Shanghai Urban Sanitation Uses Allison 3000 SeriesTM Transmission on Sprinklers

The 2nd Division of Jinghuan Sanitation Company, a branch of Shanghai Jing'an Urban Development Group, initially purchased two refuse compactors equipped with Allison tranmissions two years back. To further enhance its urban sanitation efficiency, the organization added four Dongfeng high-pressure sprinklers equipped with Allison automatic transmissions in the second half of 2019.

The 2nd Division of Jinghuan Sanitation Company is responsible for street cleaning and garbage collection covering an area of 13 sq.km north of downtown Shanghai, with high population density and congested lateral roads. The daily road cleaning and garbage collection have always been exhaustive and demanding on both sanitation workers and the equipment.

To clean the roads effectively, the sprinkler’s vehicle speed must maintain no more than 35 km/h, even in the severe start and stop traffic. A manual transmission, requires constant shifting of gears to maintain the low vehicle speed which, in turn, affects the flushing and spraying pressure of the sprinkler. When fully loaded with water, acceleration by manually upshifting and downshifting of gears consumes fuel. The operator also loses his concentration on driving the vehicle safely and efficiently.

Jinghuan Sanitation Company’s newer high-pressure sprinkler utilizes Dongfeng Tianjin 4x2 chassis with Cummins ISB 6.2 litres diesel engine rated at 154KW power with 850Nm torque. The vehicle is coupled with an Allison 3000 SeriesTM fully automatic transmission with six forward speeds and an engine-driven PTO (Power Take Off) provision. The GVW of the truck is 16 tons with 8 tons water payload.

"My left foot is stress free since I started driving this truck with the Allison fully automatic transmission last October, as I do not have to constantly depress the clutch to change gears," said Don Liming, a high-pressure sprinkler driver from Jinghuan Sanitation Company. "It is easy to stall the engine with a manual transmission when driving 100 kilometers a day at a low vehicle speed in frequent start stop traffic. I do not have to stop and re-start the truck frequently anymore. It's a lot easier to operate and, with the transmission-equipped PTO, the flushing power is great and the ditch cleaning is so much better than before.”

Allison’s Transmission Control Module commands how and when the PTO engages. Drivers only have to push one button to activate or deactivate the PTO, allowing them to better focus on their driving tasks. In addition, Allison’s patented Continuous Power Technology™ delivers smoother, seamless uninterrupted power to the wheels under any condition. The driver needs only to put both his hands on the steering wheel and concentrate on driving the vehicle and 2 activating the sprinkler operations. Allison's fully automatic transmissions are extremely easy to maneuver, thus enabling perfect coordination between driving and working modes.

For the last three years, driver Li Jun has been driving the refuse compactor equipped with an Allison fully automatic transmission. "I have to drive to many housing estate compounds every day to collect dry garbage under a very tight schedule, particularly since Shanghai began to carry out garbage classification. The Allison fully automatic transmission has made my daily workload much lighter, greatly reduced work intensity and increased productivity. It is easier to maneuver in our urban and residential areas and, with Allison’s proven durability, there is no downtime due to repairs,” said Jun.

Allison automatic transmissions are designed specifically for tough work environments. There are no clutches to replace and maintenance costs are reduced through Allison Prognostics. Predicting oil and filter life eliminates the need for scheduling routine vehicle maintenance, meaning less downtime and lower life-cycle costs. It only requires periodic oil and filter changes, thus achieving greater vehicle reliability with more time on the road.

"Our sanitation drivers work very hard all year round, " said Geng Xiaodong, Head of the Safety and Equipment Department of the 2nd Division of Jinghuan Sanitation. “Even during the pandemic outbreak earlier this year, it was business as usual for us to keep the city running normally. We have chosen sanitation vehicles with Allison fully automatic transmissions mainly for reducing the work pressure and fatigue of our drivers," he continued. “Two other key factors are the excellent customer service provided by Allison, such as thorough driver training, and Allison’s lower maintenance costs. Therefore, based on the long service life of the vehicle, increased productivity, high investment returns and positive feedback from our drivers, our evaluation of the Allison transmission is a big thumb up."