Mounted to three 7.5-tonne, five 15-tonne and two 18-tonne DAF LFs, the new bodies have been totally re-engineered to improve fleet efficiency and driver safety. Representing a mixture of replacement vehicles and new additions, the trucks will be delivered throughout 2021 as part of the company’s seven-year, full-service contract hire agreement with Fraikin.
A major part of the redesign brief was to swap the position of the refrigerated and ambient compartments, providing the Carrier Transicold refrigeration unit at the front of the vehicle direct access to the freezer section. The new layout removes the need for the extensive internal piping that previously connected the two, something that had caused maintenance issues and costly downtime.
The new bodies feature improved load restraints to protect products in transit, with re-designed steps and flooring for safer loading. Both sections can be fully accessed from either side of the vehicle, meaning the driver never has to work in the road. In addition, each truck has a full camera and telematics package to monitor and improve driver performance and ensure compliance with the London Direct Vision Standard.
Graham Kay, national logistics and safety manager at T. Quality, says: “We knew we needed to address a number of issues with our existing truck design, so we turned to Fraikin to make that happen.”
Of the 10 new assets, six represent replacements for older trucks – two already supplied by Fraikin and four from a competitor – with the remainder new additions to the company’s 100-plus commercial vehicle fleet, of which Fraikin now supplies close to 60%.
As with its previous Fraikin vehicles, T. Quality will continue to use from the maintenance portal FraikinView. The system’s online dashboard allows the transport managers to view all scheduled maintenance and track any unplanned work in real time, as well as providing access to all vehicle documentation to aid compliance.
Distributed across T. Quality’s facilities in Birmingham, Darlington, Newton Abbot, Staplehurst and Swindon, the trucks will clock up around 40,000 miles a year, delivering ambient and frozen food products to fish and chip shops, fast food outlets and wholesale fish markets across the UK. The operator also has national depots in Avonmouth, Bridlington, Leeds, Peterborough and Swansea.