Problems of the
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HAULIER and CARRIER Elucidating a Problem Set in the Concluding Paragraph of the Previous Article in this Series.
IN my previous article, which was the second of a series dealing with the important subject of furniture-removing, I gave figures for estimating the cost of operating 4-ton furniture vans, with and without trailers. At the conclusion of that article I outlined a week's work, as described to me by an experienced furniture renao-ver, and I suggested that readers might care to calculate for themselves the cost of performing that work, using the figures I had given as a basis for calculation. I do not know how many readers have tried to solve the problem which was suggested, but
every one of those who did try made serious mistakes.
The obvious way to assess the operating costs of the vehicles used in that week's work is as follows :
For the first day, when the van with trailer travelled to a point 20 miles away, was loaded, returned and unloaded, covering a total mileage of 40 and taking 13 hours in the doing of the job, the figures of 3s. 10d. per hour and 81d. per mile that were given in the previous article would seem to apply, and on that basis the total cost amounts to £3 18s. 2d.
For the second day, when no work was done, there would appear to be no justification for charging cost.
On the third clay the van was used solo and travelled to a point five miles away, where it was loaded. It
then returned and was unloaded, 6.i hours being occupied on the job, which involved travelling a total of TO miles. In this ease the obvious method of calculating the cost is to take the figures of 3s. (Id. per hour and Old. per mile, as described in the previous article. On that basis the cost amounts to £1 8s. 2d.
On the fourth and fifth days, as may be discovered by reference to the previous article, a mileage amounting to 310 was covered and the working time totalled 24 hours. Here, although the fact is not stated, I think I am justified in assuming that the trailer was ROE
used ; the circumstance that 310 miles was covered, whilst the total time for travelling, loading and unloading was only 24 hours points to the fact that the vehicle ran solo. Here again, therefore, the figures of 3s. M. per hour and Rd. per mile would seem to apply, and the cost, if calculated on that basis, amounts to £12 Us. 11d.
These figures are incorrect, and what appears to be the obvious way of arriving at the operating cost is wrong for several reasons, of which two only, the principal ones, need be discussed.
Only •the calculation for the first day's work is correct. There is obviously something wrong with the idea of debiting the second day with nothing at all, as during that day both van and trailer are standing idle and are, accordingly, incurring expense, whilst even on the third, fourth and fifth days we should take into account the fact that the trailer is in the garage. On the second day, presumably, we must debit the whole of the standing charges of both van and trailer to the week's account, and similarly on the third, fourth and fifth days we must place the standing charges of the trailer on the wrong side of the balance sheet.
If this latter debit be agreed it seems as though we must take a fixed standing charge for the vehicle and trailer together and debit every job with that amount, whether the trailer be used or not, so that the only difference between the cost when using the trailer and that when operating the van solo will be the increase of 2d. per mile in the running costs involved in the former case. At least, that will be so in the circumstances that we are at present considering—namely, where only a van or a trailer is kept, or, altern4tively, when there are just as many trailers as there are vans.
When, as no doubt is often the case, there are more vans than trailers, the calculation becomes a little more complicated, and will have to be dealt with separately.
The foregoing calculations will, on that account, be wrong for any day of the week except the first. Corrections will, accordingly, have to be made, and even the first item may be incorrect. Some employers pay their men overtime each clay at the rate of time-and-aquarter up to two hours overtime and time-and-a-half after that, In those circumstances, therefore, there will be a correction to make to the first day's calculation, which refers to work which occupied 10 hours to allow for this overtime.
Without overtime allowance, however, the following is a schedule of operating costs for the week :— First day, as computed 3 18 2 Second day, 8-hours at 3s. 10d. per hour 1 10 8 Third day, 6# hours at 3s. 10d. per hour, plus 10 miles at 60. per mile... ... 1 10 4 (On this day there is a further is-hour loss, owing to the vehicle standing idle, amounting to 5s. 9d.) Fourth and fifth days, 24 hours at 3s. 10d. per hour, pins 310 miles at 6i d. per mile ... . ... 13 0 0 If now we add overtime—that affects only the item "wages "—we must add 2 hours to the first day at 11 times 1s. 64. per hour, which is 3s. 9d., bringing the total to £4 is. lid. On the fourth and fifth days must be added each day 2 hours at 11 times the hour rate and 2 hours at 1 times the hour rate. That is equivalent to 4 hours at is. 10d.-7s. 64.—and 4 hours at 2s. 3d., which is 9s.; total, 16s. 6d. to add to the cost of that job, making a grand total of £13 16s. 6d.