CHICAGO — Bryan Henke, marketing manager for Freightliner Custom Chassis, knows that his company’s delivery vehicles aren’t the least expensive on the market.
Unfortunately, he sees many fleet buyers in the commercial laundry industry focusing on cost and purchasing cheaper vehicles.
“It’s always been attractive to try to do your job in a panel van, cargo van, or in a cutaway box truck,” Henke says. “They appear attractive initially to someone in the laundry industry. The buyer just sees that price and goes, ‘I need to move this stuff to here, and I don’t really understand the efficiencies of a walk-in van, I’m just looking for the lowest price.’”
That’s why panel vans and box trucks are so prevalent in the laundry industry. The problem with that, according to Henke, is that the cheaper vehicles aren’t made to handle laundry loads.
“They’re very inexpensive, but light-duty,” says Henke. “We’re not the cheapest on the market because our vehicles have been designed for those functions.”
When a laundry purchases vehicles that have been designed for the loads, the miles, and the needs of the driver, efficiencies go up and costs come down.
MANEUVERABILITY
Another important facet of laundry/linen transportation is maneuverability, according to Kenn Klein, marketing manager for Morgan Olson.
“These vehicles often need to make some sharp turns and get into tight spots,” he says. “The maneuverability of our walk-in vans is very good. They have a 50- to 55-degree turning radius, and a good turning radius is key for downtown maneuverability.”
Brian Caudell, OEM account manager for Freightliner, notes that the company’s wheel cut on the front is also 55 degrees, which, as Klein noted, makes vehicles more efficient because they can get in tighter areas to turn the vehicle.
“It enhances their backing time,” says Caudell. “Most delivery accidents occur when backing, and we eliminate that with the uniform and linen vehicles.”
DRIVER AIDS
From a driver’s standpoint, delivering textiles can be tedious. It can be hard on the body if they don’t have the right equipment. There’s also the issue of safety.
“That’s always been key to the uniform and linen industry, safety, and ergonomics, being easy on the driver,” says Henke. “Easy on the driver’s day-to-day activity, and easy on the body.”
In normal cutaway-type vehicles, Henke says, the driver can’t just get out of the seat and go back to the cargo area. He/she has to get out of the vehicle—typically on the street—and come walking around the back and open up the back to get inside.
Driver fatigue can be caused by poor ergonomics. Some laundry delivery vehicles offer lift gates. Again, this keeps the driver out of the traffic, and it makes the driver more efficient by not having to hop out.
“A lot of worker’s comp claims in a cab-forward vehicle come because the driver has to exit the vehicle, go around to the back, and they have a 45-inch ground floor height they have to hop in and out of,” Caudell says. “That’s where drivers are getting injured.”
Klein notes that laundries can add options, including cameras, to aid the driver in maneuvering the vehicle safely. Rear-view and side-view cameras can assist when the driver is backing into a delivery zone or parking area. A safe-driver console is a key component for the effectiveness of the cameras and technology used in one of Morgan Olson’s walk-in vans.
The console features a touch screen with a color monitor to assist in usage of the cameras.
“Most of the safety items are installed by the body company, such as the back-up cameras and the mirrors,” says Caudell.
However, he notes that his company has some safety and maintenance items on the chassis, like battery disconnect.
Route-planning technology is available that can assist drivers in using the most effective, fuel-efficient route.
However, John McNichols, product director for Crosspoint Kinetics, points out that the tools available for drivers go well beyond simple route planning. Some systems provide onboard feedback and coaching for drivers.
“Many insurance companies offer discounts to companies that use technology to coach drivers,” McNichols adds.
MAKING THE DECISION
Fleet buyers for laundry services need to be aware of the options and costs related to purchasing delivery vehicles, and suppliers of these vehicles are there to help.
“We interface with the [laundry] facility itself to determine its needs,” says Klein. “Each laundry uses certain size bins and bags. We want to create a system to assure the transfer from the laundry to the truck and to the customer is as efficient as it can be.”
Caudell says he’ll visit a uniform and linen industry customer and help determine what the route requires and how much weight it wants to carry.
“If they have a large manufacturing company that they’re going to be carrying a lot of linens out of there, that will be a lot of weight, we can give them the GVWR [gross vehicle weight ratings] that they’re looking for.” he says.
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