Pattern for Labour Management
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By Ashley Taylor
A.M.I.R.T.E. Assoc. Inst. T. THE deeper implications of the recruitment and retention of labour occupied delegates to the Institute of Public Cleansing's 64th Conference for much of their opening day. Aspects of maintaining satisfactory records then came in for attention and later in the week the economics of waste paper recovery were thoroughly ventilated. At the present time it was for many employers something of a challenge to secure applicants for unskilled jobs, still more to infuse a labour force with genuine loyalty and a will to work, said Mr. R. R. Hopkins, personnel and welfare manager, Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., on Tuesday. The first necessity was to create for an undertaking a reasonable public "image "—to be talked about, not as a place where conditions were "tough" or the atmosphere. was "sour," but rather as one where even if the work was not intrinsically congenial or attractive, people were decent, attitudes fair and relationships civilized. Attitudes and relationships frequently arose out of service conditions or management policies, and nothing was more likely to create a good " image" than the fact that employment in an undertaking was reasonably secure and contin uous. Job security was not the only material factor of consequence. Whilst the basic wage might be virtually fixed by some pattern of bargaining outside the undertaking, other more flexible employment benefits, such as sick pay, holidays, pension arrangements,' catering or other social services, 'could have a significant impact.
Value of Publicity In this context, it was not good enough for the management of the undertaking merely to try and "do the decent thing" —news of such an endeavotir might inake its way slowly round the grapevine of public awareness, but it was usually necessary to make these service conditions and benefits known in Press and print, They should el:insider the constant stream of propaganda maintaintamed by the Armed Forces, Police, British Railways and the Post Office, to say nothing of large public companies, to ensure that people knew about the opportunities they provided, not least for unskilled applicants. Some of this kind of advertising was, in Mr. Hopkins' view, too highly coloured. But that was no reason for going to the other extreme and feeling that there was no point in doing anything at all. • It was all too easy to assume that everyone wanted to work at high levels of pay and status. Whilst this might be true of many it was manifestly an oversimplified idea when one considered that high levels of pay were gene associated with (a) high levels of or experience, or (b) submission external controls or stimuli which w not appeal to everyone, i.e., time motion study, conveyor lines and pro tion schedules. There were plenty people who lacked the temperament this kind of work and most of t recognized it. Even companies with a low rat labour turnover found that the bull their wastage occurred amongst employees with short service. [The "survival rate" amongst those Who stayed six months or one year was usually much more satisfactory. It was therefore of importance to concentrate on employees during their first few wicks. ally kill to uld and ticof for em
of of employer appeared to
Not every consider it necessary or worth while to provide the new starter with a planned introduction to his job: the organizaion, people he would work with, regulat1 ons and special facilities. But, if it was hoped to retain the employee for not merely weeks and months, but years, it was surely a good investment to spend a few hours, or even days, putting him in the picture.
Group System Problems Systems of payment-by-results could only work effectively and smoothly if groups were small, compact and stable; the members well-matched and engaged on the same type of work; the form of payment simple and understood by the employees, that there were no anomalies in rates and standards; variations in the quality and flow of any materials used were reduced to a minimum; that a reasonable bonus could be earned, and there was an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding. Because these formidable prerequisites were often too rashly overlooked, many systems of payment-by-results produced dissatisfaction and disputes instead of industrial peace. Conversely, said Mr. Hopkins, he was associated with a company which six years ago abandoned a system of group bonus (which had been in operation for two or three decades) in favour of a straight time-rate structure which provided a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, There had never been any reason to regret this change, which was brought about in large measure by technical factors and not new ideas about human motivation. Whilst the weekly pay packet might be the primary object of employee concern and interest, the time had come when many ordinary working folk were pre pared to look a little further—at sick pay arrangements, accident insurance, medical and welfare services. Such provisions did not of necessity have to be made at no cost to the employee, British people were " security-minded " and would often be found ready to contribute to group schemes. It seemed possible that in services such as public cleansing fewer day-to-day labour crises would occur than on the factory floor of a company engaged in integrated production. Supervisors and foremen could not be over-schooled in the need to deal quickly, patiently and reasonably with representations made by workpeople. The "off-the-cuff" display of summary justice or authority which passed for first-line management in some instances was about as strong a dis-incenfive to loyalty and continued service as could be found anywhere.
Statistical Control of Refuse Collection
E'OR the day-to-day control of refuse
collection it was essential to have some method of recording the amount of work done by each squad of refuse collectors to. ensure that all premises were cleared at regular intervals, said Mr. R. Henderson, chief clerk, Public Cleansing Department, Glasgow, who dealt with the records required for costing and statistical purposes. The method of achieving control would, of course, depend on the system of collection in operation and a simple chart on which the progress of each team could be recorded might be suitable. Statistics relating to refuse collection were probably most easily obtained from a combination of standing records of the number of premises and bins on each round with the employees' time sheets, vehicle log sheets and the material received or weighbridge log sheet. By the combination of these records the number of bins or the 'weight of refuse per man day or vehicle day could be calculated. If incentive bonus schemes were operated it would be necessary to compare the weight output per man with the number of bins cleared in order to evaluate the work of employees. Where separate collections of salvage were made simple records of calls should be kept, together with returns of weights collected in each area. Next to labour, the most important factor in cleansing costs was transport and the annual expenditure on this item justified constant examination of -statistics. As the major part of the cost of operating transport was incurred in having the vehicles available for service, it followed that the greatest scope for economy was in making the most effective use of
them. Adequate statistical and costing data must therefore be available to the person responsible for the operation and standards should be prepared for comparison with actual performance to gauge the efficiency-being achieved.
The most suitable medium for the provision of the necessary data was the log sheet which should represent a complete record of the vehicles' journeys. The number of loaders might also be included.
The log sheets, while designed primarily for refuse-collection vehicles, were also suitable for trucks or special vehicles engaged on bulk transport to tips, but a different form of log sheet was necessary for the collection of statistics relating to mechanical street sweepercollectors, gully emptiers and pedestriancontrolled vehicles. Time, weight and mileage were common to all, but sweeper-collector miles must be allocated in order to show mileage actually swept as well as total mileage. Where scarifying brushes could be operated independently of the main brushes, a further division of mileage was necessary. Obviously this information was essential not only to ascertain brush life but to show the amount of "dead mileage," the reduction of which increased the effective use and the the efficiency of the vehicle.
With the simple gully emptier the number of gullies emptied was the main unit, apart from the others mentioned, but if washing equipment was incorporated provision must be made for recording the hours spent, mileage run and water consumed on this work. Travelling mileage must also be distinguished from sweeping mileage in the case of pedestrian-controlled vehicles engaged on street cleaning.
Sharing Transport Costs
Transport formed an important item in collection and disposal costs, and, in making comparisons between different authorities, transport costs should be related to the methods of disposal and the variation in the length of haul to the disposal point. The usual practice was for refhse collection to hear the cost of transport to the disposal point which meant that where disposal was effected by controlled tipping no transport charge was applied to disposal unless transfer stations were involved. In the latter case transport from the transfer station would be charged to disposal and if the method of disposal was separation and incineration the cost of conveying the residue from the works to the tip would be a disposal charge. There would therefore appear to be some justification for the suggestion that separate transport costs should be shown in statistics in respect of refuse collection and disposal. The only practical method of achieving • this would be to regard disposal as commencing when the loading of the vehicle was completed.
Satisfaction at work probably depended on the sense of esteem, confidence and respect an employee had for himself and for others.
Economics of Waste Paper Recovery
OUTSIDE rural or predominantly residential areas the salvage arising from industrial and commercial premises was normally of sufficient quantity to justify a separate collection, said Mr. D. W. Jackson, Superintendent of Public Cleansing, Sunderland, discussing the Economics of Waste Paper Recovery. Various types of vehicle had been successfully used for this work, ranging from small vans to large pantechnicons, in some cases fitted with moving floors for easy discharge.
As collections of this type were normally carried out in busy areas it became difficult to decide the optimum size of vehicle which could be handled or parked under these conditions and still obtain an economical load. Several authorities had solved this problem by using articulated outfits which combined manoeuvrability with large capacity and the added advantage that a loaded semi-trailer could be left t the handling point for emptying as and when convenient, the tractor picking up an empty semi-trailer and resuming collection with the minimum of delay.
Waste collected from industrial sources was subject to many variables, among them company policy as to sale of salvage and the activities of waste paper merchants. By careful attention to detail and by personal contact with any business or trade premises with a reasonable salvage potential, it would often be found possible to offer a salvage collection service tailored to suit the needs of the customer. If any authority could guarantee a collection at the trader's convenience and show him that, by keeping his salvage separate, he could reduce charges, keep his storage area clear and lower his fire risks, he would often find this a more attractive proposition than the price offered for his salvage by waste paper merchants whose collections tended to be more erratic.
Information supplied by a considerable number of authorities regarding properly organized collections indicated that between 21 and 31 tons could be collected by a vehicle, driver and one man each day at costs in the region of £4 per ton.
Costs for Collection Apart from arrangements now frequently being made for collection from multi-storey flats, where provision for storage of salvage existed, separate domestic collections were the exception rather than the rule. In 1960-61 the East Ham collection totalled 5,258 tons, of which paper accounted for 2,615 tons, at the cost of /19,820 for labour and transport, approximately £.3 16s. per ton, excluding any charges for sacks supplied to householders. As these appeared to vary between 2s. and 9s. per ton of paper collected, it would be reasonable to say that the East Ham cast was in the region of £4 per ton for a kerbside collection.
Bristol with a collection rate of no less
than 55 cwt. per 1,000 per month, deserved special mention. They had 16 vehicles, with alloy-framed bodies of 18 cwt. capacity, manned by a.driver and youth. Each collected paper from domestic, commercial and industrial premises in their designated rounds. dealing with the staggering figure of 9,000 premises per vehicle per week, this allowing for additional visits where a onceweekly collection proved inadequate.
Each vehicle averaged four or five loads per day at 15 cwt per load, giving a total weekly collection of around 300 tons, of which approximately 210 tons came from a domestic kerbside collection from over 90% . of all domestic properties. Over 14,000 tons were collected in 1960-61 at a cost per ton of .£3 3s. 7d.
Two Distinct Services
Where kerbside collections were not in operation a different picture unfolded. Probably one of the few authorities operating a separate salvage collection other than kerbside was Stoke-on-Trent. Here there were two distinct services, one for refuse collection and one for salvage collection, each house being visited on alternate weeks for refuse or salvage. Salvage collection included waste paper, textiles, tins, and bottles, the householders being provided on request with an additional bin for salvage. Collection and processing costs were stated to outweigh the revenue produced although there was a weekly output of waste paper of 130 tons.
For general refuse and salvage collection large bags suspended from frames had found favour with many authorities. For side loaders, the best answer appeared to lie in the use of properly designed salvage trailers.
Small Trailers There was no difficulty in obtaining trailers with capacities of 4 to 5 cu. yd. with unladen weights in the region of 6-7 cwt. They could easily be manoeuvred by one man, even when loaded with between 3 cwt. and 5 cwt. of paper and cardboard. Trailers had the added advantage of flexibility, particularly where relay vehicle working was in operation, they were tidy and could provide ample capacity by an exchange system where the amount of salvage justified this operation_
In some quarters, the use of trailers was claimed to result in loss of output by collectors and collection costs from £1 10s. to £3 per ton were quoted. In other authorities, particularly where salvage bonus schemes were in operation, there had been no reduction in number of premises cleared per day. The costs in such cases, including the known factors given above plus the salvage bonus, produced collection figures in the region or 12 per ton.
In two authorities where costs had been carefully investigated, Burnley and Sunderland, the actual figures including salvage bonus amounted to 12 Os. 6d. and ". 2s. 8d. respectively.