Launching an Institute for Road Transport Engineers
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Excellent Progress Made Towards the Formation of an Institute. of Road Transport Engineers at a Luncheon conference Attended by Potential Members and Representatives of Many Manufacturers from All Parts of the Country LAST Friday, the Editor of" The commercial Motor" was chairman at a luncheon-conference arranged as the first practical step towards the founding of the proposed Institute of Road Transport Engineers. The function was attended by some 200 potential members, representatives of many vehicle and component manufacturers, members of the Services and of several Ministries, municipal transport engineers and others from various sections of the industry. The proceedings included speeches by all the members of the committee which was elected, and by some of those visitors from the manufacturing interests.
Immediately following is the explanation, given by the chairman, as to the purpose and functions of the proposed body.
MOST of you already know why this luncheon conference is being held. It is quite possible that, in the future, we shall look back upon this meeting as a most.auspicions occasion, as being the first public announcement of-the definite steps that are being taken towards the formation of a new Institute designed to meet the needs of the road-transport engineer and, incidentally, to' serve several other valuable purposes.
Whether the new body meets with full success, and attains that place in the industrk which I visualize for it, will depend almost entirely upon the keenness and 'co-operation of all those who Wish to become members.
At the moment I am practically playing the part of a one-man band, but I hope that, to-day, you will relieve me front that somewhat strenuous pOsitiOn, and
thus possibly prevent me from striking a Wrong note.
The primary object is to form an Institute which will be good for the individual, the induStry, as a whole, both manufacturing and operating, the export trade and the Nation. , We want a body which will conform, in a reasonable manner, with the requirements of this democratic age and, at the same time, attain position and prestige. It should be arranged and controlled by practical men in the interests of practical men and of the work which they carry out, I do not wish, in any way, to decry the value of theoretical training as a foundation for practice. It seems to me, however, that, hitherto, the fleet engineer and those engaged with him in what is , one of the vitally important branches of our great industry have had little opportunity of expressing their views. .
Finest festing Ground forVehicles
You gentlemen who superintend the maintenance of fleets of vehicles are engaged in the final and finest testing ground for any commercial vehicle, component or accessofy. You learn, sometimes by painful experience, more about these products than can anyone else, because you run them, from first to last, over hundreds of thousands of miles, and thus you obtain the knowledge of what is likely to stand up or fail during their useful life. You learn where to look for trouble and how to deal with it, even how long it takes to get to its root—in other. words, the accessibility in terms of
maintenance. • Despite this, many of you are working with virtually sealed lips. You are seldom able to compare notes with your 'fellows in the same field. Yet these may have devised methods and means by which your particular troubles have been overcome or.reduced in importance, or they may know of special tools, appliances or machines which would facilitate and 'speed up your work, and thus reduce the time during which vehicles are out of commission for repair or overhaul.'
If you could ket together more frequently much in this direction could be achieved. If, in addition, you Could meet and discuss such matters with those engaged on the manufacturing side of the industry a dual purpose would be served.
Pooting Practical Knowledge and IdeasThus one of the main objects of the proposed Institute is to promote and encourage something akin to a pooling of knowledge, practical experience and ideas, which should ultimately prove Of the utmost 'value to all con. cerned, by no means excluding the fleet owners.
Now I would like to consider the functions of the proposed Institute as they concern the manufacturers of vehicles, components and accessories._ I am certain that it would not be the wish of the members to become a thorn in. their side. The .main object in this direction wduld be to co-operate in helping them to maintain a pre-eminent 'position in commercial-vehicle design, particularly from the angle of economical maintenance.
This would assist not only the hozne market, but be of considerable value in developing Our markets overseas, where repair facilities and the supply of spare parts may not be so readily available.
Here your extensive knowledge of the hundred-andone problems of maintenance: and of such snags as inaccessibility, lack of standardization, etc., interchanged and co-ordinated, should provide an invaluable source from which the manufacturers could derive considerable benefit.
Associates who.are in the Manufacturing field, instead of having to tackle you individually, could see•You. in a.group or groups and, apart from receiving your views, could ;tell you how the equipment they supply should be treated.
Some ol you may, unwittingly, 'be adopting wrong maintenance methods or procedures which are not recommended. It may be that you are not using the best materials for particular purposes, and here the producers of such items would be able to give .you advice direct, instead of flooding your office with literature, much of which you have no time to read, whilst manufacturers could similarly assist by arranging Lectures and by other means.
Incidentally, vehicle Makers might be placed in a better position to judge what is likely to be a selling proposition or otherwise, for it is often the engineer who has the final word when it comes to buying.
'here is another highly important matter which would come within the purview of the Institute. That is, to. assist in the correct training Of the budding engineer in this sphere. With the continued growth of road trans
port numbers of skilled men will be required, and it should be one of the objects of the Institute to help in meeting this need. At the .same time, this would contribute to the raising of the status of road-transport engineering as an occupation and render the individual
• engineer of greater value to his employer.
do not propose to say too much now regarding the detail organization of the Institute. This imp a matter which should be left to the committee and eventually to the council. It is my personal view, however, that *what I may term the voting membership should be confined to those who may truly be classified as fleet engineers and, Where thought advisable, their chief assistants. This would cover membership and associate membership.
The third form of membership 'might be termed affiliates, covering the grade known in some other bodies as students or graduates.
Then there would be associates, who would be without voting rights, but would otherwise possess the full benefits of membership in the way of attending meetings and participating in discussions.
Members in any grade should, of course, automatically receive copies of any proceedings which may eventually he published.
Support From Many Applicants
It may be as well, at this point, to give an idea as to the support which has, so far, been promised in the way Of, applications fenmembership, These number
nearly 400 and cover some •35,000 vehicles. If theSe vehicles run, on the average, 10,000 miles per year, which number is on the conservative side, this represents a total annual mileage of 350 millions.
would be very surprised if, starting with such a mileage figure, which will no doubt rapidly increase, the members concerned are not able to provide valuable material in the way of papers and discussions,
Apart from affording an opportunity of explaining the objects of the Institute, the main purpose of this meeting is to appoint a committee to prepare the draft memorandum and articles of association for submission to the BOard of Trade, so that a charter may be obtained.
In front of me are 14 gentleman who have been invited, and have agreed, to offer-themselves for election as menibers of this committee. . It may be remarked that all of them reside in the vicinity of London, although manyhavetransport interests which spread far afield, and I must explain that the reason for this is that, in these days of difficult travel and possible further restriction on it; this factor of nearness was considered to be essential. Apart from this they are all practical road-transport engineers.
_ .Committee Put on Its Mettle
A littlelater on I am going to ask each of them tO make a few remarks, at the conclusion of which the voting will take place. I think that authority should also be given to the committee, in their discretion, to co-opt other experienced and useful men, possibly in other areas of the country, to bring the total to 20. , Finally, I would expressly ask those of you who have come from distant areas to convey your impressions of this meeting, which I hope will be favourable, to other road-transport engineers in your home districts. Perhaps those of you who reside in or near such big areas as Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Exeter, and the big centres in Wales, and who would be willing to arrange local meetings, will kindly send me their names at an early date.
"I am now going to call upon Captain J. B. Walton, of S.P.D., Ltd.; to say a few words, ond, at this point, I would Hke to convey to hir . my sincere thanks for the.. help and encouragement Which he has given to me during the development of' this project.