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PALLETIZATIO

offers all-rouni Penefits

OUTSTANDING examples of road vehicles virtually providing an extension, or section, of a production line, normally relate to C-licensed lorries operating between the production centres of a manufacturer or between the factories of major suppliers and the manufacturer. In this case palletization and mechanical-handling aids can be readily exploited to facilitate the movement of semi-processed materials, given that dispatch and terminal

handling methods are fully co-ordinated. In a typical project, mechanical loading and unloading are of greatest benefit to the transport departments of the suppliers.

Of possibly greater overall importance to the economy of the country, dividing palletized traffic between Alicensed vehicles and other types of transport may involve far more difficult co-ordination problems, particularly if some goods are received from smaller suppliers who cannot handle palletized loads. If, however, the manufacturer plans his factory layout to make the hest use of pailetization internally, the benefits may be such that he will foster pallet loading to the maximum extent, with due regard to the interests of transport operators such as the use of collapsible pallets and providing a quick turn-round.

By virtue of their mechanicalhandling and stock-control practices, Electrolux Ltd., Luton, Beds, are outstanding in this category in that the handling methods employed have been developed as part of a streamlined production programme, and complete reliance is placed on the services of hauliers, suppliers' fleets and British Railways for the carriage of processed materials. About 80 per cent of the

goods delivered are palletized or are conveyed in rail-borne containers, and the remaining 20 per cent of cartoned materials will be progressively reduced, the main obstacle to this objective being the conservatism of smaller suppliers in the adoption of mechanical pallet-handling methods. Taking into account the goods carried in containers and the rail-borne pallet traffic, well over 50 per cent of supplies are delivered by road. The majority of pallets are owned by the company.

Handling Steel Tubes

A particularly notable example of space and labour saving, combined with rapid turriround of the road vehicles, relates to the handling of steel tubes used in the manufacture of refrigerators and cleaners, the most important aspect of which is the use of special pallets that enable loads of tubes to be stacked 14 high in the storage area in one-eighth the floor space, compared with the former method. On the return journey the pallets occupy one-fifth of the vehicle payload space.

Each pallet comprises two cradle sections of the side-post type with a clamping strap (produced by Metal Sections Ltd.) which are located at 6-ft. or 10-ft. centres and can accommodate tubesof lengths up to 22 ft. The tubes are gantry loaded with the aid of a spreader at the supplier's premises and unloaded from the vehicle by the same means at the Electrolux works, a 10-ton load being unloaded in about 18-20 min. This compares with a handling time of about 2-1hr. when the tubes were received in bundles, and it has enabled the labour force to be reduced by more than 50 per cent.

A universal type of Arden collapsible pallet, manufactured by Metal Products (Arden) Ltd., Great King Street, Birmingham, is used for deliveries of castings and smaller components to both works, and in this case also the pallets collapse to one-fifth their erected size. The pallets can be

stacked five-high for storage, and two sides can be removed to give access to the contents without loss of rigidity. The base of the pallet measures 36 in. by 30 in., whilst the height when erected is 30 in. Two of the wire-mesh sides are of the lift-up-arid-fold-down type, whilst the remaining sides are of the hook-on, detachable type.

To the Electrolux company, panetization offers the outstanding advantage over carton ing that the time for checking is reduced to a fraction of that required when the goods were cartoned, the checking time for a 10-ton load of metal castings having been reduced from about 16 hr. to 40 min., the saving being mainly derived from the elimination of packing and the ease with which quantity can be determined by weighing. The haulier benefits by a nominal reduction in turnround time of 90 per cent (in addition to the back-loading advantage), the average reduction in practice being far greater than this percentage because waiting time has been reduced to marginal proportions. Lorries arriving with cartoned goods sometimes waited many hours before they could be unloaded.

New Type of Pallet Although no details can yet be given of a new type of sectioned tray pallet, developed by Electrolux technicians to replace the existing fixed type, it can be revealed that it is built for the benefit of the supplier, whose premises are not equipped for mechanical handling. Although the assembled pallet is a rigid structure, the sections can be easily removed and replaced manually in any convenient multiple. Employed for the carriage of 200-1b. wire drums, Conypak and Pigepak pallets are of the fixed-post type and

are 'conveyed to the motor assembly area of the cleaner factory for direct feeding of the coiling machines. This reduces handling in the works, compared with the former use of cased 7-14-1b. drums, and the pallets are easily unloaded from the vehicle. Whilst the pallets are not collapsible they reduce space requirements compared with the returnable drum cases. Conventional types of post pallet are employed for handling and stacking steel strip and for the internal movements of semi-finished parts. Whilst the containers are rail-borne—apart from their transport on British Railways' semi-trailers between railhead and factory—they could be carried on road vehicles with equal facility, and their use internally for temporary storage on open ground represents an all-important advantage with regard to stock control and flexibility. Produced to the specification of the company and constructed of timber, the containers have base measurements of 16 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in. and are 7 ft. 3 in. high. They are employed for the carriage of glass-fibre to the refrigerator works and are handled by a Cleco battery-electric, 2-ton, side-loader fork-lift truck with four-wheel steering, the ability of this machine to operate in an aisle width of Tess than 8 ft. when moving a container offering a major spaceand labour-saving advantage. Containerized storage eliminates the need for a costly permanent building (which could not be re-sited in the event of factory replanning), reduces handling and saves labour.

Reducing the aisle width to 6 ft. 6 in. in, the cleaner works is made possible by the use of a •Conveyancer battery-electric reach-type fork-lift truck, the forks of which retract with the pallet after loading. Other pallet-handling machines include Coventry Climax Stacatruc and Yale forklift trucks, and Lansing-Bagnall and Yale pedestrian-controlled trucks. A Cleco 3ton side loader is also employed for pallet loading. FLLOWING considerable publicity last year in the British national Press, there can be few people in this country who are unaware of the fact that Sweden is scheduled to change over from leftto right-hand traffic in 1967. Some of the reports published in English have given an indication of the work involved, but the true magnitude of the project becomes apparent only when various Swedish facts and figures are marshalled, and the article which follows is based mainly on a lecture given by Mr. Gosta Hall, who heads Sweden's Right-hand Traffic Commission.

The story starts in May of last year, when the Swedish Parliament approved the plan to change to right-hand traffic, thereby setting the seal on a problem which had been discussed for more than 30 years and introducing a reform which would affect virtually everybody in the country. Indeed, the Swedes consider that, if carried out in the right way, the move could have greater social and economic significances than most people would dare to imagine. The switch would not only simplify international traffic conditions by eliminating the accident risks created by differences in national road rules (all Sweden's neighbours already drive on the right), but would also permit permanent road-safety improvements to be carried out.

The change-over plan affects all road traffic, but not the railways. The Right-hand Traffic Commission has been formed as a special national body to administer the changeover, and the cost is expected to be in the region of £27.5m.: this amount will be raised by special vehicle taxes over a period of four years at the rate of /1 7s. 6d. on motorcycles, £2 15s. on light cars, and 15 3s. on other road vehicles.

Although right-hand traffic has been discussed in Sweden for many years, and investigations made over the course of several years form the basis for the decision now reached, at the moment there still exists no detailed plan

for the application of the change, and the preparation of such a plan is therefore the prime duty of the Commission. The Commission will be assisted by two advisory committees, one dealing with technical and economic matters and the other concerned with road-safety aspects, and each committee consists of a chairman, vice-chairman 'and 10 ordinary members.

The diverse nature of the measures .required for the change-over can be grouped broadly as follows:—

Partial reconstruction of tramway rolling stock and permanent way.

Reconstruction of buses and coaches and provision of certain special arrangements for regular bus routes.

Adaptation of-roads and streets, and of Certainfacilities for normal road traffic and. forestry and .military

traffic. 1.

Adaptation of road signalling, and revision of safety arrangements at railway crossings.

Reconstruction of buses and: coaches and provision facilities.

Accident prevention measures.

Little more than three years remain until the change over takes place, and this is a short time in view of the amount of investigation work remaining to be carried out, the number of vehicles to be rebuilt or replaced, and the rOad and facilities replanning required. The target date can be achieved only if everything is planned in detail and that plan carefully followed: amongst other things the plan must provide for the maintenance of sufficient transport facilities, for the preservation of road safety and for the lowest

possible costs.

What is Needed

The committee set up in 1961 to inquire into right-handtraffic costs estimated that some 6,700 buses would be needed in 1967 for regular services, and this is the number which must be available for left-hand traffic up to the change-over date, and for right-hand traffic thereafter. This number can, however, be provided only by permitting buses for right-hand traffic to be used prior to the switch, and buses for left-hand traffic to be used afterwards, although the greater the number of vehicles which, in the normal course of replacement, can be built is right-hand-traffic buses and used immediately, the fewer will be the number of left-hand-traffic buses needing reconstruction afterwards and the fewer the number of interim-type buses with doors on both sides. As yet, no agreement has been reached on the extent to which "wrong side" buses should be employed, or for how long.

The 1961 committee collected opinions on this question from road-safety organizations and from drivers' trade unions, and all those consulted gave support in principle to the ideas outlined above, with the exception of the National dl 6

Association for the Promotion of Road Safety which stated :that, for safety's Sake, no switch to right-hand traffic should be made until all buses required for use had been adapted. .. The Commission is to re-examine the question of wrong side " buses, making an inventory of the entire Swedish bus population as The first step towards a future decision as to which vehicles should be rebuilt and which scrapped. This inventory is required also for the planning Of the actual rebuilding programme—the scheduling of the work:according to resources is, of course, as important as deciding the number of vehicles involved. Otherwise, many transport companies would place their orders at similar times, resulting in alternating overstrain and insufficient usage of the available manufacturing capacity. Furthermore, it may be necessary to combine the needs of many small enterprises in order to place bulk reconstruction orders.

The Commission is to investigate also the capacity of vehicle manufacturers with regard to both new vehicles and rebuilding work: potential capacity exists not only with the vehicle manufacturers, coachbuilders and so on, but also with transport companies such as the Swedish State Railways and the larger city transport authorities, who are capable of rebuilding their own buses.

One question which must be resolved but which, so far, has not been investigated sufficiently, is the provision of temporary buses to operators—especially small concerns— during the time that their regular vehicles are being adapted. It may, for example, be necessary to reach agreements with the operators so that they can keep their old buses in reserve when they acquire new vehicles to help them to plan their new orders at an early date, and to arrange for buses to be rented from operators who have their slack season at the time of the change-over.

There are still five Swedish cities operating trams, although two of these plan to replace their trams with buses, the change in Stockholm to be finished by 1971 and in Halsingborg by 1975. If these plans are not modified it will then be necessary to reconstruct both the rolling stock and the permanent-way equipment, but this is work which could be eliminated if the trams are abandoned at the same time as the switch to right-hand traffic. As a result, the Commission is to enter into discussions with the five -" tram-towns " on the possibility of their tramways being closed down when the change-over takes place.

• The authorities concerned with the maintenance of roads and the provision of street signs and signals will be greatly concerned with the change-over. All the signs and signals which are at present required on the left side of the road must be moved to the right side, or at any rate duplicated; all the traffic-lane and " Stop " markings on the road surface will need to be repainted; the system of one-way streets will have to be re-examined; and certain intersections, parking sites, bus stops and so on will need to be adapted. Some of the road-maintenance machinery will needto be reconstructed, such as side-mounted snow ploughs, bank dozers and their attachments to vehicles, mowers, sweepers and windrowing attachments for graders. Various safety devices, such as the light and sound signals at level crossings, will need modification, whilst filling stations or their access roads will need rebuilding.

Chronological Guide All these sort of tasks which lie within the street and highway maintenance category must be planned, and the plans will be based on a thorough inventory of the type and extent of the various jobs and will provide an exact chronological guide for the execution of the work.

The aspects of the change-over so far dealt with have all been concerned with the adaptation of vehicles and facilities to the new rule of the road, and they are nearly all workshop or construction jobs, of wide scope and involving large costs. Just as vital, however, are the aspects concerned with the adaptation of people to the new form of traffic.

At the request of the 1961 committee, the National Association for the Promotion of Road Safety prepared a general ,survey of the information and training activity which would be required, the plan comprising, primarily, measures for the instruction of road users concerning righthand traffic. The National Association considered that, in view of the effective aids now available (principally the

Press, radio and television), it would be best to concentrate the instruction to a short but highly intensive campaign immediately prior to the switch. This period should, of course, be preceded by long-term public-relations activity to explain and clarify the change The campaign would be continued for a few weeks after the change-over, and the National Association's plan envisages many measures to be taken after the actual change-over, designed to act as constant reminders to road users of the right-hand traffic rules. These measures would include information spots on television and radio and in the Press and on posters, whilst special road signs carrying reminders about the new rules are proposed also.

So far as the actual change-over day is concerned, the switch will probably start on a Sunday morning, and all road traffic will be prohibited for a few hours prior to the time when the change comes into force. There are several reasons for this: different people's watches will not agree exactly, switching the road signs will take time, and the special reminder notices will have to be set up. Although the roads will be empty of regular traffic, there will be no absence of activity, and squads of men will be dashing about changing signs, notices and signals.

When the traffic is allowed to start again it will be supervised and directed to a degree surpassing anything seen before in Sweden. Besides the police force which will, of course be utilized 100 per cent—it is expected that military units and volunteer workers will be available to guide vehicles and pedestrians during the first few days. It goes almost without saying that a speed limit equivalent to 25 or 30 m.p.h. will be imposed on all roads during the initial period, and it has been said that tourists to Sweden and drivers already used to right-hand traffic and unlimited speed will feel as though they have stepped into a slowmotion film.

To indicate further the need for this change-over of traffic in Sweden, it is worth considering certain statements made last year by Mr. Nils Horjel, Secretary of the Swedish Ministry of Communications, and summarized in MIL, one of the magazines produced by the Swedish vehicle manufacturers, A. B. Scania-Vabis.

In this summary, Mr. Horjel is quoted as referring to the activities of international organizations and meetings such as that of the European Transport Ministers Conference to create co-ordinated traffic systems throughout Europe, and the effect that the new road bridges linking the Danish islands will have on this. The "Belt Bridge ", as it is known, should be ready for use in 1967 or 1968, and this will cross the Little Belt between the island of Funen and the mainland of Jutland. whilst a bridge to cross the Great Belt between Funen and Zealand is planned for completion in 1974/75. In this connection it should also be pointed out that recommendations have been made for a bridge to link Zealand and the Swedish mainland, to be built in the middle of the 1970s.