is set to become the first travel operator in the UK to trial self-driving buses.

The firm is to produce a single decker which is capable of operating without someone behind the wheel, in partnership with bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited and tech company Fusion Processing.

Sam Greer, bus engineering director for Stagecoach UK, said: “Stagecoach has long been at the heart of innovation within the bus industry and this is an exciting trial that will deliver the UK’s first fully autonomous single deck bus.

“We look forward to working with our partners on this project which we believe could, in time, help improve safety and efficiency within our depots, and over the longer term, help transform bus travel in the future.”

The bus will be used in driverless format inside the company’s depots initially, as current legislation will prevent it from being used on the road. However, it will be used for manoeuvres such as parking, refuelling and washing to demonstrate the capability of the technology.

Stagecoach said sensors in place to enable driverless journeys will also help improve safety when a driver is behind the wheel, by warning of cyclists or pedestrians in blind spots or anyone or anything that is unexpectedly close to the bus.

The system uses several sensors – including radar, laser, camera and ultrasound – along with satellite navigation to detect and avoid objects and plan routes.

07 August 2018

Britain’s biggest truck maker is marking the first anniversary for employees who completed an innovative programme it developed to harness and develop skills of workers below the age of 30 – a move that it sees as critical to address a skills shortage in UK manufacturing.

The Leyland Trucks Employee Career Pathway (ECP) scheme was first introduced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Leyland, Lancashire, in 2015, offering employees full-time training across a broad range of roles, to improve their skills and widen their career options. The plant is home to the DAF LF, CF and XF models and is one of the most productive truck plants in Europe, manufacturing around 18,000 trucks per year.

The scheme initially focussed on engineering but is now expanding to provide opportunities in other business areas.

Over two years, the scheme allows employees to dedicate 100% of their time to learning, leaving their current role, and embarking on structured rotations in assembly engineering, supplier quality assurance and design engineering. In addition, participants are encouraged to complete further education in engineering related courses, to expand the applied learning gained on each rotation.

The first employees to complete the scheme (in July 2017) are now one year into their new roles, and are keen to promote the opportunities the scheme has presented.

Josh Little, 30, from Preston, started work at Leyland Trucks as an apprentice 11 years ago, and is now a Commodity Manager in purchasing. He said, “My background was electrical engineering, and I had worked on different production and manufacturing engineering functions. I saw the ECP route as a way to progress these skills further, but I didn’t realise just how much I would learn.

“The scheme exposes you to departments you wouldn’t usually see, for example manufacturing wouldn’t have day to day contact with the supply base, where I now work. It has certainly broadened my exposure to the wider company and without a doubt helped me progress and better achieve in my new role.”

Sean Winstanley, 27, from Chorley has also just completed his first year as a Design Engineer after completing the ECP, designing chassis and suspension systems. Sean stared work at Leyland eight years ago as a prototype fabrication apprentice, spending four years as an apprentice and one year as full fabricator. He said, “I am quite an academic person, and knew that engineering was what I wanted to do. I met suppliers during my Supply Quality Assurance rotation, and gained a much deeper understanding of their processes, which helps the design process.”

The ECP encourages participants to look to further education, with day release for university an option. Josh is about to start his final year of a Mechanical and Production Engineering degree at Lancaster University, and Sean is completing his final year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Central Lancashire. Josh said, “The ECP made me re-evaluate my role and think about what I could do as my career develops. If friends and family ask me what the company is like, I always mention the ECP and the opportunities it has given me.”

Leyland Trucks created the programme in 2015 to make sure the talent fostered in its apprentice scheme was fully nurtured, and to give its locally-based workforce additional opportunities to further their professional education. Now in its fourth year, there are currently five employees on rotation in engineering, with a new Finance Career Pathway set up in 2017, on the strength of the engineering route.

HR Director, Ivan Shearer at Leyland Trucks said: “The scheme aims to build upon base knowledge and supplement with learned experience in other technical departments. It helps the business develop the skills and knowledge required for the future.

“Taking people out of their current roles and putting them into full-time training represents a significant investment for us, but we are fortunate to have a bank of talented and committed people employed at Leyland.”

The company is also looking at the next generation of ECP candidates, with an intake of 43 apprentices joining the company in 2018, many of whom will be working outside of the manufacturing environment seen as traditional for apprenticeships.

“The apprenticeship programme has always been an important element of Leyland’s employment and retention strategy,” added Shearer. “While apprentices continue to be offered opportunities within our assembly areas, roles have now been expanded to include placements in the business, design engineering, fabrication, IT and maintenance departments.”

Apprenticeships at Leyland offer a mixture of on-the-job training in conjunction with formal learning via partner colleges. On joining the company, every apprentice is given a structured plan for their development which includes a clear and logical sequence of rotations between departments as they move from one learning area to the next.

For 21 year-old first-year apprentice Ian Aspinwall, the chance to complete an apprenticeship helped answer his desire to further the skills learnt at A-Level while earning a living. Ian, an automotive engineering apprentice, lives in Southport, Merseyside, commuting to the Leyland site. He said: “I did work experience here during High School, and then after doing my A-Levels I realised Uni wasn’t for me, so decided to apply.

“I am really enjoying it, we rotate across the whole manufacturing facility, so we understand exactly how the process works and I’m finding I am far more engaged in the college work, as I can see its use in the workplace.

Ian added: “A lot of apprenticeship programmes don’t offer the chance of a long-term job or career plan, but that isn’t the case at Leyland, and this is something which really appealed to me.”

Fellow apprentice Eloise Howard, 19, joined the Leyland Trucks Business apprentice programme in its parts division and is now in her second year. Eloise, who completed A-Levels in Business, History and Biology, said: “I did apply for university but felt it would just set me back, whereas an apprenticeship would help me work my way up and give me a clear path.”

Eloise completed her two-year level 4 Business Administration qualification in just over one year, and has worked in the customer service, technical service and materials departments. She is currently working towards a Chartered Manager Degree apprenticeship, part time, while working. Eloise added: “I have had so many opportunities to understand different parts of the business, and to build my knowledge and skills, I always tell people it is the best decision I ever made.”

07 August 2018

An innovative British-developed refrigeration system is now being offered in a new format in order to try and penetrate markets outside the UK.

The Dearman Hubbard zero emission transport refrigeration unit, which uses liquid nitrogen as a power source rather than diesel, has been introduced in ‘nosemount’ format, which can be fitted to the front of a trailer rather than underslung, which is how the current Dearman refrigeration unit is fitted.

Until now, the Dearman liquid-nitrogen-powered engine has been fitted underneath the trailer on one side with the liquid nitrogen tank fitted on the other. The nosemount option allows a slimmer fit of the engine and closer integration with the refrigeration system, which is the layout most favoured by fresh produce hauliers in the USA

Like the undermount unit, the Dearman Hubbard Nosemount enables trailers to be configured as single or dual-temperature. The zero emission system runs quietly, and operating at less than 60 dB, meaning it is complaint with most urban noise limit regulations.

The enhanced range will be available to fleet operators in both Europe and North America, regions being where the company has recently appointed new Vice-Presidents to lead its sales operations.

The liquid nitrogen refrigeration unit eliminates nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions, and has so far been taken up by Sainsbury’s, Unilever and Marks & Spencer.

07 August 2018

The UK’s biggest truck manufacturer is donating a 6×2 rigid truck to members of the Transport Association to raise funds for the global transport charity, Transaid.

There are 60 haulage firms in the Transport Association, any of which is allowed to use the Transaid-liveried DAF in exchange for a contribution to the industry charity.

The Don-Bur bodied curtainsider has been liveried to promote Transaid’s work in developing countries, and is also a good way of getting DAF’s new three-axle rear-steer rigid in front of potential customers.

“This is an innovative approach to raising funds,” said Robin Easton, Managing Director at DAF Trucks, “and we hope the flexibility of the three-axle rear-steer New CF will maximise appeal to the widest range of operators, thus boosting donations.”

This is the second time DAF has used the donations-for-lease approach – a similar initiative in 2014 helped the truck maker raise £17,500 for UK charity Helen & Douglas House.