After the accident - Volvo

Accidents“Thank goodnessaccidents are so rareand this is due primarilyto proactive work”Lars-Olof Winterfeldt, chief engineerfor Volvo Aero’s products>“It is, for example, really interesting to find outwhether a new model functions as it does in our tests.We often find that a truck functions as it is supposedto, but every accident is still unique in its own way.This helps us to find new crash situations from whichwe can learn and identify improvements for futureVolvo trucks,” explains Anna Wrige Berling.“That’s why we always try to interview the driverabout his or her experience. This is extremely import -ant for us.”She goes on to explain that many drivers still donot use a safety belt and that finding ways of persuadingdrivers to do so is a challenge.“It’s partly a question of comfort. Many drivers frequentlyhave to jump in and out of their cabs andmany of them also think that the safety belt doesn’t fitwell and chafes when the truck bumps up and down.”THE CURRENT DRIVER’S SEAT with “belt in seat” – inother words, the shoulder strap is fitted to the backrestinstead of the cab – has improved the comfort, butAnna Wrige Berling says that work still needs to bedone to increase the use of the safety belt.In the accident in Gothenburg that Stig Bomanhas travelled to investigate, the driver is shaken butunhurt, thanks to his safety belt and the rigid cab.Stig interviews the driver and studies the scene of theaccident in detail. Roll-overs are relatively commonand, even if a more detailed examination is needed tobe completely sure, he has a pretty good idea of thecause.“As it’s laden with sawn timber, the centre of gravitywas probably high. Containers like this one are usuallysealed, so the driver doesn’t know how they are loaded.This can be a disadvantage.”The ART’s investigations are based on collaborationwith the police, the recovery service, customers anddrivers. It travels to between 20 and 25 accidents ayear, the majority in Sweden, but it also visits otherEuropean countries. The team also investigates accidentsinvolving trucks and cars, primarily to see howthe under-run protection system works.All the information is collated and analysed by theART and other experts within the Volvo Group andthey sometimes take things even further and repeatparts of the accident sequence to make comparisonswith mathematical models.VOLVO BUSES ALSO INVESTIGATES real-life accidents,but its ART works in a slightly different way from theone at Volvo Trucks. It focuses primarily on investigatingwhether the Volvo product has contributed tothe accident and whether Volvo needs to take anykind of action. It also aims to help customers who areStig Boman, Volvo 3P, is a member of the Accident Research Team.interested in the cause in order to prevent an accidentbeing repeated. Every year, some 20 fires are investigated,together with a small number of other seriousaccidents.“Fortunately, serious accidents involving buses arerare,” says Frede Overby, accident research managerat Volvo Buses and the person who travels to investigateaccidents.Frede subscribes to press cuttings and receives reportson bus accidents from all over the world. Whenhe learns that a Volvo bus has been involved, he makesphone calls to find out what has happened. He issometimes contacted by customers who have encounteredproblems with their buses and want to knowwhy. If Frede finds something he thinks needs to beinvestigated, he takes further action. As there are Volvobuses in most countries, he travels all over the worldif necessary.“It’s a bit like being a detective, especially if therehas been a fierce fire and all that is left is scrap metal.You find small traces and you have to build from that,”explains Frede.Interviewing the driver is an important part of thework. Was he or she able to brake? Did any error messagesappear on the display? It is also important tocheck the repair history.Magnus Bergström andrules governing safety“This is an incredibly exciting job and you aredriven the whole time by the positive aspect of preventingsimilar accidents happening again,” says Frede.A FEW YEARS AGO, the Volvo Buses ART was able tohelp solve the problem of a number of engine bayfires in Volvo buses where an engine jet pipe had brokenand sprayed diesel oil over hot parts of the engine.It transpired that the problems occurred when one ofthe total of six jet pipes needed to be replaced duringmaintenance. These jet pipes sit in two groups of threeand, to make room for a new pipe, the mechanic wasforced to bend it, thereby weakening the material. Asa result of this discovery, Volvo Parts, Volvo Buses’parts supplier, stopped selling single jet pipes andstarted selling them in packs of three, with the resultthat a new, more straightforward working methodwas introduced. If a single pipe needs replacing, allthree are now replaced without needing to bend one.“A huge amount of work takes place behind thescenes, in addition to the actual accidents,” says Frede.“We are involved in continuous product development,where our work focuses primarily on eliminatingthe risk of fire,” adds Frede Overby.In some countries, like Sweden, all bus accidentsinvolving fatalities are investigated by a government10 Global Magazine ı 5 2011