A STITCH IN TIME
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THE recording of the operating costs of individual vehicles is the long-established method by which many successful operators have laid the foundations of profitable undertakings. Such a system was described in The Commercial Motor, June 7. As the size of a fleet increases, however, it is often necessary to have readily available fleet records, as distinct from those for each vehicle, particularly as regards mileage, fuel consumption and traffic carried.
. Overall increases or decreases in weekly tonnages, for example, may be required to be known to determine future policy as to vehicle purchase, whether for professional hauliers or ancillary users. In the Tatter case, the quarterly, or annual fleet tonnage (or units) carried may also be the denominator required to determine the internal charges made to those sections of the company who have made use of the transport department's services.
In many such instances, it would be too cumbersome to make a charge for each consignment on a basis of the weight carried and mileage operated. Provided traffic flows maintain a regular pattern, such a method is commonly accepted as being sufficiently accurate for the purpose.
Having agreed upon a system of charging based on averaging, however, the ancillary operator must keep a wary eye to see that traffic flows are, in fact, contained within agreed areas, and to seek a charge adjustment if they are not.
Logical Pattern
In this context it is remarkatile how often eminent chairmen of well-known companies complain, with apparent surprise, that the previous year's increased output and sales have unfortunately resulted in increased transport costs per unit. If past distribution has followed the logical pattern of providing for the needs of the adjacent territory first, then it would seem rational that increased sales would largely he made beyond the perimeter of the original sales area.
The resulting increased mileages involved must mean increased delivery costs per unit to the new areas. To a lesser degree, admittedly, but still in an upward direction, the average overall cost per unit will also be affected. As transport managers know only too well, a balancing factor in the form of new journeys shorter than the previous shortest seldom, if ever, seems to occur!
Where only a few vehicles are involved, the weekly return of fleet operations could be obtained by a mental addition of the totals given at the foot of weekly work sheets of each vehicle. (A recommended weekly sheet was shown in The Commercial Motor, dated May 31.) But beyond that stage it becomes necessary to devise a form for the purpose. To simplify the copying of the totals from the weekly work sheet to the weekly fleet summary. the various columns
c28 should be arranged in •identical order. A specimen sheet is • shown in Fig. 1. Following the recommendations in previous articles, no space has been wasted in an elaborate heading embodying the company's name and address. This is limited to the initials of the company, J.S., followed by the departmental reference and number of the form—TR/4 in this case— thereby facilitating re-ordering of further stationery supplies. The distinguishing feature between one summary and another, namely the period it covers, is placed in the most readily accessible position—the right-hand top corner.
Two Purposes
It will be noticed that this particular specimen reads "Week/Period Ending." Coupled with the omission of a heading to the first column on the left, provision is thereby made for the one form to have two purposes. When used as a weekly record, the headings to the first column will be "Vehicle No." and each line will be a copy of the totals extracted from the individual vehicles' weekly work sheets (TR/2). The addition of these, when entered on TR/4. will give the fleet summary for the week.
Proceeding a stage further, by deleting the word "Week in the top right-hand corner so that it reads "Period Ending," and inserting "Week Ending" as the heading to the first column on the left, the same form can be used as a record of fleet operations over a longer period—e.g., six months. In that event the completed form would consist of 26 lines of totals obtained from successive weekly fleet summaries.
In addition to saving the time and cOst of duplicating or printing, two separate forms, this arrangement ensures maximum simplicity in transfer of data as the headings to the columns are in identical sequence. Those unaccustomed to, and therefore apprehensive of, any form of recordkeeping will be surprised at the rapidity with which such information can be built up, provided the right types of form, planned in logical sequence, are regularly kept up to date.
For those operators who have to provide overall summaries of their fleet activities to higher authorities at halfyearly intervals, it is re-assuring to know that such data is being collected concurrently. To be faced with the task at the end of even a six-month period without the use of a form such as shown in Fig. I might well involve the analysis, from scratch, of two or three thousand journeys, if 20 vehicles were employed.
Moreover, the answer to queries relating to incomplete records might be available within a few days of a journey's completion. Six months in arrears, the same queries are much more likely to remain unsolved conundrums, The columns headed A to E under the heading "Total tonnage" must be adapted to the operator's individual requirements. In this instance it is assumed that the traffic carried lends itself to analysis in terms of. tonnage. in other cases it may be more convenient. to use another common denominator.
Likewise, the five columns A to E represent the five departments of the company which use the transport department's services and to which charges have to be rendered. Here again the specimen form must be adjusted to each operator's own needs.
The columns headed "Mileage," " Fuel " and " Oil " are self-explanatory. Where, however, both petroland oilengined vehicles are used, it would he convenient to divide the fuel column so that the resulting totals could be directly compared with those provided by the separate stock returns of the two fuels.
The value of the column headed " M.P.G." will be increased if fleet numbering of vehicles according to types has been adopted. The result of this will be that when the vehicles of the fleet are listed on the weekly fleet summary, they will appear consecutively in groups according to type.
If this is further emphasized by leaving one line blank between each group, both vehicle and group fuel consumption rates can be conveniently shown. Here again up-to-date records can prove their worth by pinpointing either excessive fuel consumption of individual vehicles or the unsuitability of one type on a particular route, so that appropriate action can be taken. If the records were only compiled six months in arrears, such information would be useless. Should the fleet be of sufficient size, an alternative to this arrangement would be to use one TR/4 form for each type group.
The size of a fleet, whether it may be located at headquarters or at several depots, does not have to be unduly facilities for fuel in bulk is economic. The consumption of fuel is unfortunately a persistent item of expense for the transport operator. The saving in the difference between bulk and retail prices, varying according to annual consumption, is fortunately equally persistent.
Records of fuel issues, however, which are unsuitable or insufficient, will allow discrepancies, accidental or otherwise, to go unchecked so that the expected savings in fuel cost are reduced, if not eliminated. A fuelissue sheet is shown in Fig. 2, and although, when completed, it contains all the relevant information necessary, it is simple to use. Provision is made to permit the balancing of issues as shown by both the pump meter and tank dips.
The period to which the fuel-issues
Total (15) sheet refers must obviously vary Tank dip to finish (16)„ according to the size of the fleet. A
large operator may find it necessary
to use one per day, whilst one per week would suffice in other cases. As with most forms, -this is largely self
explanatory and only certain of the minor points need further emphasis.
Columns 3 (" Time ") and 8 (" Mileometer ") are not strictly necessary as a record solely of fuel issues, but practical experience has proved it to be a convenient place to record those Particular data—and how revealing they can prove to be, on occasions! Columns 6 (" Gallons Issued") and 7 (" Vehicle No.") have purposely been placed alongside as it is these two items which will be transferred to, or checked with, other records. To separate them by a wide margin woUld only, increase the risk of quantities and vehicles being transposed with no compensating advantage.
Should the organization of the company concerned be such that transport and purchasing were separate departments, it would be advantageous for the stock slip at the bottom of the form to be detachable from the remainder. After ensuring that the total of Column 6 agreed with line 11 and that both agreed with line 17, it could then be passed to the appropriate department.
Care should be taken when commencing a new sheet. Not only should the entry in line 10 coincide with that on line 12 in the previous sheet, but also with the first entry in .Column 4. To reduce the possibility of error, whatever the cause, this entry, in addition to those in lines 10 and 13, should be copied in ink from the old sheet before another is issued.
Because the pump attendant is often, primarily, a manual worker, errors in entering up the fuel issue sheet can arise, even if limited to carelessness or inexperience. Practice and familiarity should overcome this difficulty.
Bulk-storage tanks as large as funds will permit should be purchased. Operating on a bare margin of bulk fuel supplies can not only be a source of continuous irritation to both supplier and consumer, but might even delay departure of vehicles. Moreover rebates are obtainable on supplies of oil fuel of 500 gallons or over. S.B.