Raising Effi ciency in
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Agricultural Transport
WHEN County War Agricultural Executive Committees were introduced, they were a wartime measure to assist farmers in bringing every available acre under cultivation, so as to produce as much food as possible. The coming of peace has seen "War" dropped from the title and, whilst the object is still to produce more food, economics are more important than they were during the war. As during wartime, these county organizations operate throughout the kingdom and I have chosen Cheshire, a county 1 know well, as an example of the work that is being carried out.
The Cheshire Agricultural Executive Committee's machinery and transport departments are a joint concern under the control of a chief machinery and transport officer, Mr. F. Simpson. On the transport side a fleet of 150 ex-Government vehicles is operated, including one Crossley low-loader, 57 G.S.-type 3-ton Commers, four Fordsons, two Leyland Lynx, two Albions, two Austins, 38 Bedfords of 30-cwt. rapacity, 36 Hillman 10-cwt, utility and Ford vans, together with 22 motorcycles and 15 cars. In addition, the department maintains some 700 bicycles.
Varied Work The chief activities of the transport department are the conveyance of workers from the committee's 20 hostels, scattered throughout the county, to farms and dealing with the traffic requirements of the land drainage and water supplies, horticultural, pests, machinery and hostels departments.
Any ex-soldier who has been concerned with Army transport will at once be impressed by the similarity between the Agricultural Executive Committee's System and that which he knows. Whilst wartime transport may have had its deficiencies, it cannot be gainsaid that the methods are correct in principle. In addition to the chief depot already mentioned, the Committee has machinery sub-depots at Chester, Stockton Heath and Handforth. At Calveley there is good accommodation for housing the repair staff, and the well-equipped workshops are capable of dealing with all major repairs, including body overhauls and painting.
To avoid need for duplication of plant and skilled personnel, all tractor repairs are undertaken by the transport department. Drivers themselves are responsible for minor maintenance.
Monthly Examination
Every vehicle is brought into the Calveley depot for monthly examination; for this purpose the driver hands the machine over to an inspector, who gives it a thorough road test and kit inspection. After the examination has taken place a report sheet is completed and the vehicle is passed over to the workshop foreman for the necessary maintenance work to be performed.
This examination provides, among other things, for engine oil to be drained, tappets to be checked, carburetter to be dismantled and cleaned, engine to be started by hand and by starter, king-pins and wheel bearings to be checked for play, and springs to be cleaned, examined and sprayed. When the work has been done the vehicle is again road-tested by the inspector.
Where the repairs required are too extensive for the work to be finished the same day, a substitute machine is provided, so that there is no fear of tmits' being returned to service with a job half-done. In addition to the monthly inspection and servicing, overhauls are performed on a mileage basis.
All this repair work is performed on a job-card system and costed on commercial lines. Each machine has a log book, similar to the Army A.B.412, which gives the full vehicle history and record of performance. •
Fuel Supplies
As the fleet is scattered, the refuelling system is an important feature. Apart from pumps at the Committee's depots further pumps are rented at garages throughout the county, but no driver or pump attendant handles coupons or cash. When a pump needs replenishing, the transport office is informed and an order, with coupons to cover it, is sent to the suppliers; signatures for the petrol drawn are obtained on a pump issue sheet, which is checked against the driver's fuel and oil records. An audit of pump issues and stock is made each month.
The fuel and oil record is given on one side of a loose-leaf sheet; this shows the date, district, depot, registration number, and for each day the total mileage, issue voucher number for fuel, petrol, engine oil, and gear oil received.
On the reverse is the daily maintenance-task record, which consists of a dozen simple jobs. One is performed each day and the tasks completed the previous week are deleted at the time of issue of the form. Spaces are provided in .which to show dates when the tasks were carried out, and whether faults were reported.
c26 The former airfield at Calveley provides, as already indicated, useful accommodation for overhauls and repairs to be completed. There are two small Romney hangars, one of which is used as a transport repair shop and the other as a machinery repair shop. Former offices are employed as stores and the one-time hospital provides for a store, a cycle repair depot and a canteen.
One of the great problems of the Committee transport officers has been to hold an efficient maintenance staff, the difficulty being that most depots are distant from the town and have few facilities for obtaining meals. At Calveley, however, the catering problem has been solved by the provision of an efficient and self-supporting canteen, which immediately proved popular.
On the mechanical side, endeavours are being made to reduce the number of types employed in the fleet and to bring down the extensive stock of spares which had to be carried in the past.
The fundamental principle of the machinery side is to help the small owner who may temporarily require extra machines, but has not sufficient work to justify a purchase for himself. The Cheshire A.E.C. operates some 60 tractors of all types, from the small Trusty to a 20-ton bulldozer, most of them being put out on short-term hire contracts. The Committee does not compete with local agricultural contractors, its special e'Neavour being to ensure that in no circumstances is the man with the lesser capital resources hampered in his efforts to farm well. "
In particular, with the tracklayers and bulldozers, the Committee undertakes the type of job which the average man is not in a position to do for himself, examples being the removal of awkward trees and land reclamation.