Laundry Institute Criticize Vehicle Design
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ALTHOUGH concerned with only one branch of short-distance work, a report, "Collection and Delivery," published this week by the technical production and costing committee of the Institute of British Launderers contains much information that is widely applicable.
This is especially so as regards the committee's recommendations on vehicle design. The cab floor should be as low as possible, and the cab height 5 ft. 6 in. or, in bigger vehicles, 6 ft. A badly designed step.caused a driver to take over 50per cent, longer to enter and leave the cab. A step should be wide enough to take the whole foot and not just the sole, and extend the full length of the door.
It was not unusual, says the report, for a driver to leave and enter a van on 300 occasions during an eight-hour day, so that a bad step added 3 per cent. to his time. Using a good step 100 times took 5.35 minutes less than a bad step,; Time taken to enter. a cab with a low floor and no step was the same as for a cab with a well-designed step,.
Sliding doors are recommended for cabs, and it should be possible to open them to a position behind.the driving seat and remain locked. • There should be unhindered. access across the floor of the cab and behind the. seat into the body.
"Distinct Handicap"
The committee favour steering-column gear levers, and hand brakes mounted horizontally and not extending beyond or above the driving seat. " The position of the engine with the forward-drive type of .van is a distinct handicap to free access either across the cab or to the van body," it is stated.
The type of engine installed affected times spent on rounds. A battery-electric took 3.98 seconds to start and 3.33 seconds to stop, a total of 7.31 seconds, or 12.18 minutes per 100 occasions. This represented 2.53 per cent, of an eighthour day with 100 calls. A petrol engine took 4.96 seconds to start and 3.87 seconds to. stop, a total .of 8.83.seconds, or 14.72 minutes per 100 occasions. This represented 3.07 per cent. of a day.
The diesel engine showed up the poorest in this respect, hut by only a small margin. Its slowness in warming up and more rapid heat loss when idle, compared with the petrol engine, are given as the reasons. It took 5.37 seconds to start a diesel and 4.17 seconds to stop, totalling 9.54 seconds, or 15.9 minutes per 100 occasions-3.3 per cent. of a day.
The committee praise the use of translucent plastics roof panels for adequate illumination of the body interior, but regret that most vehicle designs do not permit direct access from the cab into the body. The. gear lever, hand brake and engine were often unfortunately located in this respect.
When there was easy access to the body from the cab, it took a driver 29.68 seconds to obtain a parcel from the interior and, later, deposit a parcel of soiled linen. (This applied to a van without shelves or racks.) When it was not possible for the driver to reach the body from the cab and he had to use the rear aperture, the time for the same operation was 35.13 seconds.
. Half-width doors arc best for enclosing rear apertures, says the report. They are considered less fatiguing to operate than full-width doors, roller shutters or tailboards in combination with curtains. Hampers, however, could not easily be carried through half-width doors.
A special recommendation is that a ledge should be fitted in a cab to enable writing to be done easily. A suitably designed box for pencils, labels and receipts should also be provided.
'The importance of a well-organized route cannot be too strongly stressed," it is stated. "This can be achieved by plotting the callson to a suitable scale map by means of coloured pins; the comparative mileageof differently routed journeys can then be measured in order to determine the shortest distances."
Van journeys were frequently laid out: in a Series of triangles. radiating from the laundry and it was noticeable that the density of calls thinned out at the farthest distances. A more productive density of calls usually followed if the journeys were formed in a series of "rings" emanating from the laundry.
Each van's route should be regularly reviewed as customers were continually being gained and lost.. A properly designed van, says the report, enables
10-15 per cent. More Calls to be made than if ti less satisfactory type is employed.
The value of an assistant varied according to the kind of work. Assuming the driver to be fully occupied during a ninehour day, an assistant worked effectively for 45-50 per cent, at a density of 10 calls per mile, 55-60 per cent, at 20 calls per mile, and nearly 65 per cent. at 30-40 calls per mile.
The book includes a table showing how 156 seconds which a driver may spend on a collection-and-delivery call is built up. This is as follows: stop engine, 3.87; leave cab, 2.97; walk round van and obtain parcel, 21.5; walk to customer's door, 25.35; time spent at customer's door, 63.21; walk back to van, 25.35; enter van, 3.79; put soiled linen in van, 5; start engine, 4.96.
Time Allowance On delivery work, a driver should he allotted 5.5 minutes per mile plus 0.2 minute per call. The allowance for a driver and assistant should be 9.6 minutes per mile plus 0.35 minute per call.
The report sets out detailed figures for the operating costs of laundry vehicles and contains advice about hiring transport. This appeared to be a better proposition when a laundry's existing vans were reaching the end of their life than when they were fairly new.
The annual standing charges and the running costs per ;mile for the following types of vehicle are given: 15-.cwt. petrol, £932: 15s.; 4.2d.: 15-cwt: diesel, £951 3s.; 3.1d.: 30-cwt. petrol, £952 19se 5.7d.: 30cwt. diesel, £963 I8s.; 4.3d.: 1-ton batteryelectric, £1,059 17s.; 2.5d.
Comparable figures for hired transport are stated to be: 30-cwt. petrol, £1,036 2s., 7.5d.: 30-cwt. diesel, £1,042 2se 5.5d.
The report is obtainable, from the Institute at 16-17 Lancaster Gate, London, W.2, at 41 Is.