Road and workshop by Handyman
Page 32
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Manpower, maintenance and the MoT (37)
• Once road test and the pit inspection are completed, and after comparing notes, the listed work must be allocated to the best advantage. Here I can give no better illustration than listing the allocation of work that was required by a 30-ton-gross tractive unit, after 4,500 miles of trunk work—one month's running. It was divided into three sections and is a reasonably average list for a two-year-old vehicle on mixed freight. Part A. Work allocated to a top-grade motor fitter consisted of rectifying a fuel pump over-delivering, noise in water pump, clutch slip, faulty relay valve, broken manifold stud and intermittent fault on starter motor. A fair list, it is true, but the important point is the way this skilled fitter tackled the jobs: he did not start at the top and plough on down. Instead, knowing where he could meet trouble and delay, he first inspected or tested each item, reaching these conclusions: The fuel pump was delivering raggedly and would need Hartridge attention to level off—no problem, 25min to remove and 45min to refit afterwards.
' The water pump had a loose nut inside its pulley—again no problem, 10min only.
The clutch slip was not serious. it was only a matter of lack of clearance between the operating fork and hydraulic cylinder-15min should clear.
The faulty relay valve had been struck by a stone and the alloy body showed a depression, so the valve needed changing--roughly 20min.
However, the broken manifold stud could spell real trouble, it was a drill-out and extraction job, and it might have been necessary to remove the cylinder head, unless there had been room for accurate drilling—one to five hours could be consumed.
On the other hand the fitter decided that the starter motor job meant 10min removal time and should be passed to the electricians. In the absence of noise, stiffness or smell, it was a safe bet that brushes were being held in their holders by mud or debris.
Thereafter the work sequence was as follows: starter removed for electricians, fuel pump taken to fuel shop, relay valve to stores, clutch push rod adjusted, water pump pulley nut tightened. Then he settled down to the broken stud which was now the only real threat.
While things could have been much worse—it might have been necessary to strip out both water pump and clutch —the fact remains that this section of the job was under sound control.
Part B. Split silencer, cracks in bottom hose, loose radiator grill, damaged service air line and broken battery-carrier mounting. This work was given to an ordinary fitter with no motor experience and completed in three hours.
Part C. Seized U-bolt nut, loose nuts between axle shaft and hub, bolt missing in fifth-wheel coupling and twin road wheels wrongly positioned, giving a blind valve. This work was given to a semi-skilled mechanic.
With regard to lubrication, greasing and all oil levels, this is not rated as an unskilled job but as semi-skilled duty. In order to avoid either crowding or idle time it is not uncommon to have the two-man team working between three vehicles on adjacent pits when it is thought possible to save time, the risk of missing an item being removed as each completed section is ticked off. The whole task had been worked as a normal maintenance exercise, but to the Tester's Manual standards, and the time in man-hours worked out as follows: Road test ihr; inspection +hr; skilled top fitter 8hr; mechanic 5hr; semi-skilled 5hr; lubrication 2hr; electrical 1;hr; pump room 2hr;—total: 22,-hr, Vehicle time in workshops, 8 a.m. until 4.30 p.m.: total: 8;hr.
This is an average time that is now a workable yardstick, with variations of course, but a great deal depends upon the way the actual rectification work is set out and tackled.