KEY POINTS:
They're cheap, undamaged and come off the back of a truck.
They're Auckland's mobile school dental clinics and, thanks to an innovative way of transporting them, they are expected to be around twice as long as previously thought.
The innovation is in their new transporter - a custom-built trailer dubbed the "low-loader".
The giant-sized gadget is expected to save money and give many other benefits to the city's school dental service.
Designed by Auckland engineer Tony Cornelissen and built by Counties Power, the truck and trailer unit was unveiled at Waitakere Hospital yesterday.
Until now, the city's eight double-seat and three single-seat caravan clinics have been towed between schools. Two other wheel-less clinics have to be hoisted on to trucks.
That system has resulted in constant maintenance and excessive wear and tear, and weight constraints related to the clinics' road-worthiness have limited the amount of extra equipment that could be added to them.
The clinics' awkward original design also created manoeuvrability problems which meant they could not be used at all schools.
The low-loader will enable the clinics to be shifted more quickly and cheaply than before, Waitemata District Health Board child, woman and family general manager Linda Harun said yesterday.
Eliminating the need to have each individual clinic conform to roadworthy standards is expected to cut yearly maintenance costs from about $100,000 to as little as $30,000.
The low-loader is expected to double the lifespan of the clinics - from 10 to 20 years.
Ms Harun said this meant that although designing and building the low-loader cost about $250,00, the project would be a significant long-term cost-saver as each clinic cost about $140,000.
