Go Ahead Ireland Upgrade Facilities With Stertil Koni Skylift

Go-Ahead Ireland has boosted its number of Stertil Koni heavy duty vehicle lifts with the recent purchase of a 25 tonne capacity Skylift to support workshop operations at its Dublin depot.

“We rely on the Skylift to help our engineers meet a demanding work schedule,” says Andy Cross, Engineering Manager at Go-Ahead Ireland. “In a typical day, the lift is in use for up to 12 hours to simplify seven daily inspections, three full services and as many as 20 unplanned tasks. Based on the performance and reliability of our existing mobile column lifts, we had no hesitation in adding the Skylift to our list of Stertil Koni equipment.”

COMPANY

Established in September 2018, Go-Ahead Ireland is the capital’s newest bus company, trading as a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. The company’s Ballymount depot in Dublin opened in July 2018 and operates 24 routes in the Outer Dublin Metropolitan Area (ODMA). The business has a team of over 450 colleagues - based at Dublin and Go-Ahead Ireland’s second depot in Naas, Co. Kildare - who ensure the smooth travel of over five million passengers annually.

EQUIPMENT

Following the successful use of 12 sets of STERTIL KONI 7.5t MOBILE COLUMN LIFTS at the Dublin and Naas depots since 2018, Go-Ahead Ireland realised that the introduction of a drive-on lift would ensure greater flexibility within the Dublin workshop. Accordingly, the company specified a 25 tonne capacity HEAVY DUTY SKYLIFT, model SKY250-10 which, due to its compact design, occupies minimal floor area thereby ensuring maximum use of valuable workshop space.

The surface-mounted SKYLIFT simplifies a wide range of duties including servicing, maintenance, repairs and the checking of wheel alignments on the Go-Ahead Ireland’s fleet of 140 single and double decker buses. Versatility is assured by the lift’s ten metre long platforms which offer an extremely low drive-on height of just 350mm and a generous lifting space of 1.75 metres. Also, with no base frame, no cross beams and only a lifting leg at each end of the platform, the Skylift provides engineers with unobstructed access to raised vehicles from all sides.

In common with all Stertil Koni products, safety is paramount and the SKY250-10 incorporates an INDEPENDENT MECHANICAL LOCKING SYSTEM which is always active. Each leg also has an individual measuring device, ensuring smooth and level synchronisation to within 15mm. Furthermore, to safely accommodate low-floor buses, the Skylift was specified complete with 3.5 metre long approach ramps. These safety features are welcomed by Go-Ahead Ireland which is always keen to conform to a Group policy that promotes the use of lifts rather than inspection pits for health and safety reasons.

WEBSITE LINK: www.goaheadireland.ie