Problems of Expansion
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Existing efficiency may be jeopardized if a commercial vehicle operator continues' to add to his fleet without adequate provision for more comprehensive control
ONE of the many effects of the nationalization of a large part of the road haulage industry was to intensify discussion as to the optimum size of an operating unit Nhatever might be proved to be the theoretical merits of rImost complete centralization which followed nationalization n 1947, there were many disadvantages. Chief among these was the undoubted tendency to stifle personal initiative at both iperating and management levels, and a corresponding relucttrice to accept responsibility and make quick decisions. This was particularly unfortunate in an industry such as transport, which is inherently tied to the time factor.
Following partial denationalization in 1953 an impartial issessment of the intervening years, irrespective of the political tspects and solely on the basis of economic operation, might iloW that, whilst over-centralization led to inefficiency, the :omparatively small private enterprise haulier could improve own efficiency by improved operating techniques and by ncreased inter-working with other operators. This has, •in 'act, been an increasing trend in the road haulage industry ;ince 1953, either in the form of voluntary co-operation aetween separate companies so as to create their own clearinglouse arrangements, or by financial merging or acquisition to form much larger, self-contained operating units. But even is the latter case the lesson of the immediate post-war years aas been learnt, and it is realized that maximum efficiency an only be maintained after such regrouping if the staff who lave to do the actual job of moving traffic—usually at garage ir depot level—are allowed adequate responsibility and given he necessary authority and backing from top management. Because the transport industry provides a service and not t commodity, difficulties can arise in determining to the satis'action of both operator and customer just what constitutes in adequate service. Moreover, on such a determination will 7est the decision as to the type and extent of service to be rovided, and this in turn could control the size of the perating unit. It is inevitable that a specialist in a particular ype of service would normally be able to move traffic in this tegory more efficiently than the general operator, although bviously within a more restricted range of goods and possibly more restricted geographical area.
N this context one of the several advantages which an oldstablished operator would have over a new entrant into the dustry would be a more ready assessment as to whether me new traffic offered to him was likely to be suitable and rofitable. In contrast, there would be an understandable ridency on the part of a small haulier engaged on the process f building up a business to endeavour to carry whatever was ffered, even though he himself might not be able to provide e complete service unaided. Unless such an operator has
• adequate knowledge of costing the combined movement of ch traffic, including collection, trunking and delivery, he uld make a loss on the transaction, or at least be left with inadequate profit margin.
As the returns of the Licensing Authorities show, the road
haulage industry is made up largely of small units. Inaddition to a substantial number of owner-drivers, many professional operators have only three vehicles or fewer. There is, however, an appreciable proportion who have fleets of between 10 and 25 vehicles.
In the majority of cases these fleets will have grown from small beginnings. But whilst such growth would seem a natural corollary to providing an efficient service to expanding industries, it is unlikely that the transition would take place without a radical reorganization of the control of an undertaking at some point in its expansion.
THE undoubted advantages which the small haulier can offer to his customers, as a result of being able to control personally every aspect of his business, has been a major factor in the growth of the road transport industry. Moreover, the flexibility which is usually associated with the small hauliers' operations has proved particularly attractive to customers who may themselves be in a relatively small way of business, even though the industry in which they are engaged—for example agriculture—may be large.
But because transport is a service to trade and indOstry, continuing developments in the economic structure of the country must be reflected in the size and organization 'of transport operational units. As a result of mergers and acquisitions in trade and industry there is an increasing 'number of hauliers' customers who require their products to be distributed nationally. Even where the task of such distribution is broken down by the establishment of a group of strategically located warehouses, the volume of traffic, even from one such warehouse, may require the employment of several vehicles. In such circumstances, and assuming that it was not intended to use ancillary vehicles, it would be understandable if the customer preferred to deal with one or two hauliers at most so as to simplify his distribution problems.
It is therefore likely that many existing small hauliers may be faced with the problem of deciding whether to expand sufficiently to meet the new needs of existing customers, who themselves may have been, involved in mergers or rapid expansion. In such circumstances the very efficiency of the existing haulage business may tend to belie the absence of any real organization in the sense of accurate recording and costing of current operation and—equally important—adequate and practised delegation of responsibility and contol. When only a few vehicles are involved, memory and verbal instructions are often sufficient to deal adequately with all such matters.
Delegation of responsibility obviously assumes that experienced staff can be engaged. It is unfortunately a salient feature of many otherwise efficient haulage businesses that, where the proprietor himself assumes control of day-to-day working, he is often the most over-worked member of the staff. Whilst in some instances this may be the result of a personal and unfortunate reluctance to delegate responsibility, the prime reason may well be the absence of any attempt or of failure to secure suitable personnel. It is therefore in the proprietor's own interest to assess carefully whether, in fact, suitable personnel can be obtained before expansion is embarked upon if complete dependence on the industry—and health—of one man is to be avoided.
The fact that a haulier has had the initiative to set up in business on his own is a clear indication that be is an individualist. But even if the problem of delegation is both understood and resolved, there remains the necessity to inaugurate an adequate system of records and controls, assuming that it has been possible previously to control the existing fleet on a personal basis.
When a policy of expansion involves the immediate addition of several vehicles to the fleet, instructions which were formerly given verbally may now have to be committed to paper. Whilst verbal instructions might be passed quite adequately and efficiently on an apparently spontaneous basis, once responsibility for control is delegated, the sequence of instructions and orders must follow a logical pattern if they are to be readily understood by all concerned.
Paper work is an• anathema to most practical men, but, at least to a limited extent, it is essential if a medium or large fleet of commercial vehicles is to be efficiently controlled.
But although paper work cannot be avoided, it is important to retain the maximum simplicity in the manner in which the required forms are laid out, whilst still ensuring that they are adequate for the purpose they have to serve. When a new form is being devised it should be considered from the point of view of the person 'likely to complete -it—often a manual worker—rather than that of whoever may devise it.
FOR the same reason the apparent advantage of multipurpose forms may be lost because they prove too complicated for the personnel who have to use them. Wastage in expensive stationery can, however, be substantially curtailed if the practice of including only the initials of the company, coupled possibly with a form reference number, on each form is adopted. When forms are for use internally within the organization there is obviously no need for the name and address to appear on them. Even the telephone number sometimes appears on the internal stationery of some otherwise efficient organizations.
Whilst the saving on each form in such instances might be considered negligible, it must be appreciated that many transport records are, by statutory necessity, repetitive. Even for a fleet of 20 vehicles conservatively limited to 250 working days a year, 5,000 log sheets would be required, so that any saving, however small, in stationery costs becomes worth while.
As the reference number which distinguishes one type of form from another would probably be used only when ordering stationery, since the shape and layout would identify it to the daily user, this information could conveniently be confined té the left top corner of the form. This arrangement would then leave the right top corner available for the actual user of the form to insert the particular data which distinguishes one completed form from another. In the case of the daily log sheet this would consist of the vehicle number and the date to which the record of daily work refers. This would be an advantage to clerical staff who, in the course of their duties, have to locate any particular form among, possibly, several hundreds, because the right top corner is the more readily accessible to the majority of people.
The same theory could be applied to other types of form, although the data which was considered of prime importance, and so be placed in this position, would naturally vary. Thus summary sheets, for example, would have the appropriate week, month or quarterly ending date so inserted.
ALTHOUGH the precise layout of a daily log sheet is not included in the statutory requirements as laid down in Section 186 of the Road Traffic Act 1960, the several items of information relative to hours, journeys and loads which must be included largely determine the manner in which the form is set out. Similarly, although there is a wide variety of types of commercial vehicles, as well as the bodies fitted to them, engineering records-appertaining to mileage, fuel consumption. servicing and maintenance tend to follow a fairly standardized pattern.
Recording the movement and control of traffic, however, cannot so readily be made on standardized forms, although there are notable "'exceptions. This is because of the wide. variety of traffics moved by hauliers and wide differences in the lengths of journey or the number of trips made per day. It may no doubt be possible to devise a comprehensive form to accommodate all such variations, but the inevitable result would be that in any single usage there would be a substantial proportion of the form not completed, thus entailing Unnecessary expense in stationery: But for the operator of a fleet of around 20 vehicles or so. the range of traffics' carried would be relatively restricted and so
facilitate the recording of its movement. .
In addition to considering the actual -layout of the [buns employed, the period to which these • forms relate and the intervals between their. successive completion ;liotiild also receive attention, .
Log sheets are, in the majority of cases, limitedto a -period' of one day, although it is possible and legally. permissible' to include successive entries on one sheet covering a week's operation. But, particularly where the majority of vehicles are hack in their home depot each night, it is an advantage to employ a daily log sheet so that checking and summarizing-can be carried out virtually concurrently with the journeys having been completed.
In an industry so dependent upon the time factor as transport it is especially important to insist that all records should be completed and made available for examination as soon as possible. To this end it is advisable that the initial summary. of daily log sheets and all relevant information should be made at weekly intervals, rather than monthly or quarterly. .Moreover, such weekly summaries assuming the weekends on a Friday, for example, should be completed by Monday o Tuesday at the latest of the following week. Otherwise no positive action canbe taken over any omission or irrpgularit of any kind before a second week's work is virtually completed. In the Meantime small but important items of informs tion which would have readily elucidated the type of que which inevitably arises in traffic movement may have becom lost or at least more difficult to trace. S.B.