CV Operator show01 March 2010

There are good reasons for plant engineers to get to this year's CV Operator Show - particularly if your responsibilities include mobile equipment. Brian Tinham explains.

The Commercial Vehicle Operator Show, Britain's premier road transport operators and workshops event, runs at the NEC from 13 to 15 April - and operations engineers may well find plenty of interest. Although aimed at transport engineers and technicians, this event provides a useful opportunity not only to see what's new, in terms of tools and equipment, but also to get up to date with mobile plant and health and safety thinking around, for example vehicle tail lifts.
From a technician training perspective, it's worth getting to the SOE stand, under the IRTE (Institute of Road Transport Engineers) banner, to take a look at its irtec programme. This is the voluntary testing and assessment scheme, run by IRTE and aimed at certifying technicians who maintain and repair heavy and light commercial vehicles.
Ian Chisholm, SOE's head of membership and technical services, explains that the scheme has become central to validating engineers' competence - and that, in an industry increasingly concerned with litigation, its structure has a lot to offer all engineers. "Think of irtec licensing as the equivalent to Corgi in the gas industry," he explains. "An irtec licence proves a commitment to safety and professional development by both the technician and the employer. Plant engineers are very welcome to come along and see for themselves how the scheme works."
On the SOE stand, you will be able to see sample 'inspection of vehicles' theory tests. Chisholm explains that the courses are comprehensive: for advanced or master standard, technicians must pass four tests - including modules such as CANbus for vehicle and systems electronics or maintenance and repair on, say, petroleum tankers, air conditioning, or tail lifts.
Talking of tail lifts, SOE IPlantE and BES members will also be able to pick up copies of IRTE's new guide, 'Preventing Falls and Falling Loads from Tail Lifts'. This covers column lifts, cantilever lifts, truck under-lifts and retractable lifts, and details everything from the European standards and relevant legislation (LOLER etc) to safety equipment options, training (not just for tail lift operation, but also parking, positioning and manual handling) and management responsibilities.
And, if you also want to link theory to practice, getting along to Atlas Repairs, Del Equipment, Fleetshield, Roadload and Zepro's stands will reveal all you need to know about tail lift engineering.
What about the rest of the show? There's something for everyone. For example, engineering managers concerned about mobile service fleets would do well to talk to MiX Telematics. Its latest tracking systems combine GPRS and Internet technologies to monitor everything from service engineer location to vehicle performance. The company's team of specialists will be at the show to assist visitors with what might work for them.

Remote monitoring
Similarly, Kinishi's FleetSure vehicle tracking and fleet solution will be at the show, and the Salford-based company says it will be demonstrating the world's first 'remotely managed' fingerprint identification system for vehicles. Not all remote monitoring solutions provide the facility to identify a driver and those that do will either allocate a PIN code or issue the driver with a tag. "PIN codes and tags are not an optimum method of identifying drivers," comments Kinishi CTO Alex Goldstone.
Then, for vehicle and workshop equipment, take a look at Tevo, which will be launching 'totally-integrated' modular racking. Tevo's Modul-system is based on customisable modules, thanks to its patented high tensile steel profile, called T-Track. Also, go to Rhino Products, which will launch SafeClamp, a nylon ladder clamp designed to fit all ladders and all standard roof bars. Featuring an integral safety catch and key lock, its new ladder clamp has been sled tested up to 20g and can accommodate one triple or two double ladders.
Beyond all these, expect to see everything from electric commercial vehicles, to new battery technology, workshop column lifts and pits, vehicle computers, vehicle washing equipment and the T-card visual display job scheduling system.

Brian Tinham

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