ISUZU LAID BARE - Isuzu Trucks

EffICIENCY
PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity can be measured by the ▲ The move away from energetic approach; as such, it isn’t always suited to older
effectiveness of your workforce or the effectiveness of 7.5 tonnes (far right) workers who enjoy grandfather rights to 7.5-tonners.
your trucks. To achieve maximum productivity you need is still open to debate Therefore operators have to pay a younger HGV Cat C
to pitch expenditure against income. The latter should be qualifed driver who can drive much heavier vehicles.
consistent, verging on the upwardly mobile, and you It all sounds negative for the 7.5-tonne truck, but it has
should allow for standing and running costs, reinvestment far from had its day. Volume-conscious operators, home
and a 20% proft margin. delivery services, local authorities and own-account
How close operators can get to that business model, as operators still all swear by it.
recommended in the National CPC Licence literature, is
open to debate. So what is there to consider? Purchase Restricted drivers
price, depreciation, insurance, VED rates, wages, fuel costs, The market developed after 1978 when licensing laws
payload and vehicle utilisation are just some of the factors. restricted drivers on a car licence to driving vehicles with
When it comes to specifying vehicles, feet operators tend a maximum GVW of 7.5 tonnes, down from 10 tonnes,
to stick with what they know. But times are changing and before a heavy goods licence was required. In 1989, the
practices set out by previous generations might not be as market peaked at more than 19,000 units. Since 1998,
productive today as they were. With increasing weight sales of 7.5-tonners have fallen from more than 15,500
categories, licensing laws, speed restrictions and potential units to 9,670 last year. The 7.5 to 12-tonne market has
payload, the boundaries of effciency continue to shift. enjoyed growth to more than 1,300 units from 1,150 in
Whether two small vans are cheaper to run than one 2007, whereas the 12 to 15-tonne market has slipped to
7.5-tonne truck is debatable as it requires two drivers, two 1,390 units, down 290 against 2004 fgures. And, apart
wages, and two sets of standing and running costs to make from a blip for digital tachographs, the 18-tonne market
up the payload weight. Frequent, time-sensitive delivery has remained fairly consistent at 7,000-8,000 units a year.
schedules might swing it – and, of course, the use of small While the 7.5-tonne sector has dwindled, operators
vans bypasses speed and licensing issues. moving up the weight chain to 18 tonnes replace those
The trend is always up the weight table and speed who are moving out of that category towards heavier
issues have created a level playing feld for all two-axle vehicles at 26 tonnes. ■
chassis-cabs requiring an O-licence.
An increasingly important factor is that anyone who “Times are changing and practices set out
passed their car driving test after 1 October 1997 cannot by previous generations might not be as
drive a 7.5-tonne truck on their car licence. However,
7.5-tonne work is traditionally multi-drop and requires an productive today as they were”
ODDS_NP_CMREPRINT-P2-5 3 19/3/09 15:34:27