sembcorp improves emergency response with bott

Four Ford Rangers and three Ford Transits have been transformed by Bott to include secure in-vehicle storage facilities to store the wide range of equipment needed by Sembcorp to support fire appliances and provide specialist emergency services on its site. Bott project-managed the supply of the vehicles and liaised with Sembcorp’s local Ford dealer to arrange delivery before completing the enhancement in its dedicated workshops.

“We have developed a good working relationship with Bott and this has made it really easy for us to source the new vehicles,” says Andy Passmore, Manager of the Sembcorp Protection group fleet. “Bott’s application engineer was excellent, provided good advice and made sure we knew where the vehicles were at every step of the way.”

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Sembcorp UK is an industrial utilities and services provider based on the Wilton International site on Teesside. Sembcorp UK Protection Group, part of Sembcorp UK, is responsible for protecting over £14 billion of industrial assets. It is the largest privately-owned industrial fire brigade in the UK with a fleet that includes eight appliances and five ambulances. The company has previously prepared its own light commercial support vehicles using internal resources. The vehicles are generally changed every three years and for the latest group of replacements the company wanted to introduce new levels of professionalism and improve its image with customers by working with a commercial vehicle specialist. Market testing and a rigorous selection process led to the decision to appoint Bott as its preferred supplier.

Mr Passmore said: “We wanted to be able to store and transport items including specialist equipment safely and securely in the vehicles. The durability of Bott’s equipment is such that we expect to use it in the new vehicles and then transfer it to their replacements which will be very cost effective.”

Sembcorp provided an outline specification for the new vehicles to Bott. Three Ford Transits were required for use as emergency tenders and had to include two separate compartments. A forward compartment is used to store breathing apparatus, resuscitation equipment and other specialist items that must be kept clean and hygienic. At the rear of the vehicle a second compartment is used to store tools and general items as well as equipment used to contain spillages and degrease contaminated areas. Both compartments incorporate shelving so that items can be stowed neatly and securely while being easy to locate and access when they are needed.
 
The four Ford Rangers are used for rapid response and general duties around the site. Each vehicle has been fitted with a lockable drawer unit underneath the main floor to store items used for aerial rescues. This equipment must be locked in tamper-proof storage but remain readily accessible when it is needed to rescue people from the high levels on the site that cannot be reached using the mobile platforms on the main fire appliances. The use of the drawers ensures the equipment is secure at all times and leaves the floor of the main vehicle free for other emergency equipment and general transportation duties. The drawers can be transferred to other vehicles so that the brigade can maintain its capabilities when the Rangers are undergoing maintenance.

The new vehicles were delivered direct from Sembcorp’s local Ford dealership to the Bott enhancement facility in Leicestershire. Bott then completed the enhancement work before delivering the vehicles to Teesside for final commissioning by Sembcorp. This reduced the number of vehicle movements involved and streamlined the overall supply process.

“The first group of vehicles was delivered to Bott just before the August Bank Holiday and were ready for us on the Tuesday morning,” says Andy Passmore. “We were surprised that they had worked over the weekend to get the vehicles ready for us as we assumed they would be closed.”

The remaining vehicles have been prepared in stages and delivered during the final quarter of 2008. Sembcorp has recently asked Bott to suggest ways of adding secure storage capabilities to the new fire appliance that will shortly be added to the fleet.