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Special report: De-install, crating, rigging and freight

by Keith Loria, Reporter | January 03, 2011
This report originally appeared in the December 2010 issue of DOTmed Business News

Successfully getting larger pieces of pre-owned medical equipment from point A to point B requires de-installation, rigging, crating, transport and a few steps repeated once the piece arrives on site. Although many companies provide all of these services, each part of the equation is critical and provides its unique challenges.

Those challenges are even greater when point A and point B are separated by international borders and oceans.

Lynn Larsen, director of marketing for Diggins and Rose Moving Systems, explains that customers are not always aware of the size limitations in overseas containers.

"As international machinery movers, we are particularly sensitive to sizes and weights. All too often equipment designers and manufacturers assume that a particular machine or crate will fit into a 20' or 40' standard or high cube overseas container without taking into account the interior and door dimensions of these containers," she says. "The result is that the machine or equipment is required to be either shipped by flat rack or air-freighted, a much more expensive option."

It really is a game of inches and missing by even one can be a very costly mistake, so it's important that companies determine exactly what the dimensions of a machine or piece of equipment will be and educate customers on the difficulties that exist with shipping internationally by ocean.

"We also encourage our customers to modularize where possible," Larsen says. "For example, designing and building a long and wide automation assembly line so that it can be easily disassembled into practical-sized sections for shipping."

According to Todd Partridge, vice president of MoveIt Specialized Logistics, international regulatory changes are always a challenge in transporting medical equipment.

In 2010, the Transportation Security Administration implemented 100 percent cargo screening, and to compensate for the added expenses, many air cargo companies have added a security surcharge, or just a general rate increase.

MoveIt specializes in "white glove" medical equipment shipping, including shipment preparation, inside pickup and delivery, and trucking and air freight.

"On the trucking side, the Surface Transportation Board has enacted tougher Hours of Service laws, which cut driver hours, and now include service hours like loading and unloading. This means ultimately fewer driving hours and leads to a general increase in costs," Partridge says. "As a TSA authorized Indirect Air Carrier, that also [translates to] additional procedures."