Recording . Tyre Expenses I AM frequently asked to describe means whereby
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the actual cost of the use of tyres can be recorded. There are several ways of dealing with this problem and alt. of them seem difficult and Complicated at first sight. Actually, none is really so, nor does it take Anuch time to keep the records up to date. The complication is mainly confined to the first steps in preparing for the collection. and en,try of
the appropriate figures. . . . . .. , . . .
The first method I shall describe calls for the provision of an analysis sheet or card; ruled in accordance with Table I. . This procedure is, I believe, in use in the U.S.A. and I have modified the figures a'nd tides to bring it into line With British practice. This methbd does not merely jmovide • ';. information as to the total cost of tyres in eonnection"with a particular vehicle, but also indicates the cost per. mile of the individual tyres, noting the liosition, make and expense. ) -Whenever .I describe. a method of recording operating costs I use two columns, one under the heading of .'_Estimated Costs," the other " Actual Costs" ' Under " Estimated Costs" I recommend that . there should be entered the amount calculated by multiplying the estimated figure for cost per mile by the number of miles covered in the -week.ThitS, if the estitnated.cost per mile is taken
,from " The.Commercial Motor" Tables of Operating Costs, and if the vehicle Is a 7-8-tonner, the tyre cost is quoted as 2.13d. per mile. If the vehicle has run 480 miles in the week, the total cost, during the week is 480 times 2.13d., which is approximately £4 5s.. .. , Cost Per Mile Under "Actual Costs," I recommend that first of all there should be entered the net cost of a set of tyres, excluding the spare, and that subsequent expenditure, such as acquiring new tyres or new inner tubes, should be recorded as and when the expense is incurred. In that way the operator can build up a figure which, divided by the number of miles run, will give the actual cost per mile.
The first of the forms which accompany this article, Table I, affords a good deal of information which, could ''' be acquired in no other way, having in mind that there is a great difference in the rates at which tyres wear. Even if the operator does not consider it necessary for him to compile that information, this form fcir recording costs is desirable. Otherwise he might, for example, be setting off the mileage covered by make A, the inner one of twins on the near side rear wheel, with a tyre manufactured by B and placed as the outer one of twins on the off side rear
A36 wheel, where the latter would not be subject to so much abrasion.
The form looks complicated, and on that ground I should refrain from recommending it except to in operator who is determined to compare, Over fairI}i long periods, the merits of. different makes of tyre. The form .complies with Atte principle that I have laid down as essential, namely:that records must relate to individual vehicles. Along the top provision is madelof a reference—to the vehicle with some information as to its capacity and the size -of tyrcs normally fitted.
Tyre Details ; Turning nowto the 'details for entry, the serial number
of .the tyre is placed on the first line. This is usually marked on the cover by the minufactaker. If this:is not the case, the operator will have to brand the tyre accordingly , The second line, "Location," refers to the position of the tyre on the :vehicle. The line " Size ", is provided in case the operator experiments withtyres of a size differing
from normal. •
The line " FrOm " is provided so that reference can be made to tyres removed from spare wheels or in special circumstances of that kind.. The ".Order " is the operator's own number under which he ordered the tyre in the first place. "Mileage when applied" is for use when a tyre which has already seen service is put on to the vehicle. "Elapsed Mileage "•giVes the mileage covered by the tyre While in the 'Position quoted on this vehicle." Cost of Repair" is obvious. It may occasionally include the provision of a new tube. "Disposition "indicates the method of disposal of the tyre. It may have been scrapped or put back into stores for further use br.retreaded....
Then comes "Cost to date," which will include the original cost of the tyre, plus the cost of any repair.• Then there are' spaces for `f Total cost,e ' Total Mileage" and "Cost per mile," the meanings of Which are obvious. The first tyre which is placed on the off side front wheel was new when brought into use in October, 1948. It was taken from stock, having been ordered originally under -order No. 562. It cost £38, and the speedometer reading at the time of its application was 5,681 miles.
The second tyre, No. 12876, fitted to the off side rear wheel in the inner position, was actually the spare, and at the time of it being fitted to the vehicle had already covered 6,285 miles, as is shown in the appropriate column of the form. The third one on the list, No. 9862, applied to. the near side rear wheel in the outer position, was taken from stock, but had already run 28,762 miles. It had been repaired at the cost of £3 75. 6d. it was put into position on November 10, 1948, the speedometer reading being 6,820 miles at that time. It was removed on February 26, 1949, the speedometer reading being 10,256 miles. The "Elapsed Mileage," which is the difference between the two speedometer readings, is 3,436. That tyre was scrapped and its cost to date, and also actual total cost, was £41 7s. 6d. The total mileage was 32,198 and the cost per mile works out to 0.308d.
have mentioned that the form and method is American. It is quite a good method, but appears to make it requisite for the operator to take care that the Wear of tyres, if-they have been taken off, be debited to the particular vehicle. Few operators can take that trouble. Any fleet owner having a number of vehicles using the same size of tyre must inevitably prefer changing tyres about from one vehicle to another. If, for example, one of the lorries returns home having had a puncture on the road and has• used the spare wheel, the operator will want to take that Lyre off the spare wheel and replace it with another taken from the stores. In that way the puncture can be mended
at any time and the tyre put back into the stores for use when the next incident of this kind occurs.
It was the fact that tyres are changed about from vehicle to vehicle which made me try and find a suitable method of keeping track of the costs. In considering an alternative system, it should be appreciated that the total number of tyres on a vehicle may be five, seven, 11, 15 or 17. Of these, one is the spare which may become, for a time, the substitute for any of the others; that which is replaced becoming, for the corresponding period, the spare. That makes for complication, even when tyres are confined to a particular vehicle. The fact that there is a spare tyre involves the haulier in making provision, from time to time, for checking the mileage of tyres which have been out of use.
A method which may be recommended is that indicated in Tables II, III and IV. In this system, each tyre has its own record. It is quite satisfactory. The record shows the cost and life of a particular tyre and, after a time, when a set of tyres has been replaced, it is possible by totalling the life of four of the tyres to ascertain the average expense per mile.
Referring to Table II, the tyre to which these records refer was fitted on July 3, 1947, on the front off side wheel. The speedometer reading at the time was 2,312 miles and the tyre was not removed until December 28, 1947, when the speedometer reading was 24,657 miles. The elapsed mile age is 22,345. That tyre was removed to be retreaded and, on February 2, 1948, was replaced on the front near side wheel, the speedometer reading being 28,265 miles. It ran until May 8, 1948, the speedometer reading then being 40,172, and the elapsed mileage 11,907. That tyre was then scrapped. The total mileage covered is found by adding the figures in the penultimate column, 34,252 miles.
The initial cost of the tyre was 138. It cost £12 6s. in repairs so that altogether the expenditure involved is £50 6s. and the cost per mile 0.352d.
The data given in Tables III and IV will be understood from what has been said about Table II. It is interesting to note that the tyre referred to in Table 111 was one of the originals. The speedometer reading is therefore 0 when it
was fitted and 2,312 when it was first removed. It is obviously the tyre which was replaced by that already referred to in Table H.
In Table IV details are given of a tyre which has suffered rather more than those in Tables H and III. It has been put on and taken off several times before being finally scrapped, after having run 55,766 miles.
The objection to this method is, of course, that it requires as many forms or catds as there are tyres on a vehicle. Table V shows an alternative method which does not take into consideration the position of the tyres or their removal. It therefore provides information which is incomplete inasmuch, as it does not give any indication as to the tendency of any particular tyre to wear more rapidly than another. It nevertheless gives the essential information as to costs.
The figures in this table, it will be noted, tally more or less with those given on the other scheme of tyre records. Allowance is made so soon as the vehicle is put into commission for the cost of a complete set of tyres. The costs of renewals and repairs are entered as and when they occur and the cost per mile can easily be ascertained. In this case I have taken out a figure for cost on .February 2, 1949, deliberately omitting from the total the item £38 for a new
cover on that date. S.T.R. •