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CASE STUDIES


MAK ON TRACK WITH BACKPACK VACS


When Greater Anglia Trains needed a solution for quickly cleaning their carriages between journeys, Makita was on hand with its new backpack vacuum cleaners. Here, we find out more about how Makita helped Greater Anglia Trains get back on track.


Fast turnaround of rolling stock is essential to maintain the busy rail network schedules operated by Greater Anglia Trains across the East of England with key commuter links to London.


Makita’s backpack battery-powered vacuums have recently been introduced to speed up the cleaning process and to reduce the physical burden on the cleaning staff previously equipped with cumbersome mains powered vacs.


Makita followed their normal practice of equipping the potential customer with trial machines and encouraged a three month trial period so that all working conditions were experienced.


“It is essential that our trains are cleaned to a very high standard at Greater Anglia. The new Makita backpack vacs are giving us improved cleanliness levels, faster coverage and much easier operation. We are able to be more detailed when we clean especially areas like seats and edges,” reported Jonathan Shakallis, Presentation Operations Manager for Greater Anglia.


Makita’s extensive knowledge of air flow and vacuum science, coupled


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with the proven Lithium-Ion battery platform, is integral in the new twin 18v backpack vacuum cleaner, which can be used with 3.0Ah, 4.0Ah and 5.0Ah Makita batteries with respectively 22, 36 and 45 minute rapid recharging periods.


On the Makita DVC260 backpack vacuum cleaner, the two 18v Li-Ion batteries are directly housed on the machine to power the 36v DC Brushless motor, which produces 45 watts of suction power, with a maximum airflow of 1.5m³/min, and maximum sealed suction of 7.1kPa. The HEPA filter can be easily removed for cleaning. The high/low power selection is positioned on the machine control unit and two 5.0Ah batteries give 60 minutes run time in high mode, 90 minutes in low mode while the dust bag capacity is a generous 2.0 litres.


Weighing just 4.3kg, and supplied with a full brace harness, with waist and shoulder belts for ease and comfort, this quiet-running back-pack vacuum has a lightweight 28mm suction hose, telescopic straight pipe with 500- 850mm length adjustment, and a flexible rubber nozzle ideal for cleaning uneven surfaces. Greater Anglia has


introduced an initial consignment of 11 machines for their train cleaning operations and testing the vacuums with other services.


“The cordless vacuums are easy to manoeuver and lightweight, and they have helped to improve our efficiency and reduce the physical efforts of our staff. We find the twin batteries give us plenty of run-time on maximum suction which has improved our turnaround time. We are also seeing an improved level of cleanliness for our passengers and this is reflected positively in our Customer Service scores. The greatest benefit is the increased production and ensuring staff are even more thorough when they clean. The introduction of the Makita back-pack vacs will enhance this efficiency further. The Makita disposable vacuum bags are very hygienic and easy to change,” added Jonathan Shakallis.


The Makita back-pack vac is now being trialled by the ScotRail division of Abellio and by Abellio bus fleets. The Makita robo-vac is also being tested by the rail carriage cleansing team to establish functionality and performance.


www.makitauk.com Tomorrow’s Cleaning | 19


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