I recently got an inside "look" at UPS operations thanks to my son David. David is a college student and just got a job with UPS part time evening in Harrisburg PA.
A close friend has had a tour of the main hub facility for one of the major couriers. He reported that it is amazing anything arrives without damage.
Most noteworthy is the automated device that moves boxes from one conveyor belt to the next. Boxes come in on the main conveyor, and are sorted onto other conveyors. The boxes are shifted onto the other conveyors by means of a device he described as a boot-on-a-stick. The boxes tumble on the the destination conveyor from the elevated main conveyor.
Since boxes come in all shapes and sizes, this is apparently the most efficient method. Apparently it doesn't work well with luggage, as it is too soft, as the required kicking force in that case is high enough to cause significant damage.
On the same note, the differing sizes resulted in more damage from boxes getting stuck creating a log jam on the conveyors. I can imagine a long boxed airplane would be the cause of many such log jams, especially where the conveyor system curves.
Reminds me of a tech start-up I once worked for, where one person was tasked with testing packaging after a high unit DOA. For at least a week he kicked and threw a shipping container up and down 24 flights of stairs. The container was unpacked and checked for functionality. This was repeated a few more times before new shipping containers were created that surrounded the item with thick foam rubber. Loose material like peanuts shifted and bubble wrap burst.
I've also seen a 30" self-aiming satellite dish that was shipped to Canada from somewhere in Yugoslavia. It took 2 techs over a day to extricate the dish and gear from the wooden shipping container. Every single item was bolted to the box, and was a structural part of it. There had to be more bolts than there are rivets in the Eiffel tower. Quite impressive package engineering. Zero damage of course. I didn't bother to ask about the shipping and handling charges on this one!
-- Andrew E. Mileski
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