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i Owlicence protection s
Page 73
Page 74
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time-consuming
A MANAGER WITHOUT VEHICLES CAN GET ON WITH THE JOB OF DISTRIBUTION
By lain Sherriff
Pictures by Dick Ross PROTECTING the operator's licence must be a prime consideration for transport managers who operate vehicles, whether for own-account or hire and reward haulage companies. The effects of Section 69 of the Transport Act 1968 which gives the LA the power to revoke, curtail or suspend a licence inevitably influence all other considerations, But Mr G. A. Miles, transport manager of Ruberoid Building Products Ltd, a subsidiary of Ruberoid Ltd, does not have this burden. "I am fortunate in being a transport manager who doesn't have to make the protection of an operator's licence his first consideration. There are plenty of good haulage contractors about. It is just a case of picking the right one, striking a bargain, and getting on with the job."
To Alf Miles "getting on with the job" means ensuring delivery of customers' orders within 72 hours of receipt and in the most economical way.
To do this he moves nearly 3000 tons of materials each week on hired transport at a cost of about £5 per ton and with a loss-in-transit figure of less than 1 per cent.
With the exception of 650 tons of coal which goes into the plant each week, all his traffic moves by road. Until 1939,90 per cent of it moved by rail and would have done so again after the war but, according to Mr Miles, "the nationalization of the private railway companies was accompanied by an astronomical increase in loss and damage." Today the company's building products, which include roofing tiles and felt, wall cladding, rainwater and soil systems, asbestos, damp course and a multitude of other accessories used in the building industry, are distributed to retail shops, factors and building sites on 30 hired vehicles, only a few of which exceed 16 tons gvw.
Opposite-end contracting Ruberoid's goods are back-load traffic: instead of adopting the traditional method of approaching operators close to the factory, Mr Miles has gone to the delivery point and found operators who carry goods into London and require to be back-loaded. By using this method, he says, he enjoys very economic rates. In some cases the operators are delivering raw material to Ruberoid's Enfield plant. For example, Grey Motors Ltd, of Bethesda, North Wales, runs in slate powder and takes away finished products. Reece Blatchford of Exeter carries granules from the West Country and distributes Ruberoid's finished products in Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Other operators carry general cargo into London and then collect Ruberoid's traffic for the return leg.
Before a contract is signed, hauliers must guarantee to provide sided lorries, be prepared to accept multi-drop loads and to complete delivery within 72 hours without transhipping any part of the consignment.
These exacting conditions seem no deterrent to haulage contractors, since Mr Miles has little difficulty in finding quality operators. I had expected to find BRS group vehicles featuring strongly in the list of contactors but only Scottish Road Services, apparently, operates vehicles with side capes. Ruberoid's oldest contractor is T. Watt & Sons Ltd, who have been engaged by the company since 1920.
There are sound reasons for the three stipulations in the Ruberoid agreement. Sided vehicles are essential because the load generally consists of rolls of material and on a flat vehicle there would be danger of spillage. Vans cannot conveniently be used because of the multi-drop nature of the loads, which requires the driver to have all-round access to the body.
The guarantee that the haulier will accept multi-drop loads is essential since most of Ruberoid's traffic is consigned to building sites, large factors and retail outlets, none of whom makes a practice of accepting 10-ton consignments. Small lots are not generally considered by haulage contractors to be the most desirable traffic.
The third stipulation — that the load shall be delivered within 72 hours of its despatch from Enfield without transhipping — has a two-fold purpose. Very few of the delivery points have sufficient storage space to allow them to stockpile and they only re-order when there is an immediate requirement for the goods. The second reason is that transhipping means double handling, and double handling exposes the goods to pilferage and damage.
Rates are negotiated with each operator. Mr Miles points out that local circUrnstances must be a consideration in rate negotiation. He says that whereas a wide spread of outlets might demand a time rate, a tonnage rate might apply where there is a heavy concentration of outlets.
Every type of rate compilation is used at Ruberoid and the final figure might apply to the ton, hour, cube, or number of drops.
Although Ruberoid does not have to consider the protection of an operator's licence of its own, Mr Miles is aware of the implications of aiding and abetting those who are not properly licensed or insured. The gateman on the weighbridge at Enfield is instructed to examine the operator's licence disc on every vehicle entering the premises. He also has a note of the unladen weight of every vehicle likely to be used by the contracted hauliers. Mr Miles requires to see the company's insurance before the contractor is employed.
The gateman's examination is the first step in Ruberoid's security system. When the vehicle passes over the weighbridge the driver is issued with a ticket showing the unladen weight. Those who are delivering goods and then picking up a back load return to weigh when empty before re-loading. When the vehicle .has been loaded the driver is issued with a docket showing the approximate weight of the load. This docket is issued at the loading point, the vehicle is then re-weighed at the weighbridge and when the unladen weight is deducted from the laden weight the balance must come within 5 per cent of the estimated weight or the load is returned to the dispatch department for checking.
Five dispatch clerks are constantly compiling loading documents into consignments. Loading orders are first produced at the data processing department, they pass through stock control and thereafter arrive at the chief dispatch clerk who sorts them into areas of the country and passes them to the appropriate area clerk for load compilation. The clerks use estimated weights, and loads generally work out at about eight to 10 tons.
When the paperwork indicates that the 10-ton mark is approaching, the dispatch clerk contacts the approved carrier for the area and passes collection instructions. No matter how small it is, a consignment must be dealt with within 48 hours of the customer placing the order. Should there by any possibility of this deadline not being met the matter is referred to Mr Miles for emergency action.
In addition to the weighbridge check there is a daily report sheet showing the name of the carrier and driver, the vehicle number, the destination and weight of the consignment and the name of the loading gang which handled the vehicle. This report provides management with a control document which can assist them to trace a roll of roofing felt all the way from the stockholding area to the customer. Ruberoid believes that the high standard of service and security which it has achieved has been possible because the staff is not concerned with the day-today adminstration of a transport fleet. "We concentrate all our endeavours on ensuring that our products are delivered to the customer on time and in good condition."
Good relations The relationship between Ruberoid's transport department and all the other departments is a rare one. Transport is not the traditional industrial cinderalla but is treated as an equal. Mr Miles is given regular opportunities to address sales conferences run by the company. On these occasions he advises his salesmen colleagues how they can help contain transport costs. At one recent conference he suggested that salesmen should make a point of persuading their customers never to refuse to accept goods once the vehicle had arrived at the discharge point, always to assist the driver in discharging the load and to ensure that storage areas, however small, were always accessible.
With a cargo that has a low market value, containing the transport cost is high on the company's list of priorities but Ruberoid's transport department finds time to fulfil other functions. It deals with the disposal of all waste products, and shipping consignments to Eire and Ulster, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides. It handles transit claims and in addition makes the travel arrangements for company executives.