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THE RUNNING OF BIG FLEETS.

22nd June 1920, Page 34
22nd June 1920
Page 34
Page 34, 22nd June 1920 — THE RUNNING OF BIG FLEETS.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THE EFFICIENT and economic management of a big fleet of road transport vehicles demands a clear and well-defined scheme of organization, so that every leakage in earning capacity and general service can be detected and eliminated. The work of running a big fleet, in the main, divides itself into three departments: (1) achninistrative ; (2) operative, and (3) maintenance. The first of those comprise those who have their finger on the pulse of business activity, who dictate policy and supervise all the commercial functions of a transport enterprise. The next would embrace superintendents, supervisors, foremen, drivers and drivers' mates, and the last mechanics, cleaners, labourers, and attendants.

The owners of fleets are in a-very advantageous position in being able to specialize their vehicles for any particular kind of work that may come along. For instance, some may have a remarkable capacity for speed, others for bulk capacity, others for distances, for heavy loads, and so on. Having many vehicles to experiment with, a principal in a, large way can test the possibilities of each and note the particular service it ean best. render. This is a consideration Which should carefully be borne in mind by all who contemplate seeking road transport as a means of livelihood.

There are many good all-round transport vehicles on the road capable of fulfilling any general service. They may be. said to fulfil -the universal requirements of the industry in its embryo stage but, as it emerges and spreads forth its tentacles, there will develop an increasingly great and 'conscious need for specialization, having certain particular aspects, which can only be served in a particular manner. . This is not said to discourage prospectors in this fertile field of road transport; it is merely an opinion based on the general trend of industrial and commercial expansion.

One can foresee that, as time goes on, some hauliers will specialize on speed, others on weights, distance, and so on, until it will resolve itself into competitive service.

At the present time, the mechanical aspect of the carrying industry receives the major share of attention, with the result that short distance work and leng distance work are, very frequently, considered in almost synonymous terms. As regards local work, the best service can only be obtained from a, -mechanical conveyance when there are available the most efficient facilities for expeditious loading and unloading. In the proportion that bad loading methods and delays exist so is the earning value of a motor diminished. Yet the evils of inadequate and out-of-date loading facilities have not focussed the publio attention that the problem merits. ..a36 In view of the time occupied in the conveyance of goods over short distances by rail, and the increasing use which is being made of road transport, one is somewhat surprised that more trailers a-re not in commission. Let us suppose that a. consignment of goods is dumped on one of the Liverpool quay sides for removal to a local Warehouse two miles away. It must be obvious that more labour is avail able at the picking-up station than at the unloading warehouse berth: If an adequate number of trailers were available, there is no reason why, when a suc cession of journeys was made. the loaded trailer should not be left at the Warehouse and, after the vehicle itself had been lightened, it should not imme diately return to the dockside for another load and attach another trailer, which in its absence would have been loaded. It could then leave the second

loaded trailer and bring back the first empty one. On an American authority, I have seen it stated that one 3* ton wagon and seven trailers could do as much work is three 5 ton vehicles.

• In the use of trailers,an important point to be noted. is the cost. in comparison to a lorry, and the low percentage of depreciation, et,2. There in just one observation that the writer would

• like to make in conclusion. It is possible for the owner of one, two or three oars to be observant of all the shortcomings of his drivers, but with. a com pany owning 20, 30 or more, much depends, in the maintenance of an efficient service, on the good will of employees. Organization inside an industry can create or eliminate bad feeling ; much depends on the relations that exist between employers and the men they employ. Some of the most successful factories and workshops in the country have tasted prosperity not merely because-of the docility of their workpeople and the submissiveness to complex and. highly intricate schemes of organization, but, .in many cases, because of the good will that has been fostered. An industry can only flourish when it grips the interest of all concerned. • Road transport as an industry is emerging from adolescence into sturdy manhood. The lessons of the past ought to be pointers to the future, ana, if these indicate anything at all, it is the wisdom of getting your employees to take an interest in your business in other words; td make your business their business.

It would be worth something to every employer, if he could get his men to tell him just what.they think about their work, their wagons, their lorries, or whatever they might be, what they can do and what they cannot do-, their failings, andtheir aavantagessand all those other little things which mean so much in the long run.

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Locations: Liverpool

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