$on duling

Performance standards involve the five activities which govern effective scheduling of delivery of any kind. Once identified they can be measured. The information can be used to determine equipment and manpower needs as well. These include:

(1) Load Management: when orders are collected twice daily for delivery as many as 50 stops can be sorted geographically as well as by truck load by one person within an hour's time. This can also be done intermittently during either half of the day. The object is to make up truck loads, or a minimum of four deliveries per trip.

(2) Picking time: if one man spends his entire day picking, banding, wrapping and pre-loading orders, how many does he complete? The average achieved is "picking time." A regular shift day of 8.5 hours, a lunch break of a half hour and two quarter hour breaks, measures 7.5 productive hours. It may vary slightly, but picking time average should be nominallv l5

Story at a Glance

Delivery turns a sale into a receivable. scheduling is a must in all operations. policy, performance standards and planning... proper procedure does more for less dollars.

minutes. On this basis, one man should pick 30 "stops" per 8 hour shift.

(3) Load - turn time: the truck returns from a trip, the driver spots it. How long before the vehicle is reloaded and outbound?

Visualize a framing package banded and pre-loaded and stacked on4" x 4"s in a l6'x 8' area in your yard with one of your 2Vz tons parked alongside. How long would it take to put the load on the truck, strap it down and move out? Again you will find 15 minutes to be an ample and "doable" time parameter. Note that the yardman can't pick anything until he's told what it is and the driver can't deliver anything until it's on the truck. These two must complement each other's activities with management's direction.

(4) Driving time: the elapsed time from and to the yard forms the framework of determining miles per hour. From this total stop time, break time and mealtime must be deducted. Most urban areas have 30 mph speed limits where not posted. What you are after is to achieve driving performance on average of 5 miles less per hour than posted.

(5) Site time: how long does it take to offload at each delivery point? Must you hand or machine place items like shingles, wallboard or millwork? Can you dump or boom? Identify what's normal or acceptable to you. Almost without exception deliveries which are merely off loaded can be accomplished comfortably in 15 minutes or under. Conversely, the best l2' wallboard, first level placement only, averages about 50 sheets per man per hour.

Planning, the third essential of scheduling, is a way of doing something that has been worked out beforehand. It is a scheme for action.

(1) Dispatcher: orders are funneled routinely to him for action. Twice daily he develops maximum loads and trips based upon published delivery policy. Exceptions are handled and resolved at the discretion of the operations manager. A pickup truck is available for use by salesmen to handle "hot shots." Taxi drivers can be used to handle some types of "frantic frantics."

(2) Yardman: one yardman has 30 "pick and load units" each per shift. He can pick and load trucks making four trips and 26 deliveries per day or some similar combination.

(3) Drivers: all breaks and meals are taken from yard only. One hour deducted from 8.5 hour shift time leaves 7.5 hours to make deliveries. Three trips, three turns (2 breaks - meal taken concurrently), to make nine "off loading only deliveries" daily would take turn time of I hour plus 2.25 hours stop time. This will leave 4.25 hours of drive time. This, less .5 hours refueling and preventive maintenance time, leaves 3.75 hours of "drive time." At 25 mph the truck can be driven 93.75 miles daily.

Scheduling delivery within the parameters of the delivery policy of "orders" received before noon, delivered same day and orders received later delivered on the next working day becomes feasible. The communication of policy setting, identification of standards and their maintenance plus planning of loads is all measurable and manageable before, during and after delivery.

If you would like a copy of "LoadManagement" a pamphlet for managing loads, trips and delivery people send a stamped, self-addressed envelope.