Packaging plays crucial role in risk management

The heavier the machine, the more vulnerable it is ALAN PEAT A STRICT warning to those moving project cargoes: Don’t presume these massive machines are “bullet-proof”, according to Garth Huggins, Durban branch manager of marine cargo surveyors, Rennie Murray. “If you are dealing with heavy machinery, you should not presume that its weight alone will keep it in place when being transported – on the contrary, the heavier the machine, the more securing is required,” he said. And the most frequent problem in the recent project cargo surveys done by Rennie Murray has been just that – poor packaging. “Very expensive machines are built to the highest quality standards, and then considerable effort is expended by logistics operators to move the machines by the appropriate carriers to the appropriate places at the appropriate times,” Huggins added. “However, all too often the packaging has not been carefully considered for the rigours of sea and road, or even air transport – which the shipper should ensure is right for the job it has to do.” Sometimes this results in damages or delays while cargoes are re-packed. But whichever it is, according to Huggins, it’s still going to be a costly problem for someone. “A 25-ton machine, for example, may have been packed in the appropriate wooden crate – and the crate secured and lashed-down on the ship or the truck,” he said. “But if nobody’s given enough attention to properly securing the machine inside the box it becomes a 25-ton battering ram, with possible catastrophe for packaging or machine.” The answer here, Huggins added, is a focus among shippers on appropriate packaging. “It’s just as important as all the other precise planning that should go into project cargo movement.” And that’s a buoyant market at the moment, stimulated by the overall buoyancy in the SA economy – with Rennie Murray recording increased business in both cargo damage surveys and supervising the safe loading and securing of project cargoes. “A lot of the project cargoes we have been doing recently have been related to the mining industry,” said Huggins, “with SA mining houses stepping up their exploration and mining in the rest of Africa. “But there is also a lot of activity in the manufacturing sector – with imported industrial plants also being moved into various destinations in southern Africa.”