With transport businesses across the country dealing with driver shortages, Allison Transmission says it’s seen an increase in the uptake of fully automatic transmissions.
Australia is a major market for Allison, which designs and manufactures conventional, electric hybrid and fully electric vehicle propulsion solutions.
The brand says that with driver shortages impacting a number of vital Australian business sectors like freight and construction, it’s seen a migration towards fully automatic transmissions, particularly in the medium-duty and light heavy-duty truck categories.
“Allison Automatics allow fleets to welcome drivers with varying levels of experience. With fully automatic transmissions, drivers can focus on the precise task at hand and businesses can have more confidence in their operational output,” said Robert Cavagnino, Australian sales manager at Allison Transmission.
“They can also take comfort that a fully automatic transmission reduces the risk of drivers over-speeding the engine and drivetrain shock loading.”
Holcim Australia is one example. It has now migrated a significant portion of its agitator truck fleet to Allison 3200 fully automatic transmissions.
“It means candidates no longer require the specialised skills to drive a large manual vehicle but can still be a great addition to our team,” said Dave King, regional logistics manager for Queensland at Holcim Australia.
“Our concrete agitator truck drivers undergo a comprehensive training program, so this is one less thing to worry about. If you’ve got a newer driver running a manual, with a clutch and a brake and a gas pedal on a vehicle, such as an agitator that has a higher centre of gravity, it can be challenging for them.”
Dave says the simplicity of a fully automatic transmission helps the company train staff confidently and safely.
“Furthermore, we do an awful lot of stop/start, a lot of idling, manoeuvring and deal with inclines on sites of up to 12 degrees.
“Often, when we are reversing onto concrete pumps we have two-trucks feeding onto the one pump. The finesse of a smooth, fully automatic transmission helps drivers position their discharge chutes with greater accuracy.”
Allison says its Continuous Power Technology provides superior low-speed control and manoeuvrability to enable the precise inching and positioning of the loaded mixer truck with virtually no rollback.
Another advantage for Holcim has been the connection to Allison’s service network, which manages any adjustments on new fleet arrivals and assists with ongoing maintenance.
Allison’s service network includes 57 locations across Australia, with Heavy Automatics, Penske Australia Pty Ltd. and Transdiesel, all Allison Authorised Distributors having each expanded their own business operations during the last year to address the growing number of fully automatic transmissions.
“While our partners continue to increase their service capabilities, our customers will also continue to see value over the lifetime of their vehicles with an Allison requiring lower maintenance,” said Robert.