of the extra handling, i.e., railroad car — > truck — > farm storage vs. 

 railroad car — > warehouse — > truck — > farm storage. (See also Figure 

 11 for diagramatic presentation of alternative methods of distribution ob- 

 served in the study.) Obviously, the method of operating from railroad 

 cars cannot be universally used since it requires more advanced ordering 

 and planning than could be obtained from most farm customers. Where it 

 can, however, it is certainly productive of economies in distribution in 

 terms of more efficient truck loading, elimination of one handling, and 

 elimination of retail unit warehousing space. 



One of the problems common to truck route operations is that of 

 making the fullest use of the truck (or trucks). In the loading phase, this 

 is concerned with minimizing the delay time during loading and between 

 completion of loading and departure. Total loading time in man minutes 

 for 36 observations was 2,971. Predeparture delays totalled 535 man 

 minutes additional, or an amount 18 percent as large as total loading 

 time. On the 19 observations where predeparture delays occurred, loading 

 time totalled 1,836 man minutes; delay time was almost 30 percent as large 

 as actual loading time. 



The most common causes of predeparture delays were servicing the 

 truck (gas, oil, water), getting bills and change at the office, sweeping, 

 waiting on customers, and side trips to get additional supplies. These are 

 not functions which can be eliminated entirely, but it should be possible 

 by better scheduling and division of work (particularly in multiple-employee 

 retail units) to prevent these delays from tying up the loaded truck. 



Table 13. Comparative Efficiency in Unloading from Railroad Cars onto Trucks 



Average Average Elapsed Total Man Man Minutes in Unloading 



No. No. No. Bags Time Man Minutes in — — 



Observations Men Per Load (Minutes) Minutes Preparation Total Per 100 lbs. 



By Using Hand Truck 



2.25 29.00 .20 



8.60 32.90 .33 



Efficiency of Delivering and Unloading at the Farm 



The various observed methods of delivering and unloading grain-feeds 

 at the farm are summarized in Table 14. The data were collected in such 

 a manner as to separate the various operations involved, i.e., setting truck 

 in position for unloading and preparing to unload where auxiliary equip- 

 ment was involved, unloading, collecting and obtaining orders, plus time 

 lost through various circumstances and time used in bag returns. 



With respect to unloading time only. Table 14 indicates the possibility 

 of effectuating time savings through use of bulk unloading equipment, port- 

 able conveyors, and body jack arrangements for use on second floor de- 

 liveries. However, when portable conveyors were used, it took two men on 

 the truck and a considerable amount of extra time to put the conveyor on 

 the load, place it in position, shift it as the load was reduced, and retie on 

 the load. This extra time more than cancelled the time saved in unloading. 

 In the instance where the body jack arrangement was used, two men were 



30 



