Hauling the Abnormal
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Up-to-date Equipment and Analytical Accounting Methods Solve Most of the Unusual Problems Confronting _ a Specialized HeaVy Haulier
TOMORROW morning at 11.30 a.m., the Queen will receive from Mr. W. A. McAdam, Agent-General for British Columbia, a 100-ft.-high totem pole which has been erected in Windsor Great Park. The gift marks the centenary of the Province and •was carved from a single Western Red Cedar, more than 600 years old, by Chief Mungo Martin of the Kwakiutl tribe.
Although the occasion must be unique in British history, the task of transporting the totem pole from London Docks was only one more outsize job in the routine of John Silbermann, Ltd., of Cricklewood Broadway, London, a company specializing in the haulage of abnormal and indivisible loads.
Spectacular, but Straightforward
Although this contract was, perhaps, more spectacular than most of those appearing on the order book, it presented few unusual problems. With the co-operation of the police, the load was moved at 4 a.m. On a Sunday morning, an hour to which Silbermann drivers are not unaccustomed, and stole like Agag through the almost empty streets of the Borough, past Hyde Park Corner and on to Staines. It arrived at the Great Park at the scheduled hour, its brilliant paintwork and ornate carving as faultless as when it left its Canadian birthplace.
The centenary totem pole is the only one of its type, and as a work of Pacific Coast Indian art is of a value that is hard to calculate. It is easier to assess the value to industry of a large transformer, an intricate and unwieldy piece of chemical plant or the pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor, all of which must also arrive at their destinations undamaged and on time. The handling of these difficult and costly loads presents the haulier and his staff with a succession of unusual problems that have a fascination of their own.
The company of John Silbermann, Ltd., was formed in 1950 with the object of co-ordinating the activities of two associate companies, Peterson, Ltd., a clearing house, and T. Hallett, Ltd., heavy and general hauliers. Four years later, it added a number of ex-Pickfords_ vehicles to the c26 fleet and directed the work of a third associate, Metroplant, Ltd., earth-moving and engineering plant hirers.
Today, the combined fleets of T. Hallett, Ltd., and John Silbermann, Ltd., which work very much hand-in-hand, comprise 10 Scammell tractors and a variety of semi-trailers to suit particular requirements. The medium-duty " artics " have capacities of 17, 25, 30-40 and 50-60 tons, and with the exception of one vehicle powered by a Leyland 680 oil engine, are equipped with Gardner 6LW 112-b.h.p. engines. Standardization, so far as is possible, of motive units and engines, simplifies maintenance.
Wide Semi-trailer Range
There are 17 semi-trailers in the fleet, including B.T.C. flats and semi-low-loaders, American Trailmobile lowloaders, and others by Scammell, Dyson, Taskers and Hands. All have steel and timber flooring and the flats have detachable sides of varying depths. Bolsters are supplied for the longer loads, and all vehicles are provided with a winch.
Early in its "operations, the company realized that the purchase of used vehicles was not a commercial proposition. Time spent off the road for repairs and major overhauls bore no economic relationship to the, perhaps, attractive capital costs involved. Today, the vehicles come direct from the manufacturers and, experimentally, are fully depreciated after five years.
This may be considered an unusually brief working life for such vehicles, but theirs is a hard life and a tractor on the road is worth rather more than two in the workshop. Implementing this policy, the company has recently taken delivery of a 30-40-ton Scammell, and 17and 25-ton tractors are on order.
The fleet undertakes some 45 orders per week and in an average year will move about 50,000 tons over approximately 300,000 miles. The unusual variety of the work cannot ease the complexity of costing or of foreseeing with accuracy the trading results at the end of a finanCial year. Nevertheless, Silbermann's go to a great deal of trouble to provide themselves with working figures_ Wherever possible, items of expenditure are charged to the individual tractor or semi-trailer, a system which not only produces interestMg total monthly statistics but helps to pinpoint uneconomic operation or careless handling. Figures of general interest which emerge include the overall fuel return of 9 m.p.g. and 20,000-25,000 miles for tyre life. A large 'number of Michelin Metallic E.22, C.20 and G.20 tyres is giving satisfactory service. The detailed cost analyses are dealt with by a National electric accounting machine operated by a single clerk.
The Silbermann company work from a depot on the North Circular Road at Hendon. Communication from the Cricklewood head office is by telephone and teleprinter, the latter instrument transferring written instructions direct to the driver's ticket. The depot is in charge of a foreman whose duties include the preparation of routeing instructions, notifications to police and local authorities, supervision of crews and vehicles, and general responsibility for the stores.
The Executive Staff
At headquarters, Mr. John Silberrnann, managing director, has called into being a kind of triumvirate of executives who are individually responsible for implementing the policy of the company in its day-to-day affairs. They are Mr. S. M. Wiles (sales), Mr. H. C. Smith (works and traffic), and Mr. H. J. Hawes (chief accountant). It is the company's practice to call a conference of the triumvirate at the beginning of the financial year: here the chairman outlines his policy for the coming season and allots each department a budget and a target figure, allowing each executive a broad measure of freedom in achieving it.
The use of virtually new vehicles and those which, by other standards, have registered only a comparatively low
mileage, has considerably simplified maintenance. On their return from each journey, vehicles ar:. inspected for damage or defects and a particular check made of tyre pressures, brakes and greasing points. Major work, for example, on engines or transmission units, is put out to the manufacturers or their agents, the dismantling and reassembly being carried out in the Hendon workshops. In addition to the routine inspections at the end of a day's work, the vehicles are serviced at 2,000-mile intervals and major overhauls are undertaken after four years' running.
Depot Records
The mechanical histories of tractors and semi-trailers are kept in the office of the depot foreman, together with records of fuel and oil issues. In an endeavour to keep costs "on the road" as low as possible, all Silbermarm vehicles have duplicated fuel tanks and carry a drum of lubricating oil.
Loading and off-loading of weighty consignments present little difficulty. The depot is equipped with a loading bank, the vehicles with winches and the associate company, Metroplant, Ltd., with a wide range of cranes and rigs. There is also a converted Scammell recovery vehicle which has never been beaten yet. The company is prepared and fully equipped to install machinery and plant on site.
Of the two transport companies within the organization, John Silbermarm, Ltd., specialize in abnormal loads and T. Hallett, Ltd., in special services, with some abnormal work. The "special services" include the provision of vehicles to deal with "difficult consignments, such as heavy loads of plate glass of unusually large dimensions. Both companies are prepared to operate both at home and on the Continent.
A recent order of the latter kind concerns the transport of a nuclear reactor from the manufacturers at Crawley to Julich, near Diisseldorf. This load will measure 14 ft. 6 in. in height and 12 ft. .6 in. in width, and will pose some unusual routeing problems in Germany, where overhead cables are a frequent menace.
Less spectacular, but no less valuable, loads carried in the normal way of business include such items as pre-stressed concrete beams for bridge works, steel from South Wales, machinery and fabrications for nuclear power stations, wing sections for aircraft, weapons and equipment for the Services and plant for local authorities.
Another service offered by the Cricklewood office, and one which is to be further expanded, is the provision of storage facilities at centres throughOut the provinces. This scheme, for which the transport is largely subcontracted, is designed to aid the manufacturer who requires to hold bulk stocks of his product adjacent to the point of sale. Silber mann's will deliver the consignments to premises leased by them, store them and release them on demand by the manufacturers' repre sentative on the spot as and when required. Welfare arrange ments for staff and crews could hardly be bettered. All the men are insured, on a shared basis, for industrial injury up to £6 per week, and salaried staff qualify for superannuation, very largely contributed by the company, after one year's service. The managing director is keenly interested in the training of young men coming into the haulage industry, and has arranged a programme for them embracing lectures of technical and general interest, as well as regular attendance at technical schools. This " background" work has proved popular and its merits are appreciated.
With all its activities, the company is achieving an annual turnover of £250,000. Its success, in a period of severe and not always entirely friendly competition, is due, perhaps, to three factors: the energy of its senior executives, the modern business methods of the headquarters office, and the jealously guarded reputation of its drivers for delivering the most difficult consignments, undamaged and on time.