Warming to their work
Page 9
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While the present recession may. have put more skilled men on the labour market and thus reduced the desperate shortage of maintenance staff in some areas, this is not a situation which is likely to continue for long. In short, transport operators must continue to put the attraction and retention of skilled staff high on their list of planning priorities. Already many operators with workshops have capitalized on expensive manpower by better organization of work flow and by equipping workshops with modern aids. Several companies, for example, have achieved increases in productivity by re-equipping with efficient power tools for a host of jobs.
A recent article in CM also emphasized, from practical experience, how important was the down-the-line supervision of staffs in getting good results from a carefully formulated system: a depot by depot comparison showed that the system was effective only to the extent that people applied it properly, and the difference in results between the best and the worst was quite striking.
In this business of giving people the means of doing their best work there is another factor which is rightly assurhing greater importance more comfortable and less tiring working conditions. Along with quieter, better sprung and more , effectively heated and ventilated cabs for the driver, operators must expect to offer fitters and yardmen cleaner and warmer surroundings. Portable heaters and new, lightweight heated clothing mean that no man need shiver over a job. For too long it has been accepted that because commercial vehicles get dirty in use, the surroundings in which they are maintained and repaired must inevitably be grimy and cheerless. There are now enough examples to the contrary to give hope that the exception may become the rule.