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BISCUIT TRANSPOR

27th January 1933
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Page 46, 27th January 1933 — BISCUIT TRANSPOR
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ON A BIG SCALE EVERY transport organization, to be economically operated, must be considered individually, and its special requirements carefully studied. General rules may apply to some extent, but modifications must nearly always be made and special methods adopted to serve the express purposes and to fill the definite needs of the particular work in hand.

An excellent example of how this precept has been put into practice is afforded by the transport system of Peek, Frean and Co., Ltd., the well-known biscuit manufacturer. Here are to be found many practices of interest, some of which are equally applicable to the handling of goods other than those produced by this concern. The economies brought about by their employment are considerable. A single example is the saving of between £3,000 and £4,000 per year on transport costs alone, which is stated to be the direct result of the use of a demountable container system.

The Peek, Frean biscuitinakimg factory is in Bermond sey, London, &RM. Its choco lates are made by Melds, Ltd., a subsidiary company at Bed ford. The activities of the transport department at the

Bermondsey factory are mainly devoted to delivery work within a radius of about 33 miles, to haulage to and from Bedford and the country depots, and to the conveyance of goods to. railway termini for distribution from more-distant depots and to the docks at London, Southampton, etc., for export.

The transport between London and Bedford consists 1332 partly of carrying bulk commodities and ingredients from factory to factory and partly of supplying goods for distribution from these centres. Transport to the other depots, is, of course, solely to maintain the supplies for distribution. As similar methods are employed at the various centres, only that at the headquarters at Bermondsey need he dealt with here.

The London fleet includes nine 5-ton and three 24-ton Saurers and Arrastrong-Saurers, 18 2-ton Alhions, four 1-ton Morris-Commercials, and about 35 horsed vehicles. The lighter vehicles are employed entirely for the distribution of goods to retailers and wholesalers within the 33-mile radius, executing hundreds of thousands of orders a year and covering a total annual distance in the neighbourhood of 450,000 miles. For the shortest journeys within the smallest radius, which involve a large number of calls, and for a portion of the work to the railway termini, horsed vehicles are still reg-arded by Peek, Frew' and Co., Ltd., as more economical than motors.

The nine 5-ton ArmstrongSaurers and Saurers are run between Bermondsey and the distributing centres, and cover approximately 130,000 miles per annum. These mainly haul • trailers, of which there are 20 of various makes. The bodies of the motive units are demountable containers (two per chassis) and for each container there is a portable stand, some of these stands being kept at London and others at Bedford.

Between Bermondsey and Bedford the usual arrangement is for a lorry and trailer to set out at 8 o'clock. Arriving at Bedford it leaves its trailer and container, picks up others and is back at Bermondsey by 6 o'clock. Thus two out-and-return journeys per lorry are possible every 24 hours.

The time required to run a container off the lorry on to a stand and another on to the lorry is roughly 30 minutes. Each container holds about 1,000 biscuit tins of the familiar type known as 9-lb. tins. This designation is actually little more than a distinguishing name, for the weights of different types of biscuit vary widely. An empty " 9-lb. tin " weighs about 2 lb.

The operation of loading or unloading a container takes about one hour, therefore, it is obvious that the time a lorry is standing idle is reduced by the use of demountable containers by 11 hour per single journey. More important than this, however, is the fact that the containers can be loaded up in advance all ready for the simple operation of transference to the lorry at whatever time it may be available.

The loading platforms are kept supplied with goods by spiral chutes, feeding roller conveyers, from which the tins are lifted and packed into vans or containers. To another loading hay the goods are lowered from the store-rooms above by a vertical conveyer, from the platforms of which the tins are lifted whoa iiiey descend to a convenient height from the ground level. The same system is employed for loading the roofs of the vans, a gallery being provided for this purpose.

The demonntable equipment has been evolved from experience of the exact nature of the requirements, and was manufactured for Peek, Frean and Co., Ltd., entirely, by Cranes (Dereham), Ltd., Derehani, Norfolk. Its ingenuity and efficient functioning warrant a description of the mechanical details of the various units. Each container is supported on six small wheels running on rails on the chassis. Similar rails are mounted on the portable carriers. Hinged extensions of the rails on the carriers form a complete track when the carrier is pushed into position behind the lorry, to which it is connected by chains while the container is transferred from one to the other. Four screws, carrying eyes which engage projections on the container and which work in nuts pivoted to brackets on the chassis frame, are operated by hand wheels and secure the container to the chassis.

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The obvious difficulty in transferring loaded containers from stands to chassis, namely, running them up the slope, caused by the unavoidable difference in height, due to the frame of the vehicle rising or falling on its springs, is overcome in an ingenious way.

Provision is made for rotating by hand four of the small wheels or rollers of the container. Their adhesion to the rails is sufficient to propel the mass up the small gradient to be climbed, and one man, without undue exertion, can easily accomplish the transference in either direction. A considerable mechanical

advantage between the handle and the axles is pro vided by reduction gear. A small sprocket is fixed to the handle-shaft and this transmits power through a chain to a large sprocket on a countershaft ; a second chain runs on a small sprocket fixed to the countershaft and a large one on the front axle of the container, whilst a third connects the front and second axles. The rollers, of course, are fast on their axles.

This mechanism is simple and occupies little space. Should the wheels fail to grip the rails, as might happen were they wet or the container empty, a little sand on the rails affords the extra adhesion needed.

The portable carriers are mounted on iron-tyred wheels which, we were informed, are found easier to manoeuvre by hand, on the paved surfaces at the factories, than carriers the wheels of which are rubbershod, although theory would rather contradict this apparently established fact. There is, of course, no object in using the demountable-container system for the trailers. Maintenance and overhauling areS carried out at Bermondsey by a small staff of fitters, the services of the factory-maintenance 'department being called in when work needing more elaborate equipment or machinery than is available in the transport-repair shop has to be done.

The drivers are held responsible for the routine jobs of greasing, brake-adjusting, etc., and the lorries and vans are run in for repairs according to requirements and when they can conveniently be spared. The concern's transport authorities hold that by training drivers to nurse their vehicles and to take a pride in both their performance and appearance, the maintenance and repair costs can be reduced to a low figure. A case quoted, to instance how well this principle works, was that of a 2-ton Albion which came in for an overhaul after 70,000 miles; on removing the brake drums, it was found that the shoes did not require refacing.

To encourage fuel economy, the consumption figures of every vehicle are issued monthly to the drivers, and a state of friendly rivalry exists amongst them to see who can get the best figures. By thus getting right to the root of the matter, it is thought that a real solution to the problem of keeping down fuel and running costs has been found.

Peek, Frean and Co., Ltd., sets great store upon the smartness and efficiency of its transport personnel. A very careful system of daily parade and inspection is held, and the routine of loading, unloading, transferring containers and so forth goes with the utmost precision. Incidentally, ne fewer than 29 of the concern's drivers are well on their way to qualifying for a gold medallion in the "Safety First" competition, each having to his credit a record of nine consecutive years' driving without accident. Another 30 drivers already have gained their silver medals with clean sheets for five years.

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Organisations: VERY
Locations: Bedford, Southampton, London

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