Design for Fitness
Page 40
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Sheffield Cement Company's Emphasis on Thorough Maintenance: Load Factor 01 75 Per Cent. Claimed for Fleet of 44 Vehicles: Good
Tyre Life
By H. Scott Hall, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.R.T.E PRODUCERS of 320,000 tons ot cement a year, the Ketion Portland Cement Co., Ltd., operate 44 vehicles, each of which averages 800 miles a week. Tonnage of material brought into the Sheffield works totals about 400,000 a year, a quarter of this amount being rail-borne coal and the remainder limestone, clay and gypsum.
Limestone and clay are available within the company's estate, but gypsum has to be brought from a source 43 miles away. Between 60 and 65 per cent. of the tonnage of these materials is carried in the company's C-licence vehicles, the load factor for which is claimed to be 75 per cent.
Oilers Predominate
Thirty-four of the vehicles are oilers. The fleet comprises 11 Commer, 10 Leyland, six Maudslay, six Thames, five Dodge, five Seddon and a Bedford-Scammelt. There are two 6-tonners, 19 7tonners, seven 8-tonners, four 10tonners, five 12-tonners, two 14-tormers, and two articulated 8-tonners.
A Bedford and a Dodge are designed to carry cement in bulk in 3i-ton loads. The Bedford weighs 5 tons 9 cwt. unladen and
A Commer lorry is seen here on a weighbridge, for a check of the load, and behind it a Thames and a Seddon. Comprehensive maintenance is performed at 10,000-mile intervals, and the cost of vehicle upkeep works out at £10 per month per vehicle. Service operations are checked
by a wallboard system.
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the Dodge 44 tons. These vehicles are powered by Perkins R.6 engines. _ Mr. E. Blantern, transport manager of the company, has an effective means for ensuring that regular maintenance is performed. On a wall of his office is a large panel of pegboard, golf tees being used as pegs. It is covered with a sheet of paper to prevent the pegs from falling out of their hole Numbers of the vehicles ru consecutively across the top t the board. An orange pc indicates a vehicle undt than ufacturers' warranty; white peg is moved as dad mileage builds up until reache a red peg, denotin need for an oil change, or yellow showing that a 10,00( mile overhaul is due.
A dark blue peg showstha a reconditioned engine ha been installed and a green tha new tyres have been fitted, A the bottom of the board han; labels on which arc written detail about the date of commissioning ail vehicles, type and unladen weight also the individual annual mileages.
At 10,000 miles a comprehensivl maintenance routine is performed. A card is issued with 17 tasks set out in detail, the electrical check, for example reading as follows: Check dynamt charge; clean commutator and brust gear; check starter; check batter terminals; top-up cells with distiller water; check lights and wiring.
Cost of maintenance works out at In per month per vehicle. Meticulous care is given to tyres. Several makes are fitted and visits by manufacturers' representatives are arranged so that all tyres are examined fortnightly. Pressures are checked and rates of wear recorded. Six 36 by 8 tyres covered over 54,000 mites before being discarded. and another recorded 85.895 miler