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management
Page 118
Page 119
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matters by John Darker. AMB1M
The second generation productivity scheme of Air Products Ltd
PRODUCTIVITY deals are of limited life. Trade unions do not negotiate agreements of indefinite duration and employers are equally loath to commit themselves too far into the future. The furore attending the signing of the first batch of productivity agreements led some simpletons to imagine that Utopia had arrived; all would be peace and light in labour relations, henceforth! In fact, the more far-sighted companies involved made it plain that a series of agreements were contemplated over a period of years.
Air Products Ltd and the General and Municipal Workers' Union recently concluded a Stage 2 Agreement taking into account the new operational requirements stemming from the Transport Act, 1968. When I talked recently to Mr J. A. (Alf) Jones, national transport manager of the company, he was planning a conference agenda for an APL three-day seminar designed to explore in depth the working of the Stage 2 productivity scheme and the likely content of Stage 3.
The two principal APL agreements cover cylinder truck drivers and semi-trailer tanker drivers. The Stage 1 agreements were based on an examination of existing practices which were subjected to work study. All premium time rates Were abolished in favour of consolidated rates. The productivity bonus depended on mileage run, and experience suggested that this was not the best basis as it tended to encourage unnecessary mileage. The stress of the Stage 2 agreements is cylinders delivered or—for trunking drivers—on minimizing non-productive time.
Cylinder truck drivers
. The agreement aims to simplify the method by which productivity is calculated. This is achieved by accepting the past practice for the total number of cylinders delivered from a depot in the total number of hours taken. From this base a depot norm based on cylinder delivery per hour is established.
By introducing higher-capacity cylinder trucks, tightening the delivery pattern, and increasing the average number of cylinders delivered, drivers are able to increase the number of cylinders delivered within a given time. The change of the work measurement from miles driven and drops made to a cylinders per hour factor enables drivers to increase their earning capacity by ensuring that any improvement in efficiency is immediately reflected in drivers' pay.
The pay increase awarded when the Stage 2 deal was agreed brought drivers' hourly earnings to lOs 10d, with a guaranteed weekly wage of /27 Is 8d for all drivers reporting for work daily. Normal working period is eight hours from locally agreed starting time day or night, with a maximum of 60 hours and at least 24 hours rest perweek. The hours may be spread over any five/six days within a seven-day working week.
The lOs 10d hourly rate of pay is increased by 6d per hour for drivers of vehicles in the 16-24 tons gvw category but the 6d differential does not apply for holiday and sickness pay nor for bonus calculations. All drivers are rated similarly for these purposes. If a driver spends more than half a week driving a certain type of vehicle then this is the "normal" vehicle for pay rate purposes. The guaranteed minimum payment of £27 Is 8d applies for the annual three-week holiday pay calculation.
Saturday and Sunday overtime rates are paid at the rate of 13s 7d and 16s 3d per hour respectively for driving vehicles up to 16 tons. Corresponding rates for 16-24-ton vehicles ar 14s 2d and 17s. Premium rates also apply to night shift working on Saturday /Sunday and Sunday /Monday shifts. A premium payment of ls 6d per hour "dark money" is paid in defined circumstances. Subsistence of 35s is allowed for drivers sleeping away from home at request of supervisors.
In calculating an established "depot norm"—based on total number of cylinders delivered to customers and districts divided by the total hours worked on cylinder movements—regard is had for existing depot practices, eg drivers loading and unloading their own vehicles, vehicle cleaning, documentation, breakdown time and other waiting time.
Once local agreement has been reached on the present value of the depot norm (cylinders per hour) this figure is reduced by JO per cent to form a base line from which bonus is calculated to give a corresponding rise in pay for all output above this line.
Payment for performances between the base line and the depot norm is on a sliding scale. Nil bonus is paid at the base line but for each additional one per cent over base line performance WI per hour extra is earned. Thus, bonus at base line is Is 3d per hour.
The same payment principle rewards performance above base line though the scale payment is 14'5 pence per one per cent, ie Is Id for 10 per cent above depot norm.
Bonus payments for cylinders delivered above the depot norm earned during the Saturday /Sunday period are paid for at premium rates, plus 25 per cent on Saturday and 50 per cent on Sunday.
Provided a running cumulative total is maintained for the monthly period, bonus payment can be made weekly-. Distribution of the total bonus payment is made accordingly to a locally agreed formula on a group sharing basis.
Semi-trailer tanker drivers The aim of this agreement is to minimize non-productive time and in order to achieve this end, a rate differential is established between driving and non-driving hours. The need to increase the percentage of driving time was a consequence of the 60-hour maximum working week.
Non-driving work of tanker drivers up to and including 38 tons is paid at lOs 10d per hour but driving hours are paid at 13s per hour (Mon /Fri), 16s 3d per hour (Sat) and 19s 6d per hour (Sun). Non-driving hours worked on Saturday and Sunday are paid at the rate of 13s 7d and 16s 3d per hour respec4vely.
All time spent in other depots and time spent outside APL facilities is paid at• driving rate but non-driving hourly rates apply at APL depots other than time spent discharging product. The non-driving rate applies when breakdowns Occur outside the home-base depot (including time spent in a company garage or an outside garage). But if the total of this breakdown time during an agreed period does not exceed the depot norm for that period a payment is made equal to the difference between the non-driving and driving pay rate. A depot norm is established locally and payment
methods are agreed locally. A semi-trailer vehicle driver who drives a lower tonnage vehicle temporarily is paid at his normal rate.
Depot staffs have a choice as to the formula for night subsistence payment. One method provides for the payment of subsistence /travelling allowance to drivers not reaching base before thier legal hours expire as follows: 0-12 miles from base—nil; 12-30 miles from base-25s: Over 30 miles from base-50s.
The alternative basis provides for a nil payment for drivers getting within 0-12 miles of base but a standard payment of 35s per night for distances over 12 miles from base. Each depot nominates one of these alternative methods for application consistently during the period of the agreement.
Both agreements detail the negotiating and grievance procedures established in APL. Reasonable facilities are provided for full-time union officials to meet individual employees or groups locally if the problem is such that shop steward and depot manager cannot resolve. A national level meeting involving the headquarters management of APL and a national official can be convened within 28 days at the request of either side.
Air Products Ltd is currently expanding at the rate of some 30 per cent per year. A new CO2 plant at Stanlow will produce 400 tons a day; in the first four months of 1971 a 90 per cent increase in the production of liquid gases is scheduled. New applications for APL products in growth industries like steel, chemicals, food, and electronics keep the company's technical and sales management—and the transport staffs—on their toes.
Delivery sequences
Computer scheduling of vehicles is being introduced progressively. Customer orders are led into the computer and delivery sequences in districts—allowing for drivers' hours constraints, vehicle capacity, etc—are produced. Mr Jones reckons that computer scheduling and the new productivity scheme have reduced total mileage by 8-10 per cent.
Cylinder trucks with capacities of 90, 120 and 180 cylinders are operated. Constant improvements are made to the design, performance and maintenance of the special purpose tanker vehicles which give APL's marketing men such an enviable "bite". The latest CO2 tanker outfits cost around £30,000 so that intensive use is mandatory. The big tankers average 80,000 miles per year and 178 miles per shift (for all depots). Filling takes an hour and pumping off, at delivery point, 1-1hours.
APL's sales forecasting looks five years ahead. The vehicle strength necessary to meet planned targets is calculable within reasonable limits from known criteria. An average mileage factor—not easily forecast—is applied. The extraordinary growth of APL means that some over-capacity of plant and vehicles is soon overtaken by events. Driver-productivity in this climate is more readily achievable.