Brake Testing and Tyre Pressure Monitoring have never been so important for fleet managers! The first ever criminal case of corporate manslaughter recently reached it’s final verdict and Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings were found guilty of the death of a 27-year-old geologist, who died when a trench in which he was working collapsed. Prosecutors successfully argued that the company had failed to take reasonably precautions to prevent the trench from collapsing and protect Alex Wright, the geologist from his working conditions.
Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, his employer has been fined £385,000, this is a smaller amount than originally anticipated and there was no prison sentence either. However this is a significant fine however small or large your business. This case acts as an example to all organisations to ensure that helath and safety is top of the corporate agenda.
Companies running fleets of vehicles should take heed of the sentencing and ensure that they are not only regularly testing and checking brakes and tyres of their vehicles but can also demonstrate that they have been following these procedures.
aide automotive have two products that can ensure these health and safety checks are carried out and to avoid any such cases being bought against your company!
For Tyre Pressure Monitoring use PressurePro or Air Alert to ensure your vehicle has the correct PSI for your tyres
For Brake Testing use BrakeCheck,
Many companies are still not taking these procedures seriously but this first case should now demonstrate how serious an issue corporate manslaughter is to a business
- Brake Testing for commercial vehicles
- Tyre Pressure Monitor, PressurePro
Truck and Trailer Diagnostics are a crucial element in maintaining vehicles especially as the engines and electrics become increasingly sophisticated. Why do workshops refer vehicles to main dealers for fault code reading when they can do it themselves?? Having a device that can do this will cut down unecessary costs and vehicle downtime!
By a small investment in a simple diagnostic tool, you can diagnose the fault code yourself and take away the middle man. Diagnosing the fault quickly and rectifying the problem!
Contact aide automotive to find out more on truck diagnostics or visit the aide automotive website for a full range of their automotive products.
Diesel Key is a popular product for many organisations as it’s a simple device that stops drivers putting petrol in Diesel cars. The device replaces the filler cap and prevents from accidentally putting the wrong fuel in a diesel filler neck. By making a small investment in Diesel Key you could be saving your organisation thousands of pounds in vehicle repairs and downtime because employees who normally drive petrol car have misfuelled their work vehicle by forgeting it takes Diesel.
Diesel Key is one of aide automotive best sellers, Matthew Burke, Sales Director says “Diesel Key is one of our most popular products that we sell, the main reason being that companies know they will recoup the cost very quickly, by preventing against their employees putting petrol in a diesel car. The reason it sells so well is simple, it saves money! A small investment in Diesel Key stops a company having to pay out uneccessary vehicle repair costs when an employee misfuels a diesel car, that’s not to mention the costs from vehicle downtime while it’s repaired”
Most recently the following companies have been using Diesel Key.
Walkers Snacks have just started to fit Diesel Key to their fleet of 300 Sprinters.
Mercedes Dealers have seen the benefit of the product and are starting to offer it to their customer database.
aide automotive have introduced a new device to quickly identify fuel contamination, the Fuel Analyser. This fuel diagnostic tool assists truck manufacturers by identifying fuel impurities, demonstrating that vehicle performance issues are the consequence of the use of contaminated or poor quality fuel.
When a trucks performance is questioned it has been difficult to demonstrate that issues have been created by poor or contaminated fuel. In the past truck manufacturers have had to send off fuel for laboratory testing to prove that the fuel is causing the problem and the vehicle is therefore not covered under it’s warranty. This has been both costly and time consuming. However the fuel analyser gives truck manufactures the ability to demonstrate this to their customers themselves.
Running vehicles on substandard fuel can cause long term performance issues such as filter plugging, injector choking, piston ring sticking and breaking. Immediate identification of fuel contamination prevents further damage to the vehicle and gives vehicle manufacturers the assurance that the issues lie with the fuel and not the vehicle!
Fuel analyser is a hand held unit that gives real time analysis via a digital display screen of any impurities in the fuel such as vegetable oils or petrol. The kit comes with a USB cable, mains adapter, three 50ml measuring tubes, quickstart guide, full users manual and reporting software.
For Adblue contamination evidence try AdBlue filter papers to check for fuel contamination, contact aide automotive to find the best product for you.
Battery Testing quickly confirms the efficiency of a vehicle’s battery and gives the owner a view to the functionality and life span of a battery. Companies with large heavy duty commercial vehicles such as trucks or buses need to ensure that the vehicle battery is working efficiently. Many companies test their brakes or tyre pressures before a vehicle inspection but why not a battery? Completing a battery test before an inspection will give a view of the batteries long term functionality.
Once you determine the life of a battery, a business can plan and budget in their business plans to replace them. Also by regularly recharging a battery prevents any breakdowns, which costs a business in time and money while their commercial vehicle is off the road
aide automotive have a couple of products that can provide this service. The Midtronics EXP1000HDBMP is suitable for Volvo, MAN, Iveco & Mercedes vehicles with the option of a warranty report. It also has print out options so a record of the battery can be kept. Get in touch with aide automotive for full product information.
Or for a budget solution try the 24 Volt BatteryCheck for just £199.00 BatteryCheck is a small and compact high performance electronically controlled plug in battery charger and tester, in addition BatteryCheck is also a battery back while repairing or replacing electronic items within a vehicle. BatteryCheck’s will test a battery, the charge status and the functionality of the alternator in one simple process, battery over charging is impossible as the microprocessor controlled technology monitors all functions of the BatteryCheck.
Battery Testing for commercial vehicles
Tyre Pressure Monitoring will become a mandatory element of the MOT testing from January 2012, all vehicles tyres will need to be tested as part of the inspection. This positive move from the industry recognises the importance from a health and safety prospective of testing the PSI of tyres regularly. Many companies are already considering TPM as part of their health and safety procedures, as ensuring tyres are the correct PSI for a vehicle can prevent serious accidents.
The industry is also making moves to include tyre pressure monitoring as a standard procedure, from 2012 all new vehicles will be fitted with tyre pressure monitors from 2012.
However if an organisation wants to ensure that their vehicles are safe on the roads, before this legislation kicks in, investment in tyre pressure monitor such as Pressure Pro or Air Alert will ensure tyres are correctly inflated and avoid unecessary accidents.
Tyre Pressure Monitoring device
Misfueling is a common problem, with an estimated 150,000 people doing it each year. As diesel cars become more popular this is a growing problem. It’s so easy to forget you’re driving a diesel car especially if you own one diesel and one petrol car. For those people who do misfuel it’s an expensive mistake to make.
However by making a small investment in Dieselkey, a device that prevents misfuelling you’d be saving money by not having to repair the car each time you misfuel. Dieselkey is simple and easy to fit., as it just replacews the filler cap. If you try and put a petrol nozzle in the car it won’t allow you to.
So why keep paying to rectify the situation each time you misfuel when you can prevent the problem with Diesel Key!
For more automotive products visit aide automotive
Prevents putting petrol in a diesel car
Broken airlines are reported to be the cause of 10% of truck breakdowns, this is an expensive problem to transport firms as breakdown fees and down time could lead to missed delivery slots and fines. As transport companies struggle to survive in the current economic climate, any investment in products to assist this problem need to aid productivity by saving money and reducing vehicle downtime.
The Bessie Air Line Replacement System is designed to reduce breakdown down time, fees and missed delivery slots. As Bessie is effectively a normal airline with a quick release coupling on both ends a driver can replace a broken line within minutes and then be on the way to make that all important delivery time slot.
A quick and easy solution there is no need for tools or on road repairs just replace the faulty line with the Bessie Ait Line Replacement System. Bessie complies with all relevant technical standards including hose from an OEM supplier and has been tested by Mira with a formal high quality acceptance.
From a Health & Safety perspective the inspectorate are stating that no problems can be foreseen with using this replacement device as long as drivers are given an induction to the system. Bessie also complies with the latest European legislation as the tractor end is secured by pilfer-proof locks.
So aide automotive are offering a first purchase introductory offer for a limited period, take this offer to fit and test a Bessie to see how a Bessie could save thousands of pounds.
Blind spots in your mirror are a common problem for any driver but especially in a van. Address these blind spots with VanView! The blind spot in vans is the area directly after the door often means drivers are leaning over their steering wheel because they cannot see beyond the panel. VanView is a half sized lens that press fits snugly to the van’s passenger side window glass allowing you to see down that side of the van. It can be used on all vans, although it particularly addresses the issue that the larger end of the LCV marketseem to have.
Similar to the HGV lens, VanView attaches to the nearside window, mitigating the blind spot that standard mirrors and window views do not cover, and helps when changing motorway lanes, manoeuvring into a tight loading bay or avoiding concrete bollards.
Contact aide automotive for more details
Truck and Trailer diagnostics are a crucial element in maintaining vehicles especially as the engines and electrics become increasingly sophisticated. One recent customer “CPA Commercials” realised that as they worked with several maintenance contracts on multi brand vehicles, they needed to support their customer’s diagnostic needs. CPA’s mobile fitter, Chris, had been referring vehicles to main dealers for fault code reading and programming, making this referral each time was costing his customer more money and adding time to repairs – meaning the vehicle was out of service for longer than and having the truck off the road!
CPA placed an enquiry with aide automotive to consider purchasing a diagnostic tool so they could do it themselves in house. We provided an on site demonstration to show him how easy our diagnostic kit is to operate. This cost effective solution means they can now diagnose all fault codes themselves, saving both time and money.
I have been using the aide automotive tool for a few months now, I am extremely impressed, especially with the level of support for DAF and Mercedes. It’s also helped to diagnose faults on several trailer braking systems. The tool is well on its way to paying for itself and I would recommend it to anyone!”
Chris, CPA Commercials.
If you’d like to arrange a no-obligation site demonstration click Truck Diagnostics to contact us