loading and shipping

Whatswrong · Feb 10, 2012

Is there anyone here whose job is shipping ,I loaded a header the other day on the flimsyest trailer ever ,the owner said it was old but strong there was nothing strong in my opinion ,the planks flexed as I rolled the load on I had a vision of it falling through as I rolled it on,not sure if it was home built I was able to place wheels and hitch jack on cross members ,what are your thoughts and would you leave it up to the carrier to be responsible or would you question the integrity of the trailer to haul the load to a destination a thousand miles away.

Willl · Feb 10, 2012

NOWS the time to ask this question ?

Western · Feb 11, 2012

I would load it on a bicycle if they sign a waiver, or release of liability. That is if they have the chehon'es and I don't violate any law.

creekbend · Feb 11, 2012

Western said:
I would load it on a bicycle if they sign a waiver, or release of liability. That is if they have the chehon'es and I don't violate any law.

Well stated.

newbury · Feb 11, 2012

Depends if you want a good relationship with those you work for and those getting the shipment. If the one getting the item doesn't get it in good condition they will look elsewhere.

I would have said "Wait a minute while I call the guy this is going to" then call and tell him my doubts, maybe snap a pic w/ my cell phone and tell my next up in chain of command my doubts.

It's the carriers responsibility to deliver in good condition and on time. I always viewed it as MY responsibility to make sure the final "customer" was happy. The carrier often makes excuses for poor performance, but if the bullet doesn't get to the rifle the enemy doesn't get shot.

I worked as an Army govt civilian training troops on equipment we developed. Most of the time we packaged the stuff and shipped it, met it on the other end and trained it.

Several times we shipped 5 ton trucks with ISO shelters on them. We had a few instances where the trucker would show up with a flatbed trailer when we always contracted for a low boy. They insisted they had height clearance along the route.

Have you ever seen something like a FedEx semi-trailer (enclosed) turned into a semi-hay wagon? A good heavy bridge at 13' clearance hit by a medium thickness trailer needing 13'4" at traveling at 70mph will peel the top back about half the length of the trailer. We learned quickly to turn truckers away if we didn't like THEIR equipment. We still lost 3 out of 9 systems.

Last Feb I shipped about a half million dollar equipment package to a team in Alaska I was training, the equipment got there late due to storms etc. and was misplaced. I could of said "Well it's the carriers fault", which it was, and trained with the equipment there. But I spent many hours searching warehouses at Wainwright finding it. And it was COLD.

The point is that generally the carrier could care less, as long as he gets paid before any damage is discovered. It's our responsibility to try and make sure it gets done right. Unless of course you are shipping something that you would like to arrived "messed up" and blame it on the carrier (I've seen contractors do that),

Whatswrong · Feb 11, 2012

Thanks guys, I wasn't to worried about breaking the law ,more worried about the possibility of myself or employee being held responsible in a liability case for being a willing participant .I have never believed it was my privledge to question the drivers ability or state of health but I can remember about 10 years ago when I was new to this job watching a driver falling asleep on his feet while I was loading his truck and passing it off as a possible nervous manerism because it was more like a slow blink. He made about 200 miles before he hit the ditch and went over an approach.It destoyed the load and huge damage to his truck and hopfully his ego.

Case485Guy · Feb 11, 2012

I used to be over shipping at the campany I work at, have since moved up.I was in a similar situation a few times. I ship mainly reels or coils of wire rope loaded what we call in a suicide or in rolling position. Had 1 driver leave out with 2 each 3/8" x 20' chain on a 19,000 lb reel! I talked to our GM about it, and he said when the driver signs for it, its his resposibility, not to worry about it.
The best one was a driver that had me load it with out stripping....flat out refused to let me put stripping down, then had me sit the reel on the deck and he ran 1 chain through the center, boomed it down and was ready to roll...this was a 26,000 lb reel. Untill I parked a fork lift in front and behind the rig and told him no way he was leaving like that. A short conversation with his dispatcher, I pulled the reel off and sent him on his way. I called another company, better/more experienced driver and we were good to go.
Kind of got chewed on some that day for that, but like I said...that could have my family or your family next to him when that reel broke loose and came off the trailer..That signature may release us from liability, but does nothing for the stupid factor

newbury · Feb 12, 2012

Case485Guy said:
<snip>
The best one was a driver that had me load it with out stripping....flat out refused to let me put stripping down, then had me sit the reel on the deck and he ran 1 chain through the center, boomed it down and was ready to roll...this was a 26,000 lb reel. Untill I parked a fork lift in front and behind the rig and told him no way he was leaving like that. A short conversation with his dispatcher, I pulled the reel off and sent him on his way. I called another company, better/more experienced driver and we were good to go.
Kind of got chewed on some that day for that, but like I said...that could have my family or your family next to him when that reel broke loose and came off the trailer..That signature may release us from liability, but does nothing for the stupid factor

That's taking responsibility for those that are unaware, like rescuing a small child from wandering on the highway. Kudos to you.