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road and
Page 73
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workshop by Handyman
Bench wise: reducing downtime
PROBABLY the safest approach in the search for reduced downtime is to use time-saving tools and to place modern equipment containing grease, coolant, oils, etc, handy to the repairers' hands. But certain other speed-up methods are suspect.
Many public garages which carry out light commercial repairs have fixed rates for set tasks, which, of course. include a time factor. While on straightforward jobs practice can make perfect or nearly so, the position alters consider* when snags are met—a seized part, broken stud, etc. The danger lies in that where a scheduled number of serviced vehicles are required for each shift, this flow is interrupted when the service mechanic comes across an unscheduled repair. If time saved means a bonus payment there is a risk that each finished vehicle may not be scrutinized too closely, or that the method of repair used on the unscheduled finding may not be a sound one.
For a long time now we have been searching for some reliable scheme to hasten the heavier side of vehicle overhaul. It has always been too easy to strip a vehicle down, and then have it waiting around for weeks because hidden conditions of wear could not be determined beforehand; most schemes failed simply because men were dealing with almost unknown wear conditions and rarely would two similar jobs follow a reliable pattern.
Ratefixer One method tried out by a large factory with its own tanker fleet was to employ a skilled ratefixer or assessor who would examine, for instance the twin rear bogie of a large vehicle. From its recent past history, mileage and condition, he would decide how long the bogie would take to be overhauled and whether a two or three-man team was required. He would then offer a good bonus payment for every hour the team could carve off his estimate.
This method appeared to work well for a time; then the ratefixer found that after all the hard work he put in his take-home pay was regularly less than that of members of the teams. From then on his interest waned, and any tightening of time factors soon began to produce more unscheduled failures because repair risks were taken.
Whereas standard servicing duties can be programmed for the introduction of an incentive scheme, when it comes to dealing with more complex repair there has to be provision made to cover the unexpected problem that can consume additional time, otherwise rushed tactics may be employed in order to hit the hours target.
Short cuts Quite often mechanics think out their own short cuts when fighting the clock, and while many of these tricks of the trade are reliable time-savers, others can .sow the seeds for later trouble.
This week's photo shows a pair of wrecked brake shoes and a new split and useless brake drum; the mechanic was also faced by a scarred axle tube and collapsed bearings. The vehicle had failed on its first trip following brake overhaul; a save-time incentive scheme had been in operation and it was discovered later that the twin road wheels had not been removed from the hub, as the whole assembly had been drawn off in one piece. But in refitting this weighty mass, the hub seal had been torn apart unseen, the hub lubricant escaped through the back-plate drain and collapsed bearings did the rest.
The argument was that 30 minutes could be knocked 'off the job time if the removal and refitting of the twin road wheels was avoided. This is one point of view, but a better argument could now be put up in favour of purchasing an air impact wrench and then scrubbing the incentive scheme.
Incorrect method of assembly during a major brake overhaul brought the vehicle back with collapsed hub bearings that led to severe brake damage as shown.