On-board technology will be added to a fleet of new Kirklees Council vehicles.
Cabinet yesterday agreed to add tracker systems and on-board vehicle weighing systems for a new fleet of vehicles.
It’s part of a deal already agreed by Cabinet in July to a £2.5m upgrade of Kirklees Council’s ageing vehicle fleet as part of a wider project costing £5.154m - but it did not include IT systems.
The addition of new technology had to go back before Cabinet yesterday for approval. No costs were indicated with only a reference to a ‘business case’ that has not been published.
Clr Cathy Scott, Cabinet member for Place, welcomed the proposal and said the new technology will boost the efficiency of the council’s vehicle fleet.
It comes a week after the Examiner revealed Kirklees Council was looking at new technology for its bin rounds, with speculation of ‘iPads for binmen’.
While a spend of £250,000 was dismissed by the council, it is likely the deal backed by Cabinet yesterday forms part of the cleansing service improvements.
The policy agreed in July will see age, vehicle use, maintenance, service user needs and overall cost considered when the council replaces any of its vehicles.
The £2.5m will cover the replacement of 166 vehicles, however 52% of the council’s 394 operational vehicles did not meet the previous policy requirement.
They range from cars to large goods vehicles to gritters and plant vehicles.
