• When Bill Davies is stuck in an M1 traffic
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jam, he thinks of the total combined time wasted and the problems caused, bearing in mind the increasing demand for just-in-time concepts for deliveries, he told delegates at FMC.
What is the solution?
Davies concentrated on retaining your own fleet. First, he considered the use of computers in maintenance and repair — priming the computer with information from the servicing record, fuelling record, driver returns and tachographinput to schedule service intervals accurately. • A transport manager was told to halve stockholding, to £50,000, said Davies. Easy — but the effect on service availability could be devastating. Using computers, one could forecast as near as possible a correct stockholding, he told delegates.
Going a step further, with the VMRS or similar coding, a stores demand can be based on scheduled events, to show up mantime needs. As a transport manager, having achieved your first objective of maximum availability, said Davies, you must next conSider vehicle use.
Davies warned of the need to be aware of changing customer patterns, legislation, road improvements, and vehicle availability.