Data from actual loading operations in New Hampshire were used 

 to determine the relationship of crew productivity to crew size. This is 

 shown in Tahle 2 for crews ranging from three to 10 men. Appendix D 

 further discusses the development of the coefficients. 



Table 2. Labor Productivity in Loading Live Birds, by Crew Size, 

 and Loading Time Required According to Truck Size 



* Includes driver of truck being loaded, foreman of crew, and pickup labor. 

 t Crates hold 15 broilers of 3.5 pounds each or 52.5 pounds. 



Truck Unloading Time at the Plant 



Unloading crates from trucks at the plant is carried out hy the un- 

 loading crew at the plant. This crew is part of the processing plant labor 

 force and is a cost to the processing plant. However, the time involved 

 for unloading is a concern of the assembly firm, because the truck turn 

 around time influences the number of trips a truck can make per day. 



The unloading time is based on the speed at which crates can be 

 taken off trucks, line speed of the plant, and speed at which empty 

 crates can be reloaded and tied. Based on data from assembly operations, 

 a one hour turn around time at the plant is assumed for a full load on a 

 220 crate truck. All other load sizes are proportionate to this. 



Shrinkage of Live Birds in Assemlily 



An important cost in assembly is weight loss of birds. This weight 

 loss, or shrinkage, is primarily caused by the loss of water through tran- 

 spiration. As time in transit increases, shrinkage increases at a decreas- 

 ing rate. Moreover, it is apparently related to the time in crates rather 

 than merely travel time. The time in crates for each load of poultry was 

 determined by adding one-half of the loading time, the time in transit, 

 and one-half of the unloading time. 



The physical relationships used for shrinkage are taken from a 

 study done at Connecticut."' King and Zwick developed three "commer- 



5 R. A. King and C. J. Zwick, COMPETITIVE POSITION OF THE CONNECTI- 

 CUT POULTRY INDUSTRY, 4. Shrinkage of Live Poultry Bettveen Farm and Market, 

 Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 270, 1950. 



13 



