Strengthening your supply chain one link at a time.
If you need to transport an item, you want it to remain undamaged upon arrival.
Several factors determine how a specific load must be preserved. This article hopes to explain load preservation parameters without distracting readers with industry jargon, specific policies, or quantitative references. This is the second article in an open-ended series highlighting the nuances of moving things from A to B. If you haven’t read the first entry, check it out here for an overview of transportation parameters.
Unpreserved Loads
To best understand the requirements for preserving a load, ask what the load might look like if it is not preserved. Consider the impact of an unpreserved load. Customers may become dissatisfied, return freight costs may be burdensome, project timelines may be delayed, and, at the very worst, lives may be endangered.
Load Value
Risk analysis is imperative when it comes to load preservation. The value of the load plays a significant role in this analysis. For instance, a ream of paper is less valuable than an aircraft full of people. This distinction is crucial when considering the cost of replacing the load. While a passenger is irreplaceable, a ream of paper can be easily replaced.
Potential Risks
Impact Risk
No load is indestructible. Throughout its journey, a load is susceptible to various forms of damage. In transit, a load can be compromised in several ways, from mishandling during shipping or receiving to a bumpy ride.
Packaging Failure Risk
Packaging may fail for several reasons. Moisture, rattling, puncture, and reuse can all result in packaging failure. While packaging failure does not ensure load destruction, it certainly increases the chances.
Contamination Risk does not apply to every load, but it’s a crucial risk to mitigate when it is a factor. Manufacturing materials, food products, medical supplies, cosmetics, electronics, and recycling materials, among other loads, must not be contaminated on route to their destination. Proper packaging, labeling, and separation of contaminable loads are required to reduce the risk of contamination.
Life Support Risk
Living loads must be maintained throughout the journey. Living things always need to breathe. Respiratory considerations must be made when transporting a trailer of horses, a pet carrier, a subway car of people, and even plants. The load’s nutritional needs, such as food and water, may also need consideration for longer journeys. For any range, safety devices, such as floating seat cushions, airbags, and seat belts, are critical in the transportation of people.
Environmental Risk
Loads at risk of contamination are often also at risk of spoilage if not maintained within acceptable temperature and humidity ranges. Coolers, insulated packaging, and refrigerated trucks and trailers are common methods for combatting this risk.
By considering these risks and appropriately mitigating them, loads will arrive at their destination in the appropriate condition, customers will be satisfied, and returns/delays will be avoided.
—Connor Frey, St. Onge Company
