Extremes in Collection Conditions
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TN his paper, Mr. A. E Barton ampli1 fled the observations of Mr. Turner about the designs of new housing estates. In contrast to crowded streets in which vehicles often had to stop with the loading aperture opposite the gate to some premises, there were now the opposite extremes of wide roads flanked with grass verges broken at infrequent intervals with paths from the 'carriageway, which caused long walks for the collectors.
"From a planning point of view, the layout may be excellent, but it is an evident fact that callers at domestic premises in the suburban areas disregard the planner's thoughts and cross the verge at will. In these cases it is extremely difficult to insist that the refuse collector should do otherwise, particularly when he may be called upon to make a journey up to 100 yds. to procure the refuse from one bin," commented Mr. Barton.
Blocks of flats built without proper thought for refuse disposal presented problems to a cleansing department. However great an official's desire to keep costs low, he was baffled when confronted with flats which had the individual-bin system, as opposed to the use of chutes and large containers. Special difficulties arose if there were no local by-law providing that •bins be brought to ground level and collectors had to walk up and down steps and along terraces.
The speaker supplemented Mr. Carmichael's remarks about vehicle standardization. Simplicity should be the keynote of design, he contended, as this meant ease of maintenance. Complicated design involved not only high ,first cost, but created difficulties for local authorities without adequate overhaul staffs.
The single-round method of collection was the most popular. Employees n6 liked to be given daily "tasks," so that they fully understood what was expected of them. To be part of a small group working with one vehicle seemed to suit most men.
Relay systems, such as were introduced before the 1939-45 war to produce greater effort per man, would
"Co-operate with
"UT ANUFACTURERS have expended M.a great deal of time and money in developing what they hope will be useful additions to the everyday equipment of the modern cleansing department. . . . Pioneering has always presented a hard and stony path full of pitfalls and disappointments, but with require a different managerial technique if applied to-day. The basic principles were to work two vehicles on one round, three vehicles o.n two rounds or four vehicles on three rounds and so on, but the greater the number of machines in circulation, the greater the difficulties of the manager should a breakdown oceur. The paramount requirement was the availability of manpower.
Vehicle Makers"
goodwill, co-operation and a little encouragement from the cleansing service, I believe manufacturers in the country will continue to go forward with the development of new ideas.", Mr. Norman Holt passed this observation in his paper, in which he described various proprietary types of refuse vehicle. The development of rear-loading, he said, lightened the task of the operative, but was not the complete answer to the problem of collection, because of the adoption of new types of dust container that were heavy or awkward to handle. Manufacturers had evolved designs of vehicle which enabled bins to be handled automatically, but these machines . were expensive.
The question whether extra expenditure was worth while had to be answered according to the performance of vehicles under specific conditions. If a team were able to cover more ground with an improved appliance, the extra cost would appear to be justified, whilst the benefit of dustless loading would also be realized.
Makers aimed to produce first-class machines and users expected troublefree service. This could be guaranteed only by good maintenance, and auttiorities contemplating the use of mechanical appliances would .be, well advised to make sure that their over haul facilities were capable of dealing with them. Training for fitters would be readily orovided by manufacturers. HAVING taken over the licence for the construction of Crellin-Duplex half-deck vehicles, Mann Egerton and Co. Ltd., 5 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, is now producing vehicles of this type based on underfloor engined chassis. Apart from the advantage of giving a more balanced appearance, the underfloor-engined chassis appears to offer improved riding comfort for passengers in half-deckers and, at the same time, provides ample seating and luggage capacity for the maximum permissible load of 50 passengers.
The first of this type of vehicle, based on a Leyland Royal Tiger chassis, has just been completed for Homeland Motor Coach Tours, Ltd., Park Lane, Croydon. Of composite construction throughout, the complete vehicle weighs only 8 tons 1 cwt. unladen, of which the body weight represents 3 tons 3 cwt. This is dis tributed as follows: Unladen front-axle weight, 3 tons 16 cwt., rear-axle weight, 4 tons 5 cwt. Without fuel, the unladen weight is only 8 tons 2 lb.
Although the underfloor engine position increases the overall height, good proportions have been achieved in the coach, which is 30 ft. long and 8 ft.