Solving the Problems of the Carrier
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The Haulier's Part in House Building
A Big Demand Should Arise for Hauliers' Services in Connection with the Prolonged Programme of House Building; Pointers for Hauliers Engaged in this Work are Given
THERE is likely to be a big demand for hauliers' services I in connection with house building. It is pot going too far to say that there is a risk of a shortage of haulage facilities, and this may eventually prove to be a bottle-neck. The practice amongst builders varies, in so far as their use of haulage is concerned, and before going into the question of costs and rates it may be useful to generalize on this aspect of the matter. The small builder, the man who erects an occasional house or two, and whose maximum demands, at any onetime, are limited to half-a-dozen small houses, will probably prefer to have most of his transport 'parried out by hauliers. His own transport equipment will consist of a " runabout " machine, which he will use for a variety of odd jobs when required.
The builder whose operations are on a bigger scale, who may have two or three contracts of some size on hand, calling for the delivery of materials at different places, will also need a "runabout," but he will find it profitable to operate one or two larger vehicles for the collection and delivery of bricks, sand, timber and the like.
The biggest class of operator, the public-works contractor, who caters for the building of large business premises or the erection of houses by the hundred on housing estates, will find it preferable to operate his own fleet. He will wish to use a variety of vehicles, differing in size and in the class of bodywork. It will assist in arriving at some concise ideas as to requirements, both as regards load capacity and bodywork, if I briefly enumerate the principal commodities which are necessary in building. They are as follow:—Bricks, sand, lime, slates and roofing tiles, cement, plaster, ballast, windows, doors and their frames, fireplaces, chimney stacks, stoves, wall tiles, timber, girders and steel work, glass, bath and lavatory equipment, scaffolding and ladders.
Types of Body for Specific Duties These articles involve the use of at least four types of bodywork. In the case of the big operator who owns several vehicles, he will undoubtedly find it convenient to have different types and reserve each for a specific class of work. The " runabout " type of lorry, which I have already mentioned as being a requirement common to all grades of builder and contractor, will have to be designed to embody, so far as possible, the main characteristics of all patterns in the one machine.
For bricks, a lorry body with shallow, hinged, detachable sides and tailboard is desirable. The sides need not be high, because bricks are heavy and shallow loading is sufficient to take full advantage of the load capacity of most vehicles. The same type of body will suffice for roofing tiles and slates.
With the sides a little higher, a similar body can be used for the miscellaneous items which are included in the list. I refer to such materials as windows, doors and their frames, fireplaces, chimney stacks, stoves, wall tiles and bathroom and lavatory equipment. The principal difficulty with such articles is not in designing a vehicle to accommodate them, but in packing and arranging the goods to prevent them from being damaged. This is a matter for care, and it is usual to employ straw and similar packings in fairly generous quantities. The need for the provision of a tarpaulin sheet is one which should not be overlooked.
For the conveyance of timber, girders and iron and steel work, bolsters are necessary. The forward bolster, behind the driver's cab, should be independent of the body and substantially supported on the chassis frame. In the larger vehicles, a supplementary bolster, or, perhaps, two of them, are desirable. It is preferable that the additional bolsters should be movable so that they may be accommodated to the shape and length of the load. They should also be detachable, so as to clear the platform of the lorry for loads for which the interior bolsters are not required. Ladders and scaffolding may be carried in the same way as timber, that is to say, by making use of the bolsters. Sometimes, however, a vehicle with a narrow cab is used so that extra-long scaffold poles and ladders, or even girders and beams, can be laid flat alongside the cab.
The transport of glass is a problem for the operator who is frequently engaged in the erection of shops and who wishes to be able to carry large sheets of plate glass. Generally speaking, however, it is preferable to let this material be carried by experts, in specially designed vehicles, and, as a rule, the glass manufacturer delivers on site. It is possible to mount a light framework on the side of the ordinary lorry for the occasional transport of sheet glass, but unless this be frequently used, the extra cost, together with the risk involved in handling, is not justified.
Sand and ballast, lime, cement and similar materials necessitate either tipping bodies or bodies with movable floors.
Hauliers whose work is concerned largely with the transport of materials for building and public works often take a more active part in the industry they serve than is customary in other branches of haulage. If the haulier be interested principally in the haulage of builders' miscellaneous materials he often finds he can be more successful if he acts also as a builders' merchant. Carriers of sand and gravel are a typical example, for they usually quote to the builder for the delivery of this material on the site, the price including both the cost of the raw materialand of its transport.
When the Haulier is also a Builders' Merchant
It is for this reason that most hauliers engaged in this branch of the industry operate under B licences, in preference to A licences. As a matter of fact, generally speaking; B licences are quite sufficient for the purpose.
This practice, of the haulier operating also as a -builders' merchant, arose because the haulier, who, in earlier days. was oftetr an owner-driver, was continually being asked by the builder to collect small parcels of material, here, there and everywhere, from the actual suppliers. He 'soon came to the conclusion that he would save time, make more money and render better service to the builder—his customer—if he kept small stocks of those 'materials most frequently required ready to hand on his own premises.
This development has, nevertheless, not by any means put an end to the builder's habit of calling on the haulier to do odd jobs for him. He is still inclined to ask the man with the load to assist with his lorry in various small ways. The builders'-merchant type of haulier whom I have in mind usually operates a 3-ton or 5-ton lorry. If he has several machines he has both capacities and varies the bodywork in accordance with the suggestions already outlined.
It is a simple matter to assess the cost of operation of these machines and to indicate the rates which the haulier should charge.
Taking first the 3-ton lorry of the type employed on this class of haulage. To-day, such a vehicle will cost 6d. per mile for running costs and £6 per week for standing charges. A haulier will cover between 300 and 400 miles per week in catering for this class of traffic, and if I take an average of 360 miles, his total vehicle-operating costs will amount to f15 per week. To that amount some establishment costs, or overheads, must be added. In this connection, the haulier should appreciate that his establishment costs will tend to be a little more than the normal, because there will be a considerable amount of clerical work involved.
I suggest that, if he has not got accurate figures for this expenditure, he should allow not less than £2 per week, bringing his total of average weekly outgoings to £17. To that he must add 20 per cent., say, £3 10s., for profit, so that his weekly revenue must not be less than .E20 10s. It is customary in this business to charge for the hire of a vehicle by time rather than by mileage. For one thing, individual tourneys are short. . For another, there is the factor already. mentioned, that the builder, or builder's foreman, is apt tp. ask the lorry driver, when he has made a delivery, to mike another short run to collect some item for which the builder has, at that moment, urgent need. .
It is practically impossible to make a fair and reasonable assessment of charges on the basis of mileage, and for these reasons the custom of charging per hour has become usual. On the above basis of a ,minimum revenue of £20 10s. per week, the fair charge for the use of a .3-ton lorry works out at 8s. 6d. per hour.
In the case of the alternative vehicle, the 5-tonner, the cost is rather more, but not, as a matter of fact, so much:more as might he anticipated, having in' mind the difference in load capacity. The running costs amount to no more than ,7d,.. per mile and the standing charges to £6 10s. per week. Taking again an average of 360 miles per week, the total of running costs is £10 '10s., and the total operating costs, i.e., running costs plus standing -charges, £17 per week. Once again we must take establishment costs into consideration, and, for a 5-tonner, £3 per week is a fair assessment for that item. The total weekly expenditure is thus £20, and adding, as before, 20 per cent. for profit, we get a figure for minimum weekly revenue of £24, which is exactly 10s. per hour.
This variation in demand is sometimes a bit of a headache for the owner-driver who wishes to engage in this class of business. He has first of all to decide whether he will have a 3-tonner or a 5-tonner, and he will usually come to the conclusion that "what will hold -a lot will hold a little" and that his better choice is the larger machine. Then he is faced with the difficulty that, quite often, the load which he has to carry is not sufficient for a 3-tonner, let alone a 5-tonner. He has, therefore, to come to.Some Sort of compromise
as regards charges, so 'as not to be overcharging his customer and yet net depriving himself of a reasonable minimum profit.
As a general rule, the procedure adopted is to charge rather more than the above minimum of 10s. per hour for the 5-tonner when it is fully loaded, say, its, or 12S., making that the standard charge,' and to cut to 8s. 6d. pet hour, the appropriate rate for a 3-tonner, when that size of vehicle would satisfactorily meet the requirements of the build& with whom he is operating at any particular time. The best practice is to have atleast a couple of vehicles and to use them in accordance with requirements.
Brick haulage is, of course, an important section in this branch of the haulage industry, and it requires some special aptitude, not only in the handling of the bricks themselves, but also in knowing what constitutes a load. Bricks are commonly sold by the thousand. The commonest type of brick weighs approximately 21 tons per thousand; the more expensive types are heavier and may go as much as 3 tons per thousand and even more than that. The weight per thousand varies also according to the locality and is, as a matter of fact, largely governed by the kind of clay of which the bricks are made.
However, in brick cartage, it often pays to send a second man with the driver, in order to cut down idle time for the vehicle. A couple of men reasonably accustomed to the work can load or unload 1,000 bricks in 20 minutes or so.
The capacity of vehicle preferred for brick haulage depends, to a great extent, upon the distance over which the bricks are to be carried. If it be fairly big, as for example, from Peterborough or the neighbourhood of that city to London, anything from 50-60 miles lead and upwards, then the maximum-load vehicle of 12 tons or 15 tons capacity, that is capable of carrying 5,000 or 6,500 bricks, is best.
A good deal of brick haulage, however, is over reasonably short distances, the bricks being collected at station and taken to the site. For this work it is usual to employ the standard type of 5-6-ton vehicle weighing less than 3 tons unladen, and it is—quite wrongly, of course—the rule to carry 2,500 bricks on such a vehicle, making a load in excess -of 6 tons. For the use of this type of vehicle not less than 1 Is. 6d. to 12s. per hour should be charged. If an extra man be employed, then the operator, in assessing his charges, should add that man's wages plus 25 per cent. in order to arrive at the appropriate rate.
The subject of brick haulage was dealt with at length in an article which I wrote in "The Commercial Motor" dated June 8 last. In that article costs and charges were given for various load capacities of vehicle which were engaged continuously in brick haulage. Readers who are interested in brick haulage, particularly those engaged in direct haulage from brick factory to sites, should consult that article. S.T.R.