DC Velocity - March 2019

inbound

It’s not every day that forklift operators get a moment in the spotlight. But drivers from a few select aircargo operations received some strokes at the International Forklift and Pallet Building Competition in Hong Kong earlier this year.

The competition took place in January at the 4. 2 million-square-foot main cargo-handling facility of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. (Hactl). Contestants were judged on their ability to maneuver loaded forklift trucks through a simulated warehouse course, delivering cargo to team members who then had to load as many items as possible, all while meeting safety standards for dangerous goods, heavy cargo, and build integrity set by the International Civil Aviation Organization and International Air Transport Association. All tasks were performed against the clock.

The field of contestants included teams from Air Canada Cargo, Air France Cargo, IAG Cargo, Air China Cargo, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, KLM, Nippon Cargo Airlines, and Qatar Airways. When the dust had settled, the squad from Air Canada Cargo walked away with first prize in the forklift competition, while Air China Cargo claimed the pallet-building prize.

Now in its 12th year, the contest is a key element of Hactl’s ongoing Safety at Work program. “Mixing machinery and people in a time-constrained environment like aircargo handling always introduces risk,” Hactl Chief Executive Wilson Kwong said in a release. “Hactl’s annual competition puts a light-hearted, friendly, and competitive face on a serious message: that safety in the aircargo workplace is paramount.”

Forklift drivers strut
their stuff

Here’s our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

; Salt Lake City-based refrigerated carrier C.R. England and its England Logistics third-party logistics subsidiary provided funding for 1. 6 million meals for children in 2018 through partnerships with 21 food banks in the U.S. and Mexico. The companies have set a goal of funding another 1 million meals for children in 2019.

; Supply chain services company Crowley Logistics teamed up with the United Federation of Teachers’ Disaster Relief Fund to deliver much-needed school supplies to students in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Crowley transported 7,000 pounds of school supplies from Florida to the islands free of charge and donated the loading, trucking, documentation, and customs clearance services for the shipment.

; To celebrate the company’s first anniversary, Logistics Property Co. (LPC) donated $50,000 to Make-A-Wish Illinois. Although LPC initially set out to raise $10,000 to grant one child’s wish, the fund drive ended up netting enough money to grant five children’s wishes.

; Wish Farms, a Plant City, Fla.-based supplier of strawberries, blue-berries, blackberries, and raspberries, and produce packaging supplier Monte Package Co. raised $90,000 for a local migrant group at the 6th annual Strawberry Picking Challenge in February. Proceeds from the event benefit the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, a Florida nonprofit that provides childcare and early education for children of migrant farm workers and rural low-income families.

Logistics gives back
Finland stakes its claim in autonomous
system space

Finland has seen the future, and it is … autonomous. With the global market for autonomous systems expected to reach an estimated $86 billion ( 76 billion euros) by 2025, the country is making an aggressive bid to become a leading player in the development of robotic solutions, including systems for cargo transport.

In January, Finland announced the launch of the Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems (RAAS), an “innovation ecosystem” for autonomous system development. RAAS organizers say areas of focus include developing systems for land transport, marine and port operations, and drones. “Autonomous systems are revolutionizing transport and logistics, and will make them even more efficient and safe in the future, while also lowering emissions,” the alliance said in a release.

Scheduled for a full launch in the autumn of 2020, RAAS could also generate new business opportunities in solutions and services involving the data collected through these new platforms, the group says. Support for the effort has come through a government grant from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.