AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Driver participation aids intensive vehicle

1st August 1975, Page 28
1st August 1975
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 28, 1st August 1975 — Driver participation aids intensive vehicle
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Paul Brockington utilisation HTEEN MILLION gifts are ributed every year by the en Shield Trading Stamp Ltd-95 per cent by artics 11 a central warehouse in 'entry to 89 gift houses for ection by stamp savers. The five per cent are sent by t.

■ esigned and built by IDC of Stratford-upon-Avon • opened in 1970, the wareise has recently been exded and now has a capacity 792,960cum (28 million curt) ich together with the "mini rehouses" at the gift ises provide all the storage .ce required for the current oughput. Centralisation of tribution has enabled stocks be 'substantially reduced npared with the goods 'stored the three warehouses merly operated by the npany.

Dther benefits derived from ttralisation include improved -ordination of vehicle deliries and closer control of 7vicing, maintenance and :.-ord keeping. The all-Ford ictive-unit fleet of 75 trucks mprises D600, D800 and .000 units of 18.3-, 20.32and .4540nne (18-, 20and 28n) gvw, which are employed conjunction with 128 York, iskers, Bonallack and Tidd xvan semitrailers. A package deal with company drivers gives 'them staff status with commensurate salaries and responsibilities, and symptomatic of the goodwill all-round drivers have acknowledged the value of the tachograph and have accepted its use. About 50 per cent of the tractive units are fitted with Kienzle tachographs, and while their.spy-in-'the-cab potential is regarded as a superfluous capability the records they provide are a very welcome facility in performance evaluations, route planning and so on in full co-operation with the drivers. Driver participation has become a major factor in promoting operational efficiency. And there is a waiting list of applicants for driving jobs. All incoming good's are delivered to the warehouse in suppliers' vehicles and their arrival is prearranged according to a strict schedule. Each vehicle is checked in at the gatehouse by a security officer and the driver's documents are relayed by air tube to a computer room adjoining the 18 reception bays. By the time 'the truck has been driven to the bay area details of the load have been recorded by the computer (about 1,500 types of' gifts are stored in the warehouse) and the driver is directed to the appropriate bay for unloading.

Every bay is equipped with a deck leveller and goods are manually transferred to standard lmsq (10.8sqft) timber pallets handled by pedestrian-operated fork-lift trucks for later distribution to selected parts of the warehouse by power-operated fork truck, automatically controlled Robotug and conveyor, the goods being stacked on racks at seven levels up to a height of 8.2m (27ft).

Scheduled arrivals of suppliers' vehicles has enabled turnround time to be reduced to 1/4hr, delays up to seven or more hours having been fairly common before the system was introduced. Whenever possible suppliers are given a choice of arrival times on a particular day.

The company's box vans have capacities of 39.6cum (1,400cuft), 51cum (1,800cuft) and 68cum (2,400cuft) and apart from the smallest vans they are equipped with twin channel-section tracks designed to accept the castered wheels of a unit load container (ULC) which has a capacity of 1.4cum (50cuft). A normal load comprises 22 ULCs (in the case of a 1,800cuft van) which can accommodate around 2,500 gift items,

Computer study

The gift house network is spread over the entire country from as far north as Aberdeen and as far south as Plymouth, and it is notable that the choice of a site in the Royal Oak Trading Estate in the Daventry area was the outcome of a computer study, its proximity to M1 and M6 being an all-important factor in the choice.

In some congested areas access difficulties preclude the use of larger artics and in this case Bonallack stepped-frame semi-trailers with 1,400cuft van bodies are employed, the loads being manually stacked in the van. Every van is equipped with a Ratcliff electro-hydraulic taillift which is used for unloading TJLCs or loose goods at a gift house, the average turnround time of a 1.7CL-loaded van being little more than an hour ; and some of this is taken up by the driver checking the load against his documents.

A total of 22 bays, equipped with deck levellers, is available for loading outgoing boxvans, and there is ample room in the parking area opposite the bays for laden and empty semitrailers. This is a very necessary facility which was 'taken into account in the feasibility study of the project, and combined with one-way routing of transport vehicles round the warehouse premises it obviates congestion on the site. Over two million miles covered by the tractive u in a year and on average vehicles are operating a) from the warehouse for hours out of 24. Oufits enga on shorter runs, within a ra( of, say 160km (100 mil typically do two trips in day with different driNt (about 60 per cent of fl operations are in this categc starting at 5am and setting on the second trip some se' to eight hours later. And drivers form a team in that two of them are the only o to •take the vehicle on a and are jointly responsible looking after the outfit and checking fuel oil and wa levels, lights and so on.

Drivers' advice

The one-driver, one-vehi rule applies to the drivers long-distance outfits who re larly spend a night away fr base and whose advice is taI on the timing of departu and route scheduling. Althoi none of the drivers undertal repair or assists the workst staff diagnostic ability on th part is highly valued and common attribute which becoming more general w increasing employment of fitters on the driving staff.

A rather complicated sa driving bonus scheme is ha; on a 13-period year, and in first year the driver is award £1 per period plus £5 at i end of the year, the maximt (in the third year) being £2 period plus £7. In subsequ( safe-driving years the annt award is increased by £1 though there is no incre( in 'the period payment Drivt may additionally qualify i RoSPA awards and the Sock is asked to adjudicate in t event of contradiCtory °pink) being advanced regarding t blameworthiness of a dri‘ involved in an accident, If driver has a blamewort accident he starts again on t lowest period payment to E courage him to maintain 1 interest in safe driving.

All cabs are fitted with radio which enables drivers get up-to-the-minute ro. reports from the BBC; and radio in the cab is favour as an optional means of OVE coming impatience in a hol up or lassitude at the end of long day.

Vehicles are serviced 6,436-, 12,872and 19,308k (4,000-, 8,000and 12,000-mil intervals, the time occupied f the job being on average s hours, eight hours and 16 hou respectively, while a vehicle off the road for about a we n lit is being prepared for annual test in compliance i the Testers' Manual. The sport staff includes a fleet neer and transport man., nine fitters and two i-skilled mechanics ; and ;ialists comprise an electri and an alarms engineer. the vehicles are equipped an AFA alarms system Ch sounds a buzzer if an mpt is made to open the or van door.

liken workshop

arage installations include Bradbury lifts and a ken workshop connecting pits in which oil dispensand oil disposal equipment vailable. And a AVW brush her in a separate bay hies a vehicle to 'be cleaned Dyer in less than a minute. Ine of the most important ns of garage equipment is Crypton Triangle brake :er, the most valuable attri e of which is its ability urately to measure the perTrance of semi-trailer brakes h the help of a load simurr in preparation for its annual test or when a fault is suspected.

Tyre maintenance is given top priority as a general safety measure and as a means of reducing the likelihood of a jacknife. All tyres are inspected weekly 'by a fitter of 'the Central Tyres company and any recommendations he makes are immediately authorised.

Until recently the company's vehicle replacement policy was based on renewal after a maximum period of four years or after completion of 241, 350km (150,000-miles) whichever came first. It is now based provisionally on replacement after 321,800km (200,000 miles) in the hope that this will reduce overall running costs. The advisability of the extension is as yet in doubt, expenditure on spare parts having risen fairly steeply after 'the 150,000-mile mark has been passed.

All mechanical repairs are performed in the workshops and they are accurately costed down to the last nut and 'bolt. A major repair of an engine, gearbox or back axle has been a rare necessity.

Tags

Locations: York, Aberdeen, Plymouth

comments powered by Disqus