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W ASTAGE of vehicle time at termini has been repeatedly cited

16th March 1962, Page 50
16th March 1962
Page 50
Page 51
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Page 50, 16th March 1962 — W ASTAGE of vehicle time at termini has been repeatedly cited
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

by leading authorities on road transport economies as the most serious haulage problem facing .the industry, and, although inadequate depot facilities are often to blame for protracted delays, selecting the most suitable type of vehicle for deliveries can often provide a solution to the problem.

Employing a prime Mover in conjunction with a number of semi-trailers has, in many cases, enabled turnround delays to be reduced to a minimum and many operators have obtained a similar benefit by using a demountable body system. This reduces the capital cost of the equipment used and offers many additional advantages.

Obviously, the ideal system for a variety of applications is the self-unloading type, in which the body takes the form of a stillage that can be self-unloaded by a mechanism incorporated in the chassis of the prime mover. This eliminates dependence on external aids for unloading, such as a permanent stand, a heavy-duty fork-lift truck or overhead hoist gear. Manufactured by Abelson and Co. (Engineers), Ltd., Sheldon, Birmingham, the Abelson-Weeks system offers the advantage that standard types of body can be used and that the body can be unloaded without tilting from the horizontal. The system has been applied to widely differing operations in the past 12 months.

Notable examples include the collection of potatoes for delivery to the Littleport pre-packaging plant of J. M. Stokes, Ltd., Evesham, and to the transport of concrete components by Banbury Buildings, Ltd., of East Adderbury, near Banbury. Whilst the long-term gains provided by the stillage-carrying vehicles cannot be exactly assessed, they promise to be substantial.

Basically, the Abelson-Weeks equipment comprises a lifting frame of channel-section members actuated by twin hydraulic rams, and a body stillage equipped with four retractable legs. The prime mover is backed under the stillage for loading, the lifting frame is then elevated sufficiently to raise the legs clear of the floor. The body is locked in position by lever-operated pegs and each leg is rotated to a position parallel with the body side members. These are of channel section, and each leg is retracted into the recess so that it does not form an obstruction. If the hydraulic pump is engaged when the body is locked, audible warning is given by a hooter in the cab.

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Channel-section members on the base of the stillage body act as guides as the vehicle is backed into position, and although the vehicle mast be accurately located in preparation for loading (and stfaight-line backing is essential in the case of the standard body) the average driver has no difficulty in mastering the techinique. Whilst a greater amount of space is necessary for lining-up the vehicle than is. required for coupling-up to a semi-trailer, a modified form of body is being developed which will enable. a vehicle to be backed in at an angle, and this will reduce the backing space required for a 7-ton vehicle by Ill ft. A platform stillage body offers the advantage in some applications that it.• can be stacked in multiples in off-season periods, given. thatappropriate handling facilities are available.

In planning the use of the Abelson-Weeks system for deliveries to a potato pre-packaging plant at Littleport,'Isle of Ely, the I. M. Stokes company were offered the outstanding advantage that the traffic could be organized "from scratch ". without replacement of existing. vehicles, redundancy of depot equipment or the need to reorientate established routine. Work, at the plant was started in November or last year., and stillage bodies have since been employed for all inward movements.

Direct comparison can, however, be made with conven ional practice, related to the same type of traffic in the ;arne area, all potato deliveries to the Spalding pre-packagng plant of the company being provided by normal rigid iehicles. In both cases sackloads of potatoes are collected from farms in a radius of 40-50 miles, and at the Spalding iepot the potatoes are manually unloaded on to pallets or transfer to the plant intake hopper.

Each sackload is individually tipped into the hopper, and .he feed must be continuous to obviate interruption of production flow. Processing includes cleaning, sorting for quality and grading for size in preparation for packing in paper bags. The bags are closed by stitching, and particular care is, therefore, required in handling, for this tends to increase thc labour time for loading the bags on to pallets from the outlet hopper and for subsequent transfer to the platform of a road vehicle. It is pertinent that each pallet costs £10 and that over 100 pallets are in constant use.

Although manual loading of a 7-8-ton vehicle at Spalding can be completed in 30 min., turnround time is rarely less than an hour. A Collis handtruck is employed for internal handling, and the operation of transferring the load from vehicle platform to intake hopper requires three men in addition to the driver. A similar labour force is needed for loading vehicles in the dispatch bay, which is usually concentrated in the hours of 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the majority of vehicle runs being made at night to distant centres.

Destination areas include Devon, South Wales, the Midlands, London and districts on the south coast, and departure timing is generally critical. A load due to be delivered at 6a .m. may, for example, be unacceptable at 8 a.m. and queueing for loads is normal to the traffic. Deliveries are made in C-licensed lorries. These are operated by the company and by customers, or in hauliers' vehicles. Including lorries based at Evesham, at a third pre-packaging centre at Ladybank, Fife, and at depots in Wisbech, Leominster and Maidstone, the company runs over 90 vehicles.

Details of operations at Spalding give point to the advantages accruing from the application of the Abelson-Weeks system to the Littleport traffic. Although the demand for pre-packed potatoes is increasing, the plant is not, as yet, working to maximum capacity, which is over 10 tons an hour. It is likely, therefore, that the number of collection vehicles' and body stillages will be increased, and it is possible that the scope of their operations will be expanded. Two prime movers, based on Bedford 7-ton chassis, and four stillage bodies are now employed for collection, and loads are dispatched on conventional rigid lorries. In due course, some of the outgoing traffic may also be carried on stillages.

On arrival at the Littleport plant, the driver drops the stillage body parallel to the intake hopper and picks up an empty body for another farm-collection run. This occupies less than 10 minutes and the quicker turnround time reduces the ratio of vehicle waiting time to overall working time from 60 per cent. to around 20 per cent. The additional weight of the hydraulic lifting gear is about one ton, but the payload is reduced by rather less than this amount, and loss of payload (and a slightly higher fuel consumption) is more than compensated by the increase in vehicle serviceability. This cannot be accurately assessed, but it is probable that at least three rigid lorries would be needed for the work being undertaken by the two stillagecarrying vehicles. vehicles. The gain in vehicle serviceability is not, however, the main advantage of the system. With the stillage body located adjacent to the hopper, one man can move and tip the potato sacks without assistance. The height of the vehicle platform is about one foot lower than that of the hopper mouth, and this facilitates the work of the operative. Up to three stillage bodies can be arranged parallel with the hopper, bridge pieces being placed between the platforms to form a walk-way. Consideration is being given to the use of a conveyor to assist sack handling when more than one body is being unloaded, which would be installed at right angles to the stillages. Internal movements of the stillages are performed by a prime mover before departure with an empty body.

Whilst a stillage system could not be applied to all outgoing traffic, it is envisaged that a fair proportion of the loads will be dispatched by this means in due course. Some customers have shown a practical interest in the scheme and would be ready to consider the receipt of complete loads on stillage bodies. The full stillage body would normally be exchanged for an empty body on the premises of the customer, who would unload the first stillage at his convenience. This would give valuable latitude in timing the arrival of the vehicle and would enable the customer to plan unloading more efficiently.

Employing stillages for delivery runs would reduce the labour force required at the output end of the production line because the body could be loaded with bagged potatoes direct from the conveyor by one man. This would obviate transfer to pallets, temporary storage and vehicle loading from ground level.

The self-sufficiency of the driver-vehicle combination in relation to arrival latitude is of immediate advantage to the J. M. Stokes company in that the non-availability of assistance in lunch breaks is no hindrance to the driver if he arrives with a load during a break. In other potential applications of the scheme that have been examined, this factor could be all-important, a notable possibility being the collection of plums from farms in the Evesham area on stillage vehicles.

Plum collection and dispatch is normally a high-density operation, the necessity to "catch the market" in distant centres being an overriding consideration. Following collection, the plums are transhipped to trunking lorries at a depot, often after a considerable wait,,and the overall delay represents a serious wastage of vehicle time. If the plums were carried on stillage bodies, vehicle turnround would be reduced to a few minutes.

Potato collection by semi-trailer outfit would offer many of the advantages of the stillage-body system and its adoption was considered some years ago. It would, however, be impracticable because the vehicles are driven to the potato fields for loading—and in wet weather obtaining maximum traction on slippery ground is of first importance. Tests with semi-trailer outfits showed that the reduced load on the driving wheels seriously impaired traction. Even if this disadvantage could be overcome, stillage-carrying vehicles would be preferred to articulated outfits on the score of reduced capital expenditure and lower running costs.

Bedford rigid vehicles afford better traction than several other makes that have been used for potato collection. This applies to all the models in the 7-ton class produced in recent years. •

Loading the potatoes on to pallets and depot handling by fork-lift truck has also been considered and rejected. Fork-lift trucks are used at other branches for different work and it is appreciated that they offer. very speedy handling. Pallets for potatoes would, however, have to be of the post type, the cost and weight of which would be decisive disadvantages. Further; a fork-lift truck would be under-employed at a pre-packaging plant.

Although the final decision of Banbury Buildings regarding the use of Abelson-Weeks body stillages will be dependent on the outcome of a retrospective review of operations, including accurate costing, in June of this year, it is anticipated that the system will eventually be applied to a major part of the fleet. The first stillage-carrying vehicles were acquired in June, 1961, and seven prime movers are now employed in conjunction with 14 stillages. In the likely event of the system being adopted for the majority of vehicle movements, the fleet will ultimately comprise some 19 or 20 prime movers and 38 to 40 stillages.

The average life of a lorry is about five years, and it is hoped that the life of the stillage body and gear will be double this, so that the equipment can be fitted to the new chassis when the vehicle is replaced. Wear of the sliding members of the body and lifting frame may be the decisive factor. It is considered unlikely that the hydraulic rams and other parts will require renewal in a 10-year period.

At the Banbury depot the stillage bodies stand on con crete reinforced with metal plates, and this form of surfacing is now used at the Coventry depot. Originally, the bodies of the Coventry vehicles were unloaded on to a loose gravel surface which was sometimes incapable of resisting the high weight concentration. Modifications to the bodies include the use of more robust legs and of support plates of . increased area.

About 45 different types of Banbury concrete garages,

sheds, coal-bunkers and other constructions are produced by the concern, and deliveries are made to all parts of the country. Loading must be expertly performed, and to avoid immobilization during the day, rigid-vehicles are loaded at night. Stillage bodies can, however, be loaded in normal working hours in readiness for collection, and the availability of stillages reduces the amount Of goods handling required. Vehicle waiting time is virtually eliminated and vehicle utilization is very materially increased. If full stillage working is established, night loading will be discontinued, and reorganization will provide a large saving in overall

labour time A detachable headboard can be fitted to either end of the body, and the stillage is reversible in that the prime mover can be backed into place from either end. This gives valuable latitude with regard to weight distribution on the axles of the prime mover, because it is normally necessary to load heavier components on to the body platform before lighter components. When experiments were made some time ago with semi-trailers these inevitably resulted in a high concentration of weight at the front of the body and created a serious disadvantage. The fact that the platform of the stillage body is level is a decided merit of the stillage system.

Because of the weight of the hydraulic lifting gear and

sub-frame, and the robust construction of the stillage, the nominal payload of the vehicle is reduced by nearly two tons. This necessitates employing a heavier prime mover to carry a payload of seven tons, but capital costs are greatly reduced in comparison with using a tractor and two articulated trailers for payloads of this order. And this also applies to maintenance costs.

Leyland Comet prime movers equipped with Eaton twospeed axles are currently employed and will become the standard type of prime mover throughout the fleet. The floor of the stillage is of timber boards and measure's 19 ft by 8 ft.

The use of stillage bodies by the company follows a general policy of exploiting up-to-date mechanical-handling methods to the full. Internal movements of pallet-loaded concrete parts are made with the aid of Coventry Climax fork-lift trucks and a Lister three-wheeled truck.

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