Is Preventive Maintenance Extravagant?
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1S Preventive Maintenance Extravagant?" asked the
. heading of an article by S.T.R., published in "The Commercial Motor on January 7. My answer is "No," but with the qualification that the system should be applied to suit each vehicle and component, and not by means of check cards, as advocated by the author.
It is obviously advisable to find and remedy backlash or noise in the transmission before further damage can be done. It is necessary to adjust brakes before the pedal reaches the floorboards, and when an engine needs attention, this should becOme immediately obvious to the driVer; then it is high time to investigate. .„ .
To dismantle the brake system or tear down engines every,; year} just to look at them seems to be sheer extravagance: know of two concerns in which maintenanee is rim from the office on the regular check systeni.. One operates 10 lorries, and there arc two full-tirne ineataniis and a driver mechanicto service the fleet. The other, with 15. vehicles, requires three inechanicsthree assistants, a clerk and a manager to look after it, although the running in this case is on
asphalt-Paved streets. Nevertheless, the vehicles of each of these two concerns
are quite often seen returning at the end Of-a toW-rcipe... It might be mentioned at this point that we work only 40 hours per week.
Under the same conditions, but without a hard-and-fast schedule, I, with the help of one apprentice, maintain a mixed fleet of 20 lorries, four cars, the machinery of a sawmill and box factory, two traction engines, a tractor and many miscellaneous items, such as firewood saws, bushrnen's tackle and lime sowers.
All heavy vehicles here must have a certificate. of . Illness issued every six months by the Transport Department. Government inspectors check the items referred to on a special card, which is fairly comprehensive, and they draw no distinction between a vehicle that has covered nearly 1,000,000 miles and is ending its days. carting timber in the yard and a new model used on long-distance furniture removals.
Where the office-organized maintenance plan fails is in the difference between vehicles. To promote standardization, we bought four of the latest lorries, intending to replace the whole fleet with vehicles of the same make Within 1,000 miles the rear-rake mechanism became wet, and froze solid. Under 5,000 miles, the rear-hub studs loosened and had to be refitted_ At 10,000 miles the engines needed new piston rings and rear oil scats. At 20,000 there was 0.015 in. wear in. the cylinders, the crankshafts needed regrinding and a complete set of new bearings was required. All exhaustvalve seats had star-cracked and inserts had to be fitted. These are only some of the items that required attention.
Fortunately, most of our vehicles are of 1934-36 vintage, and although they have achieved an average of 100,000 miles each, they need much less attention than the new models. One, a six-wheeler carrying timber, was overhauled three years ago at 100,000 miles, and although it is rated to carry only 74 tons, it is usually treated as a 10-tonner and run in places fitted Only for mountain goats.
S.T.R. does not seetrk to share my faith in drivers'
reports. do not always. accept the diagnosis of a driver as being strictly correct, but it does pay to listen
to it. When a man has been driving the same vehicle day. after day, his ear becomes attuned to every sound, and when there is any unusual noise or vibration, he should be encouraged to repOrt it. . There may be only a loose mudguard or 'a bolt holding the silencer, but to tighten it will be a matter of minutes, and will save much time later. That, in my opinion, is good preventive• maintenance.
I always consider that it pays to keep the same driver on a vehicle. He then takes more interest in it, gets to know its pecularities and how to look after it. The continual changing of drivers always spells trouble, and then, perhaps, the only way out is to adopt S.T.R.'s plan for preventive maintenance. E. MIDDLETON, Timaru, New Zealand. M.I.R.T.E.
AN EFFECT OF NATIONALIZATION IN describing your leading article "Again That Blessed I Word," published in your issue dated June 17, as brave, honest and timely, I am but echoing what must be the feelings of many. Were it possible to say as much for the Road Haulage Association, how much happier should we feel about the future. The trouble is that no one at Roadway House appears io have heard of what happened to the young lady of Riga.
Some few months ago, an ownerdriver applied for another vehicle on his B licence, and for this only one condition was sought. He wanted to distribute parcels for a well-known forwarding organization and had, been offered its agency, because the present agent was giving up business.
The-organization assured him of its support when the application was due to be considered. Regretfully, this promise was 'withdrawn at the last moment because of the decree of a controlling authority, that had become part of the network of nationalization, that no outside help for the work should be sought.
The application had to be withdrawn and the vehicle
laid aside. That its operation would have found employment for the ex-Service son of.the applicant is, of course, a matter of small concern except. to those personally interested or M. a similar plight. • '
Is there such a person as a free and independent haulier in this country? Not if his employees are members of a Union, for then we are unaware of who is the master and who is the man. Not if he wishes to enter docks and goods yards without let or hindrance. Not if he seeks to visit many gravel pits, and even rubbish dumps, without paying a premium for the privilege!
Unless there be powerful intervention in the immediate future, the free and_ independent haulier will cease to exist and, among the followers to his grave will be the C-licensee, who will be wondering who is the next to go..
We must not lose sight of the fact that no official assurance of immunity against interference has been given to even the C-licensee. The most powerful intervention I can think of is public opinion, and the sooner this is invoked, the better. Your leader deserves wider publicity. • E. H. B. PALMER.
London, S.W.11.