Removers Blaze the Trail
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Conference course held for foremen this week at Knuston Hall sets the pattern for the industry
by S. BUCKLEY
WITH the expected implementation of WV the Industrial Training Act to the road transport industry in 1965, the fiveday conference course for foremen removers held at Knuston Hall, near Wellingborough, this week was of special significance. Its immediate purpose was to help foremen consider the nature of their job—particularly the aspects of technical knowledge and skill, planning and organizing, together with customer and staff relationships. Additionally the holding of this and similar courses could have fundamental and advantageous repercussions for the removal industry when the Training Act, including the collection of levies, is fully implemented.
The course opened on Monday with consideration of essential skills and responsibilities. Tuesday was devoted to planning preparation and smalls packing, Wednesday to van loading and Thursday to off-loading to house and warehouse. Today (Friday) office and factory removals are being •considered and the problems of training recruits, concluding with discussion of syndicate reports. Practical exercises were an important feature of this course.
Sponsored by the Institute of the Furniture Warehousing and Removing Industry, the course was attended by 36 members for which the fee was £5 residential, or £3 10s. non-residential. In addition to a wide range of prominent members of the removal industry who acted as speakers, Mr. K. F. Tetlow, training development officer of the Industrial Training Service, Birmingham, was responsible for the administration of the course.
First Full Week's Course In an introductory address to members on Monday, Mr. W. G. Griffin, chairman, Midlands branch, I.F.W.R.I., outlined the development of such courses. Initially a one-day manual course was held and this was the first full week's course arranged for foremen. It would be the members' responsibility to pass on to their working colleagues the knowledge they had gained at the course.
Reiterating these comments, Mr. J. H. Keys, national chairman of the Institute, emphasized that their industry was getting down to the job of training voluntarily before it became compulsory by implementation of the Act.
Enumerating the essential skills necessary for a removal foreman, Mr. Keys stressed the importance of psychology, knowledge of the contract, loading and unloading, stowing and lifting, packing and the use of special equipment. Leadership was• a vital quality if co-operation with staff was to be achieved, he said. A foreman must have the courage to make unpopular decisions but have the understanding to lead a harmonious team. A bad foreman was not receptive to new ideas. A good foreman must be explicit and firm so that his men were in no doubt as to what was expected of them.
The essential responsibilities of a foreman's job were then outlined by Mr. G. Skelton, chief removals manager, Pickfords Ltd. He considered the subject under the four headings of definition of status, job knowledge, supervision and discipline, and communications and relationships.
Elaborating on these, Mr. Skelton emphasized that job knowledge was not enough in itself. There was the important aspect of customer relationship, without which one was less efficient. A foreman should be aware and proud of his status —he was worth his position or otherwise he would not hold the appointment he did. As such he was a member of the management team and in contrast with job knowledge, which could be overemphasized in importance, supervision and discipline tended to be underrated. It was a foreman's job to get maximum productivity from his team of men by using his " loaf " to get the best out of them, but he would get nowhere if he did not ask for only what was reasonable.
Because of an overall change in relationship between management and men, positions of authority, including foremen, were more difficult than in the days of hire and fire ".
Whilst there was an undoubted need for organizing ability it was the foreman's job to lead rather than to drive. A foreman should always be ready to advise and treat staff with tact and understanding.
Because first impressions were so important, a competent foreman would pay regard to the turnout of staff. A removal was a personal matter for a householder, with the housewife being often the principal involved, and half the battle of apprehension was won by a smart turnout.
Customer Contact Whilst work was in progress it was the job of the foreman to maintain regular contact with the customer, avoiding both undue familiarity or offering service over and above what was in the contract. It was important to confirm with the customer at the conclusion ol' the work that everything had been removed and similarly confirm the delivery address, obvious though this might seem. Special instructions were particularly valuable where delivery to new estates was concerned. In anticipation of payment of the account on delivery. Mr. Skelton suggested it was useful to render the account at the point of collection. On arrival at the new address the foreman should inspect the house with the customer to ensure the direction of furniture to the correct rooms. Mr. Skelton added that an "awful lot of overtime" was regularly paid out by the industry in redirecting furniture, wrongly placed initially, from one room to another.
The removal industry was showing itself, by courses such as these, to be more training minded than many others with the object of encouraging foremen and staff to do an even better job. In reply to subsequent -discussions, Mr. Skelton stressed that it was pot reasonable for expert removers such as they liked to consider themselves to expect the customer to do some pre-removal work himself, although the comprehensiveness of the service they provided should be known to the staff responsible for estimating and arranging the removal.
Vehicle Care The session on Monday concluded with a paper on the care and use of a removal van given by Mr. G. Steele, removals manager, Martell's of Sutton Ltd. It was imperative to keep a van clean inside and out, and properly equipped, he said. It was a remover's best advertisement and staff should realize that passers-by could be future customers. Removal vans had progressed from the old horse pantechnicon and lift vans, which were difficult to operate, to present-day vehicles costing some £2,500 with a probable life of Itround 10 years.
Mr. Steele then emphasized the importance of daily and weekly maintenance and circulated to members the maintenance report sheet used by his company. He reminded them of the current spot checks being undertaken by the Ministry of Transport and the great inconvenience which could be caused in the course of a removal if a vehicle was put off the road. Similarly, a small accident could prove a substantial loss to both the company and the van crew, Regarding trends in van design, Mr. Steele added comment made by Mr. Alan H. Perkins, technical adviser to Wokingham Pantechnicon, Reading. Mr. Perkins claims an outstanding requirement of a removals van was that the floor could be reached in three steps of not more than 12 in. each. These steps should be as wide as the van and either be flat or have a slope of not more than 2 in. in 3 ft. 6 in. Mr. Perkins observed that there was a distinct trend towards carrying all furniture inside a van, assisted by the increased dimensions allowed by successive Construction and Use Regulations. He considered it was impossible to combine a ramp resting on the road or on stirrups within the limit of the strength of one man to operate. Tyres were showing a tendency to become smaller, with an improvement in loading height, but the benefit entailed a higher running cost. Over-shoeing, or using tyres too large for the work involved, had the advantage of giving higher mileages, but vibration was high in unloaded vans and caused rapid deterioration in bodywork.