MODERN METHOD in TRADITIONAL TRADE
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By S. BUCKLEY,
Assoc. Inst. T.
MORE extensive use of bulk delivery vehicles in the seed and corn trade awaits standardization of body types and resulting reduction in cost. This is claimed by Mr. Roy Cull, transport and production executive of James Duke and Son, Ltd., Bishop's Waltham, and chairman of the Southampton area of the Traders Road Transport Association. Moreover it is the opinion of one who has already had long experience in providing a transport service for agriculture, and whose company already operates several bulk grain vehicles and trailers. Where the length of lead is appropriate, Duke's are able to increase the number of trips per day by the employment of vehicles with bulk bodies, and the ability to cope with sudden surges of traffic is further facilitated by the use of articulated vehicles.
The benefits of these two factors were especially evident on the day of my visit; it was the first fine day following a wet spell and farmers throughout the area were endeavouring to make up arrears in harvesting. As a result, Duke's vehicles were unloading in quick succession at their warehouses in marked contrast to the bottleneck which would have occurred if all loads had been delivered in sacks on rigid vehicles.
In reply to my suggestion that articulation was often considered unsuitable for agricultural haulage because of possible lack of traction, Mr. Cull said that from his experience this was a misapprehension. Much depended on the driver. If he was an " anti-artic" man there would inevitably be difficulties. Rut there have been several occasions when their artics were able to get alongside leading points on farms which were inaccessible to rigid vehicles with insufficient turning circle to negotiate narrow gateways and confined areas.
Of the 45 vehicles in Duke's commercial fleet, 33 are rigid models and there are 12 tractive units and 25 semi-trailers, so allowing 13 spare trailers. Twenty of the rigids are Thames Traders, the majority being of 7-ton capacity, whilst one is a six-wheeled 12-tonner. There are also 10 Bedfords and two Commers of either 7or 8-ton capacity. The articulated fleet consists of two Thames Traders, five Commers and five Seddons with respective capacities ranging from 10 tons to 15 tons.
A special feature of Duke's vehicles is the extensive use made of marine ply in body construction. The %%in. laminated sections of this material have been found to be stronger than traditional 1-1-in. wood sections. Equally important is that the particular marine ply used is obtainable in 8 ft. by 4 ft. sheets, a convenient size which enables the whole of the wood construction to be completed on, say, a rigid 7-tonner in one day. Despite the hard usage common in agricultural haulage, bodies have been in service for over four years without need for repair.
A saving of about 3 cwt. per body is claimed by the use of marine ply instead of standard wood and the complete body is only slightly heavier than one constructed of aluminium alloy—which would cost much more. A 7-ton platform body fitted with double drop-sides, headboard and hoopsticks costs £160 in marine wood and £260 in alloy. . Nevertheless, where appropriate tongued and grooved wood costs Is. 6d. per sq. ft., marine wood is substantially dearer at 2s. 9d. to 3s. Od. a sq. ft. But the convenience of the 8-ft
panels so. reduces labour costs that this difference in material price is largely cancelled out. Moreover, as a substantial proportion of recent increases in body prices is the result of wage increases, the balance in favour of the use of marine wood tends to widen. As an example', the cost of a body (£160) built for Duke's six years ago in this material still remains approximately the same today because any slight increase in material cost has been now offset by the bodybuilder's greater experience in the economical use of sections of this material.
Duke's have employed artics for seven years and the potential of this principle has been .xploited to the .full by an ample supply of spare trailers. Earning capacity has thereby been increased, both when operating on shuttle service or on journeys of such a length that it would not be possible for the driver to unload his vehicle within the maximum statutory hour. In fact, Duke's have found the saving amounts to It 5/£20 per week per 'vehicle.
As to whether artics are practical for farm work, Mr. Cull claims that working conditions are changing as the farming community becomes mud] more businesslike than formerly. They themselves Use machinery of various types so that a hard surface approach to loading points is now more common. Both farmer and merchant appreciate that a bogged vehicle is a liability to all parties.
The ThameS Traders have double-dropside bodies with extended headboards and hoopsticks to enable tilts to be erected• in bad Weather. Six rigids and five semi-trailers have special bulk bodies with 'provision for pneumatic discharge.
Entry into bulk delivery has not been taken lightly by Duke's, who have always maintained that this form of delivery service must be able to Stand on its own feet and be a paying proposition. This is of vital importance in the corn trade where keen competition reduces margins to a minimum and leaves no room for uneconomic transport.
Duke's first bulk vehicle was bought eight years ago and there are now 16 bulk bodies in use, fitted to II rigfds and five artic trailers, Mr. Cull estimates that they will ultimately collect about 60 per cent, of this season's harvest in bulk, although early collections will be in sacks from fanners who, having no bulk facilities, have to sell their ,grain immediately on harvesting. A substantial trade in feeding stuff enables Duke's to load this commodity in bulk on the outward journe■ and collect grains on return. In many instances the time factor would prohibit this procedure w:th sacked loads on platform vehicles, with a resulting 50 per cent, empty running.
The increasing use of bulk vehicles has coincided with an intensification of bulk sales in the local trading area. This has resulted in as many as five deliveries per day with an individual vehicle when both loading and delivery facilities ate at peak efficiency.
Ultimately Duke's hope to do all their trade in bulk. Whilst this is admittedly a long-term aim, the trend is steadily, if slowly. proceeding in that direction. In additiOn to The 60 per cent. grain in bulk, Duke's are already moving in bulk 25 per cent, of their feeding stuff and 10 per .cent of fertilizer traffic. Of the remainder, the feeding stuffs are carried in +-cwt. nonreturnable sacks, the fertilizer usually in 1-cwt. paper sacks and the balance of the grain is usually carried in 2-cwt. or 2:1-cwl. hired sacks. To facilitate loading these, Hi-Pope sack loaders are fitted to Duke vehicles and because of their compactness are proving most satisfactory.
Until complete bulk delivery is achieved, the lorry sheet must still be a necessity for the agricultural haulier whether used to cover a standard platform vehicle or in tilt form. But in the view of Mr. Cull the ideal sheet has not yet been marketed. Preventing moisture from reaching the load is essential when grain is carried and for this reason P.V.C. coating sheets appear to offer substantial advantages. But it has been Mr Cull's experience that because of this coating tae 3!)::^.et ts a w;:n!e no longer contracts or expands according to its molsture content. As a result the whole of the strain of expansion, when it arises, is taken by the stitching. Th's ultimately breaks with resulting penetration of moisture. Consequently they have returned to the use of 22 oz. standard flax 3•'.-ieets.
Th.; tratnporlo department of Duke's, in addition to extensive employment of bulk delivery as a paying proposition. is also exce7tianal in the maintenance policy it adopts. Despite a total fleet of 45 commere;a1 vehicles and 41 cars they undertake no maintenance themselves. The whole of this work is contracted out to their mainsuppliers, namely, W. Benham, Ltd., of Bishop's Waltham. Percy Hendy, Ltd., of Chandlers Ford, filburys (Southampton), Ltd.-, Southampton, and Alton Motor Co., of Petersffeld, whilst tyre maintenance is undertaken by Kennings Tyre Services (Kennings, Ltd.), Southampton.
If they maintained their own fleet of 86 vehicles, Mr. Cull claims, they would have to lay out substantial capital on premises and equipment and also provide, in addition to the present fleet, at. leastone spare commercial vehicle, a spare car and possibly a breakdown recovery vehicle. Moreover capital cl;verted for this purpose would be to some extent, if not wholly, deducted from the sum normally allocated for vehicle replacement. This would mean longer periods between replacements and therefore a need for more maintenance.
As the prime function of the department is to provide a transport service, the maximum can only be achieved by utilizing the whole of the total allocation of capital to the department for the purchase of vehicles, assuming that all such purchases can he subsequently employed. In Mr. Cull's opinion this factor is so fundamental to ancillary transport policy that it transcends in importance consideration of alternative methods of maintenance.
Another unusual feature of Duke's maintenance system is that all servicing is done on Saturdays when the vehicles are not normally required. This arrangement fits in well with the usual commitments of the public garages concerned, much of their business being the servicing and repairs of cars whose owners invariably insist on having them available for the week-end.
Although maintenance is carried out by outside garages it is undertaken to Duke's precise instructions. Mr. Cull has devised a maintenance system consisting of three progressive services. The several tasks are listed on duplicated quartosheets. At the outset both time and mileage systems were considered and it was ultimately decided that servicing should be undertaken monthly as it was felt that the vehicles averaging lower mileages were nevertheless engaged on more stop and start work involving relatively greater wear and tear.
The first service sheet (printed on white) consists of five items, namely greasing. enoine oil, battery, radiator, wheel nuts and tyre checks, and brake adjustment. There is also provision for detailing other work to he carried out when necessary. Service No. 2 is more comprehensive and consists of nine items which are listed on a blue sheet This is performed on alternate months excent when service No. 3 R44
becomes due. In four successive months the service sequence would be No.1, No.. 2, No, I, No. 3 and so on. Brakes are checked at every service.
Service No. 3 consists of 20 items and is printed on a pink sheet. A road test is carried out both before and after the service and to ensure that .this has been •done mileometer readings are recorded both when the vehicle is taken in and • subsequently collected. .
Although the four garages concerned are assured of a regular amount of work each Saturday, this. is confirmed by instructions from Duke's on Fridays. Whilst maintenance of the several makes of vehicle comprising Duke's fleet is naturally undertaken by the appropriate agents, in exceptional circumstances there could be liaison between the garages and Duke's so as to level out any temporary repair peaks.
Despite effiCient preventive maintenance schemes such as this, practical operators must nevertheless take account of any disruption of service which will occur in the event of the breakdown of a vehicle on service. If Duke's provided 'their own service and repair facilities, Mr. Cull claims that it would be inevitable that any preventive maintenance scheduled to be done on the day a breakdown occurred would be either subftantially curtailed or omitted altogether. Under their present arrangements, even if they are so unfortunate as to have two breakdowns on the same day, there are adequate maintenance facilities, in total, available at the three garages to cope with such an exceptional situation.
Although not directly resulting from contracting out their maintenance work, Mr. Cull suggests that this policy does encourage them to look more closely at overall costs of operation. With the best intentions of arriving at the real cost of operation, Mr. Cull considers it is only too easy for a C-licence operator to be misted by his own costings unless comparisons can be made against another yardstick. A common error is the omission of one or more items of operating costs and, most frequently, overhead costs. But even if no such omissions are made, there may be an unconscious selection of collections and deliveries most favourable to economic operation so that comparisons with hired haulage rates for the remainder of the traffic puts the ancillary fleet--and of course the transport manager—in a favourable light. Because Duke's can carry loads in both directions in many instances, they are able to operate economically despite the small profit margins in the corn trade. Even so, genuine comparisons with the castings of other forms of operation are essential if Duke's are to maintain their competitive position.
Up to 3,500 Tons a Week Duke's have four depots at which vehicles are dispersed. There are 26 vehicles at the Bishop's Waltham headquarters. 12 at Chipping Norton, five at Four Marks and two at Kintbury. Loading equipment is provided at Bishop's Waltham and Chipping Norton.
Total traffic moved in their own vehicles averages around 2,000/2,500 tons a week, but at peak periods this can rise to 3,500 tons. The chief trading area is within a 100-mile radius of Bishop's Waltham, although there are some exceptions. Large quantities of grain are moved into the Avonmouth area from August to February and imported grain is collected from the same port throughout the year. Grain is also shipped to Portsmouth for export to the Continent whilst, in reverse, fertilizers imported from Holland and Italy are collected on the return journeys.
Most of the material averages around 50 cu. ft. per ton, the only exceptions, being herbage seeds which are brought in for cleaning and then distributed to customers.
Overall distribution is separated into areas within which deliveries are maintained, on average, twice weekly, dependent al the tonnage potential. Long-distance deliveries are developed to areas where there are available return loads of raw materials.
In addition to the keeping of operational records by the transport office, costings are carried out by the accountancy department and presented on a three-monthly basis'. In addition to individual vehicle costs the several quarterly summaries show six cost items and also six operating factors which, if properly used, illustrate the efficiency of the fleet.