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Managers also reported shortages of tires, filters, tube oil,
tool boxes and wind screens. in some areas there was also a shortage
of diesel fuel and petrol. In Rukungiri there was no diese) fuel to
run city electric plant, the ;offee mill and the lorries on the day
were there.
The transport manager at Kases told me that his diesel fuel
supplier was Total Oil Company. They are often of of diesel fuel.
Shell Oil has a big terminal next door and has an adequate supply but
he cannot purchase diesel fuel from Shell Oil. It is my opinion that
the manager should be able to purchase fuel wherever it is available
during periods of shortage.
One of my concerns is the storage and control of spares. The
cooperative at Kasese has a very orderly and efficient storage of
spares. The rest of the cooperatives have spares piled in a dark
corner and it appears the spares are damaged before they are used.
Proper storage of spares is a must.
2. Operating Problems
The most talkod about operating problem was having adequate
transport available when they needed it. The problem is further
complicated by lack of storage.
There has not been any formal training of drivers, turnboys or
mechanics or spanner boys. I feel it is very important to update
their skills to do a proper job. With one exception, the turnboys and
spanner boys are not trained to become drivers or mechanics. I feel
the cooperatives have a wonderful opportunity to have a good source of
drivers and mechanics if they would train these people. it would give
them some incentive to do a better job and it would also be an
investment in the future.
I did not find one cooperative that keeps cost controls on fuel,
tire, maintenance and other operating costs. To be efficient they can
operate at !ess cost.
There is need for more preventive maintenance, driver pre-trip
vehicle inspection, driver post-trip vehicle inspection and reporting
of defects. One universal problem I notice all over Uganda is that
drivers do not warm up the engine properly. Just about all drivers
start the engine and immediately race the engine to warm it up. This
is very hard on the engines because it does not get proper lubrication
and racing a cold engine will score the pistons. The engine should
idle until it reaches its normal operating temperature.
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