M EASURING an increase in productivity may sometimes seem not much
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less difficult than achieving it. In many industries it is related to the volume of production of the individual worker in a given period. Calculations on this basis can be misleading with
an industry such as transport, where there is no tangible product. The driver of an empty vehicle is working just as hard as if it were fully loaded, but his energy leaves no record at all on the right side of the ledger. Only loaded mileage counts towards what in the past I have preferred to call " transportivity " in order to establish the distinction. The important part that the driver can play in improving efficiency has not so far been given particular attention in the series of pamphlets which the Road Haulage Associa tion and British Road Services are publishing during National Productivity Year. The first pamphlet dealt with premises and the second with certain types of handling equipment. There will be another on this subject, and in the meantime the third pamphlet has been issued. It is by way of being a case history, and describes the mechanism of the traffic department of Massey-Ferguson Ltd.
There are some incidental references to staff. Mr. W. J. Renton, general manager, shipping and traffic, who has written the pamphlet, gives close collaboration between all concerned in the factory as one of the basic ingredients of success in a high-speed, non-stop operation. The other ingredient is complete co-operation and mutual trust between the company and its transport contractors. Here again the importance of staff is stressed as a reason for using one main haulier. He and his staff become familiar with the work and the more readily identify their own interests with those of the customer.
It is possible that a later pamphlet will be particularly concerned with exports. If it makes only brief references to the labour problem, it will be in good company. The Rochdale report on Britain's major ports had comparatively little that was startling to say on the subject, in spite of the fact that the comments were contained in a chapter beginning: "The importance of the dock labour problem needs no emphasis: it can be measured by the fact that virtually all the submissions made to us refer to it ".
There is no reason to suppose that B.R.S. and the R.H.A. are deliberately avoiding the labour issue. Even if they were, they might have a good excuse. The trade unions have for too long given the impression that the mere hint of an increase in transportivity is sufficient to stimulate a demand that the workers must have a share in whatever benefits accrue, or must have compensation whether or not there is any clear financial gain by their employers.
The arguments preceding and following the increase to 30 m.p.h. in the speed limit for heavy goods vehicles are still fresh in the memory, and operators can only hope that the general increase to 40 m.p.h. will not have the same deplorable consequences.
B.R.S. was particularly badly affected by the earlier legislation, and the R.H.A., because it speaks for the whole industry, may feel the need for caution. Fortunately, the individual operator need not be under the same constraint.
An interesting demonstration of this is provided in the remarks made by Mr. L. G. Woods, Gravesend depot manager, Reed Transport, in the course of a symposium arranged by Albert E. Reed and Co. Ltd., also as part of National Productivity Year.
Mr. Woods acknowledged that the effective control of hours of work was more difficult in road goods transport than in any other industry. The most inhibiting factor was the legal provision which entitled the driver to payment for an eight-hour or 84-hour day, but permitted him to work for 11 hours. The controller had to ensure that all hours worked were productively employed, but the characteristic of most heavy goods drivers was individualism "coupled with some resistance to authority and control "
LIKE MOST OTHER PEOPLE Having said this, Mr. Woods' assumption was that the normal driver was like most other people, willing to do a good job of work and preferring that work to be productive rather than useless. There was no suggestion that the drivers resented a detailed work study, in the course of which observers travelled with Reed Transport vehicles throughout the country, noting the time required for every activity of the driver from signing on to signing off.
The symposium was not specifically linked with the turnthat-lorry-round campaign of the road-haulage industry, but work study showed that loading and unloading delays were a constant factor, and that throughout the fleet a proportion of 58 per cent driving and 42 per cent nondriving was likely to be encountered. In the London area during the day, the average speed could hardly exceed 12 m.p.h. On the road, it was found possible to average loaded speeds of 23 m.p.h., and up to 25 m.p.h. empty.
Once the norm had thus been established, the failure of a driver to maintain it could be investigated. Timetables were issued where appropriate, and by such means, said Mr. Woods, control was being exercised to a degree and over distances considered impracticable not long previously. In addition, the log sheet was used in order to provide an account of everything the driver did during his period of duty. Some part of the pay he received was related to the attainment, betterment or failure to achieve a standard which varied from one depot to another, but was reached by dividing the number of miles travelled in a week by the total number of clock hours.
The control of vehicles rather than of drivers was the subject of another speaker in the symposium, Mr. R. S. Adkins, depot manager, Aylesford. He reported that in the course of a year the vehicles under his control travelled an average of 600 miles a week, and had a "loading efficiency" for all journeys of 82 per cent of maximum carrying capacity. One notable improvement in performance was found possible when the company decided to take full advantage of the new speed limit. The original schedules for night trips to London with articulated vehicles provided for two trips per driver per night. The new schedules called for three trips. Mr. Adkins did not report any expressions of opinion by the drivers.