A commitment to service and operator safety is at the heart of all BSA Transport operations, so it seeks out suppliers with the same values. Recently, the business purchased several HMF cranes from West-Trans Equipment Group, impressed by the product’s unique safety features and excellent back-up service.
When Brian Anderson made the decision to begin his own crane business in 2004, he started with only one second-hand truck. Fast-forward to 2018 and his business now runs 23 rigids and three prime movers, with all but three of them fitted with cranes. “I had been working for the man for so many years and saw the opportunity to start something for myself,” Anderson said.
Working around the clock, providing a 24/7 crane truck service throughout Brisbane, BSA Transport has been a loyal HMF customer for the last few years. “Funnily enough, the first truck I bought was fitted with a HMF crane. We began buying more equipment from HMF in 2010, and in the last two years have gone back to purchasing all HMF cranes again,” he said.
Anderson credits HMF’s unique fold-up mechanism as one of his main reasons for going back to the brand, together with the exceptional service offered by West-Trans. “The fold-up mechanism takes driver input out of the equation. The crane can only fold and unfold one way, so that takes the incident factor away. With the HMF design, the current way of folding and unfolding is easy, whereas some of the others on the market are a little more complicated than they need to be. It’s one less thing we need to worry about, and one less thing we need to go over in training. Safety separates the good operators from the bad operators,” explained Anderson.
BSA Transport has an extensive safety checklist for all of its cranes and trucks, to ensure everything is working correctly. Electronic warning buzzers and lights are on the drivers’ daily checklists and are also checked every time the trucks are serviced. The latest crane to join the fleet is a HMF 1520 K3 fitted to a Hino 2628. It is used predominantly for steel reinforcing deliveries throughout south east Queensland.
Added to this, BSA Transport also has a new rigid and a prime mover and trailer set to join the fleet, both of which have been fitted with HMF cranes. BSA Transport services several steel companies, including Neumann Steel and Stratco, as well as transporting rental skips and bins for Cleanaway. “We provide a permanent truck with a permanent driver to our permanent customers,” Anderson added. At BSA Transport, all drivers are required to have a crane licence, which Brian says helps to ensure they are well educated in regard to crane safety.
“The world is changing, and we have to change with it. We have an induction process when a new driver first starts and each truck has a how-to manual on how to fold, unfold and do a basic rigging, so they understand what we expect. Knowing our drivers all have their crane licence eliminates some of the risk, but we still induct them again if they need to move over to a different crane.”
Drivers who come into the business without prior experience in operating a crane out in the field, spend their first week learning the ropes at BSA Transport’s facility, before being able to hit the road. The next week is spent with a driver trainer by their side, enabling drivers to learn about the customers – their products, the required paperwork and to build rapport, helping to ensure a seamless service.
“It’s about providing personal service to our customers. If you provide the service, you keep the customers. And that’s what I look at with equipment too. It’s not all about price, it’s about service,” Anderson said.
“People are aware of the importance of building relationships with their customers because you are working as partners in business. Suppliers should also work as partners with their customers so that both can be successful,” Anderson added. “You need to be able to pick up the phone and say, hey this is what is happening and know it will be fixed. If we need anything repaired through HMF, they drop everything. They understand that if a truck isn’t working, then it’s not making any money. There isn’t a line of spare vehicles sitting in the yard just in case. When it comes to cranes, it’s a level playing field in terms of price, but it comes down to service and reliability – and the level of service I get from HMF is unmatched.”