Operating in the south of England delivering aggregates to civil engineering contractors, the trucks will provide Allison with accurate road data allowing operators to accurately assess whole life costs and performance.

"Real world cost data is what operators need to make a sourcing decision," says Allison's UK area manager Riccardo Sardelli.

"We know from our ride and drive events that drivers like fully automatic transmissions; it's safer and less stressful but the initial purchase price has led to some operators not considering the fully automatic option when specifying their fleets.

"This programme will reveal true whole life costs of operating in a UK environment. The results from similar studies in the US and mainland Europe have been startling; highlighting additional benefits like less time in the workshop, fewer accidents and lower operating costs. We expect to produce interesting results." 

Part of a 100 vehicle strong Day Group fleet, the two Scania P-Series 32,000KG 8 wheeler tippers are fitted with identical 11 litre engines.

The manual version uses Scania's GR900; the automatic runs Allison's HD4560P 6 speed transmission.

In co-operation with Scania GB, the trucks have been installed with Communicator 100 data acquisition units. These units, located in the cabs will monitor a range of parameters including fuel economy, mileage, down time and operating hours.

Data is sent via GPRS to a computer at Allison's UK headquarters where it can be analysed.

"This is the first time we have run a fully automatic tipper truck in this environment," says Day Aggregate's transport manager Chris Driscoll.

"Economy and efficiency is critical in this application. Day Aggregates is a forward thinking company constantly looking to improve productivity and performance.

"With the added benefit of improved conditions for the drivers we'll be following the results with interest over the coming months and years." 

Allison expect to present the first results of the trial later in 2006, with further analysis conducted at regular intervals over the 5 year life of the vehicles.