TIME TO TALK 'TIM
Page 50
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Taking Time is the theme for this year's Commercial Motor Fleet Management Conference, which will take place on Thursday 14 April. Al] aspects of time as it affects a haulage operation will be discussed — from utilising drivers' time, to optimising vehicle time, to the link between time and money.
In a major change, the FMC has been moved from its traditional London base to the heart of the country — the Metropole Hotel at the National Exhibition Centre, near Birmingham. This superb venue not only allows us more room and better facilities, but also has much better communications with the rest of the country, by road, rail and air.
This year's conference chairman is David Yeomans, managing director of the Wincanton Group_ Yeomans, a prominent personality in the transport world, is uniquely qualified to chair our conference: not least because of his group's involvement in all aspects of commercial vehicle operation, from supply through use and maintenance, to resale.
Our line-up of speakers is also particularly relevant, to both the FMC and our theme of "time".
Our papers begin with a look at managing drivers' time through the drivers' hours regulations. David Green of the Freight Transport Association is the acknowledged expert on this contentious and often confusing area. Monitoring drivers' work within the regulations, and using tachograph charts to both improve driver utilisation planning — and to avoid legal snags, will be addressed by Fred Kay of Lucas Kienzle.
Sorting out the right time to replace a vehicle is also a complex subject, and one which has to encompass a host of factors. Colin Burton of Mercedes-Benz will be examining as many of these as possible.
Scheduling maintenance for commercial vehicles is one of the real headaches of fleet operation: Malcolm Filsell of the Post Office will be masterminding an unusual two-man presentation on tackling these problems, and sharing the experience of one of the largest operators in Europe with conference delegates.
Scheduling a vehicle's usage is as important as scheduling its downtime and the driving time of its drivers. Bill Davies, who has a wide experience of computerised fleet planning systems, will be looking at controlling vehicle utilisation.
Time and money are inextricably linked. What the ownership of a vehicle means to the cash position of a company, and how that effect is varied by different vehicle acquisition methods such as leasing and contract hire, will be addressed by Lloyds Bowmaker.
There will be even more to the 1988 FMC than these excellent papers, however: other attractions will include an exhibition of time-related equipment, and the awards presentation for the annual Commercial Motor Testers' Choice.
0 Bookings for the 1988 FMC, the 24th in the series, are open now: there is a booking form on the next page.