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Commercial Aspects of Vehicle Selection
Page 97
Page 98
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kS distinct from the problem of fitting the technical specification a a commercial vehicle to the work it will subsequently have to perform, the operator has first to termine just what that work will amount to. Undoubtedly s will be relatively simple where an ancillary operator is neerned only with the delivery of a standard product between o points under his direct control. But, taken as a whole. proportion of such traffic of all that is required to be wed by road transport must be small. Much more likely it for a general haulier, and indeed many ancillary operators, be confronted with apparently insoluble problems of the sire for standardization of . vehicles on the one hand and : necessity to move a whole range of dissimilar traffic on
: other. As mentioned last week the best compromise ution to such a problem has usually been the employment a platform bodied vehicle, so providing the maximum lability and economy in initial outlay.
That, at least, has been the situation applying generally in id transport operation for many years. But both commerlly and industrially this is increasingly an age of spc.cialiyan. In the technical field this has resulted to some extent ,m the increasing adoption of mass-production methods to ;rowing number of industries. But equally important is the ies of commercial mergers which have resulted in a considerr.e degree of rationalization of production. These two trends : already having effect on the road transport industry and : types of vehicle the operator is expected to provide. There ms no reason to suppose this trend will not continue and
b it an increasing demand for specialized vehicles or at st standard chassis fitted with specialized bodies.
With the life of many commercial vehicles being reckoned five sears and often considerably more, according to his n circumstances, each operator will have to give careful isideration as to just how this probable change in demand ikely to affect his business. As with the costing of vehicle :ration, the selection of a vehicle can be conditioned by 1, present or future events. There is probably no recomndation more telling with an operator than the satisfactory vice provided by a particular make or type of vehicle ually engaged on his own type of operation. This is even tore compelling reason for selecting a similar type of vehicle 211 :1 measure of standardization on this type has already .n achieved within the fleet.
ajar Selling Point lecause reliability of service is a major selling point to be !red by road transport, there will inevitably be an underidable reluctance for operators to make a change from es of vehicle which have proved satisfactory over a period years. But it must never be forgotten that in selecting a imercial vehicle the traffic it will carry in the future must the prime determining factor and not the conditions which e applied in the past or even those which apply at the mem.
Lssuming that it has already been decided to purchase and operate one's own vehicle (in the case of ancillary users) rather than engage in some form of contract hire, there still remains alternative methods of arranging for the maintenance of vehicles. In many cases the distributor or agent who supplies the vehicle would be prepared to undertake maintenance, and according to the proximity of the operator's depot this might prove to be a convenient arrangement for both parties. But even where the operator takes on responsibility of maintaining his own vehicle, the increasing availability of unit exchange schemes considerably simplifies maintenance problems.
Closely allied to the maintenance problem is that of standardization. Superimposed on both these aspects of commercial vehicle operation is the now ever-increasing range offered by individual vehicle manufacturers. As a result, even if an operator has need to employ a wide range of vehicles, the opportunity to limit the makes in his fleet to two, or even one, is now greatly enhanced.
Spare Parts and Location The ready availability of spare parts and any units obtainable under an exchange scheme is not only of direct concern to the operator in keeping vehicles on the road, but also reduces his financial outlay in maintaining his own stock of spares to meet any emergencies. The location of individual operators is closely linked with this problem. For example. a haulier' who in the main provides a service for agricultural customers in a relatively remote: area may, broadly speaking, obtain maximum availability of vehicles in two ways. He can accept the expense of keeping an above-average stock of spare parts because of his remoteness from the nearest agents. Alternatively, he could adopt a policy of vehicle replacement at an exceptionally early stage and so obviate as far as possible any likelihood of breakdown on service. In either case the ultimate decision in this respect must have a considerable bearing on the type of vehicle selected for the job.
In order to provide a yardstick by which to judge the possible value of variations in specification of a vehicle, the following operating costs of a 4-tonner, fitted with oil engine, are given, first as individual amounts and then as a percentage of the whole. Comparison with the total operating costs for a 5-tonner are also given.
Assuming this 4-tonner is fitted with standard platform body the initial outlay is estimated to he £1,132. With a corresponding unladen weight of 2 tons 14 cwt., the annual licence duty will be 09. The equivalent cost of licensing per week, inclusive of the appropriate proportion of A-licence fee, is therefore, los. 5d. As with the other four items of standing costs, this calculation is made on the basis of a 50-week year, so allowing for two weeks per annum when the vehicle may be off the road for major overhaul or driver's holiday.
Wages are reckoned to cost the employer £10 13s: 11d, a week. This amount is appropriate to the statutory minimum remuneration for a driver based in a Grade 1 area as defined by the Road Haulage Wages Regulations, R.H.(74) when working a 42-hour week. It also includes appropriate additions in
respect'of employer's insurance contributions and the necessary adjustment to permit holidays with pay.
Rent and rates in respect of garaging the vehicle are reckoned to cost the equivalent of 18s. 6d. a week, whilst vehicle insurance adds £1 17s: 10d. This is based on an annual premium of £94 10s. to provide comprehensive cover in a medium-risk
area. Allowing for a nominal r.ate of five per cent interest charges on the initial outlay of £1,132 would amount to 1:1 2s. 8d: a week.
The total for the five items of standing costs is therefore €15 9s. 4d. Appropriate to this size of vehicle it will he assumed that the average weekly mileage is 400, with a resulting standing cost per mile of 9.28d.
Running Costs Dealing now with running costs, it will be assumed that the operator of this vehicle purchases his fuel oil supplies in bulk at 4s. 2i-d. a gallon. With an average rate of consumption of 21 m.p.g. being maintained, the fuel cost per mile will be 2.39d. Lubricants add 0-26d. and tyres 0-98d., allowing a life per set of 30,000 miles. Maintenance is reckoned to cost 2-13d. and depreciation 1.43d. per mile. This latter calculation is based on an estimated vehicle life of 150,000 miles, whilst the balance to be written off is derived by first deducting the equivalent cosi, of the original set of tyres from the cost price of the vehicle, with a further deduction to allow for the estimated residual value.
Expressed as a cost per mile these five items of running costs total 7-19d. Correspondingly, when averaging 400 miles a week the running costs per week would be: fuel £3 19s. 8d., lubricants 8s. 8d., tyres 12s. 8d., maintenance £3 I Is. and depreciation £2 7s. 8d., so giving a total of £11 19s. 8d, The addition of standing and running 'costs gives the total operating cost for this 4-ton goods vehicle, fitted with oil engine, of 16-47d, a mile, or £27 9s. a week.
Expressed as a percentage of the total onerating cost, the equivalent 10 items are as follows: licences 2-98, wages 38.98, rent and rates 3,40, insurance 6.86, interest 4.13 (total standing costs 56-35), fuel 14.51, lubricants 1.58, tyres 5-95, maintenance 12-93, depreciation 8.68 (total running costs 43-65).
On examining the percentages it will be seen that whilst my addition to operating costs is to be avoided, provided real .ind possibly accumulative benefits are to he obtained in other directions, then a modest increase in unladen weight will have only marginal effect on the total operating costs by way of increased licence duty.
A similar and possibly more common problem to he resolved ..when selecting a vehicle would be the reverse of these circumstances, namely the extent to which one would be prepared to accept additional expense, possibly through the use of an alloy body, to l'educe unladen weight and so obtain a greater payload, though still remaining within the legal maximum gross weight. Here again such decisions would be conditioned by current traffic availability and potential, namely the regularity with which the extra payload could be utilized after the additional initial outlay has been incurred. Even when reckoned on the basic 42-hour week, the percc cage figures just given highlight the fact that the driver's.wal are the largest single item, namely 38-98 per cent. That bei so it is obviously in the employer's interest to explore evc possibility of achieving maximum productivity from bc vehicle and driver. The scheduling of duties and journeys a major factor in this respect and, inevitably, is the respc sibility of the traffic department, possibly with the assistar of incentive bonus schemes where appropriate.
Such aims towards greater productivity are largely a mat of day-to-day operation. But before that stage is reach the potential productivity of a vehicle can be apprecial determined by the appropriateness of its specification to job it has to perform. Partitularly does this apply to ease access to cabs and van bodies where fitted. Along with t increasing range of vehicles, relative to size, now being offet by single manufacturers, there is an encouraging trend towai a diversity of cab and body styles even amongst the quant produced ranges. It is therefore more than ever necessary 1 prospective purchasers to examine all possible alternatives.
Fuel Economy
With the increasing proportion of motor vehicles now bei fitted with oil engines, as in the case of the one just cost' there is general acceptance that only in exceptional circu stances would a petrol-engine vehicle be selected for comm cial work in other than the smallest types of vehic Incidentally, in the percentage figures just given the cost fuel was the second largest item. But even so it was less th half that of the amount for wages. Whilst fuel economy in always. be of vital concern to those responsible for the ma tenance of commercial vehicles, the experienced operator v realistically if reluctantly accept that whatever steps are tak either in the initial selection of vehicles or subsequent standai of maintenance, the use-or abuse--of.the vehicle on the re will be by far the most significant factor in determining I level of fuel economy achieved. For this reason a fuel inci tive bonus scheme willbe more likely to achieve the desii results than technical variations in specification, howe, potentially encouraging in theory.
Occasions can arise where a purchaser is undecided to the actual size of vehicle, namely the excess margin
capacity it will be a worth-while proposition to tolerate so to accommodate peak traffic as and when it occurs. As example of such a comparison, the total operating costs mile for the 4-tanner was I6-47d., i.e. 4.12d. per ton mile. Corr ponding figures for the 5-tonner are 17-88d. per mile or 3-51 per ton mile, assuming in both cases a maximum capacity le, In the latter case, however, maximum capacity loads wot be the exception, at least in the early stages. In that evl two comparisons would be necessary, namely with the figi of 3.58d. per ton mile already given and also 4-47d. per 1 mile when only 4 tons were carried on the 5-tonner. Accord to individual circumstances the operator could then determ whether he could gain more on the swings than he might II on the roundabouts.