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CONTROLLEIE

28th June 1963, Page 70
28th June 1963
Page 70
Page 71
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Page 70, 28th June 1963 — CONTROLLEIE
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ALL THE WI

NVIRONMENT

' ASHLEY TAYLOR, A.M.I.R.T.E.t ASSOC.INST.T.

DURING the past year plans have been implemented by Thornber Bros. Ltd., the Mytholmroyd (Yorks) poultry breeders, for delivering by their own transport fleet all the millions of day-old chicks which they produce. Formerly the railway was employed in many cases for the principal portion of the journey but, whilst it is conceded that a good job was done, that arrangement necessitated the chick being out of the producers control for several vital hours.

Now, special road vehicles have been evolved which ensure that a controlled environment, with correct temperature and ventilation, is maintained throughout the journey from the area hatcheries to the storage depots which serve local representatives all over the country. After inspecting the individual orders which reach him in this way the district representative, an expert poultryman himself, delivers the chicks to the customer, if desired placing them right in the rearing unit. For a long period deliveries to many of the company's local representatives were made by rail.

However, the development of the new system with the specially designed vans will mean that the use of the railway will virtually be eliminated. One of the difficulties with rail transport arose from the progress of dieselizadon which in certain areas resulted in there being a deficiency of parcels accommodation on passenger trains. Parcels trains as such tended often to be few and far between so that delays were inevitable, thus Thornbers made a move to anticipate the Beeching Report.

From small beginnings in pre-war days the company grew rapidly and now claims to be the world's largest producer of laying stock. The number of chicks being sold and delivered during the year just ending is in the region of 16 million. Scattered throughout the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the company has some 35,000 poultry farmer customers, many of them being supplied not only with the chicks but also with poultry houses. Modern equipment of this latter kind may easily cost several thousand pounds and Thornber's turnover in this connection is in the region of £1 m. annually.

Specialized vans are provided for the collection of c4 millions of eggs from the producers and altogether the Thornber fleet numbers some 280 vehicles. In addition to the Mytholmroyd headquarters the organization has hatcheries spread strategically over the United Kingdom so that customers, wherever they may be located, can be sure of receiving chicks within 24 hours of hatching. These establishments are situated at Twyford (Reading), St. Melons (Cardiff), Stewarton (Kilmarnock), Glinton (Peterborough); Occold (Eye, Suffolk), and Ballina (Co. Mayo). A further hatchery is under construction at Lisburn (Co. Antrim). Under the arrangements already outlined the chicks, packed in cartons in accordance with customers' orders, leave the hatcheries in the evening, travelling in the controlled-environment vans. The orders for each districtare placed in controlled-environment buildings, known as night holding stations, which have been, or are being, set up near the homes of each of the company's representatives.

Chicks thus deposited during the night remain under ideal conditions until the morning when the representative comes to inspect each batch and deliver them personally to his customers. Provision for transport of the outside staff takes the form of 186 Austin A55 or Morris 10-cwt. vans, each fitted for the carriage of 3,500 chicks in cartons. Sometimes a poultry farmer will order a dozen chicks, but however small the number the delivery will be made on the day specified by the customer. At the upper end of the scale instructions for 35,000 to be delivered in one day to one farm are not unknown. Generally speaking, the representatives will make between three and a dozen calls in the course of their average day's work. The arrangement of his round and the order of deliveries are the entire responsibility of the man hitnself. In such a business as this there can, of course, be no set runs, but the Vans are worked hard and typical vehicles on these duties may cover 30,000 miles or more per annum. They are renewed at intervals of approximately three years.

The " commercial " section of the fleet consists oC over

50 load carriers, plus II Massey-Ferguson tractors. The controlled-environment vans already mentioned number 17, the B.M.C. 3-ton units, which are the larger type employed on this work, carrying up to 20,000 chicks each. Normal transport establishment for each hatchery includes two 30-cwt. controlled-environment vans and two egg-collection vehicles.

Great care has gone into the preparation of the technical equipment for the controlled-environment units which must be maintained at a consistent temperature between 60° and 65F. Internally, insulation is provided by 1-in, polystyrene topped by Plymax. Two heating ducts from the engine-cooling system feed into the base of the body. In the 30-cwt. design four Vent Axia fans operate in the roof and on each side there are six hit-and-miss ventilators. The interior is racked to carry chicken boxes and illumination is by fluorescent lighting, there being a 60-amp. a.c. generator to cover the additional load. In addition to a thermostat there is a main heater control in the cab. In the case of the 3-ton Models three extra fans are fitted in the roof. An idling device ensures that temperatures are maintained even if the van is halted.

When the chicks come from the incubators at the hatcheries a careful check is made to ensure that they are up to standard, further examinations following at sexing and packing. Unskilled work at the hatcheries is performed largely by machine, the chicks travelling between check points by conveyor belts, being counted by machine and the chick cartons being tied automatically. A conveyor carries the cartons to the loading bay.

Before there is a chicken there has naturally to be an egg, and for five days a week some 16 vans are out collecting thousands of eggs from farms up and down the country. The collection vehicles also are insulated with a 1-in, layer of polystyrene which is clad internally with /1-in. plywood. Formerly the collection vans were fitted with side roller shutters but the bodybuilding department is now changing over to sliding doors, plus twin opening doors on outrigger hinges at the rear. When received at the hatchery the eggs are unloaded straight on to a conveyor system running alongside the vehicle. On arrival they are checked for condition, then being sorted in readiness for the incubators. Mechanization plays a major part in the handling, and even the loading of the incubator trays is performed by a vacuum-operated device which lifts four dozen eggs at one " go " and drops them into their allotted places.

As explained earlier, housing poultry in modern conditions can be quite big business, a substantial range of buildings representing an expenditure running into thousands of pounds. This being so, a single order may constitute loads of two, three, four, or even five commercial vehicles. The biggest poultry house manufactured by Thornbers in recent times was 204-ft, long and 37-ft, 6-in, wide, it being necessary for its delivery to allocate the company's two A.E.C. articulated units, with 26-ft. York trailers, and two of the long seven-tonners. The fleet, incidentally, includes six of this latter class.

Buildings are sent as far afield as Scotland and the west of England. At the outset the orders are placed with Thornber's own poultry house department at Mytholmroyd, the transport office being notified when the work has been completed to the customer's requirements. At this stage the district representative concerned is asked to check that the necessary concrete plinth to form the foundation has been completed and, when confirmation has been received, the delivery arrangements commence immediately. In addition to delivering poultry houses the large vehicles of the fleet undertake various other duties including the collection of chick feed, of which something like 50 tons is

required in an average week. • At one period the Thornber business was largely based L6

on the mail-order system, coupled with delivery by rail, but now practically all sales are carried out through the medium of the company's area representatives. Their efforts are reinforced, among other things, by the use of two exhibition vans which travel to agricultural shows all over the country. The transport controller in charge of the delivery of the millions of chicks, and also responsible for the show vehicles, is Mr. I. Duxbury, who told me that not so long ago 80 per cent of the company's sales were concentrated in the spring, this proportion covering a period of roughly three months. New methods, combined with the controlled-environment houses and vans, have recently caused a levelling out of this difficult peak. Nevertheless, the numbers handled in the different months vary substantially, the separate totals representing anything between 4 per cent and 12 per cent of the figure for the year..

The vehicles themselves are in the charge of Mr. Douglas Richardson, the transport manager, whose garage and workshops are established in a converted textile mill only a short distance from the Thornber head office at Mytholmroyd. A paintshop is located in a separate building adjacent to these premises. Normal maintenance, also general repairs and the bodybuilding for the commercial fleet, are all performed there, likewise all work that may be necessitated as a result of accidents. Week-to-week maintenance of the numerous vans in other parts of the country is made the personal responsibility of the representatives concerned, who are expected to ensure compliance with the manufacturers' recommendations. Accounts from the districts come in at monthly intervals and major items are transferred to a wall chart in the fleet office which shows the whole maintenance position at a glance. Similar arrangements apply ta the other vehicles which are out-stationed at the hatcheries. Periodically the representatives travel to Mytholmroyd for the purpose of conferences and on these visits the opportunity is taken to carry out inspections and any major services which may then be required.

The normal mileage basis is used in connection with the service plan for the load carriers. Injectors are changed at 15,000 miles, decarbonization takes place at 50,000; injector pumps are removed and replacements fitted at 100,000. So far as the representatives' vans are concerned, during the normal three-year life, it is expected to lift the head only once, this being at 50,000 miles when decarbonization is accompanied by the fitting of new exhaust valves. Kingpins, bushes, shock absorbers and brake linings are renewed on inspections which take place at 25,000-mile intervals.


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