I think this is the most I’ve written since I left school and its not in any of the other diary posters league but I’ve never noticed a diary of this kind of work here so here goes and i hope you stay awake until the end.
Due to some changes where i work after four years of doing the same 26km round trip between our waste transfer station in Barking to the veolia landfill site at Rainham i am now driving a roll on off delivering collecting and exchanging bins on building sites and industrial sites so I’ve dusted my trusty A-Z off and am all over the greater London area and heres a day in my work life.
FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER 6AM
Get to the yard at 6am go to the transport office to collect my paperwork for today and the keys to my truck a rather tired 06 daf cf. Check my paperwork i have a 20 yard exchange in epsom for 8am a wait and load in docklands at 10-30 and an exchange at edmonton so not really a busy day but that can change at any time.
Head out to the yard and find my truck put the digi card in and carry out my daily checks all ok other than a couple of litres of engine oil fill in my defect book and we are ready to roll. We are showing seven minutes other work and i know the vosa say your daily checks should take 15 minutes but when you drive the same truck day in day out surely it can’t take that long but i let it clock up 10 minutes.
First job is a 20 yard exchange these are the bins about the size of a muck body on a tipper but i have a 40 yard bin on so its off to our other yard up the road to change bins which is like picadilly circus as every driver on the firm seems to have the wrong bin on and is no fun when its pitch black and have no lights in the yard.
Bin changed and the phone rings can i load up with ■■■■■■■■ and tip at the tip at Dartford on my way to Epsom. Back to the main yard and I’m quickly loaded up to 31580kg with a load of ■■■■■■■■ next stop the cafe!
After a quick stop for a takeaway caffeine fix I’m on the road. Heading down the A13 towards the M25 and the dreaded Dartford crossing which at 6-50am is already crawling along at a snails pace. As i come through the tolls its still crawling along and there is a report of a broken down lorry at junction 3. I peel off at the Dartford turn and head towards the Darenth valley hospital within a few minutes I’m turning in to the Storefield muck tip just as they open.
Paperwork sorted its a quick trip down the haul road to the ■■■■■■■■ stockpile and I’m tipped and heading back out to the M25 madness which is now at a near standstill. After an uneventful crawl there is a shell tanker sitting in the inside lane with various vehicles with an assortment of flashing lights and high viz wearing people making themselves busy as soon as we pass that we are up to the limiter speed and making progress and its plain sailing round to junction 9 and on to the A24 and in to epsom town centre.
Its 8-15 and I’m just backing in to drop the empty bin in to the car park of the office thats getting a refurb. Like most jobs space is at a premium and theres only one space for a bin so its drop the empty pick up the full one drop that outside then move the empty in to place then pick the full one up and get on your way.
As soon as i drop the full bin outside the quiet cul de sac seems to become the busiest road in town and a few people decide to make a meal of putting two wheels on the kerb and give me the stare of death as they pass but i can live with that. Everything done and I’m ready to roll at 8-35 and its an eventful run other than chuckling to my self at the amusingly named leg of mutton and cauliflower pub on the A24.
Back in our yard in Barking and tipping at 10-15 then its a quick run up the A13 to the shining towers of Canary wharf for a wait and load. This job has been going on for sometime and its a case of parking as close to the scaffolding as possible and they load straight from the first floor windows.
Tacho on break and I’m off to the cafe and await a call from the site foreman. After an hour the phone rings and I’m good to go and it a quick run down to Barking using the cruise control to keep check on the average speed cameras on the A13. In to our yard which has ground to a standstill as there is a waking floor arctic been loaded with plasterboard for recycling. After 20 minutes or so we are good to tip then its change bins to a 40 yard bin for the next job.
Get a 40 yard bin on and the phone rings again can i load it with wood and run in to the London waste incinerator at edmonton. Not a problem as its only five minutes from my next job so its quickly loaded and I’m on the a406 round to London waste.
This place can be a nightmare unless you know where to go but its a regular run so I’m quickly where i need to be and I’ve tipped 8 ton of wood for recycling and I’m quickly out of there on to my next job on an industrial estate at the other side of the north circular.
This is another one where there is only one space for a bin so its a case of finding a space to leave bins on those typical grotty industrial estates full of car repairs and various small business that need loads of beaten up transits to operate but within 20 minutes I’m all done and ready to roll.
Back round the north circular to the dreaded becton roundabout and as i pass Ilford the traffic grinds to a halt. Its a slow crawl down to the A13 and thats gridlocked as i crawl up to the river road turn off there is flashing lights and car and lorry wrapped round each other but no one seems hurt so its not all bad.
A few minutes later I’m in the yard tipping another load for recycling a quick call to the office tells me theres nothing else for me and I’m done for 2pm happy days.
Hi.KR79.Interesting read.as i live up here with no traffic and lots of space and drive underground in a mine ,it shows now just how difficult and frustrating it must be to drive in Europe,especially in the big city environement,such as yourself, in London.Icannot imagine how difficult it can be,what with the Tacho,WTD,etc,just to be able to earn a living without having a nervous breakdown.Take care. Mike.
Good diary: It’s always interesting to see what other people do for a day’s work but it’s not everone’s cup of tea is it.
I did a month on ro-ro work, hauling out of the old Ford foundry in Leamington and taking it to the tip at Magna park. Old knackered Leyland something-or-other and fully loaded every time to 31 tonnes+. No traffic to speak of but a few country lanes and I had ever gearshift down to a T by the time I was done.
I told the agency that I didn’t want any more of that thank you.
good diary drive brings back happy memories? i used to do compactor bins all the time . bit messy but easier than open bins.no autosheet system in them days
good read mate, i see these wagons all the time but to be truthful didnt really think about the drivers routine before so it made for an interesting read for me…
Do you have the obligatory dusty dashboard? Roro work around here’s varied, some of them put on a low sided bin and do general tipper work and plant haulage…
I did a spell on scrap metal skips and was always having to find somewhere to stand the empty whilst collecting the full one then find somewhere for the full one whilst replacing it with the empty…
Although I did find that a lot of places would get the forklift and put the empty back for me, not really do-able with a big bin. My best trick was to drop the empty about 2 or 3 trucks lengths in front of the full one, nip round and grab the full one then nip back round the front and use the truck push the skip across the ground into the desired spot. Saved a lot of messing about.
The other trick was on an 8 wheel twin skip carrier, the official way to move a 12yd to the front was to load it on the back and use another full one to push it forwad as the arms wouldn’t reach, you were supposed to drag it back with the chains then reattach to lift it off. We found it easier to lift on and unhook the skip, hammer down the yard and jab the brakes to send it forwards, moving it back was done by lifting the trip hooks and doing it in reverse.
I misjudged it once at the New Holland plant in Basildon with a 12yd of metal swarf, I hit the brakes and stopped dead, the skip hit the bulkhead and shot swarf all over the cab roof with a huge crash
hutpik:
Hi.KR79.Interesting read.as i live up here with no traffic and lots of space and drive underground in a mine ,it shows now just how difficult and frustrating it must be to drive in Europe,especially in the big city environement,such as yourself, in London.Icannot imagine how difficult it can be,what with the Tacho,WTD,etc,just to be able to earn a living without having a nervous breakdown.Take care. Mike.
Cheers Mike Living in a big city has many good points but at times what i wouldn’t give for some isolation
Santa:
Good diary: It’s always interesting to see what other people do for a day’s work but it’s not everone’s cup of tea is it.
I did a month on ro-ro work, hauling out of the old Ford foundry in Leamington and taking it to the tip at Magna park. Old knackered Leyland something-or-other and fully loaded every time to 31 tonnes+. No traffic to speak of but a few country lanes and I had ever gearshift down to a T by the time I was done.
I told the agency that I didn’t want any more of that thank you.
No its certainly a job you either get to grips with or you don’t. Ive taken guys out who have done all sorts of weird and wonderful work and been to all sorts of places but they don’t last more than a few weeks. Different strokes for different folks.
dilbert:
good diary drive brings back happy memories? i used to do compactor bins all the time . bit messy but easier than open bins.no autosheet system in them days
I hate compactors all our ones must have the pressures on maximum as the loads always jam when you tip.
Muckaway:
Do you have the obligatory dusty dashboard? Roro work around here’s varied, some of them put on a low sided bin and do general tipper work and plant haulage…
No my cab is fairly clean give it a quick wipe over when waiting about but an open window and a gust of wind changes that about 10 times a day
We run our own fines h/core etc from the yard but most muck jobs won’t let a roll on in to jobs as they pay by the load but the roll on has about a 4 ton weight penalty.
nianiamh:
Nice one,
lets av a few pics next time of the cafe at breakfast time, oh how i do miss a real breakfast
I must admit when i been to the America I’ve not really been impressed by breakfast. A fry up with pancakes and maple syrup all over it whats all that about.
newmercman:
Nice one Kev, an interesting day and well written
I’ll send a tape over of my next blog and you can type it out for me
Cheers Mark.
I wouldn’t bother mate with my one finger typing you will be retired by the time you get it back
Mind you i think il be retired by the time i get my Canadian paperwork sorted out
Roro work around here’s varied, some of them put on a low sided bin and do general tipper work and plant haulage…
