Clean safely

The workday for the team begins at 6:00 a.m. at the vehicle depot. First they go through the "white area", where everyday clothes are stored, into the strictly separated "black area", where the orange work clothing is ready. This ensures that hygiene and thus the health protection of the around 25 employees at the site is maintained.

The reflective work clothing serves to make the crews more visible during their operations, since work often has to be carried out directly on or next to the road. This is not without danger, which is why the safety of the workers is always the top priority. The clever touch with the new Econic: thanks to the cab's low construction, the vacuum system can be swung forward by remote control. This means the operator who works directly at the hose is shielded from traffic by the vehicle — and thus better protected from accidents.

Two brand-new Econic are already waiting at the depot for the drivers, whose equipment leaves little to be desired. Since the summer, the two Special Trucks have supplemented the existing fleet of vacuum vehicles, which until now was based on conventional trucks. The two identical Econic already have clear design-related advantages over conventional trucks: the Low-entry cab offers a comfortable and secure entry over only two steps. This is a big advantage, especially when cleaning drains, because the co-driver often has to get in and out. The fully glazed folding door on the passenger side makes this particularly convenient.

The equipment is complemented by perfectly coordinated safety assistance systems. The blind spot camera system can display to the driver, via cameras on the exterior mirrors and above the front windscreen, areas immediately in front of and beside the truck that are difficult to see using the mirrors alone. This is done via a convenient split-screen monitor in the cab, which displays the relevant camera perspectives as required while driving. An additional camera is mounted directly on the telescopic arm of the suction system and shows the area around the suction hose when working in front of or behind the vehicle.

The Sideguard Assist system additionally monitors the area to the right of the vehicle and issues visual and audible warnings if, when turning, an obstacle or another road user, such as a cyclist, is detected in the danger zone. Also fitted as standard in the Econic is the emergency braking system Active Brake Assist. Within the system limits it can initiate a full stop in the event of imminent rear-end collisions or when it detects people in front of the vehicle. To prevent the emergency braking system from giving false alarms when the suction system is positioned in front of the vehicle, the Econic was suitably modified by the local Mercedes-Benz partner.

The body of the Econic was developed by the specialised bodybuilder Assmann in close cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks. It is driven via the vehicle's power take-off and is therefore ready for operation within seconds.

In addition to the remote-controlled swivelling suction device, the body provides, alongside the tanks, sufficient storage space for all necessary tools and the obligatory hand wash basin. The latter is even supplied with heated water via its own circuit. A winch with 300 kg of pulling force for lifting manhole covers is also part of the equipment, as is a lance for precisely cleaning the covers and shafts with high water pressure.

After the usual vehicle check, the driver drives the Econic to the freshwater filling station. The superstructure holds a total of 1.8 m³ of water, enough for around 90 gully cleaning operations. On a normal working day it therefore usually only needs to be refilled once.

Depending on the site, an attachment for taking up debris from pits at 160 bar can be used, or alternatively an attachment with 80 bar and additional spray nozzles that are used for cleaning sink boxes. The extracted drain material is stored in the large tank with a capacity of 5 m³. The contaminated water can be pumped off separately, so that the solid debris can simply be discharged into waiting containers via a modern vacuum-pressure system.

The entire Econic can be pneumatically lowered at the push of a button. This allows the ground clearance to be adapted to the surrounding environment – high kerbs are no longer a threat. To reach every gully even in narrow residential areas, municipal vehicles need to be highly manoeuvrable. No problem for the Econic, which has a steerable rear axle.

So that drivers can fully focus on their work during the day's route, both seats in the cab are equipped with fully sprung suspension seats. This reduces back complaints and is popular with the crew. After all, safety and comfort come first in the Econic.