Ruthless Re )rganization
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By P. A. C. BROCKINGTON
THERE was a warm, friendly atmosphere in the stores office of K. and M. (Hauliers) Ltd., Kemmel Road, Bulwell, Nottingham, when I was discussing maintenance with Mr. J. Roberts, A.I.R.T.E., fleet engineer and general manager, over a cup of tea provided by Mrs. B. Burton, who runs the stores and is responsible for purchases. But as a particular admirer of working dogs, I was more than a little upset by being regarded by Flash, an Alsatian guard dog, as a potential wrongdoer. Flash's obvious preparedness to defend the premises, his boss and any human of acknowledged responsibility, if necessary with his life, was, however, a reminder of the bad old days, less than 12 months ago, when the ringleaders of a drivers' gang operated, in Mr. Roberts' words, "a finely organized plan to resist the management's methods to increase efficiency ". Any driver who was conscientious or who didn't toe the leaders' line was intimidated, Mr. Roberts believes, in ways that could have led to serious injury.
The fleet of the K. and M. company and of four subsidiary concerns—C. Raynor Transport Ltd., R. N. Forster Ltd., W. Orange (Haulage) Ltd. and C. M. Boak (Haulage) Ltd. all of which have the K. and M. livery—includes 100 lorries and a number of small vans, and since Mr. Roberts took on the job of fleet engineer 15 months ago, careless damage by drivers has been cut by 75 per cent and breakdowns have been greatly reduced and, according to Mr, L. Amos, managing director of the group, profitability has increased.
The work plans for the immediate future, in addition to the systematic reconditioning of vehicles that has gained impetus over the months, should provide a far more substantial long-term benefit. Under the direction of Mr. Amos the fleet moved 11 m. tons last year over distances ranging from 50 to 100 miles. Eighty-two of the fleet are tippers.
Of the 50 four-wheelers, 23 are Thames vehicles and 13 of Dodge manufacture, whilst the 37 six-wheelers include 19 Dodges and 15 Albions, and the 10 eight-wheelers comprise six Fodens, two Seddons, one A.E.C. and one Atkinson. In due course the company will standardize on Fodens and Dodges, partly because these makes have given particularly good service and partly to facilitate maintenance. All the seven tankers are of the pneumatic-discharge type (loads include flyash, cement, flour and coal) and the maintenance of the pneumaticdischarge equipment was proving a problem. Close liaison with the Neutsen Company of Malvern (maker of a number of the tanks) has, however, facilitated the introduction of a routine that has reduced the time spent on maintenance.
I was advised to visit K. and M. by a Ministry of Transport examiner to see for myself what could be done over a relatively short period in the reorganization of a fleet, the general mechanical condition of which had gradually deteriorated. After Mr. Roberts had been with the company a few weeks, the examiners gave him 12 months to get things right. In six . months he had dismissed 54 drivers and now only a small minority of the original driving staff (the best) are employed by the company. In Mr. Roberts' view, the examiners do a grand job of work and Mr. Amos is " delighted " with the M.o.T. If there had been an M.o.T. purge, the examiners, in Mr. Roberts' opinion, would have issued quite a number of the vehicles with immediate prohibition notices.
Of the many accounts I have heard on visits to operators
in the past 17 years, this was the outstanding example of ruthless reorganization and discipline paying off in terms of improved labour relations, as well as efficiency.
As well as being managing director, Mr_ Amos is also one of the pioneers of road haulage. He found himself in a very difficult position, with a fleet of vehicles which had rapidly increased, and he had made several unsuccessful attempts to employ the right man, to delegate the responsibility of the fleet maintenance. "1 knew what conditions were like ", Mr. Amos said during a short interview, "but I couldn't get the right man to tackle reorganization of the garage. Mind you. we gave a good service before, but the drivers' leaders tried to dictate how many loads could be carried."
The drivers' leaders also tried to intimidate Mr. Roberts during his first few weeks as fleet engineer. They were a tough lot and there were many "accidents" as well as incidents that were undoubtedly inspired, and against this background Mr. Roberts had to introduce measures immediately to render the vehicles roadworthy and reorganize the workshops in addition to the longer-term maintenance scheme. Had it not been for Mrs. Roberts' confident "You can do it" when she visited the workshops after three weeks, Mr. Roberts would have undoubtedly backed out of the -job. Breaking up gang-warfare (Mr. Roberts' words) was just part of the job he had to tackle.
As soon as he had measured up the situation, Mr. Roberts introduced a guaranteed 12-hour day for a five-day week tat higher-than-union rates of pay) the actual time worked averaging about 10=, hours. This includes an hour for vehicle cleaning and routine checks on which a bonus is payable.
In April, 1964, the practice of allowing drivers to take vehicles home was discontinued and four of the most suitable drivers were appointed driver-foremen to enforce the new regulations. With a progressive influx of a better type Of driver, labour relations improved all round and Mr. E. Amos was appointed
• welfare officer to foster the trend. Drivers are suspended three or more days for speeding, are dismissed if they drink and drive, and lose the guarantee of a I2-hour day if they are more than half an hour late for work.
Concurrently, a six-nights-a-week maintenance scheme was introduced, Operated by fit?e Mechanics who service an average of eight vehicles a night and who can normally undertake any repairs that may he urgently required By 5 p.m. it is generally possible to assess the extent of any repair work required in the case of a faultyvehicle. so that the traffic office can. be advised with fair certainty regarding vehicle availability. The night labour force is sufficient to replace a major component such as a power unit or gearbox and, if necessary, Mr. Roberts lends a hand at night, notably when there is a difficult and urgent welding job to perform. Each vehicle is checked every 10 days and inspection routine covers every part of the vehicle subject to wear and tear. All items are , signed off on the sheet by the appropriate mechanics before the vehicle is cleared by the night foreman. Most of the fitting staff are new men in that they have been taken on since Mr. Roberts' appointment.
The team is permanently on night work, an aptitude for this being a particular and not very common attribute of a certain type of mentality. Drivers are not allowed in the shops, day or night, because they have a delaying influence on the mechanics' work.
Establishing a stores has been one of the highlights of reorganization. Originally it was not uncommon for one or more of the mechanics to be out in the town for long periods chasing a part for a vehicle under repair, which was costly, time wasting and often delayed progress at the depot. Built by Mr. Roberts and now run by Mrs. B. Burton, under the supervision of Mr. E. Younger (works foreman), the stores are stocked with a range of parts in appropriate sections (for Ford, Dodge, Foden and Leyland and group vehicles) and major components suffice for the majority of immediate requirements.
These include cylinder-block assemblies and cylinder heads (in the main for the smaller engines), gearboxes and differentials, injector pumps and injectors, starters and generators, propeller shafts, brake linings, track-rod ends, steering parts. kingpins and bushes and a large stock of silencers. in addition to comprehensive ranges of U.N.F. and B.S.F. bolts and nuts and a wide variety of springs and fastmoving parts. Fractured gearbox casings are metal stitched by a specialist company which can save as much as £80 over the cost of a new casing, whilst wheels with elongated stud holes are rebuilt and machined in preference to the purchase of new wheels.
Special mudguard flanges of a particularly robust type are produced for the company for fitting to tipping bodies. The cost of a flange is 12s. 6d. and a quantity is stocked in the stores to provide for immediate replacement of damaged flanges. Spring rebuilding is the responsibility of Mr. Joe Anthony, who also drives breakdown vehicles and so on. The Rhodes Company of Sheffield calls twice a week to collect faulty springs for reconditioning. Electrical and injector equipment is serviced by local specialists, but it is anticipated that an electrician will eventually be employed to undertake a major part of this work. including the servicing of injectors.
The stores adjoin the machine shop, which is equipped with a lathe, drill, valve refacer, powered hacksaw, grinding machine and a press, whilst a guillotine has been mounted on a wheeled frame to provide portability. Oxyacetylene welding equipment is available in the workshops and wall-mounting of special tools promotes cleanliness and ease of location. Safety props for tippers (the use of which is obligatory) are wall mounted in a prominent position.
Unlike many operators with whom I have discussed maintenance in recent months. Mr. Roberts does not condemn the spare-parts services of vehicle manufacturers. He claims that an adequately stocked stores offers freedom from shortage, provided that the stock is realistically planned and that the time saved in searching for spares more than compensates for the high capital cost of the spares.
Although Mrs. Burton has been employed as a stores woman only for a few months, she has proved that she can do better than the average mechanic in obtaining parts locally without
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wasting time, and her help is invaluable in keeping records of purchases, parts issued, repairs, breakdowns and phone calls relating to maintenance and tyre histories. Virtually all work, the man-hours involved and the parts used are recorded, and current expenditure can be assessed on a day-to-day basis.
Tyres were a major problem in the old routine. All tyre repairs were performed in working hours and tyre breakdowns were frequent. Now tyres are checked by a fitter of Nottingham Tyre Services Ltd. at an early hour each morning and any punctured tyres are repaired at the N.T.S. depot and returned to K. and M. by 11 a.m. Three fitters employed by the N.T.S. or by the Marsham Company (Nottingham) Ltd. examine every tyre and change covers as required on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, and these concerns provide a 24-hour stand-by service. Spare tyres are housed in a separate store.
Although the number of vehicles serviced in the workshops has been increased by some 30 vehicles since Mr. Roberts joined the company, tyre costs have been reduced by about £1,000 a year. Mr. Roberts believes, however, that the life of the covers could be further extended if tyre problems could be analysed expertly and he has, therefore, authorized an independent survey of tyre uses and abuses by the Goodyear Company. A variety of makes is fitted to the concern's vehicles, depending on suitability. Victory remoulds are extensively employed on tipping vehicles.
A Scammell-based, crane-type breakdown lorry is used in conjunction with five service vans of 5to 15-cwt. capacity. A breakdown is attended by a K. and M. mechanic in any part of the country, apart from the London area, where repairs are contracted out.
In less than 12 months 47 chassis have been completely stripped and rebuilt, undersprayed and repainted. Three vehicles at a time are overhauled and all components are restored to an as-new condition. The average age of the vehicles is about five years.
A smart, clean appearance is a priority target because it gives the driver a pride in his vehicle and is of value as an advertisement for the company, whilst a thorough painting job (with an average of eight coats and flood varnish applied to the cab) also prolongs the life of the chassis, partly by facilitating cleanliness. The cab and mudguards are undersprayed with Bitumastie.
Mr. Harry Hall is in charge of the paintshop and his employment by the company is an outstanding example of getting the right man into the right job. An expert painter and signwriter, he at first refused to take the job until extra windows had been fitted in the paintshop and the walls painted white. Including the application of a green-and-red livery, repainting occupies eight days. Harry is a perfectionist, and Mr. Roberts likes it that way.
Shell Rotella T 10W30 lubricating oil is used throughout the fleet and is changed during each night inspection after the vehicle has run on an average rather more than 4,000 miles. It is considered that Rotella reduces piston failures and in the case of Foden two-stroke engines, gives less coking of the ports.
Mr. Roberts claims that a company is as good as the men employed in it, but after my visit to K. and M. 1 regard this as an over-simplification... Surely good leadership and a few good men who can enfoyce discipline automatically create a system that inspires the best in others.