Industry leader began using Hino trucks equipped with fully automatic Allison 1000 Series™ and 2000 Series™ to decrease fatigue and accidents

　　In an effort to improve driver safety, Kankyo Gijutsu Co. Ltd. purchased four Hino Ranger vehicles equipped with fully automatic Allison 1000 Series™ and 2000 Series™ transmissions. In the two years that have passed, the company has experienced a decrease in accidents and an increase in productivity.

　　“Waste collection begins early in the morning, and it is crucial to ensure the safety of drivers and minimize their fatigue,” said Toshitsugu Hayashi, director and general manager at Kankyo Gijutsu.

　　Kankyo Gijutsu is primarily responsible for the collection, transportation and disposal of general and industrial waste in Hachinohe, Aomori. In such cold regions, professional driving skills are required not only on frozen roads – but also on those covered with densely-packed snow.

　　“Since we introduced vehicles with Allison Automatics in this area with a lot of frozen roads, the drivers can work safely and securely,” said Toshitsugu. “We have received a lot of grateful feedback from workers on site.”

　　When starting on a snowy hill, advanced driving skills are needed to operate the pedal and clutch of a manual transmission in order to not spin the wheels. By contrast, vehicles equipped with Allison Automatics make it possible to start smoothly on a slope without spinning the tires.

　　“The vehicles do not require complicated shift operation on narrow roads, making it very easy to reach waste disposal sites,” said Toshitsugu. “The ‘P-Range,’ exclusively equipped for vehicles smaller than GVW 11.8 ton trucks, prevents backsliding of the vehicle while it is stopped on a slope, and we have seen a significant reduction in accidents and improvement in productivity.”

　　For Allison-equipped vehicles, once the Power Take-Off (PTO) switch is turned on, it automatically turns off when the shift lever is placed in the D/R range, and turns on when it is in the P range – so PTO operation before and after performing work becomes unnecessary.

　　“Recently, an increasing number of employees have been unfamiliar with driving manual transmission vehicles, and we faced issues in terms of duration and cost of their training,” said Toshitsugu. “Operating a truck with an Allison Automatic requires minimal training. Additionally, the benefits of maintenance cost reduction, driver safety and fatigue reduction sufficiently offset the initial investment required for automatic transmission-equipped vehicles.”

　　All Hino vehicles that Kankyo Gijutsu plans to purchase in the future will be equipped with Allison Automatics. With sales of automatic transmissions on the rise, Allison expanded its service network in Japan last year to further improve service.