DC Velocity - February 2012

inbound

Forklifts keep those dogies
rollin’ at annual rodeo

The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is not your average rodeo. The 20-day event is the largest rodeo in the world. It’s also a non-profit venture that raises money for livestock research and education, and provides scholarships and research grants—more than $280 million since the show began in 1932.

The event is run almost entirely by volunteers, and they depend on sponsors who contribute money, labor, and materials. Among those sponsors are Cat Lift Trucks and its Houston-area dealer, Adobe Equipment. Each year, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (MCFA) makes nearly 100 Cat lift trucks of various sizes especially for the rodeo. Volunteers use them free of charge for setup and breakdown, and during the event— about one month all told, according to Kent Eudy, MCFA’s vice president, sales and marketing.

The lift trucks’ capacities range from 3,000 pounds to 36,000 pounds. They’re used to haul everything from hay bales to ticket booths to stage equipment for the nightly concerts in the rodeo arena.

With so many pedestrians, animals, and volunteer drivers, safety is a concern, Eudy says. Accordingly, Adobe’s staff makes sure pedestrian areas are carefully fenced off and volunteers are trained on specific pieces of equipment. Years of experience contribute to a solid safety record, he notes, adding that one of Adobe’s employees has been volunteering on the rodeo’s equipment committee for almost 30 years.

So what happens to all those forklifts when the rodeo is over? Adobe purchases the trucks at a discount from MCFA and resells them. The forklifts, each with a special Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo decal, are especially visible when carrying equipment into the arena for the evening concerts, Eudy says. “A lot of potential buyers see them then and want them … most trucks are sold before the rodeo is even over.” ;

For practical, up-to-date information about transportation law, claims, and contracts, break out your shorts and sandals and head to Florida for the Transportation & Logistics Council’s (TLC) 38th Annual Conference. The event, a joint program with the Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Association, will be held April 23–25 in Orlando.

Workshops will cover a host of subjects logistics managers deal with daily. Examples include risk management and insurance, freight claims FAQs and hot topics, and the implications of recent legal decisions affecting transportation and logistics. Technical sessions and a panel called “The Crystal Ball: What’s Ahead for the Transportation Industry” (featuring forecasts and analysis by members of the press, including our own Senior Editor Mark Solomon) round out the program.

The conference will also feature some big-name luncheon speakers. On Monday, April 23, attendees will hear from Maj. Gen. John B. Cooper, director logistics, installations, and mission support for the U.S. Air Force. The speaker for Tuesday, April 24, will be Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight.

On Sunday, April 22, prior to the start of the conference, TLC
will offer three full-day educational seminars taught by nation-
ally known experts: “Freight Claims in Plain English,”
“Contracting for Transportation and Logistics Services,” and
“Transportation, Logistics, and the Law.”
For more information or to register, contact Diane Smid at
(631) 549-8984 or diane@transportlaw.com. ;

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PHOTO COURTES Y OF MI TSUBISHI CATERPILLAR FORKLIF T AMERICA INC.

Think your handhelds operate in rugged conditions? Data collection in refrigerated warehouses and waterfront container terminals is a piece of cake compared to where the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) gathers information. The agency often conducts data collection activities—from sampling timber and seedlings to surveying streams and wildlife—in demanding environments and remote locations that can be hundreds of miles from the nearest repair technician.

When the Forest Service needed a reliable data collection device that could stand up to the elements, it chose a specially modified version of Psion’s compact Workabout Pro 3 handheld computer. The USFS will be able to order the devices under the terms of a five-year blanket purchase agreement with Psion partner Handheld Systems Inc.

As part of the USFS’s evaluation process, the devices were tested at the Missoula (Mont.) Technology and Development Center, a division of the Forest Service that’s responsible for testing equipment for federal and state agencies. No word on whether the evaluation included testing for resistance to mos-quitoes, gnawing rodents, and grizzly bears. ;