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Clockwise system Dr early warning
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WHEN AN operator takes delivery of a new vehicle, like all new things, it will be completely free of defects. End of fairy story. As with most things in life, it's not quite that simple.
On the law of averages some new vehicle, whatever make, and however good the factory inspection system, is going to be delivered to the distributor with some defects. Consider for a moment that a commercial vehicle chassis consists of around 20,000 components (down to nuts, bolts, split pins etc); if it is assembled to an accuracy of 99.9 per cent it will still be delivered with 20 defects!
So that operators will stand a better chance of taking delivery of a fault-free vehicle, the Freight Transport Association instituted a new vehicle inspection scheme for its members. When asked by an operator, the FTA will arrange for one of its inspectors to check over the vehicle before he takes delivery.
The inspection is visual and operational — in other words, there is no dismantling. One exception to this is the oil level plugs, which obviously need a spanner to get them out before a check can be made on whether the factory remembered to put the lubricant in.
Obviously the FTA needs early notice to provide an inspector, as they are all on contracted inspection anyway and very busy indeed.
In fact vehicle inspection (as opposed to the new vehicle variety) is currently running at a rate of around 100,000 per year. At a pinch, an inspection can be arranged at about two day's' notice but it's not something the FTA wants to make a regular occurence.
Even if the operator doesn't know the exact delivery date of his new vehicle, it is advisable to warn the FTA so the inspector will at least receive an approximate warning.
The inspection is often carried out on the customer's premises, but the problem with this arrangement is that if there is something wrong, then the vehicle has to go back to the distributors, so it is more logical to inspect it on the distributor's premises after the pre-delivery inspection.
The structure of the FTA inspection scheme starts off at Hermes House in Tunbridge Wells with the controller of engineering services, Terry Gol drick. Responsible to him is Dave Moody, the inspection services manager. Their territory is split up into five regions, each with its own regional engineer and a team of senior inspectors — each of whom supervises about five inspectors. The senior inspectors are also responsible for supervision and training of new staff.
When an operator buys a new vehicle it will often have faults. The FTA argues that not only will it have these faults but many of them could be serious enough to keep it off the road or warrant the issue of GV9 . . just what the operator needs when he has delicensed the old vehicle in anticipation of adding the new one to his fleet.
The FTA claims that the new vehicle inspection service means that the operator can be sure that when his vehicle leaves the distributor it is defect-free.
The inspector operates to a system_ He starts in the cab, works round the chassis in a clockwise direction and then gets underneath. A check list system is most definitely not used, as the FTA feels that this makes the inspection too mechanical, with potential fault
areas being missed simply because there is no specific cate
gory in which to include them. Hence the "clockwise" system. which relies on the inspector's experience.
When he has finished the inspection, he fills in a two-page report. This is subdivided into a number of categories ranging from "engine and cooling system" to "bodywork".
The report form also includes the DTp numbers relating to the Testers Manual. As well as the obvious inspection of the electrical and mechanical systems, the inspection includes a check
on the legal aspect, eg marker plates, manufacturer's plate, display of unladen weight and so on.
It is important to realise that the FTA inspection only reports the defects. It does not suggest action and the inspector does not rectify any of the faults found. In filling in his report, the inspector will use a code to indicate his findings, which he may or may not enlarge on. The code is G—GV9; R —repairs required; S—serviceable; NVD — no visible defects.
The new vehicle inspection scheme does not cover the chassis alone, By "vehicle", the FTA means the complete object — bodywork, tipping gear, blowing equipment, the lot. One advantage of having a nationwide organisation is that it allows the FTA to inspect the vehicle in a different region.
For example, if an operator is based in Birmingham and is having a bulk body fitted to his chassis in, say, Somerset, the FTA can organise the inspection for the Somerset area rather than in the operator's home area. This gets round the problem of having the vehicle flying backwards and forwards between Birmingham and Somerset if any faults are found which need rectification before the operator takes delivery.
One of the customers for the new vehicle inspection service is Fiat. It is unusual for a vehicle manufacturer to use the service — in fact Fiat is currently the only one, although talks are underway with two other manufacturers on future cooperation.
Fiat uses the service in the same way as any other FTA member. So to find out how the new vehicle inspection is carried out in practice, I visited the Worcester premises of Carmichael Trucks Ltd, who have used the scheme to advantage since 1976. Last year, for example, 129 Fiats were inspected by the FTA.
On average the inspector makes two one-day visits per month to Carmichael's dealing with around five chassis per day This is used to give a sample check on the vehicles. The size of the sample is around 10 per cent.
On the day I was there, the five-vehicle sample included a 16-ton 159 and four variants.
The cost of the inspection obviously varies according to the complexity of the vehicle, but an average figure would be in the region of £20 — cheap when the vehicle can cost £20,000-plus.
To arrive at a system of costing, the FTA divides the vehicles up into three categories light (ie, non 0-licence), two-axle rigids, and artics and multiwheelers.
There is no ''mileage charge" for how far the inspector has to travel. Only if the operator wanted something out of the ordinary would the price vary.
in recent months, the extent of the new vehicle inspection coverage has widened considerably. Now psv and ambulances are included. A contract has been signed with the Trent Regional Health Authority to inspect 80 ambulances, which includes the gongs and the flashing lights as well as the chassis. The passenger side started in January this year with an agreement with the Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport (CPT).
The new venture is into the field of fork-lift trucks, as the Health and Safety at Work Act has created a lot of interest in this area.
As well as commercial vehicles, the scheme is geared to fleet cars as well. Although normally full of mundane machines like Cortinas and Marinas, there was one splendid occasion when a director's Rolls-Royce was included!