Second-floor Loading Bay
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A DELIVERY-AND-DISPATCH bay PA on the second floor of Rackhams Ltd., a departmental store, Birmingham, eliminates kerb parking difficulties in a highly congested area and affords a quicker turn-round of the vehicles. The ramp to the bay also provides access to a parking area on the first floor used by the office tenants on this floor for up to 26 private cars and by tenants of " lettable shops" on the ground floor for unloading light commercial vehicles.
This news was given by Mr. F. Booth of Rackhams, at a meeting of the Institute of Traffic Administration, Birmingham centre on Monday, when he gave a talk on "Multiple Stores Distribution ". The new store was opened two and a half years ago, and the company's fleet now numbers 12 B.M.C. vehicles 'of 5-cwt., 1-ton, 2-ton and 3-ton capacity, eight of which are powered by B.M.C. 2-2-litre or 3-4-litre diesel engines.
A T-shaped deck in the loading bay provides accommodation for eight vehicles up to maximum-capacity eightwheelers, internal movements being facilitated by a 25-ft. manually operated turntable. The ramp has a width of 20 ft. 6 in. which is sufficient for two-way traffic.
Vehicles engaged on the local delivery of furniture and so on make 14-20 drops in the day, whilst parcels vehicles make up to 70 drops. The standard of the driving staff in terms of personal cleanliness, knowledge of the job and diplomacy with customers is of first importance. So far as possible, the onedriver-one-vehicle rule is observed and drivers load their own vehicles after returning from the day's run.
Extensive use is made of castored trolleys for furniture loading (one type is designed to carry three-piece suites) in preference to pallets and fork-lift trucks. This form of handling is considered unpracticable because of the diversity of package shapes.