Shipping freight already comes with its specifications and stressors; now imagine shipping high-value machinery. Those uncertainties of weather, traffic, rigging, or unloading now just become 10 times more nerve-wracking. Fortunately, you don’t have to go into overdrive just to ensure that your high-value machinery gets shipped with zero margin for error.
To ensure that you can ship your high-value machinery with zero margin for error, you just need to remember the basics. Go back to what makes a good shipment and think back to your roots for shipping and freight brokerage. High-value machinery does not need to make the process 10 times harder. It just makes it more important to focus on the details you may skim through before. Here is what you need to know about shipping high-value machinery with zero margin for error.
Don’t Keep The Freight Details a Secret
Firstly, and what we could call most importantly here at Nationwide Equipment Transportation, is not to keep the shipment, your possible worries, or your needs a secret. Your carrier, freight broker, other shippers, and everyone who may touch your high-value machinery shipment can not read your mind. With a shipment of such importance, you don’t want to keep the freight details a secret.
It becomes essential that you communicate with your freight partners and explain to them what the shipment is, what is needed, what you expect, and what the goal is at the end of the day. When you can articulate all the shipment details, you can ensure everyone involved is on the same page from pickup to drop-off. Don’t leave us guessing when there is a significant shipment in the works.
Conduct a Route Survey During The Pre-Moving Stage
Your pre-move assessment and review stage becomes one of the most important stages when you are shipping high-value machinery. In this stage, you will acquire all necessary details about the shipment, such as weight, dimensions, center of gravity, or lifting points, and take those facts into account when developing a route and shipment strategy for the freight.
With a piece of such importance, conducting a route survey can ensure that there are no hiccups in the route itself. A route survey can provide you with a map of the route from start to delivery, while also showing you any clearance measurements you must know, such as doorways, ramps, ceilings, or bridges. You will have a clear understanding of ground load-bearing capacities. With that in mind, you can ensure the route you planned can handle your high-value freight or make any adjustments or improvements you need.
Ensure The Correct Rigging Equipment is Utilized
Every shipment is going to require its own rigging. Most may be fine with a simple pallet or need a blanket wrap. However, if you are shipping high-value machinery, you are going to want to take it a step further to ensure the correct rigging equipment is used and available for your freight before it is taken off the platform.
This is your opportunity to assess any necessary lifting gear and choose any cranes or specialized forklift equipment that can handle the weight and size of your freight. This is also the time to choose the right securement options for your high-value freight. This means possibly utilizing custom-built wooden crates, heavy-duty tie-down straps, or anti-vibration skids. If your high-value machinery requires certain rigging equipment to ensure it doesn’t get damaged during shipment, you must take the time to find the proper tools.
Keep Proper Documentation and Labeling Throughout the Process
There is nothing wrong with over-documenting everything in this process. When shipping high-value machinery, we recommend taking the time to document with precision. This means taking photographs and logging the machine’s wiring setups, calibration, and physical condition. The more documentation you have before the shipment is off your hands, the better. This way you can track what the conditions were before the shipment began and after, just in case anything were to happen.
Additionally, it can be wise to label everything you can, such as any wires, belts, hoses, or bolts, to ensure that when the machine is shipped and when it reaches its destination, everything is accounted for and easy to find.
Have The Correct Transport Permits
Depending on the shipment, you may need to consider acquiring some transportation permits that you may not have had before. You may need permits to ship the type of machinery you plan to ship, or you may need escort vehicles if the shipment is oversized or overweight and traveling on public roads. Before starting the shipment process for your high-value machinery, take a look at what permits may be required to ensure a legal shipment. You can also speak with your freight broker, as they will have this information, too.
Plan For The Unknown
Outside of the tangible steps you can take to ensure your high-value machinery ships with zero margin for error, you should also assess the intangible steps. That means planning for the unknown. Weather, traffic, warehouse capacity, and scheduling are all areas that may not go to plan and could cause hiccups in your shipment process. It is wise to try to stay ahead of them. Strategize for possible hazardous weather conditions, plan for scheduling hiccups, or adjust for traffic depending on when you are conducting the shipment. There are many uncertainties that could happen when sending out a shipment, and for a shipment of such high value, you should have strategies implemented for everything.
Prioritize Simple Communication With All Involved Parties
Now, a tip from the Nationwide Equipment Transportation team specifically is to prioritize easy communication with all involved parties. Whether that is your freight broker, carrier, fellow shippers, or anyone else involved in this high-value freight move, you and they should have an easy, established way to communicate. There should be no “I don’t know how to contact them,” or “Who is in charge of this?” You should have communication processes in place from the jump, ensuring that not only can you contact your people, but they can contact you. Communication is one of the most impactful ways to ensure your high-value machinery ships with zero margin of error.
Shipping high-value freight does not need to be a struggle. If you have further questions or have a shipment to get out, contact the team at Nationwide Equipment Transportation.