Vehicle operation analysis
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BECAUSE the road transport industry is still largely one of small units much control and communication continues to be oral rather than written. This has advantages in that flexibility and the ability to give quick decisions on customers' requirements are retained when increasingly in other industries mammoth organizations appear to get bogged down with their own paperwork.
But it can also have disadvantages, particularly in the case of the former owner-driver who has emerged as an operator of a small or medium-sized fleet. In this process of evolution there will inevitably be a point beyond which the former system, albeit efficient, is no longer adequate.
Just at what point of development in terms of the number of vehicles involved could this inadequacy arise would depend on several factors, including the ability of the operator himself, the efficiency of his drivers and the complexity of the pattern of traffic with which he was concerned.
In this series on March 31 and April 7, I examined the use and abuse of form filling with particular reference to log sheets. Although these are statutory requirements, the precise layout of a log sheet is not laid down by regulations. Consequently operators are at liberty to amend this form providing the minimum statutory information is adequately and currently recorded.
Although it is possible to have a weekly instead of a daily log sheet, the latter practice is the most common. Assuming this is the case then it is convenient for an operator to devise a vehicle weekly record which summarizes the information provided on the daily log sheet. In addition some operators find it useful at this stage to commence an initial analysis of basic engineering and traffic records.
Traffic department's job Comment is pertinent here on the use of the terms "engineering" and "traffic" as applied to road transport operation. In this context the function of an engineering department is to provide and maintain an efficient and roadworthy vehicle. It is the job of the traffic department to exploit the commercial potential of that vehicle, whether for profit, service or both, to the best advantage.
In the larger companies there will be departments so named or at least with similar titles. This would not apply among small fleet operators where many of the staff will have multiple duties rather than specialize in any particular aspect of operation. But it is most important to remember that while the departments might not exist as separate entities, the two functions exist and have to be provided for. One aspect where this has to be done is in the devising of an adequate record system.
As I mentioned earlier, the weekly vehicle record will consolidate the information recorded on the daily log sheet. To some extent both forms will combine engineering and traffic entries but while a purely engineering record such as fuel issued, tyre records and the like can be standardized irrespective of the type or size of operator, this does not apply with traffic records.
Because of this opportunity to standardize engineering records it is possible to purchase blank fcrrms already drawn up for this purpose. But where traffic records are concerned the operator is left largely to his own initiative to devise suitable traffic forms. The reason is not far to seek. Road transport provides such a multiplicity of services that no one standard traffic form could suffice even though many of the vehicles performing those services are mass produced.
And while an engineering department can devise its forms solely with regard to its own interest, a traffic department of a haulage concern has to pay regard to the advice notes and other documentation which their customers may wish to view. Whether such records are made part of the haulier's recorded system or whether it is found more convenient to persuade customers to accept the haulier's own forms would depend on individual circumstances.
Recording information Accordingly the vehicle weekly record I am now about to describe is intended as an indication rather than a final plan for the manner in which information should be recorded, with the full knowledge that many operators would find it necessary to amend some of the headings to suit their particular needs.
The heading to the vehicle weekly records will have its own reference number in the left top corner, e.g. T /R/1 (Transport Record /1) to facilitate ordering of stationery, assuming the operator found it worthwhile to have them printed. Where smaller numbers of forms are used some form of duplication might be found both adequate and cheaper.
Apart from the heading "Vehicle weekly record" there would be no need for the company's name as the record would be intended for internal use only. Also in the heading would be space provided to allow for the entry of the vehicle fleet number (or registration number) together with the week-ending date.
Beneath this heading would follow the main section and purpose of the record. The first portion would be devoted to details of the journey made and in this particular example comprises nine columns. The first of these allow for the entry within seven horizontal rulings relative to the day of the week, It will be a matter for individual choice as to what constitutes a working week. Many operators, and particularly long-distance Operators, may find it more convenient to start this weekly record on a Sunday rather than a Monday. This is because a larger proportion of any vehicles actually operating on a Sunday will be commencing the week's work rather than completing it.
Avoid unnecessary work Whatever day is chosen to commence the working week the object is to avoid as far as possible unnecessary clerical work in having to transfer data from one working week to another as could arise when loads picked up in one working week are not offloaded till the next. In such cases care also has to be taken to avoid • duplicating tonnages and possibly other items in the total figure for the month or quarter.
In the second and third columns provision is made for the entry of the starting point and finishing point followed by details of collections and deliveries made on that day. It would be in the next columns that most variations would have to be made to meet individual requirements. I refer to the quantity moved and the type of container in which the goods were carried, e.g. tonnage, gallonage. etc., and sacks, containers etc., assuming movement in bulk was not involved.
Some hauliers and many C-licence operators may well find it convenient here to elaborate this section so that an immediate analysis could be started of all traffic moved as between the various companies or departments involved. In those cases where because of the sheer volume of freight moved and of its comparative repetition it might be considered adequate to limit such recordings to periodic or random checks, for example quarterly, on which to base such an analysis.
Loadability is a factor which directly affects transport efficiency and some operators may find it worth while to devise,for inclusion into this section, suitable columns to record the current ratio of
weight to capacity. Otherwise the advent of new products with a lOw, weight-to-capacity ratio could pass unnoticed to the detriment of overall transport efficiency. Alternatively} where the overall transport expenditure of a C-licence operator was divided on a tonnage or similar basis then there would be a hidden subsidy for the department whose output of low weight-to-capacity product was increasing.
Then there would be a column to record the daily mileage followed by the entry of the fuel—petrol or derv—issued to the vehicle and likewise any lubrication oil. Those operators doing long-distance work may make use of agency pick-up points and accordingly the next two columns would allow for the entry of the agency name and the invoice number.
Regarding records of fuel throughout the week it is impracticable for most long-distance operators and their drivers to get involved in the meticulous dipping of fuel tanks. What is necessary, however, is to arrange that all vehicles are topped up with fuel regularly at the same time each week. In most cases it would be on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning when vehicles are returning to their home base.
Where this practice is adopted then the amount of fuel issued to the vehicle would be the same as the fuel actually consumed. This is the amount required to relate fuel expenditure to mileage run and goods carried during each week.
A similar consideration applies in the recording of mileometer readings and rather than a daily record many operators will find it adequate to enter it weekly at the left lower corner of this form. In this section under the heading mileometer readings would be an entry "Reading to finish on Saturday", "Reading to start on Sunday," with the difference being the mileage for the week. Provision will be made also for weekly totals to be recorded of the quantity of the goods moved and fuel and lubricating oils issued.
Where it is thought advantageous to limit the number of weekly forms to be completed by the driver, a time record can be added to this weekly vehicle record on the right side to facilitate its subsequent detachment to allow the wages department to deal with it independently of the engineering record department.
Although log sheets are a statutory requirement most operators find, it necessary to have a separate time record on which to calculate wages. As the driver is already summarizing most of the data from the daily log sheets on to the vehicle weekly record it would be convenient for him to do likewise with the weekly time record which, as suggested, could initially be part of the weekly vehicle record.