• Home
• Used vehicles
• Product news
• Dealer news
• Compliance
• Buying advice
• Archive

Codifying road transport practice

THE SCOTTISH GAS BOARD POINTS THE WAY

MANY large road transport organizations find it helpful, indeed essential, to codify the administrative practices underlying vehicle operation's. British Road Services' formidable Management Manual produced in the early months of the newly nationalized concern still continues although much "distilled wisdom" derived from the Manual over the years has now been incorporated into staff instruction booklets dealing with such matters as claims, industrial relations, financial administration, etc. A companion series of instructions known as "M.A.s"— Management Advices—has always proved necessary in BRS to cater for immediate administrative problems.

Road transport is not alone in facing a plethora of statutory requirements and much essential internal documentation. Wherever public safety is concerned it is a safe bet that there will be voluminous printed matter defining recommended practice and often giving mandatory instructions to operators. In civil aviation ground engineers licensed by the Air Ministry, and later by the Air Registration Board, became familiar with the "Yellow Perils"—as the Notices to Ground Engineers and Air Pilots were often called.

Today the codified manuals used by some world-wide air corporations make anything familiar in road transport seem of negligible proportions. I know of one American airline with several hundred management and instructional manuals so voluminous that it my be necessary to microfilm the extensive material because of the sheer bulk of the printed manuals. That, of course, seems a ludicrous end product of much patient drafting of instructions by skilled administrators, though it would doubtless be possible for staff to select any given instruction by the pressing of a button, for projection on a wall screen whenever necessary.

Instructions from management to staff in even the smallest road transport business are customarily displayed on an official notice board. Over a relatively short period such notices become dog-eared, dirty, and —not infrequently----are subjected to rude comment by members of the staff who may not like the content or the phrasing of the instruction. Collected together over a period of years the instructions from management displayed on notice boards become a rough and ready management manual.

Key question But the key question is whether such instructions follow a, consistent pattern. Would an outsider reading several years' accumulation of displayed notices gain a clear idea of the management philosophy of the firm? Of course, circumstances alter and detailed interpretations change but I suspect that in far too many cases instructions to staff are concocted in a hurry to meet a particular situation and a consistent approach is not always apparent.

Another factor, of course, is that management and supervisory staff entitled to display instructions to staff change from time to time. New managers do not always take the trouble to find out the content of earlier instructions or the reasons leading to their content, so that long-service employees may justly feel that a current instruction at marked variance to a number of earlier instructions on a particular topic may be of short duration and appropriately ignored.

In a recent talk with Mr. John Brandon, controller of supplies, stores and transport of the Scottish Gas Board, I was interested to learn about the thorough code of practice he has implemented. Mr. Brandon is an innovator whose ideas deserve to be copied over a wide area. The impressive new distribution and stores centre at Livingston, near Edinburgh, provides a standard of amenity and organization for the transport, stores and purchasing staff of which the Scottish Gas Board may well be proud. The detailed equipment and organization of this million pound plus project will doubtless be well publicized in the near future after the official opening of the centre. Suffice to comment here that its mechanical handling equipment, its computer-based control systems and the attention paid to the detailed design of offices and staff amenity blocks will attract much interest and favourable comment.

The visitor to Livingston may be surprised to find that the large reception area is not— as would be usual—graced by a smartly dressed, attractive receptionist cum telephone operator. Instead, large wall notices direct the visitor to a desk bearing a phone and a full list of the extension numbers of all relevant members of the centre staff. If the person required is not available, deputies' or secretaries' extension numbers are given, and if the visitor is, still unable to make contact with the desired officer or department there is a master number which—as I found—soon brings action.

Mr. Brandon is satisfied that the "impersonal" reception area pays off not only in the saving of a receptionist's salary but also in facilitating an immediate voice contact between the visitor and the officer of the Board that he has come to see. "Attractive young receptionists", he told me, "have a habit of 'chatting up' personable young visitors and may be quite casual or indifferent to senior people visiting the centre. Our direct phone contact system does ensure that important visitors speak to the official concerned immediately and receive all appropriate assistance promptly."

The introduction to the Scottish Gas Board Code of Transport Practice admirably states the case for its existence and it will be noted that it is addressed directly to individual members of the staff who may not be directly concerned with transport operation but whose co-operation is called for.

Standardization "A well-organized transport fleet needs an efficient department, but we can only become efficient if everyone concerned is aware of what we are trying to do and how we are trying to do it.

"Standardization of equipment and methods is necessary before any measure of efficiency can be obtained, so we have published this manual to advise you of your relationship with the transport department, and your responsibilities in operating and controlling the facilities provided for your use.

"The department, similarly, has methods of operation and control, and its own responsibilities within the Board's organization, and this book should help you to know what these are.

"For easy reference, the manual is divided into sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of transport, with an index to subject matter for cross reference. In each section, the general transport policy is given, followed by details of the procedures and documentation to be followed within the general policy.

"Instructions will be issued and amended as required."

The numbered sections show the range of subjects so far considered appropriate; other subjects will no doubt be added when necessary. The contents begin with a useful section headed "Definitions and Abbreviations" consisting of no less than 53 items. Some of these definitions may seem trite to the initiated but it must never be forgotten that staff turnover in the best of organizations is a permanent feature. The good long-service employee might be capable of memorizing the substance of all the definitions; it is quite obvious that a newcomer to the board's service would find such a manual of great help.

"Accident", for example, is defined as: "Any accident involving a Board vehicle or driver, where the Board may be subjected to or may jnake a claim for damages, or where a Board vehicle is damaged."

"Authorized passenger" means "any person, carrying out work for, or on behalf of, the Board, who is travelling in a Board vehicle; any potential Board customer going to or from a demonstration where the conclusion of their negotiations warrants the use of a Board vehicle."

"Driver's certificate of competence" and "Driving licence" are separately defined, the former meaning "a certificate issued to employees by the chief transport officer showing that they have satisfied the Board's requirements for driving or operating particular types of vehicles, mobile plant or motorized equipment."

The transport establishment is defined thus: "The record of transport services authorized to be held by the board to meet its needs, showing the functions and duties for which such services have been approved.

(a) Vehicle Establishment—The record of authorized vehicles, trailers and/or car allowances.

(b) Plant andEquipment Establishment— The record of authorized mobile plant and motorized equipment.

(c) Drivers Establishment—The record of authorized drivers and operators.

Similarly, there is a precise definition of the term functional officer, thus: "Any officer working within a function, or department within that function, to whom the appropriate chief officer has delegated authority for controlling transport within that function.

(a) Area Functional Officer—a functional officer with area responsibility. (b) Group Functional Officer—a func tional officer with group or regional responsibility.

Altogether there are 14 sections to the manual headed Organization and Abbreviations, General, Legal, Vehicle Establishment, Vehicle Utilization, Drivers, Vehicle Accidents, Road Safety, Garaging and Vehicle Security, Maintenance and Defect Reporting, Hired Vehicles and Hired Transport, Administration, Costing and Accounting, and an alphabetic index to subjects.

Job descriptions

The "General" section is supplemented with a useful "family tree" defining the responsibility of the chief transport officer and his subordinates. At headquarters the chief transport officer is aided by specialist utilization technical and 'administrative officers, who are responsible for all policy, planning and control and who operate a central clerical and records system. In the field, transport superintendents operating in each group are responsible for the operation of pool vehicles, providing vehicle servicing facilities and acting in a general advisory capacity to group functional officers.

was interested to note a reference to the precise terms of reference, including job descriptions, of various appointments with transport responsibilities included. Such terms of reference are all too rare in road transport.

Mr. Brandon, as is well known, has been very active in promoting CM's Lorry Driver of the Year competition in Scotland and it was pleasing, though hardly surprising, to note in the section on Road Safety that Gas Board drivers are encouraged to participate in RoSPA's National Safe Driving Award Scheme and our own familiar I,DoY.

Every road transport department needs to ensure that its basic records are compiled methodically and accurately. The SGB drivers are required to complete standard record sheets from a tear-off pad, daily. A detailed instruction sheet tells them precisely how to complete the records. The coloured blocks on the sheets denoting fleet numbers, week-endings, and speedometer readings are doubtless of great help in quickly checking for accuracy both on a day and cumulative basis.

Vehicle replacement policy is defined in the section dealing with vehicle establishment. Vehicles up to and including 1 ton capacity have an approximate life of three years, heavier vehicles of around five years and specialist vehicles, seven years. This instruction also sets out the criteria for stafrhaving a need for transport on board business using their own car with the appropriate scale of allowances to meet running costs.

Lengthy sections of the Manual deal with procedures following road accidents of prosecutions for road traffic offences. Whatever the size of the concern operating road vehicles, much management time will be spent on the tedious but vitally important matter of sifting the evidence as it appears from the driver's accident report form. How often one hears transport managers say that the driver's description of what occurred bears little resemblance to the story told by the other party or witnesses of the accident!

Standard drill

Clearly, a standard drill to cover the administrative paper work is of great assistance and though the procedures laid down by a large publicly or privately owned road transport organization may appear to be rather cumbersome they are invariably based on wide experience of the problem. Drivers or supervisors who fail to take the appropriate action in forwarding information promptly through the correct channels slow down the departmental administration and greatly add to the costs of the exercise.

It is, comparatively'rare to find a man with such an analytical mind as John Brandon in road transport. His responsibilities are much wider than the transport function alone but his approach to his task in the purchasing and stores function is equally methodical. What are the objects in view? What criteria should govern the main decisions? How may organization best be arranged?

In simply worded explanatory notes widely circulated to staff and in the formal transport manual all-too-inadequately described in this article Mr. Brandon is making a major contribution both to good managementstaff relationships and to efficiency. In a concern spending more than £800,000 a year on transport services alone management of this calibre is called for. The principles are very relevant throughout the whole field of transport.