Gently does it with grade 2 vehicles
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DURING the first phase of the preventive maintenance operation, Grade 2 and 3 vehicles will have been largely ignored —or they will have received the haphazard treatment they did in the old days. The reason for this is that the main object is to get the best vehicles in tiptop condition, and that is how they must remain, despite the attention that must now he given to the other vehicles.
When starting on Grade 2 vehicles, it is important that too much is not attempted at once, or traffic schedules will be disrupted so much that it will be difficult to get the Grade 1 vehicles into the workshop for their routine maintenance. First, the reports must be examined, with attention being given to defects that may bring a GV9. Each time the vehicle comes into the workshop, the inspector should list all defects, even though only a proportion of these are to be tackled. Then, the engineer will have a continuing record of the state of the fleet, and can arrange for the Grade 2 vehicles to be gradually uprated to Grade 1. This is a process that must take a number of weeks, since it must not be done at the expense of the Grade 1 vehicles, which must continue to receive their proper preventive maintenance.
It may appear that the net result of this programme will be to increase the workforce required. Although in the early stages, the workload will be high, there is no need to increase the staffing levels in the long term—assuming that the men are sufficiently skilled. If the fleet is in poor. condition, and has been in constant need of repair, then the ratio of vehicles to skilled fitters may well be seven vehicles/man.
However, the real ratio will almost certainly be quite a bit lower, because the labour involved in repairs to vehicles away from the workshop must be included. In some cases, a fleet engineer may really be employing two or three men full-time, without knowing it.
Immediately the preventive maintenance scheme is operating properly, the amount of work required as vehicles break down away . from the workshop will diminish, with a worthwhile saving in labour costs. But even if the fleet is 41 a poor state, with only a few Grade 1 vehicles, a ratio of eight vehicles/man should suffice; as the number of Grade 1 vehicles increases, nine vehicles/man should be attainable, and when all vehicles are Grade 1, 10 vehicles/man should be adequate.
However, for these ratios to be adequate, the manpower must be skilled. Each must be able to tackle a full range of duties, with the minimum of supervision. Of course, it is by no 'means easy to find and then to keep good staff, so when you do get a good team together, you must be prepared to pay them well, to look after their welfare, and to make provision for training the younger mechanics. At the same time, it is important to remember that as the number of Grade 1 vehicles increases, so will the need for good maintenance staff—and this job calls for skilled staff.
Finally, if you are tempted to skimp on staff, remember that you are running the risk of more breakdowns away from base. The labour costs in these jobs will normally be about £4.50 an hour these days, and so the bills will soon mount up.
Next week : How to treat local delivery vehicles.