Transport Problems of Municipal Officers
Page 79
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Ov the papers delivered at the Public Health Services Congress and Exhibition, of which a report appears, elsewhere in this issue. two deal with subjects of interest to readers of The Commercial Motor.
In both cases the authors are municipal officers of considerable experience, and as the papers embody knowledge acquired over many years of contact with the problems dealt with, they will no doubt prove of considerable value to others who are faced with the need for finding solutions to their own difficulties.
FEATURES IN GARAGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
I N his paper entitled " Garage Accommodation for Cleansing and Transport Undertakings," the author Mr. John L. Beckett, M.Inst.C.E., M.I.Mech.E., M.Inst.M. and Cy.E., borough engineer of Burnley, deals fully with questions applying to the building of. suitable garage
Mr. Beckett considers that'one of the major points, when deciding upon the extent of such accommodation, is whether the "Ughway and cleansing services are to be garaged conjointly. It a large-depot can he provided, it is the author's opinion that this is to be preferred.
In connection with actual details in the design of the buildings, the author says that it is essential to have a complete survey of the vehicles to be used, grading them into the various types, particularly those such as tower 'ladders, which will require special consideration from the point of view of height.
The movement of vehicles will, of course, be entirely dependent upon the type of work and methods employed by the particular authority, but on the, assumption, continues Mr. Beckett, that the building. is required to house all transport lorries in connection with highways, cleansing vehicles, cars utilized for staff purposes, utility machines for gas, water and electricity services, excluding, of course, such items as steam rollers, etc., a fair average may be taken to be seven to nine vehicles per 10,000 of the population.
Another method, he states, of rough assumption is to estimate 300 sq. ft. for each machine, which makes allowances for large and small vehicles when packed to capacity.
So far as the actual constructional work is concerned, the author states that roof coverings may be of (a) galvanized sheeting; (b) patent iron sheets covered in bitumen and asbestos; or (c) asbestos in sheets or tiles, the choice being according to the considerations of appearance and first cost.
In giving consideration, he says, to the all-concrete roof, which may be dearer than steelwork in the first place, it must be borne in mind that steelwork, particularly where petrol and combustion fumes are always at work, requires considerable maintenance in regard to painting.
In connection with petrol and oil storage, the author stresses the necessity for observing local regulations in respect of the construction of the pit and surrounding the tank. Generally speaking, he says, if the tank be surrounded with and bedded upon a minimum of 6 ins, of sand or puddled clay, and has a suitable concrete cover, it will comply with the petroleum regulations in force. Where two tanks are adjacent, it is advisable to separate them by a solid wall.
The placing of the petrol pump, states Mr. Beckett, is quite an important feature, as considerable time can be saved if it be so positioned that the vehicles can be filled up without undue manoeuvring.
Relating to the question of lighting and power, the author says that the placing of artificial lighting must be carefully studied as, owing to the comparatively low type of structure with which we are dealing, and the wide area which has to be illuminated, it is not advisable to have high-powered lamps.
In concluding his paper, the author states that he has had to include much that is elementary, but he hopes that the collation of the various considerations to be given to a scheme of this nature may be of assistance to his younger colleagues.
VARIATIONS OF THE RELAY SYSTEM OF REFUSE 'COLLECTION.
THAT there are various Systems adopted in the transport arrangements for refuse collection is clearly set out by Mr. H. Cook, F.Inst.P.C., cleansing superintendent of Rochdale, in his paper entitled " Some Notes on the Relay System of Refuse Collection," which was delivered on Wednesday last.
Basically, the paper deals with what is known as the relay system, which denotes the operation of the transport units so that a vehicle is always in attendance on the loaders at the collection point.
Opposed to the relay system is the single-vehicle method, in which, as its name implies, each collecting team is served by one machine. When this is full, it goes to the disposal place, discharges its load and returns to the collecting, ground—usually at the point where the previous load was completed. In the interval the loaders may take empty bins back to the dwellings, have a rest and a smoke, and then bring out more bins for the next load.
On the face of it, says Mr. Cook, there might appear no reason to doubt that the advantage would lie with the relay system, but each method has its advocates and, presumably, its merits. Some officers, indeed, use both.
The author then goes on to describe the variOus forms of relay service which have been tried out. The simplest form of relay, he says, is when two vehicles serve one team and, for its satisfactory exploitation, the time taken by the first vehicle to transport and discharge its load and return to the collectors must approximate closely upon the time taken to load the second vehicle, and so on. This condition, says Mr. Cook, is most applicable to* horsedrawn vehicles, as the use of mechanical transport has, by reducing the travelling time, greatly restricted the combination, and has driven it to the outlying districts.
The author then deals with the system in which three vehicles serve two teams, which, he states, appears to be the most used form of relay. In this application each vehicle in turn travels to and from the disposal point, while the other two are loading. In this case, the " away " time is equal to one-half the loading time. Obviously, for a given form of transport, its field lies closer to the disposal point than does that of the twovehicle relay.
Then Mr. Cook deals with several variations of the system in which the number of vehicles serving three teams of loaders varies from three and a half to five, the " half '• representing a supplementary machine which normally spends about one half of its time on the work of refuse collection.
Other variables within the control of the cleansing officer, he says, are the number of loaders per team and, to a less extent, the capacity of the collecting vehicles.
Towards the end of his paper, Mr. Cook says that there is one interesting aspect on the opposed views 'which are held on the subject of the relay system of refuse collection, and that is the effect of vehicle breakdowns. On the one hand, it is argued, that disorganization is aggravated because more and bigger teams are affected, whilst the other view is that the supernumerary vehicle allows the work to proceed, although at a slower rate, there being still one vehicle to each team. Any attempt to work out the most suitable organization on the basis of formula and graph, says the author, may be wide of the mark, as it necessarily deals with averages such as length of haul, speed of travel, length of carry, rate of loading, and so
on.