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E Practical Ways to Cut fuCosts in Carqo Handling = Conducted by H.E.STOCKER 4 Ahege | ai, l\ Cargo Handling Costs can be Reduced by Applying | ransportation Principles tion were considered in the No- vember issue, the terminal time principle, the handling principle and the mechanical equipment principle. In this article additional principles will be considered. The fourth principle is the straight line movement which may be stated as, “‘Economy in transporting cargo is obtained by moving it in a straight line.’’ In manufacturing this is known as the straight line production prin- ciple, the ideal application of which is found in factories where the raw material enters the building at one end and goes out—a finished prod- uct—at the other end of the build- ing, with cross hauls reduced to the lowest practical minimum. In eargo handling operations the Tics» principles of transporta- 28 MARINE REVIEwW—December, By Hi. £. Stocker application of this principle is found on terminals where the cargo is placed so that the hauls from the piles to the ship are reduced to the lowest practical minimum and cross hauling is avoided as far as possible. Planning Terminal Operations Contrasted with this careful plan- ning of terminal operations, the auth- or has visited a terminal where there was almost no planning of the oper- ations to avoid unnecessary hauling of cargo on the pier. Cargo for No. 1] hatch was hauled the whole length of the pier and loaded into No. 5 hatch, while cargo opposite No. 5 hatch was hauled the whole length of the pier and loaded into No. 1 hatch. Not only were the hauls longer than nec- essary, but the pier congestion was © Spiral chutes on piers, between decks, are an application of the gravity principle of freight handling ® 1934 increased and operations slowed down by the cross hauling of cargo. In a general cargo operation, all long hauls and all cross hauling can- not be avoided, but if the operations are directed with the straight line movement principle in mind, the op- eration will be faster and costs will be reduced. Another application of this prin- ciple is found in the use of sideports in vessels. The cargo moves into or out of the vessel in nearly a straight line which is one of the several rea- sons why sideport operations are more economical than hatches. The fifth principle may be stated as, “‘“Economy is obtained by reduc- ing the ratio of dead load to revenue load.’’ The application of this prin- ciple is shown in the case of cargo shipped on skids. The economy of the skid method varies as the ratio of the dead weight of the skid to the weight of the cargo. The fifth principle, known as the gravity principle, states that, ‘‘Econ- omy is obtained by handling cargo by gravity wherever possible.’ Gravity and Conveyors For example, the author saw a Matson line ship loading at San Fran- cisco, using skids and lift trucks for handling bags of rice from the pier into the ’tweendeck and chutes for sending the cargo into the lower hold. This principle is applied also in load- ing flour from a warehouse to coast-