Employment of Malcolm Archbald SMITH
[Ref. S.1]
| Back |  |
Wide load |
Employment of Malcolm Archbald SMITH
[Ref. S.1]
| Back | |
Wide load |
Within a few months of Malcolm having started employment with this company, a new product was being launched and a manager was required to handle the delivery and assembly. He was encouraged to take the position, even though such work had not previously been within his scope. The product was the Instacom (instant accommodation) which was a pre-fabricated timber building intended for temporary use as offices or classrooms.
The buildings were made up of segments 3 metres wide and about 10 metresin length. Each segment was complete including electrics, plumbing and decoration and this was carried out on a production line in the factory. The segments were transported to site by lorry where they were unloaded either by dragging them off the trailer or lifted off by crane.
Once on the ground, the segments were manoeuvred into position with a Landrover and finally adjusted with hydraulic jacks. Being temporary structures, they were supported on adjustable screw jacks standing on concrete slabs. The segments were bolted together and the joints sealed then the electrical connections made. Typically, a building of up to four segments could be completed in a day.
Each contract was secured by one of the salesmen then a delivery arranged with the works. Malcolm then had to arrange delivery and erection to meet the agreed date. As each contract was of a short nature, scheduling the work was rather like timetabling a railway service. At the outset, there was a team of two men who undertook the work, thus completing several jobs each week. However, as work increased, more teams were employed in addition to which specialist contractors were hired. At the peak, four directly employed teams and two or three contractors were employed at any one time. To support this, Malcolm also had an assistant, Les Brown, and access to some of the supervisors.
To prepare for each contract, Malcolm had to have the site surveyed to ensure the lorries could get access, and that the ground was satisfactory. He would liaise with the factory to have the segments ready then agree the details with the client. The contracts were spread all over the country and Malcolm made many of the site inspections himself which entailed much travelling and he was away several days per week and sometimes for 14 or 16 hours in a day.
| Top of page |