As George Collins, Western Sprayer Operator – RPQ can attest, the renowned reliability and efficiency of Matthews Brothers Engineering’s road construction machinery is matched only by the company’s extensive training and support services.
George Collins is as experienced as they come. But even he isn’t naïve to the benefits of learning and improving over time.
As the Western Sprayer Operator for RPQ, a road construction and maintenance provider in Queensland and New South Wales with over 40 years’ experience, Collins has used a wide variety of machinery and mobile plant equipment.
Through his time operating machinery across the country, he says there’s one brand in particular that’s stood out.
“The first time I got the chance to operate a Matthews Brothers Engineering truck would’ve been in 2015,” he says. “The first real contact I had with them was around parts. If we needed actuators or nozzles, or anything like that, it was really easy to talk with the parts department.
“The team they had over there knew what you were talking about, even if you didn’t.”
It wasn’t until he came to Queensland at the start of this year that Collins was able to fully appreciate just how well MBE equipment performs in day-to-day operation.
“It’s a stark comparison when I look at my experience with MBE’s units and other machines in the market,” he says. “The way that the pump works is amazing, the user friendliness and the larger and easier to manage Ozibar overall make for a great truck.”
Despite decades of experience, Collins still believes there’s opportunities for him to continue learning and improving his skills, especially with regards to variable spraying technology.
It’s for this reason that Collins happily partook in MBE’s training program, helping operators to optimise their use of the manufacturer’s equipment.
Up to speed
MBE’s training in Melbourne gives operators – young and old – the chance to apply their knowledge and experience with MBE equipment in a hands-on setting. These sessions provided an opportunity for Collins to troubleshoot issues that he’d been facing with the MBE equipment and discuss them directly with the people who built the systems. He says multiple sessions over two days gave him a better understanding of the technical aspects of MBE’s equipment, as well as how to address problems effectively should they arise.
“It was a great chance to give some feedback around particular features and any areas that I’d had to troubleshoot in the past,” Collins says. “At the same time, I was able to take in that information in regard to how they build their systems, making it easier for me in future when I need any maintenance or general work on the units.”
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Just one focus area, which Collins says was equally as insightful as it was instructional, was around MBE’s patented G-TAR (Guaranteed Target Application Rate) system.
MBE’s G-TAR provides two benefits. It aims to provide a guarantee to the application rate for the operator while also aiming to simplify the process for operators by removing the need for traditional road speed charts and a manual set up.
Having benefitted from the use of the system for years, Collins says it was “extremely valuable” to learn how he could maximise its use in future.
“The training really helped me to understand the proper gearing and settings required for getting the most out of the G-TAR system,” he says. “It was a big help to achieve more accurate spray rates, while improving efficiency overall.”
Another valuable learning experience was learning more about controlling and measuring the peak RPM (revolutions per minute) required for different types of works.
“The aim is always to have your rates and your ground speed consistent and the old school way was just using the drive off your foot. Having an engine control system and utilising MBE’s target road speed chart that’s in each of their new units makes it so much easier,” Collins says.
“When you view the target road speed, it shows you the ideal gear ratio and RPM, that way you don’t have to do a dry run. You can sit at the pit while you’re heating your product, so you can put your engine control on, set you’re RPM and you’re ready to go as soon as you drive on site.
“You can save between 15 minutes to 20 minutes just there alone, while getting the exact spray rate you need.”
Collins was just one of a number of RPQ operators who participated in the training course, with positive feedback overall from participants.
“We really enjoyed the tour of the factory and the opportunity to see how they put their systems and components together,” he says.
“Now we’re able to take that and use it in our maintenance and looking after each MBE unit in our fleet.”
While participating in the program only months ago, Collins still has appetite for even more training.
“I’d like to learn how to use their variable machines, which are amazing units,” he says. “They have dual actuators on the bar itself, so they’re essentially a double spray system. To be able to spray on the shoulder, the centre of the lane and then coming back to do the middle, you can achieve all of that in a single pass.”
He adds that he’s excited to implement the techniques and knowledge acquired through MBE’s training program to better support RPQ, as the company prepares for a heavy slate of works coming into 2025.
This article was originally published in the December edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
