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
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186 
Builders'
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
erchants
causes of delay and use of time
This week's Yardstick looks at the efficiency of builders' merchants in the heavy and light materials sectors.
IN 2006 THE Department for Transport (DfT) conducted a survey on the time utilisation of builders merchants and their main causes of delays. CM looks at the findings to show you which areas of your business could benefit from improved productivity.
Because builders' merchants supply a range of materials to the construction industry, the survey was split into heavy materials and light materials. Heavy materials include bricks, blocks and aggregate, while light materials include fixtures, fittings and tools.
At first glance, the heavy and light sectors do not differ greatly in time utilisation. Both have large idle periods when the vehicles are empty and stationary, and both have driver breaks of the same length. The main difference between the two sectors is the time that preloaded vehicles spend waiting for departure; 25% in the case of light activities compared to 18% for heavy activities. This time is classed as 'productive' as the vehicles are still in use.
In terms of time utilisation there does not seem to be much of a problem, though in terms of delays the survey shows that improvements can be made. Only 34% of delays are out of the merchants' hands — in this case due to traffic congestion. Vehicle breakdowns account for 9% of all delays, yet only 2% and 7% of time is spent on maintenance and repair respectively. If more of a vehicle's idle time was spent on repair and maintenance, the 9% figure could be reduced dramatically.
Problems at the delivery point are a frequent cause of delay and cannot always be avoided. The question is whether more forward planning could solve some of the delay issues and therefore speed up the drop-off.
Last but not least, companies' own actions cause 20% of all delays. By eliminating or changing these actions where possible, you could raise your company's efficiency and improve productivity.