If you are a utility project manager, then you know how complicated your job is. You are responsible for supervising every aspect of a job from start to finish. Projects sometimes face obstacles that need effective solutions. Electrical and telecommunication projects can fall apart at any moment without proper guidance.
If new lines need to be run or poles replaced, how will they arrive? What goes into safely delivering equipment on time?
Utility Transportation Basics
Transporting equipment to a worksite is a vital component of a utility project. Heavy haul trucking is the common mode of transportation. These transport jobs require specialized knowledge.
Utility transportation is not as easy as loading a truck, driving it to its final destination, and unloading it. If it was, then your role as a project manager would be stress-free for the most part. As it is, you have to pull permits and map routes.
You also need to have the right crew and equipment on hand to ease the delivery. If you do not, then you must contact rental companies.
You must also hire drivers and workers to help unload the cargo. Then you have to plan all the logistics. When is the cargo arriving? When will the trucks be available?
If all goes according to plan, then your project can move forward. If it does not, if there are scheduling conflicts or crane/forklift rentals fall through at the last minute, then what happens to the project?
Nothing.
Your project could grind to a halt, affecting millions of people who rely on the utilities you have been charged with maintaining. You could be held accountable and lose your job. You need to ensure your utility equipment can be delivered on time.
Choosing a Hauling Company
You could hire a hauling service. If you do not use a regular company, then you would have to research available options. You would also have to consider the pros and cons of each one.
Do you want an asset-based or brokerage hauling company? Asset-based hauling companies are the actual haulers. They own their trucks and equipment and hire their own drivers. Brokerage haulers act as middlemen; they link customers with other hauling companies.
Asset-based companies have to be responsible for their quality of service otherwise they would lose business. The same is true with brokerage companies but to a lesser degree. They can shift blame to the companies they suggest, reducing their liability. However, brokers can occasionally give customers lower, competitive rates, something asset-based outfits might not offer.
Once you choose a company, then you have to make sure it does more than take your cargo from point A to point B.
Some companies will load their haulers but not unload them at their destination. They leave that crucial step for the project manager to figure out. If the project's deadline looms and there is no budget left, the project could stall and fall apart under this pressure.
To prevent this from happening to you, make sure your hauling company provides transloading services.
Utility Transloading is Essential
Transloading involves specially-designed trucks with attached cranes. They use the cranes to unload utility poles and other materials off of rail cars.
Once the materials are loaded onto the trucks, the actual transporting can begin. Delivery can be as easy. The attached crane can unload the shipment wherever it needs to be.
Transloading can save time and money, with time being the more important of the two. Keeping the country’s electrical and communications infrastructures operational is crucial. Without them, the United States can suffer. Industries can not function as well when there are kinks in the supply chain.
People can not connect as they usually do. Utility downtime has to be kept at a minimum to meet consumers' expectations. Transloading can keep the world running as seamlessly as possible for the long haul.
Blackwood Resources and Utility Transloading
Blackwood Resources can provide transloading services so you can see your project completed. We have been a proud and trusted partner of the utility industry since 2017. We recognize the importance of our nation's utility infrastructures and the need to keep them functional. We focus on transload services because they are essential elements in the
Transportation does not have to doom a project. It should not be an impossible obstacle to overcome. We are an asset-based hauling company. We own our trucks and hire some of the country’s most competent drivers and operators.
Whether you need a short or long-term solution, our skilled drivers can deliver your cargo along with top-notch customer service. From transloading facilities to your location, we will do everything in our power to safely and promptly deliver your cargo.
You need a freight carrier that makes your job easier. Don’t miss your deadline. Let us load, transport, and unload your utility poles, wire spools, transformers, and other equipment. Please contact us today.
