AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Refuse Disposal, Collection and Street Cleansing Get "Work Study" Look

9th June 1961, Page 76
9th June 1961
Page 76
Page 77
Page 76, 9th June 1961 — Refuse Disposal, Collection and Street Cleansing Get "Work Study" Look
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

REFUSE disposal, refuse collection and street cleansing were the three subjects in a symposium of papers, under the broad heading of Work Study in Public Cleansing, given at the 63rd annual conference of the Institute of Public Cleansing, in Aberdeen, this week. Speakers were, respectively, Mr. W. Carmichael, Assistant Manager of the Edinburgh Lighting and Cleansing Department; Mr. H. G. Couch, Refuse Collection Superintendent of Birmingham's Salvage Department; and Mr. P. B. Cartwright, Deputy Public Cleansing and Transport Superintendent of Thurrock U.D.C.

Mr. Carmichael said that all work can be analysed into five kinds of event: Operation, Delay, Transportation, Inspection and Story ge. These elements are each queried in the hope of eliminating, cornbining, changing their sequence or simplifying them.

A "wind of change" was now blowing over work study as a tool of management. All forms of industry, public service and agriculture were turning to it for the "open sesame" to success in their efforts to obtain higher efficiency.

Public cleansing, with its large labour force, was an inviting field for work study and it had already been applied to some branches of the service. However, if no bonus or incentive scheme were envisaged, there was a strong argument for thc public cleansing officer himself being the reviewer of his service—his own work study engineer, using as many of the modern techniques as he could master.

Mainly With Salvage

Some bonus schemes, he said, on public cleansing work, mainly where salvage was concerned, had been introduced without special regard for either method or time study of the job or work to which the bonus applied. In some cases, anomalies had resulted by, apparently, the absence of any clear line of demarcation between those entitled to bonus on salvage schemes and those not. Accordingly, such bonuses were often so widely applied that the encouragement aspect became submerged or so less attractive that those who affected the quantity became apathetic and the main reason for award of the bonus (i.e., greater production) was not particularly forwarded.

Work measurement or time study by means of the stop watch was not popular in all quarters, but there was no doubting its help in evaluating vehicle performance, salvage baling and treatment, disposal plant throughput, and other like tasks or forms of work.

On the subject of controlled tipping, Mr. Carmichael said that tipping grounds were controlled either by manual labour, or as was now the generally accepted practice (at least on the bigger tips) by earth moving machinery. Generally, earth-moving machinery had brought the need for tip labour down to c34 such a low figure that it was difficult to imagine any detailed study of tip management indicating improvements that would effect really worthwhile labour economy.

Cartage of residues from plants to tips could be an expensive transport item, particularly when it was appreciated that the vehicles used were large, costly to buy and to operate and, unlike a normal haulage contractor's business, returnloads were not possible even with the best-regulated arrangement.

The residues might be varied, he said, if consisting only of dust and clinker, these uncompacted, would provide a payload and the choice would lie between moving floors, scuppers and tippers of a capacity depending on the size of chassis to be utilized, up to a maximum gross load of 24 tons.

Articulated vehicles had the advantage of having a trailer loading while bne was being hauled to tip, but a disadvantage was that one mechanical horse could put two or more containers out of action.

On the subject of improving existing vehicles and providing better vehicles and equipment for refuse collection, Mr. H. G. Couch said that competitive industry could not, if it were to survive, afford to continue to use outdated machinery.

Slow Changeover

In principle this was agreed by local authorities, but the changeover to new methods was much slower; an improvement in vehicle design could only he in annual stages, as money allocated for vehicle renewals became available.

Chassis, although of the same manufacture, were subject to continuons modifications in order to make it possible to mount a new type of body. It was, therefore, not generally practicable to mount a new type of body on a chassis previously carrying a body outdated by the new design.

Manufacturers were providing the answer to this problem by designing large-capacity vehicles with packing mechanisms of varying design. The availability of vehicles of increased capacity might make it possible to reduce the number of loads collected per day, thus converting travelling time into loading time. This arrangement was already in operation in areas where the disposal point is an excessive distance from collecting area.

Standardization should not retard progress, said Mr. Couch. Changing conditions such as the present increase in the volume of refuse for disposal, require special measures, and every opportunity should be taken to provide sufficient loading capacity to ensure that collection teams were fully occupied.

Standardization within a local authority's activities was important, but standardization throughout cleansing was rather improbable. Vehicle manufacturers were the whole time bringing along new types and modifications of the old, and it was important that this progressive policy and close co-operation with cleansing officers continued.

Birmingham city council decided to change to a dustless system over a 10-year period. First of all, a " pilot " scheme was put into operation. It was proved effective, though more costly than the skep system it replaced. There was for a time some slight resistance by employees to work on the new system—this is a generally accepted condition of change from one system to another. After a time, when it was decided to introduce the new system in a district consisting of 75,000 premises, the employees' reaction was at this stage to make application to be put on to the new system.

Expensive Item

The upkeep of the beat sweeper's orderly truck was an expensive streetcleansing item. It was therefore vital to keep abreast with modern technical developments so that new materials, processes and structural ideas could be incorporated in replacements, or as modifications to ensure that this expense was kept at a minimum, whilst providing the best possible equipment. It was essential that, consistent with robustness, the truck and its bins be as light as possible.

The complete mechanization of street cleansing was a most desirable goal towards which to strive. The conventional 7-ft.-wide road sweeper is not an economic proposition on modern highways bearing heavy traffic and, moreover, is incapable of dealing with refuse on pavements. The speaker has no doubt that a machine will be devised which will be able to do most if not all the sweeping tasks now performed manually.

The keenness of traders and industrialists for efficient service of collection and disposal did not often extend to their own provision of suitable containers to assist the operations. said Mr. R. J. Lawrence, director of public cleansing. Southend. in his paper on the storage.

collection and disposal of trade and industrial refuse.

Many of them had a marked preference for tea-chests, barrels and oil drums. especially if these were to be found among their own discards. Thanks to the efforts of cleansing and health officers, and the publicity of manufacturers, more traders were seeing the light and extending the inside cleanliness of their premises to the outside refuse storage point.

The basis of an ideal collection service was the storage in proper containers of the material to be removed. Those few authorities who had a municipal bin provision scheme which included trading premises were to be congratulated on attaining this ideal, said Mr. Lawrence. More and more authorities were commencing hire schemes for the provision of large bulk containers, particularly when multi-storey flat development was extending their use, and a collection vehicle equipped with special lifting apparatus' could be fully employed on both trade and domestic refuse.

Containers

On the subject of containers, Mr. Lawrence said that the nature of the trade refuse usually decided the type of container used. coupled with available storage space and accessibility. But, although there were now many types available at reasonable prices, many premises still used the pit or bay, open to the elements and presenting a most unsightly appearance to say the least.

Staff were expected to shovel up the material on collection days and carry it in bins, wheelbarrows, and so on, to the waiting vehicle. This most unhygienic and laborious practice is in many cases quite unnecessary, and if the traders installed proper containers, their trade refuse removal accounts would soon be reduced, quite apart from other considerations.

Usual Excuse

When managers of shops and business premises are tackled about these conditions the usual excuse is that they cannot supervise their staff sufficiently to ensure that the containers would be constantly used. Certainly it is just as simple to put refuse into a container as throw it on a heap, and all, traders should be encouraged and, if necessary, compelled to use proper containers for their waste.

For small quantities of refuse a normal dustbin meets most requirements. A new challenger appearing was the heavy-duty paper sack with special holder, and for fairly light refuse had many advantages both to user and collector. The sacks were expendable. making available a clean container after each collection. and removal easier and lighter due to the fact that no unnecessary weight was carried.

Coloured sacks could be introduced to give a visual indication to separate the deposit of certain types of refuse.

The next size of container for larger quantities of trade refuse was the bulk metal container of either 1. I or II Cu. yd. capacity. There were designs to suit the various types of lifting apparatus and vehicles used, and they could be supplied with or without castor-wheels, those with castors obviating the use of a special trolley for moving and positioning before emptying. They were particularly suitable where there is limited storage space.

Another large container was the trailer, with a normal side-loading shuttered body, used in conjunction with a mechanical horse. They were used advantageously, so that they were as near as possible to the source of waste, and a shuttle service of emptying and leaving an empty trailer could be instituted. The most popular size used was of approximately 9 cu. yd. capacity.

American Experience In recent years, and based on American experience, even larger containers of up to 40 cu. yd. had become available for factories producing large quantities of waste materials. A whole variety of containers for dry or wet refuse, incorporating a bottom sump for drainage, and a tank type of container for liquids, was available in many shapes and sizes. They were up-lifted by a special vehicle for transport to the disposal point, or alternatively lifted and emptied into a large vehicle which could incorporate compressing mechanism.

Mr. Lawrence said that the greatest problem was the collection from large shopping centres. According to local circumstances it was undertaken in a variety of ways. The most common practice appeared to be that a team or teams continuously collected in the area, and where shops were empowered to place their refuse in the forecourt at specified times, operations might start late at night or very early in the morning. Night collection was adopted by some of the large cities where pedestrian and

motor-traffic congestion precluded normal daytime working.

Discussing vehicle design, Mr. Lawrence said that it played an important part in the collection of trade refuse, for, like domestic refuse, the trend to lighter and bulkier material continued. A high degree of compaction was essential to obtain maximum payloads, coupled with rear loading and subsequent cornplete enclosure of the refuse.

Loading hoppers should be large enough to accommodate large items, such as .tea-chests and baled refuse, and there should be adequate provision for the segregation of salvage, particularly wastepaper.

Where the large containers were used for storage. obviously a vehicle with the requisite apparatus for lifting and empty

ing was required. Of these types many incorporated the fore-and-aft tipping method, in which the compression rate was relatively low compared with the more positive compaction of the ram or barrier type, which appeared most suitable in obtaining maximum payloads of trade refuse. Another disadvantage of the fore-and-aft type of vehicle, when used in town centres and main thoroughfares, was the possibility of damage to overhead fixtures.

Most authorities make a separate collection of wastepaper from shops and business premises where large quantities were available, and the most common type of vehicle used was the box van. This should be of ample capacity yet not too large to cause difficulty of movement in heavy traffic, have a small turning circle, and have provided a sideloading door (preferably sliding) in addition to the rear door.

The manufacture of products in industrial plants could result in such large quantities of waste that it would be unreasonable in most cases to expect the local authority to be responsible for its storage and collection. This should be a matter for factory management alone, but here again, advice and help could be given by the local authority.

Discussing public cleansing from a woman's point of view, Councillor Isa Carter, of Glasgow, said that one aspect of refuse collection disturbing to both officials and laymen alike was the necessity for maintaining in almost every local authority in the country, large or small, the kerbside collection from shops, offices and business premises.

"Deplorable Sight"

This unsightly collection of bins and packages in the early morning was deplorable and was probably a glaring example of lack of planning in the past. It was only fair that some of the blame should be apportioned to the shopkeepers, who in many cases deposited overflowing bins, minus lids, and filled with all sorts of loose paper and straw to be tossed about by high winds.

" We hear a great deal today." said Councillor Carter, "of new shopping centres being created in our housing estates. In Glasgow they have just been examining a layout where the shopping precinct is so designed that refuse will be set out and collected within an internal courtyard. and will not be exposed to view."

Councillor Carter said she had been impressed in the past by the multiplicity of style and design shown at public cleansing vehicle displays, but had wondered if a greater degree of standardization would not be beneficial. It would appear that if this could be achieved there would be a lowering of prices of Vehicles, which in turn would be advantageous to local authorities, and might also mean an influx of trade fa the manufacturer. She also felt that there, should be greater utilization of glass-fibre in vehicle manufacture, the efficacy of which is now established in many fields.


comments powered by Disqus