BACKING THE FLEET BY SOUND ORGANIZATION.
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The Activities of a North-Country Confectionery Company who Control and Supervise a Large Fleet of Vehicles, the System Behind which Possesses Many Outstanding Features.
AN example of the success which ca-n be attained by the careful and wellthought-out organization of a road fleet operating over a large and widespread area is provided by a study of the methods employed by George W. Horner and Co., Ltd., of Chester-le-Street, pounty Durham, manufacturers of "Dainty Dinah" Toffees, boiled sweets and Boy Blue Toffees, household terms —north of the Humber, at any rate. Messrs. Horner are one of the largest manufacturers of confectionery in the North-east of England, and when it is said that. the district over which their highly efficient fleet operates extends from the Firth of Tay to the borders of Lancashire, some idea of the scope of the Company's activities and the duties of
their vehicles can be obtained. • The hub retina which the wheel of the operatiens of the company revolves is Chester-le-Street. It is there that the great majority of their sweetmeats are manufactured,but in addition a large amount of confectionery goods, including all bottled sweets for their clients In Scotland, are made at their branch factory at. Edinburgh. Naturally, it is quite impossible to deal adequately wit-h' Ole immense number of orders direct from headquarters, and in order to be in close touch with their customers over the entire delivery area, Messrs. Horner decided upon the rather unusual plan, So far as this class of trade is concerned, of establishing a number of depots, each of which has its own transport facilities.
In addition to the factory and depot at Edinburgh, these depots are to be found at the following important centres: Glasgow' Dundee, Berwick, Leeds and Stockton.
-In the confectionery trade prompt delivery is indispensable, and this factor, coupled with the fact that a little carelessness in handling can soon account for a good slice of the profits, renders road transport, and particularly the light
van, which gives both express delivery, and reduces the number of hands through which the goods must pass to a minimum, a vital factor in the successful operation of the business. Therefore, we find the fleet owned by this company, who cope with several thousands
of tons of confectionery per annum, consists in the main of the lighter types El vehicle, although, at the same time, petrol vehicles with a capacity ranging up to three tons fulfil important duties in the transport organization.
The fleet operated by Messrs. Horner 'is as follows :—Two F.W.D.s, with trailers, one 3-ton Albion, throe 30-cwt. Albions, two 2-ton Commer Cars, six 1-ton Fords, one 12-cwt. Belsize, one 1ton Fiat, one 30-cwt. Fiat, one 1-ton
Oldsmobile, one 14-cwt. Dodge, one 15cwt. -Berliet, one 1O-cwt. Chevrolet, two Ford vans, seven 8 h.p. Rovers, one Erie-Campbell two-teater, oee Dawson two-seater coupe, one Zebra two-seater, one Morris-Oxford two-seater and two Morris-Cowleys.
The private cars are used by travellers for collecting orders from the same districts which are covered by the commercial vehicles. From this it, will be seen that the ordinary touring car plays a by no means unimportant part in business. All the light vehicles are shod with pneumatic tyres for thee purpose of speed.
Whilst this fleet is not small, it does not by any means indicate the full extent to which Messrs. Homer depend upon road transport.. The vehicles Which we have named are used chiefly for the purpose of distributing goads from the factories and depots, to shops in particular neighbourhoods. Vehicles are hired from contractors for conveying goods from the Newcastle quayside direct to Chester-le-Street, a distance of eight miles, and the same means is largely employed for moving consignments of sweetmeats from the factories to the depots, it having been fonncl generally more convenient and economical for outside owners to handle this traffic, owing to the facilities which they possess for obtaining return loads.
In addition, Messrs. Horner possess their own railway siding, where iiicoming materials sent by train are unloaded direct at the works.
A system has been devised at the company's Chester-le-Street factory whereby the garage space allotted to each vehicle also comprises the vehicle's loading dock, where during the working hours goods which have to be transported by the vehicle occupying that space are arranged in the dock for the succeeding day. One of our illustrations gives a good idea of this admirable arrangement.
Each dock bears the name of the vehicle housed in it, and all loading is done by a night staff, which commences duty at 9 p.m. By this means the empty vehicle brought in at night by the driver is loaded and ready for the road when be resumes his duties on the following morning. In order to secure efficiency and absolute control of each unit of the fleet, a detailed statement is published each evening and posted at the time office of the factory outlining the work of each driver for the succeeding day.
The really elaborate organization is carried out by the aid of a unique system, which not only gives a complete record of the history of each vehicle, hut places a very thorough check on each individual connected with the operation of the fleet, and also supplies the management with much useful data.
Mr. George W. Homer, the managing director, who is responsible for this fine system, is to he congratulated on its wonderful success. The great feature is its detailed thoroughness. Nothing connected with the running of the vehicles, however small, is omitted from the retains if it provides valuable and instructive details, and thus it is possible by !visiting the transport office in this huge confectionery business to consult, at will, the past and present records of each unit, to ascertain the length of life of tyres, the running expenses, and costs in general. Daily returns, both from the headquarters staff and from the depots, lamip the transport official posted with the numher of vehicles on the road, and inform him if any repairs are necessary, and if any men are absent, and a record is even kept of drivers who are engaged on vehicles other than their own, for they believe, so far as possible, in keeping one driver to one vehicle.
A brief explanation of how the system is operated will undoubtedly be of use to many of our readers. In the first place, a form covering each working day of the week, which gives the amount of fuel and oil consumed, repairs, data concerning new tyres and tubes, is filled up from the storemen's, despatch department and other records. This form has spaces allotted for the names of the towns and villages visited, together with the number of calls made on each journey, the time of depart are and return of a vehicle, speedometer reading at start and finish of journey, total weight of goods carried, and the mileage covered.
• A form along the same lines, but necessarily with one or two dissimilar columns, is filled in with respect to vehicles employed at depots, and all particulars from these forma are posted to a weekly summary register under their respective headings, thereby praviding the management with a complete record of total and itemized expenditure of each unit of the fleet and for the fleet as a whole. The particulars for the portion of the .forms relating to repairs are obtained from a daily statement filled up by the garage staff.
As will be apparent this system of checking costs covers a wide and complicated sphere, but at the same time it is presented in. a most simple and readable form.
In addition to the weekly return and the weekly summary, adequate provision is made for obtaining the complete history of all tyres fitted', and in this respect a tyre anatory sheet has been drawn up. This covers the whole life of the tyre and its history on the vehicle to which it is fitted. Net only the name of the vehicle, the wheel and the size of the tyre is given, but also the air pressure of the tyre for the load it is required to carry. At the end of each week the mileage covered is entered, and if at any time it should be necessary to remove the tyre in the garage, the reason for this proceeding is duly entered, together with the speedometer reading at the time the tyre was displaced. Another column provides for tyre removal on the road, and this is made up from a small tyre report carried by each driver for use in such an emergency. At the bottom of this sheet a space is allotted for a brief summary of what happens to the tyre during the period it is off its original vehicle, so that the mileage and life of each tyre may be. properly ascertained.
There are also many other forms dealing with various emergencies which are liable to arise, but which are too numerous to detail here. Suffice it to say that duplicates of these forms are also required to be filled in by the commercial travellers utilizing the six 8 h.p. Rover' and other cars, The petrol and oil system organized by Messrs. Horner is as equally efficient as the remainder of the system. At the headquarters of the company, at Chesterle-Street, the petrol is stored in bulk in huge underground Bowser tanks, and at the depots it is housed in petrol safes. The Bowser pump and tank system is also employed for the storage of oils.
Whilst dealing with the question of oil, it may he stated that each vehicle has two cal tins allotted to it, each being neatly painted and bearing the number of the car. One of these is carried by the driver on the vehicle in his charge, whilst the other is always fully charged, awaiting use, :in the store. When the supply of oil carried is exhausted, all this necessary on the driver's part is to return the empty drum to the store, sign for the other, and take it away. Much waste of time and material is obviated by this simple piece of organization.
'Messrs. Horner and Co.'s garage is extensive and well appointed. It consists of a large central garage and repair shop, and great foresight has been shown in leaving plenty of open space between buildings to allow of the passage of the vehicles. There is a well-equipped machine shop, and a qualified staff of mechanics, but any repairing work outside the scope of this establishment is clone in the company's own general engineering department.
The workmen employed in the garage
fill in the usual time sheets. In addition, employment sheets are handed out to any driver who, through some unforeseen circumstance, may net be em ployed on the road. Drivers who return before their accustomed hour of
leaving work, namely, 5.30 p.m., are employed until that hour in cleaning their own vehicles in the garage.
In an interview with one of our representatives, Mr. Horner told us that he fully recognized the useful work and greater range of operations which the motor vehicles had made possible. They had, he said, been acquiring vehicles for some years, but it was only when the war ended that they found it possible to increase their fleet to the required dimensions. The progressive spirit of the corn pany is indicated by the fact that despite their present large fleet they are looking ahead, and the next step in their organization will be the standardization of vehicles.
In a business such as that of Messrs. Horner, where far-away districts and scattered customers have to be catered for, motor devlivery, even if, in one way, slightly more expensive than rail, is, nevertheless; indispensable on the score of service to customers. Breakages, which in a very short time, Mr. Horner said, could make such a hole in profits, had been reduced so far as possible by the fact that goods WC113 only handled twice on each journey, and not on several occasions as on rail, and in this connection alone mechanical road transport scored heavily. By the same means pilferage has also theen .eliminated. Furthermore, regular and personal motor delivers' was not only appreciated by retailers, but in these day was, in cer tain instances, essential. In this connection a company with their own fleet of motor vehicles could definitely control the time and method of delivery, and were not at the mercy of the railway companies.