Transport deserves a better dea
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1E WAY AHEAD was the theme this year's annual conference le 12th) of the Institute of Road ansport Engineers held at Soliill Civic Centre last week.
The conference was well atnded by manufacturers and aerators alike who listened to a imber of papers on subjects nging from education in the )nsport industry to forthcomg developments in vehicle der.
Opening this year's conferice, IRTE president Sir Peter asefield said that due to the cession, the situation at the oment is one of the survival of e fittest "and road transport is to show that it is the fittest". Sir Peter produced some inresting statistics to put the role the road transport industry in proper perspective in relation the working community as a hole.
He said that the industry emoyed some four million people about 16 per cent of the total K workforce, with a similar arcentage being linked to the lancial investment which reresented £5,600m.
The president went on to cornlent on how successive governtents had increasingly enjoyed ae benefit of transport industry taxation in its various forms.
At the present time Sir Peter said the Government receives 0,000m yearly from tax on petrol and derv, £2,000m from road tax, leading to a total transport contribution of over £8,000m when vat and various other "extras" are included.
The other side of the coin was that only £3,000m is spent on transport as a whole (including £1,800m on roads and 000m on British Rail), giving a net gain to the Government of over £5,000m per year.
According to Sir Peter, the Government does not do enough for the transport business. "The road to recovery is dependent on road transport," he said, and as such "transport deserves well of the nation".
Principal of Paddington College Alan Hutchinson also took the politicians to task by in an entirely different field — that of education.
Speaking on Schools, Colleges and Industry: a Tripartite Partnership, Mr Hutchinson deplored the lack of jobs for young people who were being rejected by the very society they wished to enter.
"If only we could have a moratorium on Government reports, if only the politicians would leave us alone, then we might find a way out of the chaos," he claimed.
Mr Hutchinson went on to praise sponsorship schemes set up by the industry who could also help by the loan of sophisticated and expensive equipment beyond the reach of college finance.
He criticised the construction industry for being opposed to day-release for young people and said that, although he did not advocate compulsory dayrelease, if a person showed enough motivation then he or she should at least have the right to day-release for further education..
According to Eric Rapley (EMI Electronics Ltd), one of the areas in which the electronics engineer can give assistance to the road transport industry is by reducing downtime to a minimum. On-board instrumentation, he suggested, could help in three specific areas: engine health, vehicle health and safety.
In his opinion, the application of electronics to the finished vehicle had increased considerably over the last few years and this did not just refer to prototype development chassis where
le cost of installation is totally .relevant to the operator.
As far as the future is conerned, Mr Rapley claimed that an on-board computing and isplay system is now a practical ossibility," which opened up le way for all sorts of microproassor-controlled functions inuding optimising the fuel injecon system for differing mditions to improve fuel conmotion.
Stressing the need for coDeration between engineers of fferent disciplines, Mr Rapley iid that there needs to be an terchange of detailed design .1d performance requirements. "It's no good me doing mar)1Ious things with electronics if s not what you want me to )," he explained.
Terry Goldrick (Freight Transart Association) asked if fleet igineers over-maintained their :hides. He suggested that it as not impossible to extend !hide live without necessarily creasing maintenance costs, Jt he stressed that a good aintenance system was essenil.
Fleet engineers should aim for placement of parts when cessary rather than when the timated life had expired, he ggested. In this context it was visable to aim for separate
inspections away from the normal servicing and repair systems for both safety and engineering reasons.
The discussion session at the end of the Thursday's papers produced some interesting arguments_
Walter Batstone (NFC) opened the questioning by asking Mr Rapley when the road transport industry could get transducers and sensors which could be used with impunity on a vehicle for on-board monitoring.
"And is there any way we can record or transmit this information by radio so that it can be received at home base while the vehicle is still in operation?" he asked.
Mr Rapley agreed there had been problems. "Electronics is looked upon as one subject rather than two. The problem with a transducer is an electromechanical problem not an electronic one."
Mr Rapley said that the transducers used on aircraft are reliable but sophisticated and hence expensive. "You get what you pay for," he said.
In his opinion, the reliable and relatively cheap transducer of the future will come out of the automated process control side of industry.
Turning to the question of transmitting data by radio, Mr Rapley said that, in principle, there is no problem technically but it would be expensive and could cause operational difficulties if introduced on a large scale on a regular basis.
"Thousands of vehicles all pushing out information? The Post Office might object," he reasoned.
IRTE Member of Council Mike Street challenged some of Mr Goldrick's statements and sug• gested that if vehicles are not
replaced on an average-life basis, then "all you are looking at is unreliability".
In reply, Mr Goldrick said he believed if one had a good inspection and reporting system than the chance of a failure "overnight" was rare.
He contended that a lot of money was wasted in unecessary replacement. "Don't wait until it fails. Wait until it shows signs of failing and then plan it into the workshop," he said.
Len Baxter (Department of Transport) suggested that there is a worldwide demand for a built-in axle load indicator and, in a question aimed at Mr Rapley, asked if EMI was looking at this or waiting for the industry to ask for it.
In Mr Rapley's opinion, sophisticated equipment does exist, but he suggested that it is a question of defining the market. "What is it worth to you? Can such a piece be designed and made within that target?"
Mr Rapley said that the question of an axle-load indicator had been investigated but to meet the requirements the costing would have been outside the benefit such a service would bring.
The problems of measuring fuel consumption with an acceptable accuracy were described by Gordon Goddard (Whitbread), chairman of the IRTE fuel-economy study group.
He defined the prime objectives for this group as first to determine a method of accurately and practically recording fuel consumption, and, second, to assess the practicality of setting standards of fuel consumption for specific makes and models.
The second day of the IRTE conference was opened by freelance technical consultant Tony Wilding who spoke on the design and development of corn
mercial vehicles. He mention that computers have helped cc siderably in design, especially the cab field with the main vantage being in the saving design time.
Citing the case of the Fe Cargo, Mr Wilding said that tl had cost £120m and £1,300 m years to get into productic "With this sort of investme the design has to be right," said.
Most manufacturers nc carry out extensive wind tunr tests, he went on to say, wi several being so convinced the potential benefits of wii deflectors that they were offer' as standard production optio in some cases.
Summing up, Mr Wilding sa that reliability, durability al economy are vital. The operat wants this and the manufactur wants to provide it.
The subject of Type Approv was covered by Len Baxter explained that in Europe Tyi Approval is widely used to e sure that vehicles comply wi. set technical and safety sta dards.
In effect, he said, it is a form licensing because if a manufa turer can show that his produ can be produced to conform I prescribed standards, then he authorised to continue produ tion.
Mr Baxter explained how Tyr Approval may either be vo untary or mandatory.
In the case of the former, go■ ernments are able to carry ot tests of vehicles or componenl in accordance with the reguh tions of the United Nations, Ecc
mic Commission for Europe, with the directives of the ropean Community, and thus rtify that a manufacturer's procts fulfil the prescribed reirements.
n the UK, only cars have mantory approval via the Motor hicles (Type Approval) Reguions 1979 which cover 21 dif.ent requirements including ch features as headlamps, akes, noise and exhaust emis)(is.
Mr Baxter said that over the st three years, the DTp has ;ued about 9,000 component provals and 330 complete hide approvals.
At the moment, said Mr ixter, there is no requirement r commercial vehicle manufacrers or importers to demonsrte compliance, though the fp is considering how this ight be remedied. (In contrast e rest of Europe has some rm of Type Approval.)
According to Mr Baxter, the am n argument in favour of exnding the scheme to goods hicles is to bring us unto line ith the other major vehicle 'oducing countries in Europe. He went on to say that some )opIe had hoped that Type Ap'oval would lead to greater andardisation within an inten?ly competitive industry, with -eater protection for the buyer. No firm decision on this has .1t been made, Mr Baxter exained, but initially it has been iggested that chassis and cabs lould be covered, but not ailers or bodywork.
Mr Baxter stressed that, from le operator's point of view, ype Approval will not be a matir of concern. "The vehicle will e of a type where approval has treacly been obtained, thus lacing the onus very firmly on le manufacturer," he exlained.
Forthcoming Developments in tatutory Vehicle Inspection was le topic of a paper from Denis aker (Department of Transport). Concentrating mainly on psv, 1r Baker described the four lasses to be used for passenger chicle testing: single-deck -nore than eight and less than 2 seats); single-deck (12 plus
seats; double-deck (eight plus seats) and articulated psv with more than eight seats.
The above figures are all exclusive of driver.
Mr Baker gave details of the type of premises which had been put up for approval for testing purposes. In his opinion psv testing will be on a smaller scale than that of goods vehicles because of the 80,000 vehicle population compared with 750,000 vehicles.
"We will rely on the commonsense of operators to have the testing completed before the deadline of January 1, 1983, said Mr Baker, who went on to explain that applications should be made to Swansea suggesting a preference for testing station locality. • Over the past few years the exhibition part of the IRTE Conference has expanded regularly, and 1981 was no exception with many major manufacturers present. As well as providing an opportunity to look over the new models from Scania and Ford, the exhibition also included a great deal of interest on the computer side.
Windfoil of Attleborough, Norfolk, showed an addition to the market of aerodynamic devices in the shape of a cab roof mounted deflector tailored specifically for the new Ford Cargo. As this particular vehicle does not have a roof gutter, a separate frame is attached by rivetting through the roof.
The glass-fibre deflector is also designed to be used with a gutter mounting if required and weighs around 25kg (55 lb). It is made in three different sizes to cater for anything from a Transit u pwa rds.
It is fully adjustable to suit the body height and can be laid flat when running empty or to enter the workshop. Price varies between £245 and £290, depending on the type.
Also on show at Solihull was an under bumper-mounted air dam from Windfoil. This device is tailored to suit individual vehicles and is priced at around £125 to £135.
Windfoil claims that Ford D Series operators have achiev eight per cent fuel savings usi the air dam.
The diesel engine turb charger is a simple componE with not many parts to wrong, but one area which c cause problems is that of t shaft bearings.
Turbocharger shafts turn extremely high speeds a these speeds are reached VE quickly after starting, sometirr before full lubrication at 1 critical point has been achieve
To obviate this, Trans Eurc Production Ltd has introduc the TEP2000 oil pump which vi displayed at Solihull.
When the ignition key turned, a solenoid is operai which in turn releases a locki pin allowing a piston to giv( shot of oil at approximately ' KN/sqm (20psi) to the turb bearings.
This ensures the bearings adequately lubricated before engine has even fired, accord to Trans Europe who are ba( at Gorse Lane Industrial Est' Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
As soon as full engine pressure is reached, the pumi recharged and the piston am n locked by the solenoid .king pin.
rhe TEP2000, which costs 15, is adaptable for both rear1 centre-mounted turbocharg;, though it is recommended it mounting should be as se as possible to the turbo3rger unit merely to keep the iework to a minimum.
2artwright Freight Systems 1 of Atlantic Street Trading Ese, Altrincham, who now mar the Dobson demountable ;terns had a new unit on show ned at the lighter end of the irket.
Mown on a 71/2-tonne Leyland rrier, the 41/10 has a bedframe ighing only 205kg (450 lb). mpared with the larger Dob
systems, the longitudinals re been taken out altogether, h all the strength being proed by the peripheral frame.
I essence, the Dobson ID;tern is used with its four bal e rams, but with lightened Issis posts.
he weight of the 4.9m (16ft) ly and the system (including me legs) for the Terrier on play was 945kg (2,808 lb). The ight penalty of the 41/10 tern, compared with a fixed iy Terrier to the same detail was around half a ton. :laimed to be suitable for any -tonner currently available, new Cartwright/Dobson tems costs £1,150, 1 conjunction with Webbs,
f Smith Demountables Ltd of erborough showed for the t time a demountable version the former's Mini Skip. The E exhibit was mounted on a rcedes-Benz Bremen-built 70 chassis-cab giving a
payload capacity of 1,200kg (24cwt).
The unit is available to give load capabilities of 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000kg (20cwt, 39cwt and 59cwt) and is claimed to fit all vehicles in the 31/2 to 71/2-tonne weight categories.
The Scan tail-lift was also on display now with an automatic tilt mechanism giving in effect two button control.
Rubber suspension was much in evidence, with both Norde and Rydewell being well represented.
The former company had a Ford D 1614 on show borrowed from RHM Foods and fitted with Norde suspension at the rear, giving a claimed weight saving of 60kg (1321b).
This particular chassis was shown with wheels and brake drums removed which allowed the Norde system to be seen in detail, though the main reason was to display the workings of the Girling Skid-Chek anti-lock system selected by RHM's Dickie Duncalfe for this vehicle.
Norde also had an ERF eightwheeled tanker on display from the BP fleet, fitted with rubber suspension at the rear. With this particular chassis, a weight saving of 12 Okg (2551b) is claimed.
Fred Hope describes himself as a "lone inventor," and exhibited his Brake-Mate system for monitoring lining wear. This incorporates a sealed dry reed switch which is separated from a permanent magnet by a steel shunt plate fitted to the S-cam shaft.
When wear has taken place and the shaft movement is sufficient to swing the shunt plate out from between the reed switch and magnet, the switch is then activated causing a warning light to operate.
According to Fred Hope, Shell is currently evaluating 12 units fitted to ERF and Seddon Atkinson tankers.
A surprise exhibit from Renault was a futuristic-looking wind deflector mounted on the roof of a TF 231 tractive unit. Made in France by Ateliers Sainte-Catherine of Epone, the deflector is assembled from three separate sections and weighs 40kg (881b).
The TF231 exhibited at Solihull belonged to a North-eastern operator working for Bell Line and has up to now covered 22,500km (14,000 miles) from new.
The initial fuel consumption (for the standard vehicle) was 38.7 lit/100km (7.3mpg) which improved to 31.4 lit/100km (9 mpg) after fitting the wind deflector in conjunction with a road-speed governor.
Also on show from RenaL was a drop-frame distributic chassis based on the JP13 ar aimed at the bottling an brewery industries.
Known as the JP13A Li-I, th has a low platform height f( easier loading and unloadin Unlike the equivalent mode from Mercedes-Benz and DA the Renault is not a single-spir chassis, but a conventional le der frame with a dropped centi section.
The model on show at if IRTE exhibition is the result of joint development project wit York.
Whereas the original modi had conventional leaf sprin suspension, the latest versio has been fitted with trailing arr air suspension which is claime to provide additional load prc tection when carrying bottle prc ducts.
This York suspension als allows the platform height to b lowered by about 50mm (2in) z the rear by evacuating the Dur lop air bags.
A safety override is linked t the park brake so that the al bags are automatically inflate as the vehicle moves off According to York, the complet cycle from engine start to fu inflation is only 25 seconds an' rubber bump stops inside the ai bags provide a get-you-horn, suspension.
The floor height of the Renaul is 115cm (45in) at the front an over the rear axle and 69cn (27in) in the centre well with thi air bags empty.