Transportation

If you are referring to this resource and/or embarking on a project with import and export requirements for the first time, we strongly recommend that you contact a transport agent for the latest information and advice.

This resource will be updated in Spring/Summer 2025.

Transportation is a key element of any touring exhibition budget and organisational schedule, and can be the hardest to quantify/pin-down at the planning stage, because an exhibition originator may not have secured all of its venues. A number of models are used for dividing touring transport costs, for example:

• Organisers’ own transport team is used: Direct costs are charged to the project, possibly excluding staff salaries but including any overtime, and can be recouped through the hire fee.
• Venues pay onward transport: The originating venue covers the cost of delivering the exhibition to the first venue, and each subsequent venue pays for onward transport (or return of the exhibition to the originator). The onward transport fee is paid in addition to the hire fee. As an approach, this reduces the financial risk to the originator, by passing it to the hiring venue, who may have to cover the cost of the exhibition travelling a great distance. A hirer may ask for information/reassurances about the location of the next venue before signing the hire agreement, to ensure they can afford this cost. It is to the benefit of the originator to devise a tour that makes a logical progression around the country to minimise costs for the venues, to encourage bookings.
• The cost of transport is divided equally between venues: This can be the fairest approach, but it may mean that the organiser has to pay this cost up front, and invoice the venues towards the end of the project, if the venues are not confirmed immediately. It is likely to be most effective if all venues are known in advance, or if a consortium of venues are collaborating on the exhibition development.

Whichever model is adopted, it is essential that all those involved in planning, co-ordinating and providing the transport discuss, document and agree responsibilities in advance. This is crucial, not only to avoid confusion and duplication, but also to ensure that the organiser is always able to monitor and control related costs. Any one of the following might organise and/or determine the schedule for transport:

• Lender, e.g. stipulates who transports their loan
• Dealer, e.g. dispatching a new acquisition or a work on approval for purchase
• Artist, e.g if still creating work, he/she may request a stand-alone, late shipment
• Organiser, e.g who will cover the cost of collecting from the lender
• Agent, e.g with delegated responsibility for co-ordinating various collections
• Venue, e.g. onward transport to the next venue

The schedule may well involve more than one of these parties. Whoever takes overall responsibility for a move should not only ensure that all responsibilities are clearly defined and agreed, but also that all parties receive confirmation and clarification of exactly who is responsible for what.

Whether an entire exhibition is on the move, or a straightforward local movement is required, this person should assess certain key elements:

• Nature, condition and geographical locations of the works of art or other exhibits involved
• Any related special conditions e.g. by the lender regarding handling, packing or installation
• Budget and available options with regard to deadlines, objects, resources and costs
• Transport specification
• Route, destination, access and parking
• Documentation, including insurance arrangements

All these elements are very much interrelated, and must therefore be reviewed continuously, as a whole as well as in detail. Assembling the above information, including assessing related risks and options, is essential preparation for any move. It is the basic minimum required for briefing an in-house driver, or for initial discussions with an outside agent or carrier, to create an outline transport schedule and outline budget.

Determining factors should not be financial, political or for personal convenience, but whatever is necessary to maintain appropriate standards for the care and protection of the objects:

• Is there any flexibility in the schedule: Plane arrival times are not flexible, but onward road transport could be re-scheduled to combine the collection of two shipments
• Are deliveries possible after hours: Will this incur overtime costs’ Ideally, road transport should be direct and completed the same day. However, the distances involved may preclude this, or it may simply be more cost-effective to plan one or two nights away en route. A secure compound or park must then be organised for the vehicle, with the drivers sleeping on board. Sometimes, the lender may insist that works are off-loaded into secure storage overnight, and re-loaded the next morning. This may also incur additional staffing costs
• If the value (financial or historical) of the shipment is very high, the lender and/or the insurance company or agent will probably recommend splitting the shipment, which will increase transport costs significantly
• Consider the manpower or specialist assistance required to assemble and/or install. Who will provide this? Are available resources at the destination sufficient? Including after-hours?
• Is the carrier also required to unpack? Install? Remove? Repack? All duties must be clearly defined in the contract
• If transport costs are too great for the available budget, e.g. because no suitable part-loads are available, or deadlines can only be met if an (expensive) exclusive vehicle is hired, then a loan may have to be formally withdrawn
• Before any information is circulated, the risks to confidentiality should be very keenly assessed. Sensitive information includes details of valuations; anonymous lenders; security issues; dates and times of special transport. Hijacking or theft of art travelling by road is very rare, but not unknown. The manager, working with the driver and/or agent, has a responsibility to minimise all such risks

The following information should be provided by the organiser at the earliest possible opportunity, to inform planning, including the possibility of part-loads, and to enable potential carriers to quote for the job:

• List of each object/crate for collection/delivery (the transport manifest), including artist (if appropriate), title, medium, size (height x width x depth, specifying inches/centimetres), with/without frame/mount etc., crated/wrapped /to be packed by carrier
• Object status, museum number or identity of owner/lender; location of works for collection
• Year of creation and value of work, depending on the country of origin, if the work is travelling across international borders and may be subject to export controls
• Condition reports: the lender should be asked to complete these before packing or the carriers briefed to condition-check on site, before they pack. If the work has already been packed by the lender, the carrier should note ‘unseen’ on receipts, and carefully check packing before handling or moving the packed work at all
• Any special packing or handling conditions e.g. for fragile objects or with missing or loose parts, instructions for work to travel flat or low reflective glass that is not to be taped
• Document any special fittings that are to be left in situ/removed for transit/supplied by the destination
• Confirm whether brackets, plinth, kick-plinth, barrier or display cases are required for display

This information will also enable the appropriate resources and facilities at the destination to be identified, co-ordinated and confirmed in good time. The organiser should also consider whether site visits are necessary or advisable, e.g. to discuss and plan access or complex installations.

Ideally, one carrier will be used throughout the tour, to ensure consistency of care, but this may not be possible for financial, practical and logistical reasons. If the same carrier is not used, this places a greater emphasis on the importance of detailed and comprehensive briefing information. The organiser should work closely with venues, to establish the best approach to arranging transport for the object and all concerned.

Road transport is the principle approach to the movement of objects and related items for exhibitions touring between UK venues, and one of a number of options when working in an international context. The decision as to whether to transport by road, when working internationally, will be based on a number of factors, including:

• Size and condition of the object/s
• Time available and any scheduling deadlines
• Need to accommodate a courier/curator/technician with the shipment
• Available routes and access
• Budget issues, including the availability of part-loads
• Stipulations of the lender

Road transport has the great advantage of providing a door-to-door option for the movement of exhibition objects and related items. The longer check-in times required for air-freight and for Customs formalities on arrival makes road transport a viable alternative to short flights and 6-8 hour waits. For remote private houses or artists’ studios in unique urban settings, road transport is the only feasible option.

Transport by road also affords space for additional personnel, couriers, curators, technicians – to travel with the shipment, instead of incurring additional train or plane costs. Road transport is almost always the cost-effective option for the movement of heavy, bulky, fragile items for display and installation such as plinths, glazed display cases, screens etc. Since transport is often the largest single element in any touring exhibition budget, the related decisions are critical, both in establishing appropriate standards of care and protection for the objects in transit and in ensuring that all movements are cost-effective.

Type of vehicle: The type of vehicle required is directly related to the nature and volume of the works being transported, their fragility and the protection provided for them – crate, travel frame, soft wrap, carton or (for some very large, heavy and robust works) padded webbing and straps only.

Safe transport is one of the most fundamental requirements in organising exhibitions, and evidence of care is essential, both for the organiser and the carrier/agent. Exhibits must be protected from shock, excessive vibration, incorrect handling, sudden changes in environmental conditions and the risk of theft or damage.

The organiser and/or agent are responsible for determining the level of packing required to protect the object in transit, but the driver has ultimate responsibility for the vehicle and its contents. Most institutional lenders will expect the vehicle to be equipped with:

• Air ride suspension
• Alarm and circuit-breaker
• Environmental controls to maintain a constant temperature between 18°c and 22°C
• Interior fitted with raives and floor rings, for the safe securing of works
• Mobile phone contact, and satellite tracking for complex and/or valuable moves
• Tail-lift, with the appropriate load bearing capacity
• Two drivers, to comply with conditions of the Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS), if these apply. The GIS’s conditions for transport set standards which are widely recognised. Two of the essential conditions are that there must be two people, usually two drivers, on board when objects are in transit and that the vehicle should never be left unattended with objects on board. Failure to observe these precautions, for the Health and Safety of personnel, and the security of the shipment, would transfer responsibility for any risks and insurance liabilities back to the organiser
• The agent or carrier should provide the organiser with the following details:
  • Vehicle registration number.
  • Drivers’ names and vehicle phone number.
  • Drivers’ contact numbers, in the event of an emergency.
  • Details of any part-loads planned for the same vehicle, with names of any couriers.
  • Size and capacity of tail-lift.
  • If there is no tail lift, height of the interior from ground for loading and unloading.
  • Internal measurements, including clearance at the back door.
  • External dimensions: overall height and width of the vehicle.

Loading: The driver (not the courier or organiser) is legally responsible for the safety of his load. Heaviest works are normally placed against the bulkhead, or equally distributed against the sides of the vehicle. Crates should be loaded before soft-wrapped works, and free-standing work tied off centrally if there is not space along the sides. Small packed works should be secured, clearly visible, in cartons or crates, to avoid putting pressure on the works themselves. Foam blocks or sections, or blankets  (clean and without grit or debris) should be used to cushion the object on the floor, to create a pad between one object and another, and to pad out webbing and ties. The load must be balanced and tied off firmly, either to the raives along the sides of the van and/or to rings or sprung poles in the body of the vehicle. Ratchet-webbing, colour coded for different strengths, affords greater control over tying off than is possible with cotton ties.

Route: Each section of the journey should be direct, although the route itself must take into account such factors as the geographical distribution of lenders, availability of part-loads; and fixed timings of plane arrivals or opening/closing of premises. In the final review of arrangements before the journey, the carrier may suggest an alternative route to avoid hazards, and on the day itself, the driver may be directed to choose a different route. This should be explained to any couriers on board. If the re-routing is likely to result in significant delay/s, the driver should phone ahead to advise the destination.

Legal requirements: The organiser should be confident that the driver and any appointed agents are experienced professionals, fully conversant with Health and Safety, Road Transport, and any other regulations.

Until relatively recently, exhibitions and collections that travelled internationally were, perforce, shipped by sea. The emergence of wide-bodied aircraft has offered an alternative and – in many cases – more attractive mode of shipping, particularly in terms of shorter transit times. However, there are still advantages to shipping by sea:

• Cost. Unless shipping very small quantities of cargo, sea freight is almost invariably more cost-effective
• Accommodation of bulky items. Even large freight aircraft have size restrictions
• Security. A dedicated sea container/road trailer can be loaded under the supervision of the shipper/shipping agent, and the organiser can be confident that its contents will not need to be handled again until the container reaches its destination

Sea freight can be divided into two distinct areas:

• Cargo loaded on vehicles, which are in turn shipped on ‘roll-on roll-off’ ferries, may be considered for relatively short journeys (within Europe or across the Mediterranean)
• Containerised traffic, most useful for relatively long journeys

Roll-on roll-off ferries: A Roll-On Roll-Off (RO-RO) ferry is a ship designed to allow vehicles to drive straight on or off without further mechanical assistance, in contrast to the conventional ship which uses cranes or derricks to load and unload its freight.

Shipment by ferry is a basic and necessary form of transport for any island (or peninsular) nation. Like all forms of transport, the ferry has changed dramatically, e.g. the European ferry is now twice or even three times as big as its forerunners of a generation ago, as a result of the expansion of car ownership and foreign holidays. Clearly, the size of ferry available on any route is conditioned by the traffic to be carried. It can range from a 5 vehicle carrier which operates between the Scottish Isles, to the English Channel ferry which has a capacity to carry upward of 100 commercial vehicles.

Extra precautions are necessary to protect exhibits from humid and saline conditions on the quayside, before embarkation and after disembarkation. The insulation provided by the immediate packing around an exhibit and by the vehicle or the container should be sufficient to protect the exhibits from extreme weather conditions whilst waiting on the quayside before and after the crossing. However, the agent should ensure that the risk is reduced, by avoiding delays at the dockside and by ensuring rapid passage through Customs.

For conservation and security reasons, it is important to ensure, both at the booking stage and on the dockside, that the vehicle has an overriding right to travel, even if it means that car passenger traffic is rejected. On most routes, ferry companies will always give passenger traffic preference over cargo, so specific guarantees must be sought and obtained at the time of booking. The driver should always carry documentation to substantiate this guarantee.

The stowage of the vehicle itself is the most fundamental area of concern. Wherever possible, vehicles used for transporting exhibits should travel below deck on any ferry, in order to be protected from the elements. The only exceptions that may be tolerated are short river or estuary crossings, and even here it is important to consider the exposure to which the vehicle – and indirectly its contents – may be subjected during the crossing. Above-decks stowage is totally unacceptable for sea crossings. Because cargo-only ferries often have a configuration which allows for vehicles to travel above deck, it is most important to specify a below-decks position when booking a crossing, and to ensure that driver, courier and agent confirm this position before embarkation.

Before embarkation, the driver, courier or agent should also discuss with the ferry’s loading officer the possibility of a position mid-beam and mid-ships, to help to reduce the stress on the exhibits as the ferry pitches and rolls.

On many ferries, air-conditioning and air-ride systems must be switched off, but on the longer routes, ferry operators are increasingly providing the possibility of plugging into the ship’s power supply. The carrier and/or the agent should ascertain if voltages are satisfactory, so that environmental control systems can continue to function during the crossing.

During the crossing, drivers and passengers are required to leave the vehicle decks until just before disembarkation. The crossing should be treated in the same way as secure storage for overnight stops during inland journeys. Where possible, the vehicle should be provided with physical seals to detect tampering, and it should be left securely locked and alarmed. It is often possible for a driver or courier to arrange with the ship’s purser a periodic inspection of the vehicle.

Containers on land: The most practical design for transporting exhibitions is the general dry box cargo container, described variously as a Dry Van (DV) or General Purpose (GP) container. It is constructed in mild steel, and its rigidity is enhanced by a solid wood floor 5 cm thick. Access is obtained through a double door at one end which gives a height restriction of 2.25 metres. It is possible to exceed this height by using an open-top container, but this would require special stowage and the contents would be protected only by a tarpaulin over the top of the container.

In the period before it is loaded on a ship, a container may travel by rail and road and be stored in the open, and be subjected to a variety of climatic conditions. Under the sun, the temperature inside a container can be more than 20° higher than the air outside, and the container offers no protection either against low temperatures in the middle of winter. This problem may be countered by the use of a refrigerated box container. The overall capacity and design is similar to the general dry box cargo container, but it is insulated and it is fitted with an independently-generated temperature control unit. With these modifications, it is possible to maintain an internal temperature of 13°C. It is worth noting that the use of equipment with a higher specification such as the refrigerated container will attract higher charges than when shipping in a standard container.

When using a container it is important to control the loading procedure. Even where a consignment does not fill the container, it is vital to avoid consolidation with other freight. ‘Consolidation’ means that the consignment will be delivered to a freight terminal where the operator will maximise the space and load potential of the container. Decisions based on commercial expediency will be taken outside the organiser’s supervision. The important benefit of the container is the ability to supervise the only physical handling of its contents that takes place at loading. Once the container is loaded, locked and sealed, its contents should remain untouched until the final unloading.

A sea container loaded in – or delivered to – an inland city such as Birmingham, Zurich or Calgary will have to use other forms of surface transport to reach its destination. It may be delivered to the nearest rail terminal to make the journey by rail, in which case thought should be given to packing methods to counter the considerable vibration and shock to be encountered on rail freight journeys. If it is travelling by road, it will be important to provide similar packing and/or to specify that the trailer has air-ride suspension.

Containers at sea: Only a generation ago, transportation by sea entailed manual stowage of cargo into the ship’s hold, which was both time-consuming and potentially dangerous. The revolution brought about by the introduction of the container ship has eliminated these drawbacks, and freight is now pre-loaded into containers prior to loading on to the vessel. A container ship is designed to accept basic unit sizes of six-metre or twelve-metre containers with a standard width and height of 2.4 metres. Within these parameters, it is possible to use a multitude of container designs.

A container ship will load containers both under deck and also stacked up to four high above deck. Where a general dry box cargo container is used, the agent should give clear and specific instructions to the shipping company to ensure its stowage below decks, to avoid the climatic dangers of stowage above deck. A refrigerated box does not need this instruction, because it will be loaded into special position reserved for these units, below deck in an area of stability which is constantly monitored by the ship’s crew.

The frequency of sailings depends on the route, with major ports having possibly weekly or fortnightly services and lesser ports offering monthly sailings. For an exhibition travelling by sea, the organiser and/or agent should be aware of the exact route and the service offered. The modern trend is to consolidate freight destined for another continent in one major `gateway’ port, by using feeder vessels which bring freight from smaller ports. For example, a container bound for Vancouver from London will first move from Felixstowe to Rotterdam, then on an ocean-going vessel to Los Angeles, and finally onward to Vancouver by feeder vessel. Control can therefore be lost for the longest part of the voyage – and the one with the greatest climatic extremes – unless a representative of the agent is on hand at each trans-shipment to ensure below-decks stowage.

The timetable for sea transport is measured in the terms of days, as opposed to hours when using air. Delays can also arise when feeder vessels are used: because they are smaller, their carrying capacity is restricted and they are more susceptible to delays through bad weather.

The costs of air freight will naturally be higher than equivalent shipments by road or sea, but the greater efficiency and saving of time should be considered, as well as the lower insurance costs (compared with surface transits with their greater risks and claims records).

The cost of air freight is calculated by volume. When planning the packing of the consignment, careful thought should therefore be given to a minimum but safe volume for the exhibit when packed. There is no sense in paying for the transport of packing materials which are not necessary.

Couriers’ costs – including security passes to witness palletisation or depalletisation at cargo centres, as well as air tickets to fly with their consignments – may be high, but will often be good value when compared with the extra time and insurance factors required for a surface transit.

Aircraft capacity: Because of the small number of manufacturers worldwide, the variations in types of aircraft have been kept to a workable minimum. This is especially advantageous to the exhibition organiser, who can get to know the size and load capacity of specific aircraft, and who can be sure that the aircraft operating between London and Paris are also those used between Beijing and Tokyo.

Figures for cargo hold capacities are available in the various aircraft manuals, but these are best analysed by a shipping agent. Question your agent to ensure that the whole tour schedule will be possible for all the exhibits and that your crate construction will give the best use of available aircraft capacity.

Most aircraft today are built to three basic configurations: passenger, cargo or `combi’. The first is constructed primarily for carrying passengers, and its cargo capacity is of secondary importance. The cargo aircraft gives all possible space available to the carriage of freight, and has very limited seating capacity in the cockpit (eg for couriers). The combi gives greater flexibility, in that the main deck is split, two-thirds being devoted to passengers, and one-third to cargo.

Whichever the configuration, almost all aircraft are designed to have an upper and lower deck. On the all-passenger aircraft, the main (upper) deck is exclusively reserved for seating, leaving the lower deck to accommodate baggage and cargo. The height of lower-deck cargo holds will vary, from 155 cm (62″) to as low as 95 cm (38″), depending on the type of aircraft used.

The ability to use the whole of the upper deck in the all-cargo configuration – or part of it in the combi – makes it possible to send cases with heights ranging from 195 cm (78″) to 298 cm (119″), again depending on the type of aircraft used. Cargolux, a Luxemburg company operating freighter shipments only, specifies a maximum height of 2.9 metres.

Handling: Especially with small passenger aircraft, handling is a major problem because it is predominantly manual. From the first reception at the airline warehouse, the shipment may be moved constantly, often with little regard to handling instructions “Keep this way up”, “fragile” etc. It will then travel to the waiting aircraft, which may sometimes be over a mile from the cargo terminal, in a vehicle which has minimal means of restraining its load. At the plane side, the cases are loaded to suit the confines of the hold and not for the benefit of the shipment. That consignments arrive unscathed reflects more on the packing techniques used than on any care afforded in transit. This form of transport should only be used as a very last resort and then only when very resilient objects are being dispatched.

By far the best method of cargo handling is through the use of a container or pallet, where mechanised loading dispenses with manual handling. The pallet is a flat aluminium platform, upon which a cargo is placed and restrained by loading straps and specially-designed loading nets. Protection from moisture should be given by heavy-duty polythene sheeting placed over and under the load, prior to the load being secured to the pallet by heavy-duty elastic nets and then further being encapsulated by a plastic cover placed over the cargo when the pallet is loaded. The standard pallet size is 307 cms x 213 cms. (121″ x 84″) for Boeing 747, 767 and 777 aircraft.

The container is also constructed with an aluminium flat base, but has fixed sides and tops of aluminium and/or fibreglass. An open side will allow loading and is protected by a heavy-gauge fibre curtain, which can be security sealed after loading. As with the pallet, cargo can be secured within the container by ratchet webbing, but only to certain fixed points and may thus need to be retained in place by other (non-hazardous) cargo or by wooden pallets (subject to the prevailing international conventions on the carriage of treated timbers). Containers also vary in size according to the size of aircraft in which they are used so organisers should consult their agents for details of available sizes. Shipping agents can also confirm that the pallet or container will be standard to all the makes of aircraft on intercontinental routes where freight will be temporarily offloaded at stopovers for a change of aircraft. This is commonly the case when a single airline is used, but should be checked nevertheless.

Once loaded, pallet and container are usually moved using roller-bed tracks and hydraulic lifts, obviating manual handling and making the movement of heavy freight smooth and safe. Only rarely will an airline use standard road vehicles to carry containerised or palletised freight to an aircraft, usually when the freight-handling capacity of the cargo centre is small and at some distance from the runway.

Timing: The competition between passenger airlines is so acute that their services are keenly geared to speed and efficiency and, at least until 9-11, frequent daily services were the norm between international destinations.

Because air-traffic space is under pressure from additional airlines and flights, it is vital that organisers and couriers adhere strictly to their agents’ advice on arrival and loading times, which will be based on long experience. An all-cargo aircraft may have to give way to passenger-carrying aircraft on take-off and landing, but delays are not usually lengthy. Depending on the destination(s), cargo flights will often be at night and away from scheduled passenger aircraft departures.

Because of security procedures, non-couriered or unsupervised shipments have to be delivered to the airline at least twelve hours before departure. An effective way of reducing the time that freight is held at the airport is to employ couriers, which in the UK can reduce the time from receipt of cargo to aircraft departure to approximately six hours for standard-sized consignments. Longer time should be allowed for larger exports. Arrival back in the UK will normally require about half of this time for unloading, handling and customs clearance of the consignment. Security measures at some British cargo centres (e.g. British Airways at Heathrow) now limit access to agents with an airside pass, whereas other cargo centres will permit a courier to witness containerisation/ palletisation. The agent will be able to confirm what measures are available.

A potential hazard when sending cargo on scheduled passenger flights is “bumping”. Bumping is the last-minute removal of cargo from a flight, because the airline has not sold enough seats and reverts to a smaller aircraft in order to reduce fuel, or because the pilot on an inter-continental flight needs to shed laden weight, for example in cold weather. Bumping is normally only detected when the courier is checking out of the departure gate minutes before a flight. The courier should confirm with the loadmaster/gate staff that the consignment is still loaded and, if not, should not board the flight but instead make contact with the agent who will anyway remain at the airport up to 90 minutes after the scheduled departure and who will re-book the cargo and courier on a later flight.

Organisers at a considerable distance from the main London airports should consider storing exports or imports at an agent’s premises prior to or after a flight, in order to avoid an excessively long working day for the courier, or a departure from or arrival at a venue out of hours.

Preparations: Before exhibits are transported, thought should be given to the logistics of removal and delivery. Problems arising at collection or delivery put exhibits and staff at risk, and are time-consuming and costly to resolve. To ensure as smooth and safe an operation as possible, the organiser should gather information relevant to access and handling from each lender and venue. Early identification of potential difficulties will allow all parties to discuss and agree solutions before a date and time are finalised for the movement.

Preparation will establish the type of packing, equipment and number of technicians required. It will also ensure the safety of the object and of those handling it. Different circumstances can significantly influence the number of technicians and/or need for specialised equipment, e.g. if an exhibit has to be carried over a long distance, through small openings, over an uneven surface or up or down a flight of stairs.

The technicians who load or unload exhibits must be trained in safe handling practices. It should be determined in advance if they will be provided on site, obtained locally or supplied by a specialist shipping agent.

The carrier should ensure that essential equipment such as trolleys, lifting tables, forklift truck or crane are available on site. It may be necessary to hire specialist equipment. Technicians must be knowledgeable about their operation, and forklift or crane operators must hold current certification.

The dimensions and weight of the exhibit will obviously influence the size of vehicle used for transporting the exhibit(s), but other considerations may determine that a vehicle larger than required is supplied, e.g. a truck with a sleeper cab for drivers undertaking long journeys.

Loading/unloading: Facilities for loading and unloading should be appraised to determine any limits on the vehicle to be used. This will establish if loading or unloading can be made directly into or out of the building. For maximum security and safety, the vehicle should park as close to the loading or unloading area as possible. If parking adjacent to the doorway or loading bay is not possible, the exhibit will be placed at greater risk. Throughout the operation, the security and safety of the exhibits(s) must be of paramount concern. Security personnel should be stationed along the route from the building to the vehicle, which will need to be alarmed and not left unattended during loading or unloading.

Unless the exhibit is very small and light, loading and unloading by hand is not desirable for the safety either of the exhibit or the technicians. A loading bank, at the same height as the vehicle floor, provides loading or unloading directly on one level. An alternative option within a venue may be a scissor lift, to raise or lower exhibits between the ground and the vehicle. Otherwise the vehicle itself may provide a solution, since many are fitted with an electrically-operated tail-lift, to safely lower or raise cargo to floor level. If the venue has steps, it may be necessary to construct a ramp, or the vehicle’s tail-lift could be used as a bridge.

The most secure circumstance for loading or unloading is within an enclosed loading bay that has a door or shutter which can be closed once the vehicle is parked inside. If a loading bay is available, check the dimensions of the largest vehicle that can be accommodated inside. However, such facilities are infrequent, and further enquiries and alternative arrangements will often be needed. It may be possible to load or unload the vehicle in an enclosed, secure area, with a gated perimeter fence. In this case, the dimensions of the entrance and the room for manoeuvring outside should be checked.

When a truck arrives with a delivery, it is a good idea to be present as the rear doors are opened. Look at the load and check to see that all items are correctly secured  e.g. that cases containing valuable items are not stacked one on top of another – and that the truck is neat and tidy. This will give you an idea of the professionalism of the transporter.

It may be necessary for the exhibit to be moved some distance to or from the vehicle. Barriers may be required, to keep the public – as much as the exhibits – safe. In addition, the consignment may require protection from the elements, so provision of plastic sheeting etc. must be considered.
If equipment (e.g. a trolley) is to be used, a track of plywood boards or metal plates will reduce vibration over uneven surfaces such as cobbles, gravel or grass. The route from the vehicle to the building might have hazards or obstacles that will interfere with the movement of the wheels or the stability of the cases as they are moved, and it may be necessary to lay down plywood sheets to ensure a smooth path for movement of cases over uneven or soft ground.

Vehicle access: Details of obstacles and parking restrictions, whether at a venue or at a lender’s premises, should be passed to the carrier, who can visit the site and assess this information with their knowledge of the dimensions and capabilities of the vehicles available to them. A continuing relationship with a carrier can be useful, in that their accumulated experience can highlight potential problems. If there are many different deliveries at a venue, due either to collections from many lenders or just sheer volume of material required for the exhibition, it can pay to involve the carrier in the process of producing the transport schedule. Issues include:

• Private residences in particular will have restricted vehicle access, but many institutions also have difficult access. Identifying these problems in advance will permit special arrangements to be made as necessary
• Application may need to be made for suspension of parking restrictions or permission from local authorities. Specialist vehicles have a large turning circle, so it may be necessary for nearby areas to be coned off to ensure no other parked vehicles impede access or restrict manoeuvrability
• Determine if there are any height or width restrictions nearby which may impede large vehicles, (e.g. low bridges, country lanes, narrow gates, tight turns etc.)

The surface over which the vehicle is to manoeuvre should be ascertained and any weight restrictions noted. Tracks or boards may be required if the vehicle has to drive over unsurfaced areas.

Written by:

Road Transport: Anna Bundle (2005), Sea Freight: Nick Forkin (2005), Air Freight: Tim Egan (2005), Collections and deliveries: John Juson (2005).  All updated by Charlotte Dew (2015).