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Versatile 11 demounts save cash
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EFFICIENT use of demountable bodies can save up to 20 per cent on distribution costs. When a claim like this is made by a user as opposed to a manufacturer then it gains more credence. It was made recently by Andrew Charles, distribution controller of Johnson & Johnson Ltd of Slough.
But to gain full advantage of the system some early ground work is necessary.
First of all, it is essential to ensure that there is a need for such a highly versatile method of transport. If a production line slows up or a warehouse becomes overloaded because the transport throughput is unable to cope with immediate demand, then dernounts could very well be the answer.
Ideally one demountable body will be at the loading bay being loaded, another one, loaded, will be moving out to a distribution terminal, another will be in the distribution area and there will be one movir empty between the distributic terminal and the warehous That is optimum use of availat equipment.
In many ways, using d mountable bodies as an exte sion of the production line warehouse is similar to usit box-van semi-trailers on th type of operation. It is ye much cheaper but the carryir capacity in most cases generally lower.
There are several advantag to be gained from using d mounts in addition to providir extra warehousing space. Thi iron out peaks in traffic pattern A normal distribution oper tion starting from the warehou involves moving the goods fro the stock racks onto the loadir bank and into the vehicle ar then into the distribution are When the vehicle is totally d charged, it is driven back emp to the warehouse and the pr cess is repeated. This involv unnecessary double or treb handling and a great deal of dead mileage and lost delivery time.
Maximising the use of drivers' time, now that the hours are being reduced to comply with EEC regulations, is becoming increasingly important and for this reason the introduction of a demountable system merits careful consideration. The traditional method of delivery is radically changed and drivers spend time only behind the wheel. Goods are transported by warehouse handling equipment direct from the stock racks or even the end of the production line into the demountable body and while it stands there, the heavy capital cost item, the power unit, is out on the road.
As with all new systems, there is likely to be opposition from both warehouse and driving staff and perhaps even supervisors, but most manufacturers of the equipment will be happy to provide practical demonstrations and a run-down on the operational advantages of the method. There is a wide choice of equipment available and costs vary from £500 to £12,000 depending on the system chosen and the capacity of the body. A number of large own account operators have been using demountable systems during the past decade but despite many obvious advantages, demounts have not made the impact on transport and distribution that might have been expected.
Haulage contractors have been particularly slow to adopt the systems. Mainly they argue that the demount is tailor-made for the own account operator. But with the recent increase in contract hire work, it might be expected that haulage contractors would adopt this system for their own account customers. It would undoubtedly be cheaper for both.
There are, of course, arguments that the demount body increases the unladen weight of the vehicle and consequently reduces the payload, but users are adamant in their opinion t the flexibility of the system outweighs any weight disi vantage in respect of costs. seems to me that manufactur of demountable systems, wf they have done something promote their product, hang long way to go to exploit it fu • Brian Chalmers-Hi