The depot relies upon the Stertil Koni lift to ensure total safety when raising various models from the company’s vehicle fleet that includes single and double decker buses plus 12 tonne MAN CNG vehicles. The workshop carries out a wide range of servicing, maintenance and repair activities.
The lift comprises a set of four wireless mobile columns; each are said to offer a lifting capacity of 7.5 tonnes, thereby providing an overall safe lifting capacity of 30 tonnes. Each column incorporates Stertil Koni’s ebright Smart Control System, which allows workshop engineers to operate the columns individually, in pairs, or in any other combination from any column in the set. Positioning of the wireless columns is also flexible, enabling them to be used in any configuration around a vehicle.
Featuring touch screen consoles, the ebright Smart Control System is expected to simplify operation by providing visual information about every lifting operation.
For added safety and performance, the ebright Smart Control System also shows how many columns in the set are being used, plus the battery status of each column. Safety is further enhanced by an independent mechanical locking system, incorporated into each column, which allows technicians to securely lock the lift to prevent a vehicle from being inadvertently lowered.
The Stertil Koni ST1075FWA heavy-duty lift is powered by deep cycle batteries which are claimed to provide performance for at least a week on average before recharging is necessary.
According to Stertil, battery life is prolonged because power is only used to raise a vehicle; therefore less time is spent recharging the lift, which is carried out via a 230v single phase supply. Also, the risk of tripping is removed as there are no cables on the workshop floor.
The absence of power and communication cables means that set-up time is reduced, thereby making the system fully operational much more quickly. The lift’s synchronisation system is said to ensure a smooth lifting and lowering cycle, even in the event of extremely uneven load distribution.
Engineering manager, Richard Summers said: “Being able to control the lift speed when required further improves operational safety and gives our workshop engineers so much more control.”