With one of the largest and most diverse equipment fleets to manage and maintain in New South Wales, Sutherland Shire Council says reliability and productivity are key priorities when it comes to selecting new equipment.
Located in Sydney’s south, Sutherland Shire Council’s fleet of around 250 major items includes four CASE 590SR backhoes, four CASE 40XT skid steer loaders, 33 garbage trucks and 80 trucks ranging from 20 tonne prime movers to two tonne tippers. “We also maintain 80 fire vehicles for the Rural Fire Service and have a range of specialty equipment for maintaining our local beaches, parks and golf courses,” said Fleet Manager, Ray Wilson.
With such a large fleet to manage and maintain, the Council chooses new equipment under an extensive tendering process which includes evaluation of price, reliability, maintenance and safety. “We also involve our operators in the evaluation process. They’re the ones sitting in the cab all day, so it’s important that they feel confident with the machinery selected.”
In terms of OH&S, CASE equipment’s ergonomic design ensures ease of use and operator comfort. “The 590SR cab is comfortable, with good instrumentation and control placement plus all round visibility that allows the operator to safely concentrate on the job at hand,” Ray said.
The Council has been using CASE equipment for the past 10 years, with Ray also commenting that reliability, ease of operation and maintenance have stood out as key features over that time. On average, the council upgrades it backhoes every seven years averaging 650 hours per year and its skid steers every five years averaging 700 hours per year. “We put the machines to work constructing new footpaths, kerbs, gutters and driveways and cleaning gross pollutant traps and parkland areas.”
Maintenance is also simple and is done in-house by one of the council’s vehicle mechanics. “Every three months the machines are serviced by workshop staff who go over them from top to bottom,” Ray explained. “We do everything from oil sampling, to determine when the oil needs changing, to a full book service. We also have our own parts store and keep high use items in stock all the time. However, we know that if we don’t have the part we need in stock our local CASE dealer, Conplant, will be able to deliver it quickly, enabling us to get the machine back on the job avoiding extensive downtime.”