We have invested £2.2 million to expand our vehicle and plant equipment fleet, adding 32 specialised response vehicles. These come in all shapes, sizes, and specialisms, and include a state of the art eight-wheeled combi recycling HGV, a specialist CCTV van a four-wheeler city flex, 14 new jetting vehicles, eight new vans, crane lorries, transit tippers and supervisor vehicles.
The new and specialised vehicles, equipped with the latest tools and technology mean that we can respond to incidents in the fastest possible time. We pride ourselves on our reliable and quick response times and aim to attend all high priority calls within four hours and complete 85% of all high priority work on the same day. People rely on us if something goes wrong with the sewage network so deploying teams to jobs quickly is vital.
Our teams attend callouts in all weathers, and sometimes through the night – which is why many of our new vehicles are also fitted out with specialised lights and microwaves, kettles, washing facilities, sanitising stations as well as the technology to solve the problem.
The eight-wheeled recycling HGV, for example, is specially designed for major jetting jobs. “Jetting” means using a high-pressure stream of water to clean and dislodge any blockages in drain and sewer pipes. The Recycler can also be used as a stationary sewage treatment plant, and its fully automated cleaning process ensures a continuous recycling of the jetting water. This offers significant savings on water and fuel by minimising the need to transport process water.
Our new specialist CCTV van will allow the Cappagh Browne team to look 100 metres into a sewer line at all angles. The team can use the vehicle’s onsite mobile office to review the footage obtained there and then. This allows us to make quick and decisive decisions regarding the network of pipes underground, and the best course of action to get the job done fast.
Some of our new vehicles will support our customers on the Isle of Wight, where Cappagh Browne has recently taken over the direct running of the island’s sewer network. These vehicles are one of the first steps in our journey with Southern Water to jointly develop an ‘Island of Excellence’, where our collective resource is fully co-located and integrated as one team to deliver outstanding performance.
It is important to us that we support the local community and businesses where we operate, so we have specifically chosen local companies to help us fit out these new vehicles. For example, we’ve been working with Sussex-based in-car specialists Huets to fit the battery charging systems needed across the fleet.