Abstract
The first paper of this symposium, by C. B. Crockett, presents some of the economic aspects of the shipment of materials on skid platforms viewed purely from the standpoint of the shipper or receiver of the material. It deals with the equipment necessary and its uses, points out the small influence of freight transportation on total cost, and discusses the savings possible, giving illustrations of actual instances in various industries.
The second paper, by R. L. Lockwood, outlines the development of materials handling from 1890, first in the handling of bulk goods, then in handling materials of construction, and, more recently, in handling goods in process in factories. The author shows that handling materials is unique in that the savings it makes represent net gains which are shared by all elements in industry.
In the third paper J. V. Miller discusses the savings that can be effected in handling railroad stores by lift trucks and skid platforms, giving details of the procedure whereby one railroad has reduced its handling cost by about 65 per cent and the cars tied up in shipping stores by about one-third.
Following Mr. Miller, F. J. Shepard, Jr., outlines the development of the use of lift trucks for interior factory transportation, and briefly discusses their possibilities for interplant transportation and for use between cities through freight and motor-truck shipments. He shows how the methods of packing and transporting paper have been radically changed in the past two years through the use of skid platforms for shipment, and gives figures of savings effected in a number of instances.
In the fifth paper H. E. Stocker deals with the use of skids for water shipment. He stales that in such work the handling can be reduced by keeping freight off the floor of the dock or the deck of the ship, and that the best method of accomplishing this is to receive freight from manufacturers already loaded on skids. In addition to the economy resulting from handling skids on the dock with light trucks, the author claims that the average sling load will be tripled, the ship’s dispatch expedited, and the claims reduced, and that the total savings will be the equivalent of more than a 50 per cent cut in cargo-handling expenses.
In the closing paper Geo. B. Wright discusses skid platforms, stock skid boxes, and power-lift and hand-lift trucks in the handling of cargoes in Great Lakes navigation. He points out that the biggest problem to be faced is the practicability of interchange between carriers, and between carriers and industrial plants, and that the solution can only be arrived at through discussion between representatives of industries, steam railroads, electric lines, steamer lines, city transfer trucking companies, and storage warehouses.
