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Wage comparisons
YOU ASK our opinion on collective wage agreements (CM, March 9).
Comparing my basic wage and night money in my area of Lincolnshire against your table, I began to wonder if I am living in the same country, with no talk of any increase in sight where I am employed.
I cannot see that my pay packet resembles anything like the ones quoted; my basic is £89.50 for 40 hours and E10 night money.
Does this mean I do less work than the rest of the country or is the cost of living in Lincolnshire meant to be so much less than the rest of the country? So, presumably, we need less than others.
I must clarify that my wage is envied by drivers working for other local firms as theirs is considerably less; in fact, one such company pays Class I drivers one hour's pay for 30 miles covered at f1.15p and three hours tipping time irrespective of breakdowns and bad weather, etc, which obviously means that drivers are breaking many laws to make a basic living wage. C. DAVIES
Bourne Lincolnshire
Brakes confusion
THE REPORT "Brakes
confusion" (CM, March 2) does not help to clarify "the problem". Instead, it rather leaves whatever the problem is poorly defined and the cure still in muddy water.
With respect to trailers fitted with Rubery Owen-Rockwell running gear, we have seen a substantial improvement in vehicles passing their first annual test and in 1985 had no reports of failures on UK produced trailers.
Tim Blakemore's comment that some manufacturers are
submitting high brake factors to the Department of Transport via trailer manufacturers is not correct to our knowledge. We are aware of all the manufacturers currently supplying like equipment to the UK market and brake factors are all essentially alike for the same size brakes.
The use of these brake factors is not, as stated, used for measuring braking efficiency at MoT test stations. Regarding brake performance, the MoT test is to assure that minimum braking is 45 per cent of the design capacity of the bogie. This is verified by actual brake test equipment — which only measures brake output torque. If the brake factor were the basis, brake input torque must also be measured. This is not performed at the test station.
RO-R brake factors are not dissimilar to York. Ours were determined by vehicle testing and demonstrating on dynamometer tests the performance results which were verified by EEC approval officials. We really don't think a manufacturer can just choose these factors.
E. J. DIGGS Technical director Rubery Owen-Rockwell Ltd Wrexham, Clwyd
• We will shortly be examining various braking problems in more detail. — Editor.
In the picture
THE EDITORIAL "What image campaign?" (CM, March 9) is a timely one since the Motor Industry Campaign is now into its stride after a great deal of essential background research and consultation. The next few months will see a marked heightening of activity.
We have been producing and issuing printed and audio-visual material regularly. More is in the pipeline. We and the
supporting organisations, which Include the RHA and the FTA , have been making these widely available to our membership who, as you rightly say, have a wealth of talent for getting the message across. Many presentations have already been made to MPs, Journalists and trade associations, as well as to the wider audience which the campaign needs to address.
Events are planned which will include a major conference in Birmingham on April 3. Further programmes will be designed to inform politicians, civil servants, industrialists, trade unionists and educationalists, as well as the general public.
On the commercial vehicle front, we are just completing a video film. A brochure is also being produced in conjunction with the FTA.
No one would disagree that the case needs to be made. We are doing a great deal and will be doing much more. I hope that, through your columns, we shall be able to keep your readers fully in the picture. ANTHONY FRASER Director Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders London, SW1
Obtuse Hawk?
THE HAWK (Bird's-eye View, CM, March 16) is being obtuse.
I have no connection with Scania but I take their point, If a Commercial Motor photographer were to be taking pics of the inside of the Newport Pagnell service station and noticed four people side by side reading Commercial Motor, I bet he would take a plc of them. And, it may well be published.
GORDON CARLTON Pal Communications Wembley, Middlesex • The photograph was not provided by Scania, but by Interleasing, so The Hawk may not be obtuse. — Editor
Pulled up on brakes
REF: Eilrd's-eye View (CM, March 16) A diabolical diagnosis.
All vehicles with selfadjusting brakes (during service) have brake drums removed and brakes adjusted manually on our premises. This gives excellent hand and foot brakes.
Any shop floor mechanic will advise on this operation. I would suggest, before sounding off, that the manager checks at shop floor level. The Japanese do!
PS: We are a three-man operation with qualifications — not a main agent.
ALAN McTIGHE Rex Motors Salford
Diabolical diagnosis
IN REPLY to a Bird's-eye View item entitled "A diabolical diagnosis" (CM, March 16): this concerned the owner of a car which had recently been serviced at an official dealership and when he collected the car he was advised by the mechanic to have the rear brakes adjusted.
The writer complained that the rear brakes were selfadjusting and he tried hard to ridicule the mechanic by saying mechanics who had attended the manufacturer's course proudly displayed their diplomas in the reception area.
I would just like to point out, that, being a mechanic myself for 14 years and a vehicle repair instructor for 15 years, and having worked on most makes of vehicle, I have yet to find a self-adjusting brake mechanism that actually works properly and consistently, and on nearly every service to reduce foot brake and hand brake travel, the rear drums
have to be removed and the self-adjusting mechanism "clicked up" manually, I would also suggest that the writer return to the garage and ask to have his rear brakes adjusted by the mechanic who advised him in the first place, because it seems to me that here is one of those rare mechanics who possesses ability, initiative and a good working knowledge of such mechanisms, a species who are very thin on the ground these days, being almost swallowed up in a sea of "skilled cowboys".
R. A. DANIELS Skills Centre Instructor Brown Edge Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire
Good move: bland choice
I WAS very interested in the feature on the removal industry (CM, March 9), particularly as we were one of the participants in the exercise. Or was it contestants?
Your reporter, David Wilcox (or was it Mr Williams?) the potential client, has, in the main, put together a very good article which does generally put over the removal trade in a fair light as it stands at present.
I was, however, surprised at some of the comments from other companies, comments such as "We don't use hanging rails as everything comes off the rails". What a lot of nonsense. They know as well as anyone in the trade that the clothes only come off if the containers are laid on their side and not stacked upright as per instructions on the wardrobe carton. Possibly the fact that flat packs are cheaper and take up less space would be a more relevant reason for those comments, despite the fact that flat packs are more liable to crumple and crease their contents, unlike the wardrobe cartons.
It was not pointed out in the article but we do supply cardboard packing cases entirely free for self-pack moves. These are disposable, so therefore the customer does not have to tip everything out on the spot and is not required to make endless trips to the supermarkets, etc.
I do not agree with the "flowery language" comments In our case, as our form that accompanies the estimate is more a statement of certain facts than a flowery begging letter of the type that does accompany some estimates.
The terms and conditions in the Majority of cases are not just a whim of the individual company but are usually insisted on by their insurers in order to protect not only the customer but also the company in the event of anything unfortunate happening. One wonders what insurance is afforded and where both the customer and company stand in the event of a dispute if these eventualities are not catered for in the terms and conditions. In other words, what is the contract worth?
As regards payment, we along with most companies prefer payment in advance but will, as the acceptance form clearly points out, accept payment on the day of the removal provided it is in cash ("No cheques please" — Without time to clear them).
I do apologise for stating Heswall is in Cheshire but it was until the newly formed Merseyside came into being.
The DIY move is not investigated enough in depth, I felt. There is no statement as to the cubic feet of the hire van, for a start, and no mention of the fact that there are no ties, blankets, barrows, etc, provided for protecting and securing furniture and effects, something most diy people totally overlook. That is apart from the fact that they need help from friends and family in order to do the move.
If the promised labour does turn up they are not as quick or efficient as a removal team, both in their ability to look after the effects and pack the vehicle. Assuming the DIY move was completed in two days (which is unlikely) the vehicle has then to return from Heswail, so there is more time and fares to take into account on the return journey.
Also the volume of this move is agreed at between 780 and 880cu ft. As the DIY person is not a competent packer with the right equipment, I would expect them to need a vehicle with at least 1,000 to 1,200cuft of space in order to do the move in one trip.
The majority of boxyans are between 800 and 1,000cuft so the load would be very much in the balance for one trip. Perhaps a larger vehicle (still under 7,5 tons) would have been a better choice for comparison.
In our experience the plastic crates mentioned are a total waste of time and unsuitable in every way to any type of removal, being both bulky, expensive and limited in their application. Please don't forget that because of their basic cost no firm is going to leave them behind. Again this means emptying the contents before the return journey. This is usually one thing that the customer does not want. {I would point out that when we pack, especially breakables, we would expect to unpack as well for the customer's inspection in order to comply with the insurance terms and conditions). By using our system of cardboard cartons the customer is happy and our turnround time is improved.
I must admit that both myself and several other people shown the article were surprised at the seemingly contradictory conclusions reached when choosing the firm for the move. The reason being CM seemed very committed to obtaining not a cheap quote which is why one firm was excluded, but a competitive quote all things taken into account. This is what any normal customer requires.
However, having made a point of stating that Pickfords multi-department advance did not materialise because their prices were above all but the BenteIls one and £20.68 and £28.15 respectively more than Martell's, you then go on rather blandly to chose a "mid-range" company, completely overlooking the fact that we are £66.70 and £47.15 respectively less than Martell's whilst offering proper clothes transport, free supply and use of disposable cardboard cartons and free disconnection of appliances. I find this a rather surprising omission on your part.
Overall, I would commend David Wilcox on the article and send congratulations to Martell's on being along with us your removals choice.
'The FTA man in the cupboard'
I ALWAYS enjoy the somewhat mischievous comments of The Hawk but the staff of FTA will have read his description of them as "Free tanning addicts" with a wry smile (CM. March 16).
He is quite correct, of course, when he says that we made 90,000 business visits to members last year, but they could hardly be described as leisurely tea-drinking affairs.
In any day FTA staff will be inspecting about 500 lorries, conducting training seminars, giving forklift driver instruction or appearing at a public inquiry. Our Freightcheck girls will be vetting the charts of about 200 drivers, while others might be talking to local authorities about traffic management schemes or bending someone's ear in Brussels.
Eighty per cent of FTA's resources are devoted to the provision of direct services to our members. That's not "communication", Mr Hawk, that's involvement and we work at it extremely hard. The only cup of tea an FTA employee expects to get when he turns up at the factory gate at 6am to inspect a petrol tanker before the driver clocks in is out of his own vacuum flask. So please don't knock him.
JOHN F. C. MORRIS Secretary and Director of Finance and Legal Services Freight Transport Association Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Ashtray tyres wanted
THROUGH your letters solumn would it be possible for me to inquire regarding the availability of the once popular ashtray tyres?
I need some for a model truck I am about to construct. From the inquiries I have made in this area it appears that they are no longer available.
Should any readers be able to assist me with any information I would welcome any news.