That’s the solution that Angus Council has come up with to ensure that the inhabitants of the region’s seven major towns – Arbroath, Brechin, Carnoustie, Forfar, Kirriemuir, Monifieth and Montrose – can enjoy their streets in a spick and span condition.
The Council, which is responsible for a region covering 842 square miles including 35 small villages on top of the seven major towns to keep clean,has been operating Swingos for the past seven years.
And when a batch of four came up for renewal recently, it was clear what was required to replace its aging machines with – four new Swingos!
Graeme Dailly, Service Leader – Environmental Services, described the process for replacing the vehicles.
“We went out to tender through our vehicle maintenance partner, Tayside Contracts, under the Scotland Excel framework agreement, with a request for four new sweepers.
“They put together the technical specification for the specific type of vehicle we required, with the objective of achieving the best value we could get.
“The outcome, of course, was four new Swingos for our fleet which we were very happy with as, over the years, we have found them to be reliable and efficient at cleaning our streets and pedestrian areas and keeping our towns looking clean and tidy,” he said.
Dailly added that the Council’s Swingo operators were also very happy with the choice of machine , as the Swingo offers great comfort in the cab, air conditioning, soundproofing, excellent all-round visibility, and controls that are intuitive and easy to use.
“We have seven dedicated operators, one for each machine, and we have also trained a back-up team to stand in when the mainline operators are away on vacation or absent for other reasons,” he said.
The Swingo fleet is operated seven days a week, typically from 7.00am to 3.30pm and, at the end of the shift, they go back to the depot in each town where they are stored for checking, cleaning and any necessary maintenance. The following day starts with a first use, walk-around inspection check. The Swingo 200+ offers an excellent range of sweep and tremendous suction power, boasting suction performance that operates at more than 8,600 m3/h, enabling it to sweep at high operating speeds and to collect large amounts of dirt and other debris without any problems.
“We also like the flexible hose which we find very useful for getting into all those little nooks and crannies that the machine can’t get into itself, while it’s also very useful for washing away any spillages that might have occurred on our streets.”
Graeme Dailly continued: “Our use of the Swingo is not restricted to our seven major towns. Often we get call-outs, including from partner agencies, to clean up incidents in rural areas, so our Swingos are well travelled.