The inside story
Page 7
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FREIGHTLINER is to launch a nationwide computerised container storage, maintenance, and repair scheme at a cost of around Om. Although the company is already engaged in container storage — mainly for its deep-sea shipping customers — Freightliner is now putting its storage, maintenance and repair services under one umbrella, called Freightlinercare.
The scheme aims to be the largest of its kind in the UK, and will be based at Glasgow, Birmingham, Merseyside and London — The first centre due to come on stream later this year is in Stratford, East London. The centres will be attached to the company's existing road/rail terminals in these cities.
Under the new scheme, a container or storage will be inspected by an en;ineer for defects and a report will be made on its condition. The report will ;hen be keyed into a minicomputer, :ogether with details of the container's :ype, size, ownership and serial number.
If it needs renovating, the client will )e sent a report, along with a quotation 'or those repairs based on a standard ;cale of charges. Where a client has a naintenance contract with Freight linercare, minor repairs may be carried out automatically. Clients with maintenance contracts will also be told when containers are due for their next service.
A client will be given a full report on the condition of his containers every months. It will show where and in what numbers his containers are being stored, the types and serial numbers, what repairs have been carried out and on which containers, repairs needed, and, lastly, the charges incurred by the client.
Norman Church, Freightliner's distribution manager, says demand for container storage and repair facilities is high: "With the introduction of the 1978 International Safety Convention on containers it will be mandatory for them to be plated and inspected every two years."
The demand for container storage in the UK in 1978 was for around 30,000 units, while repairs were carried out on around 200,000 containers. Although Freightliner is unable to predict exactly how many containers it will handle, the scheme aims to be the largest of its kind and is "open-ended" according to a spokesman.