18 May
2011
18 May
'11
6:14 p.m.
>>They demolished the
>>units of drawers, and who knows how much type they lost as they moved the
>>stuff half way across country (I'm told that there was loose type in the
>>truck and on the ground when they unloaded).
I know it's easy to critique the craters mistakes but there is a point
To be learned and I think it's fundamental: High density objects that
May normally OK at rest in their usual low density containers, do
not travel well unless measures are taken to prevent them from rattling around.
Type in drawers is one example, but a more relevant one for this group would
be big iron transformers on aluminum or steel sheet metal chassis. That chassis may be
Perfectly fine at rest, but keep in mind that its
Very likely the transformer was originally shipped separate from the chassis when
The unit was new, 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.
Every single instance I've seen where a supposedly professional packer/crater
Screwed up, it was a high density object that wasn't taken into account that did
The damage. I was not so much angry to see the damage inflicted by the transformer
Rattling around in the chassis, as I was sad.
Tim.
18 May
18 May
7:02 p.m.
At 2:14 PM -0400 5/18/11, Shoppa, Tim wrote:
Part of the problem is that they were instructed to remove each
drawer, put padding in, and shrink wrap it. I gather they sort of
did this on 3 drawers of type. Things would have gone a lot better
*IF* they'd followed instructions. They basically totally
disregarded the instructions on how to pack everything.
Zane
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Photographer |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
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>>They
demolished the
>>units of drawers, and who knows how much type they lost as they moved the
>>stuff half way across country (I'm told that there was loose type in the
>>truck and on the ground when they unloaded).
I know it's easy to critique the craters mistakes but there is a point
To be learned and I think it's fundamental: High density objects that
May normally OK at rest in their usual low density containers, do
not travel well unless measures are taken to prevent them from
rattling around.
Type in drawers is one example, but a more relevant one for this group would
be big iron transformers on aluminum or steel sheet metal chassis.
That chassis may be
Perfectly fine at rest, but keep in mind that its
Very likely the transformer was originally shipped separate from the
chassis when
The unit was new, 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.
Every single instance I've seen where a supposedly professional packer/crater
Screwed up, it was a high density object that wasn't taken into
account that did
The damage. I was not so much angry to see the damage inflicted by
the transformer
Rattling around in the chassis, as I was sad.
Tim. 
9:57 p.m.
--- On Wed, 5/18/11, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote:
Part of the problem is that they were instructed to
remove
each
drawer, put padding in, and shrink wrap it.? I gather
they sort of
did this on 3 drawers of type.? Things would have gone
a lot better
*IF* they'd followed instructions.? They basically
totally
disregarded the instructions on how to pack everything.
I would have made sure that these instructions were clearly represented in the paperwork,
and made sure the shipment was fully insured. If you deal with a carrier that specializes
in high-value shipments, and pay for that grade of service, this is possible. If they
said "we're not responsible for damage to computers, etc.", either they were
referring to issues that are clearly out of their domain (normal vibration, disk heads
that were not locked, exceedingly fragile items requiring more than ordinary care) or you
were trying to get by with a lower grade of service. Rates for shipment of computers are
considerably higher than for shipment of low-value goods, which are again higher than for
shipment of scrap. Besides weight and density, liability exposure is one of the factors
that figures into basic motor freight rates, in addition to extra charges for insurance.
There is a standard system of freight classes (NMFC) that most carriers use to set
rates.
--Bill
9:45 p.m.
--- On Wed, 5/18/11, Shoppa, Tim <tshoppa at wmata.com> wrote:
That chassis may be
Perfectly fine at rest, but keep in mind that its
Very likely the transformer was originally shipped separate
from the chassis when
The unit was new, 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.
This is a particularly serious problem when an item is to be shipped as a parcel. Most
people do not realize that UPS/FedEX/USPS routinely drop these parcels from a height of
several feet in routine handling. I've seen the boxes dropping from the chutes onto
conveyors at the local UPS depot. I've heard that trucks are loaded from chutes as
well. Delivery drivers try to save their backs as well, and would rather slide something
heavy off the back of the truck than handle it gently. Your once nice PDP-8E may land
face down on the pavement.
Many items of a size and weight that would be acceptable to a parcel carrier would be much
better off as palletized freight. Various sorts of mishandling are certainly still
possible, but it is unlikely that the item will be dropped, and it will kept in an
approximately horizontal orientation at all times. It is nearly impossible, for example,
to ship an ASR-33 teletype safely as a parcel. With a single shipping bolt to secure the
internals, I've had several shipped undamaged boxed up on a pallet.
--Bill
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