Posts Tagged ‘blogosphere’
Oops — the big crate that couldn’t
Thursday, March 24th, 2011Fit through the door, that is.
Check out this video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYJOWEqm9DM>
There’s lots of chatter in the art handling blogosphere (yes, there is one) today thanks to a posting of this video on You Tube. Much commentary along the lines of how this has happened to every art handler at some time or another, which it likely has. In most cases, thankfully, sans police, photographers, and marching band…
However there is a concept we like to call “reverse logistics” or back to front planning, which can help avoid these problems in many cases. This starts by finding out up front what is going to happen to the shipment at the destination.
What type of building is it going into. Office building? Residence? Museum or gallery? Loading dock or not? Will it need to fit into an elevator? Does it have to fit through a doorway or what is the smallest point of access that needs to be negotiated en route to the final resting place of the goods?
If the right questions are asked in most instances the solution can be built in at the front of the job, by using crate and package specs that conform to conditions at the receiving end.
We haven’t been privy to the next chapter of this delivery. Unless there was alternate access to that building, Plan B would be to unpack the crate in the street, and hope that the travel frame or other package(s) within will fit through the door. This isn’t best in terms of safety for the artworks, but this is any port in a tempest time, clearly.
The doorway size isn’t the only issue seen here.
If there was a very valuable artwork in that crate, which is most likely the case given the fanfare over its arrival, then clearly a better overall receiving plan needed to be made.
Using a pallet jack and bumping the crate over cobblestones isn’t recommended. Better to put down a masonite or plywood runway or have enough manpower to lift the crate and carry it. There also aren’t half enough “hands on” the crate as it comes off the truck – 2 guys isn’t enough to be absolutely sure the crate can’t tilt or tip over. Even if they’re just “spotting” the crate, extra hands show you care.
This might be every art handlers nightmare come to life – the big reception, the towering crate, the looming medieval doorway at the end of the cobbled alley. And to top it off to be You Tubed –this has to be a very special modern ring of Hades.
Our sympathies, guys.
Betsy Dorfman