A comfortable office

A little while ago I changed jobs entering an industry that was entirely new to me. It was a big leap, I'll admit, but I backed myself confident that over my life I'd developed the skills to learn quickly and would adapt to the industry well plus bring along my own personal attributes which I'd hoped would have a positive effect upon the company. Almost three months in and the feedback I'm receiving is positive and I'm feeling much more comfortable with my role and the industry.

The role is in management and client-facing in a company that supports the trucking and logistics industry which is great because the industry is considered an essential service; if the trucks stop so does the country so it's secure. One of the perks of my job is the ability to enjoy some very cool machinery and today this brand new Kenworth T909 rolled in for some work prior to being delivered to its owner. I got to spend some time with it and discussed what we're doing prior to it rolling into the factory for the work to commence.

I'm not sure about your part of the world but here trucks keep our country, and its population, moving. We have rail networks but line haul and long/short haul drivers take these vehicles, often three or more trailers long, from rail-hubs and distribution centres to every corner of our massive country carrying everything from livestock, mining equipment, food and general freight. Pretty much everything really.

Prime movers like this T909 often do upwards of a million kilometers a year and run almost non-stop, sometimes with two drivers working in shifts to keep the big wheels rolling. It's a tough job and can be incredibly stressful. The men and women who drive these beasts, usually called road-trains, spend long hours in the seat and many days away from home and their office, the cabin, doubles as home away from home when driving. Comfort and getting satisfactory rest between driving stints is paramount to safety with these vehicles weighing some 120 tons and reaching speeds of 100 kph and having a well-rested and attentive driver is critical.

With the application each prime mover may be put to being vastly different the manufacturers tend to leave things out so that owners can add what's relevant and that's part of what the company I work for do. Refrigerated transport vehicles, electrics, fabrication and just about everything in between.

To this prime mover we're adding a SleepAir system which is a diesel engine-powered air conditioning system that keeps the sleeper cabin cool. It runs off the diesel fuel tanks, or an auxiliary tank, and is used when the vehicle is parked up and stopped. We're also adding a microwave oven, 50L upright fridge, storage cabinet and power inverter. These items will ensure the driver is able to sleep in comfort, keep food cold and make it hot and also run things like laptop computers and phones off the inverter.

It's a bit of work and doesn't come cheaply, little change from $25,000, but it's a small fraction of the overall cost of the prime mover and will mean a more comfortable office space and living conditions for the driver. That means he or she is safer, as are all other road users.

A line haul/long haul driver, and any truck driver really, is highly regulated as are the vehicles. They must complete log books that track driving time and length of rest time with very strict compliance required. Of course, the vehicles are stringently regulated too. It's a tough job with tight deadlines, heavy or dangerous loads, unsafe and careless small-vehicle road users and one must spend a lot of time away from home. There's few creature-comforts to be had but systems like we are installing in this vehicle make it all a little easier to deal with.

It's really cool to see these road-beasts roll in and then roll out to begin life on the road. It's great also to see the grins on the faces of the drivers as they know they'll be comfortable and much safer through the systems we install. And besides, these often under-rewarded people deserve it in my opinion; without them we'd be a little lost.