Case Studies

Bristol Airport

Bristol Airport has three Multihogs fitted with winter resilience attachments to ensure that it is well prepared in the event of snowfall and icy conditions in the winter months. The machines will be primarily used for head of stand clearance, and will considerably speed up this process to prevent disruption to Airport operations.

Even during the most severe winter some years ago, Bristol Airport lost only one and a half hours of scheduled flying time as a result of snow during this period. However, keeping aircraft stands clear of snow and ice proved particularly challenging and labour intensive. This prompted Steve Webb, Head of Motor Transport at the airport, to look for a compact yet powerful and manoeuvrable stand clearance machine that did not compromise on visibility to operate safely in and around parked aircraft. Value for money was also an issue, as he explains: “Before the recent spate of bad winters the number of days when the Airport was affected by snow previously averaged between just three and six. Locations which expect long drawn out winters can justify the substantial investment in some of the very expensive pieces of equipment that we saw in operation in Norway and Switzerland for example. With our less predictable climate we needed to find a specialist machine that would provide a more cost effective solution, and when we saw the Multihog in action we realised that we had found the answer.”

The Multihogs sport an array of attachments both front and rear, including snow ploughs, snow brushes, de-icers and salt spreaders. “They’re a substantial improvement on the industry’s previous stand clearing methods” says Steve, “and as part of our risk management strategy it will enable us to minimise closures or delays. We looked at a lot of machines from various manufacturers but the verdict from all concerned – engineers and drivers alike – is that the Multihog is an impressive, excellently engineered, quality vehicle that is easy to operate, with a spacious cab.”

Bristol’s machines are also kept busy after the winter season is finished, using a front mounted flail arm mower to cut hedges and large areas of rough grass around the perimeter fence and airport edges. “When we first looked at the Multihogs we realised that we could do more than just snow and ice clearance with them, and this new attachment stops them sitting idle for other months of the year,” said Martin Fisher, Bristol Airport’s senior motor transport engineer.

  • Bristol Airport
  • MH

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