Message from the Claims Desk 8.22.17

stewartms • August 22, 2017
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Good Morning Stewart Family,

Last night President Donald Trump addressed the nation as well as 2,000 service members at Fort Myer Army Base in Arlington, VA.  He vowed that the US will “fight to win” the war in Afghanistan, and stated that he would be applying a different strategy to resolve the conflict. Our President plans to send 4,000 more troops into the conflict, as well as promised to crack down on Pakistan’s harboring of terrorist and militant groups. So as our troops deploy overseas, let’s ensure that their household’s goods are protected so they can concentrate on winning this war.

This week I would like to talk about loading international shipments into liftvans. We all know that these shipments must be loaded for maximum density, but we also have to ensure that the customer’s items are properly protected as well. This means we are using laydown wardrobes, taking many more things apart, as well as leaving the drawers full.

One of the biggest issues that I see is when our crews leave too much weight in drawers and they break because of it. The breakage occurs because of heavier items in the drawers, such as books or heavy glassware. Leaving clothes/linen in drawers is acceptable, but these other items must be packed separately. Keep in mind we are talking about the space that these objects occupy, so replacing the heavier with the lighter items will not affect your density.

Keep in mind that these ships travel across the seas and are stacked many stories high, so even the slightest movement at sea level creates a much larger one the higher up. To account for all of this excessive movement, furniture should be double if not triple padded.

So keep that density up, take the heavy items out of the drawers, and ensure that each item is protected against the harsh sea movements.

Cheers

Robert Wright

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