By Steve Taylor
Often these vans appear to be parked and the driver likely to be out having coffee and donuts! Right, but if you take a close look at the rear of the van you will see a vacuum hose and cords snaking out from the underside of the van. Look closer and you will see a small extra exhaust pipe next to the van tailpipe. And if you listen carefully, you will hear a 2 cycle engine running!
So whats going on? The van is working, even with all the doors buttoned up! There is a small gas engine powering an electric generator as well as a vacuum system, all this going on without any help from the vans engine! Of course the other end of the hoses will (hopefully) find people working as well, using the vacuum to clean carpets etc!
And if you open the rear doors you will find a very well ordered and organized equipment and storage configuration. The hose reels are accessed from the rear of the van, with the hoses exiting the interior through the floor.
When you open the side doors you will find a well organized space containing portable equipment. tool trays, hoses reels, and chemicals stored securely in place.
The use of the auxiliary engine requires fuel and in this case it is gas. The gas is supplied from the vehicle tank and the system monitors the fuel level. The auxiliary engine cannot drain the tank of it's contents, it shuts the aux engine down at an adequate to allow the van to travel to the refueling station.
Often these vans appear to be parked and the driver likely to be out having coffee and donuts! Right, but if you take a close look at the rear of the van you will see a vacuum hose and cords snaking out from the underside of the van. Look closer and you will see a small extra exhaust pipe next to the van tailpipe. And if you listen carefully, you will hear a 2 cycle engine running!
So whats going on? The van is working, even with all the doors buttoned up! There is a small gas engine powering an electric generator as well as a vacuum system, all this going on without any help from the vans engine! Of course the other end of the hoses will (hopefully) find people working as well, using the vacuum to clean carpets etc!
And if you open the rear doors you will find a very well ordered and organized equipment and storage configuration. The hose reels are accessed from the rear of the van, with the hoses exiting the interior through the floor.
The use of the auxiliary engine requires fuel and in this case it is gas. The gas is supplied from the vehicle tank and the system monitors the fuel level. The auxiliary engine cannot drain the tank of it's contents, it shuts the aux engine down at an adequate to allow the van to travel to the refueling station.
So idle trucks can be working, when you take a close look you might be surprised at what you find!
Find out more about Stanley Steemer at: https://www.stanleysteemer.com/
Guest Post by Steve Taylor: Steve specializes in lean
six sigma process improvement. He focuses on consulting with landscape / snow
removal contractors, truck fleets, equipment distributors and manufacturers in
the work truck industry. He may be contacted at steve@truckarchitect.com and his
website is http://www.upstreamsource.com/
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