road and workshop by H andyman
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Details to save down-time (21)
If new equipment is not saving you time, check it out, and don't forget to keep a watch on gauges — 5 lb off is quite common
DOWN-TIME springs from many causes, ineluding some which are not at first apparent. Take the case of the simple air blow gun which was used quite a lot in the workshop during each shift, blowing out inaccessible chassis corners, cylinder heads, pumps, casings, and exhausts, and also used by the machinist who is boring, honing and cutting valve seats. The first-aid men found that since the introduction of more air tackle more workers were needing eye drops, or his help to seek out bits of carbon or rust in their eyes.
This was a bit of a set-back to what was otherwise proving a sound move in beating down-time, and therefore worth investigation.
This soon revealed that most benches and work bays had quickly realized the usefulness of the air supply on the wall, but in many instances connected to it no more than a length of fin. bore hose, one or two had a nozzle attached, but all blew a straight through jet of air, and it was dust blow-back that caused the eye trouble.
The answer to this was found after a study of Marshams Equipment catalogue, and the item found was an air blow gun fitted with a cone shield. This type has additional air holes at the cone base and apart from the air leaving the nozzle at normal pressure additional air leaves these extra outlets and creates an air barrier; any dust blown back at the operator is deflected away from him.
Still on air and indirect reasons for down-time, let's look at tyre inflation. With the best will in the world, hand-tyre gauges and even wall gauges suffer from constant use by many different hands. Gauges throwing off 51b are quite common, ant with today's loads and speeds, 10Ib dowr is critical, as the down-time following tyr( failure is usually considerable, and whill it mainly affects operations, it also mean: increased costs.
Therefore to reduce down-time in thi: area, and to test and guarantee the accuraq of your inflation equipment, have by yoi a master tyre gauge. However, there is m need for something complicated am expensive. At a busy depot, inflation equip ment should be checked weekly to avoi( incorrect pressures and tyre down-time.
Inflation points are often near fue islands, where there may be high kerb spilled fuel, and other hazards to airline that can cause time-wasting damage. Expel iments have shown that the precoiled ai inflation hose has just about double the lif of the straight rubberized hose, whether reel retained or free. Try this out at one of your inflation points.
On similar lines to air tools vast advancements have been made with hydraulic tools in the vehicle repair industry, and these can go a long way to beat the down-time bogey. Again, this does not mean going the whole hog, and the expense of a fully equipped hydraulic power workshop.
Stay with one
A start can be made with a simple pump, but with a later build up of tools in mind, do stay with the make of your choice as you meet the problem jobs that consume time. Almost any move you need to make in pulling stretching, pushing pressing and spreading can be accomplished by the hydraulic attachments now available, and where a 10-ton effort is called for from your pump, this is available in all directions.
Until quite recently, this kind of power was considered as something mainly found in the workshops of specialists in car body and cab repairs, but now the vehicle repairer is finding hydraulic tools to be an essential part of his plant. If you are faced with repair down-time problems, you are bound to find that this means dealing with bent parts on trailers, turntables, cab shells, doors, floors, crossbearers and even chassis frames, and it is in this area that portable hydraulic power can help you reduce down-time.