1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
Central Garage Unravels Notts Transport Problems
Page 95
Page 96
Page 99
Page 100
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
SINCE 1960, when the county's central vehicle workshops were set up, departmental officers in Nottinghamshire have been relieved of many engineering and maintenance problems. For a county organization this establishment has a particularly comprehensive system, covering requirements not only for load carriers but also for such widely differing units as ambulances, fire-fighting appliances, police-patrol cars and mowing machines. Excluding items in the last category the annual mileages range from 2,000 to more than 60,000 and during an average year the total is something like 6 m. In addition to the headquarters establishment at Arnold, north of the city of Nottinghim, three satellite service stations are in operation so that every vehicle owned by the county is within a 10-mile radius of workshops assistance.
More than three years ago the county authority decided that there were considerable advantages in replacing the various relatively small departmental maintenance facilities by county central workshops.To this end they appointed Mr. F. West, A.M,Inst.T., A.M.I.R.T.E., as county workshops manager with responsibility direct to the Clerk to the County Council.
-In conjunction with the county architect, Mr. West planned the accommodation required to meet the estimated demand, , and a building, using C.L.A.S.P, method of construction, was erected on the Arnold site where it has the advantage of being immediately adjacent to the fire-service's headquarters and to the county supplies depot.
When evolving the system to be adopted it was decided, as a matter of principle, to guarantee that in providing maintenance facilities all county departments should be given equal priority. In addition to the engineering services the programme agreed also covered body repairs and repainting, for which the old departmental organizations had never had facilities. In this connection the object was to ensure more expeditious completion of any necessary work so that vehicles should be back in service with the minimum waste of time.
The total number of units included in the scheme is now 804, this covering 266 in the general commercial vehicle class, 45 fire appliances, 72 tractors, 222 trailers, 137 cars and 62 motorcyttes. They are held on charge of the Nottinghamshire Police, the County Fire Service, County Ambulances, Highways and Bridges department, County Libraries, Weights and Measures department, the playing-field section of the Education Department, the Estates Department, Midwives and District Nurses, the Home Help Service, the Education, Welfare, Civil Defence, Supplies, and Children's departments. Facilities are also provided for Sherwood Industries, a health-service rehabilitation organization, the products of which are distributed throughout the greater part of the country.
In order to deal with the problems involved an annual schedule is produced for the whole work of the department for 12 months ahead. Thereafter each vehicle-using organization of the county is supplied with a programme showing the dates on which every vehicle in the section's possession is due for service, together with the place at which it is to report and the time due. In this way it can be arranged that a mechanic who has dealt with one unit that has been brought in at 8 a.m. can be ready to make an immediate start on a further job which may be timed to arrive at noon or perhaps 3 p.m.
Initially, suitable machinery from the existing departmental workshops was transferred to the new establishment, being supplemented with additional equipment as required Likewise departmental staffs were transferred to provide the core of the central organization which clearly needed to include men
experienced in handling a" variety of technical equipment. Altogether the staff at Arnold numbers 41, whilst four men are located at each of the satellite service stations.
Of the 266 vehicles falling into the commercial category there are 120 Bedfords, these being divided into one 2-tonner, two 30-cwt., one QL breakdown, three library vans, three Lacre road sweepers, 26 model CA 15-cwt., seven 4-ton lorries, 14 lorries of 3-ton capacity, 25 ambulances using the CA chassis, and 38 employing the 30-cwt. The Fords, of which there are 36, are divided into 15 lorries of 3-ton capacity, 11 CD ambulances, three 15-cwt., two 5-cwt., plus one each of the Escort, the 30-cwt., the 10-cwt., a 5-ton articulated, and a 4-ton lorry.
The 17 Austins include four Johnson suction road sweepers, three Minivans, four 3-tanners, two 2-tonners, two 10-cwt., one 5-cwt. and one 5-tanner. Four library vans on 3-ton chassis are included in the Morris range, which also covers four 20-cwt., three 15-cwt. and two 5-cwt. vans. Kept for snow clearance are 18 A.E.C. Matadors and three Mack snowplough units. Also on the list are three Land-Rovers, four Commer gullyemptiers, two Daimler ambulances, a Trojan 10-cwt. and a Foden. The 72 tractors include 47 Massey-Ferguson, 15 Fordson Dexta and 10 miscellaneous units used for the Highways Department. Fire appliances comprise 13 Dennis, nine Austin. eight Bedford, eight Leyland, six Commer, and one A.E.C.
Maintenance is carried out in accordance with a series of printed schedules, working up to engine change and full reconditioning. Of these the first is a purely post-delivery check and is what may be termed the starting sheet for the vehicle's permanent records. Thereon arc entered all the basic particulars and statistics together with notes on special equipment that is being fitted to the unit in accordance with the specification of the individual departnient concerned. This will include such requirements as fire, police and ambulance signs, public address speaker bracket, gong and switch, reading lamp and dimmer switch, fire extinguisher. and foglarnp. At the outset a thorough check is given to all routine items, including the operation of heater, wipers, horn and direction indicators; wheel alignment is tested, and the underparts sprayed with protective coating if this has not already been done.
In a considerable number of instances vehicles are received from the manufacturers in primer and painted at the central workshops where there are available two paint booths and full, modern equipment including infra-red driers. Prior to the acquisition of new vehicles Mr. West has the responsibility of producing a specification suitable to the tasks involved, which goes for approval to the appropriate departmental committee.
Once a vehicle has commenced to operate, the maintenance . schedules immediately begin to apply. Basically the average mileage can be assumed as around 10,000-12,000 yearly and so as to facilitate advance planning the decision was taken to adopt a time-interval programme for this main section of the fleet. Other arrangements have been formulated for the fire appliances with their limited running, of which 2,000 miles per annum plus extra pumping periods may be regarded as representative, and the police cars that will probably be covering five times the annual average distances. Each of the general run of vehicles is therefore serviced every four weeks or approximately every 1,000 miles. A somewhat different arrangement, based on mileage, has been evolved for the police CRIS.
Extras to the ordinary routine are the thorough inspections given to all new vehicles after the first 500 and 1,000 miles. The general monthly service covers a complete engine inspection, including checking of mixture adjustment, slow running and starting. In addition to lubricating the steering and front assembly there is an examination for joint connections and slack bolts. Inspection of the transmission covers propellershaft couplings, pedal movement and clutch supply tank. Tyres are changed round if necessary and are checked for signs of fracture. Operation of horn, heater and direction indicators is tested in the course of the electrical section and at the same time the battery is checked for weak cells. Hand and foot brakes are adjusted if necessary and a report is made of any damage observed on the body or paintwork.
As previously explained the police cars are maintained on a purely mileage basis, the patrol officers carrying out a minor service every 1,000 miles and bringing the cars into the workshops every 3,000. Wherever they may have been dealt with at earlier stages police ears are brought into the main workshops at Arnold every 6,000 miles and vehicles on the time basis every 24 weeks In the case of fire appliances, with their lower annual mileages, entirely different arrangements apply. Here the basic D service, briefly summarized in a previous paragraph, is per. formed by a mobile workshop vehicle that visits each of the 26 fire stations every eight weeks. The travelling unit is also responsible for certain aspects of fire-pump maintenance. At 24-week intervals each appliance is sent to Arnold for more detailed service, this fitting in with Home Office requirements for six-monthly deep-lift pump tests. During the visit to the stations by the service-van mechanics the routine comprises 11 items of gleasing and inspection. The twice-yearly fire appliance service at the central workshops covers 25 points.
Thanks to thorough preventive maintenance the nonscheduled work at Arnold is kept to a relatively low level. Of course, in a fleet of this size there is a fairly steady run of outof-course matters that require attention and the conventional defect report is available for every driver to notify workshops of any point needing rectification and any suspected trouble that should be investigated. The workshops carry out all the fleet's insurance repairs. The Arnold headquarters has direct lines to each of the emergency services—fire, police and ambulance —so that a minimum of time elapses when it is necessary to send out to a breakdown on the road.
Apart from purely automotive matters the workshops are, as previously noted, responsible for maintenance and tests on technical apparatus. Among other things this aspect has necessitated the provision of a fire appliance testbed incorporating a 5,000-gal. water tank. This makes provision for a vacuum-test circuit and a pressure test. Gauges register the standard achieved and a permanent record is provided by means of a Kent meter. Where modifications to fire appliances are required by the Home Office these are also performed at Arnold. Equally, such fittings as gully-emptier technical equipment are tested and maintained.
Because of the considerable acreage of parks, playing fields and verges that must receive grass-cutting attention the central workshops has a separate section, staffed by two experts, which is devoted to the maintenance of grass-cutting appliances, some of the latter being self-propelled and others designed for attachment to tractors or other forms of prime mover. Altogether some 600 appliances of this nature are repaired and otherwise kept in good trim. Plant in use for this purpose includes a special mowing cylinder grinding machine.
Some 20,000 sq. ft. of circulating space is provided in Arnold's stanchion-free main building, there being a further 6,000 sq. ft. in the bodywork block where there are also the paint booths, an isolated paint store and the fire appliance testbed. The C.L.A.S.P. system of construction employed in the building is specially devised for places liable to subsidence, such as mining areas, and is subject to some measure of adjustment should this be made necessary by changing levels. The layout was devised within set dimensions so as to give headroom for the movement of all units likely to be brought in. There are no overhead lifting devices, reliance being placed on mobile equipment of various kinds.
To the visitor to Arnold the impression today is one of ample but well utilized facilities. Operated from a central control panel are four hydraulic lifts, two of 7-ton capacity and two of 34 tons. Located in the same unit are hose reel dispensers for air, oil, high-pressure grease and water. Whilst considerable assistance in connection with tyre maintenance is received from the tyre distributors employed, good stocks are kept in hand and the staff give close-supervision to all aspects of this question. Wheel balancing is carried out on all cars and certain vehicles in the commercial class. A joint compressor room and oil store is maintained where supplies are held in barrels and in a bulk tank. From here they are piped direct to the various greasing points. The workshops standardize on one grade of engine oil for winter and summer, both in petrol and diesel units. A standard multi-purpose transmission oil is also used for every vehicle in the fleet. Waste oil is drained away to store, afterwards being used to supply space beating for the Newark, Mansfield and Retford satellite service stations. With their own waste supplemented by consignments from headquarters the out-stations are enabled to rely entirely on this form of fuel.
A well-laid-out machine shop accommodates such equipment as surface grinder, boring bars, boners, lathes, presses, injector plant and a forge. However, no crankshaft grinding is performed at the workshops, such requirements being placed with outside specialists. An extensive store houses what are in the main the quicker-moving Rims so that the mechanics waste the minimum of time awaiting the arrival of spares. Heavier components are quickly acquired when needed through the medium of, the motor trade in Nottingham. Certain engine units are reconditioned in the county's own workshops. In the electricians' shop, which is supplied with a fault analyzer, it was interesting to note that A.C. alternators are now being specified for all police cars and ambulances. As with other sub-assemblies, electrical units are extensively rebuilt within the Arnold establishment. Something of the layout of the underfloor working pits, used specially for the docking of heavy vehicles, will be observed from the illustrations.
The body shop possesses a well-equipped woodworking section, plus such metal working requirements as folders and guillotines. Whilst there is no building of complete bodies,• full reconditioning is carried out here, also such modifications as conversions from rear doors to roller shutters.
All the completed vehicle-inspection reports mentioned earlier are retained in the individual files that are kept for every unit in the fleet, thus providing a permanent record of the work
carried out. Every item is countersigned by the operator respeinsible and a full history of the costs involved can quickly be extracted.
In establishing a county central workshops Nottinghamshire may not have adopted any specially revolutionary course. What the county has done, however, has been to make its scheme particularly comprehensive in its application and to provide extensive modern facilities for its operation.
Notably, the officers concerned with this development have been charged with the responsibility of running the service on a commercial basis, neither losing money nor making a profit. Subject to strict budgetary control, the workshops must compete on cost with outside contractors performing the same functions. By consolidating the vehicle maintenance in the manner described it has been practicable to make available facilities that could not otherwise have been provided economically and also for the county's standard to be set at a consistently high level.