Public transport maintenance
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control by John Hillier
MAINTENANCE activities are perhaps the most difficult to apply work measurement to and consequently they receive the least attention. But maintenance work can be measured and controlled just as other functions can and its effectiveness can be improved in a systematic way.
In a public transport company the two major responsibilities for the maintenance department are vehicle availability, and vehicle safety and reliability.
The increased demand for high levels of performance, reliability and safety standards, coupled with the explosive growth in traffic congestion, places an increasingly complex workload and responsibility on the maintenance personnel.
In the central workshops and depots of the Yorkshire Woollen District Transport Co Ltd, and Hebble Motor Services Ltd, who provide local services for the whole of the West Riding of Yorkshire and long-distance coach services throughout the United Kingdom, management were faced with these problems.
, The central workshops at YWDT were converted tram sheds affording few facilities for efficient maintenance of buses. Before attempting to introduce modern productivity techniques in the maintenance department it was clear that it would be necessary to plan the re-organization and modernization of these workshops within the existing building in order to improve methods and introduce proper work flow.
Subsequently, a programme of modernization commenced in 1969.
An open plan unit assembly area for engines, gearboxes, axles, electrical components and fuel injection equipment, with a centrally positioned unit stripping and cleaning bay utilizing a fully automatic spray wash., was provided, together with a sunken workshop with 12 specially designed pits to give free access to under-floor and rear engines and permitting the maintenance of all types of chassis.
Maintenance measurement With modernization and method studies complete, the next step was to improve productivity and raise throughput and earnings, and in early 1970, after considerable research had been undertaken into the various techniques available for measuring maintenance, feasibility studies were carried out by a number of management consultants. Two of the main points which YWDT were looking for were flexibility to suit bus maintenance and the time involved to introduce the scheme.
H. B. Maynard and Co Ltd, was appointed to install universal maintenance standards (UMS) into the YWDT and Hebble workshops •at Dewsbury and the depots at Halifax, Heckmondwike, Liversedge and Dewsbury, to cover at that time a total of 270 employees and a fleet of• 330 vehicles.
During this period, meetings were held by the works committee which included representatives from each depot and one from the Department of Employment and Productivity who advised on • the introduction of incentive schemes.
Following the decision to appoint H. B. Maynard to install UMS an interim agreement was reached with the unions in April 1970 and the programme commenced in May 1970.
The initial objectives of the programme were to: Select, train and guide YWDT personnel in the development and installation of the UMS programme based on consistent, practical and statistically accurate time standards, so that this group could maintain the programme and extend it when the consulting phase was completed.
Develop and implement an incentive scheme which would be acceptable to management and the workers, which would give increased earnings commensurate with measurable increases in output.
Develop a "work order" system which would provide adequate job instructions, reliable feed-back data, engineering and maintenance cost information and a basis for planning the work in each workshop. Organize systematic planning and control of the work in the workshops and depots. Extend, analyse, and, where possible, improve preventive maintenance procedures. At the specific request of the client, to give particular attention to the engineering stores so that it would contribute by giving a reliable service.
The installation of the UMS scheme was managed by a steering committee comprising the general manager, chief engineer, YWDT's and Hebble's secretaries, chief work study officer, and the H. B. Maynard consultant and consulting manager. Regular meetings were held to review progress and implement decisions.
A team of 10 applicators, who were selected from the skilled men in the maintenance department, formed the work measurement team, headed by the chief work study officer as team leader. The team was trained by H. B. Maynard in M-TM (Methods-Time Measurement) and UMS over a period of six weeks and developed the work measurement standards (bench marks) necessary for the final installation.. At the end of the consulting phase these applicators had sufficient knowledge and experience to extend this work by themselves.
Representative join
Maintenance work by nature is non-repetitive, even the same job being done at different times will vary and it is impractical and costly to study all the various jobs which can occur in a maintenance department.
The principle of the UMS scheme is to select a number of representative jobs in each craft category for detailed study and analysis. These studies are called bench marks and are used as a basis for comparison when determining standard times.
These bench marks are analysed in detail, work element by work element, and M-TM time units are applied to build up the total time. Stopwatches are not used; jobs are observed and recorded in detail as they are carried out and subsequent analysis and time application is completed in the office.
Allowances are given for travelling to jobs, job preparation, clean-up times, etc. The bench marks are later transferred to special spread sheets (see diagram 1), which are arranged according to craft areas so that the applicator, when applying times, can locate the benchmark he needs.
The bench marks are placed into appropriate work groups which become the issued time when the job occurs, ie any job calculated at between 54 and 64 hours would be issued at 6 hours, as shown in diagram 2.
As workers are paid under group bonus, the large number of allowed times level out and the time group concept simplifies understanding and practical application of the scheme.
Every job is documented, work request and work order systems having been introduced for the issue of job instructions. Allowed times are issued at non-incentive performance rate of 75 (normal day work rating on the British Standards Institute scale). If the work is carried out at or below this level it attracts zero bonus, but at 100BSI (incentive work rating) attracts one-third of the hourly rate as bonus. Per formanca at other levels attract a proportionate bonus. In practice, bonus earnings vary according to skill and effort but will average in the region of 20 per cent.
Control reports Control reports are installed which enable the chief engineer to assess (diagram 3) the performance, diagram 4 standard coverage, diagram 5 costs, work backlog, and diagram 6 distribution of work in various sections; these reports also enable him to analyse delays and their causes. Foremen are in no doubt where their men are, what they are doing and how long it should take them to do it. Labour costs can be kept closely in line with budgeted costs.
Routine and preventive maintenance is established on a planned and scheduled basis.
A detailed analysis of cleaning procedures was made and formed the basis for: • Synthesis of time allowances for the full range of cleaning operations.
O Considerable improvement in control, organization and supervision of work.
O A better standard of cleaning.
O An improvement in methods and equipment.
For the bonus scheme at YWDT men are grouped by location and trades, and 12 groups were involved spread over four locations covering all trades. A number of personnel who could not be covered by the scheme, such as storemen, who nevertheless influenced the effectiveness of the scheme, were paid a reflected bonus equivalent to the average of the whole maintenance department.
Four weeks' consulting time was spent in the stores and the efficiency of the purchasing, issuing and stores accountancy was improved. Subsequently, buffer stocks will only be held at one store and purchasing and stock control will be carried out entirely from the central stores. This resulted in a reduction being made in the clerical effort in the stores.
At the commencement of the assignment one of the most important and beneficial actions was to arrange formal and informal contact with everyone concerned with the scheme, with management and consultants in attendance.
Although, initially, there were fears that insufficient time had been allowed for jobs these fears have been overcome as all times allowed for jobs can be substantiated from the data and the system is now seen as a planning tool. On target Mr Gordon Taylor, chief engineer of YWDT comments: "I am now convinced that this UMS system will produce productivity increases, and that work planning and preventive maintenance, which were previously falling below target can now be achieved." Mr Taylor also said he was sure that "work content comparison is , vital to the measurement of maintenance work, and among other things will prevent drift of time standards".
Management commented that "already efficiency has greatly improved," and the foreman said "safety factors can now be built into the job instructions," a fact of vital importance to a public transport company.
Although improvement and cost reduction may be a considerable challenge in the maintenance area the management of YWDT have shown that it can be achieved without paying the price of lowered standards of workmanship. Effective management requires measurement and control and this vital need is met with UMS.