Radio to Raise Fleet Efficiency
Page 48
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ONE of the first applications of radio to the vehicles of a privateenterprise haulier, the Pye sets used by Reeves Transport, Ltd., 7 Wynford Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, 27, will, it is estimated, enable the operational efficiency of six or more lorries in the fleet eventually to be increased by half.
With a 40-ft. Unipole aerial installed on the depot site, which is about 600 ft. above sea level, the useful range of the base set is between 10 and 20 miles, depending on the location of the vehicle and atmospheric conditions.
After a land line has been provided by the General Post Office connecting the base to the Pye communal aerial at Meriden, it is expected that the range will be increased to at least 30 miles, apart from a few blind spots on the fringe of the area.
When the land line is available, the transmitter will be based at Meriden, and a remote control unit will be installed at the depot. The transmitter is a PTC723 unit and the mobile set is a PTC116 type.
Four Bedford 5-6-ton drop-sided vehicles have so far been. fitted with sets. It is probable that wireless apparatus will also be installed in a number of Bedford short-wheelbase tippers. Mr. A. W. Reeves' private car is also equipped with radio.
The wavelength is shared with a veterinary surgeon in Redditch, and the number of operators transmitting on the• same frequency may later be increased, but Mr. Reeves is confident that delays caused by simultaneous use of the frequency will be short.
When considering applications for a licence, the General Post Office arrange as far as possible that a wavelength be shared by operators with diverse interests. The object is to reduce interruption to a minimum and to obviate any objection by users that confidential information may be given to a competitor.
The greatest advantage offered by radio to the Reeves company is the saving in time and mileage on vehicles engaged on short-distance work, Traffic congestion in the area is such that average speeds Having delivered his load, a driver communicates by two-way radio with Reeves Transport's base at Acocks Green and asks for further instructions. The radio set is housed in a compartment in the dash panel and the microphone is clipped just above it. are low and fuel consumption is relatively high. The re-direction of an empty lorry returning to base when it is a comparatively few miles away may save several hours' delay, or enable a load to be collected and delivered in the same day, whereas it might otherwise have been, given to another concern.
Drivers Welcome Radio'
In Mr. Reeves' words, the drivers arc a " first-class set of men who are keen to get the job done as efficiently as possible." They welcome the use of radio and do not resent the fact that the base staff can keep track of their movements. If they want to stop for a meal or cup of tea, they advise the depot before leaving their vehicles.
Of both practical and psychological advantage, as has already been proved, the constant radio link often provides a means for overcoming loading and other difficulties, which otherwise could cause delay or an embarrassment to the driver.
According to a Pye representative, radio encourages a team spirit, and this is endorsed by Mr. Reeves. An operational problem, whether it be in the form of mechanical trouble or an unreasonable customer, can he more .readily solved when the driver is immediately given the advice or backing of the transport manager by direct radio communication.