Cargo surveying is an extremely old profession and still is unique in the modern day professions in that it is learnt mainly by experience and apprenticeship. Cargo surveying entails inspecting a cargo, verifying its condition, establishing damages and/or losses, and the cause of the loss. In order to accomplish this it is vital to have the necessary experience and knowledge of packing and handling methods, but also have a good knowledge of shipping in general.
- Cargo damage surveys
Guatemala is mainly an agricultural rather than an industrial country and imports most finished products and some raw materials. Therefore, in imports we have gained experience in a very wide range of products; such as: vehicles, electronics, textiles, fertilisers, steel, paper, appliances, etc.
- Out Turn Surveys
Out-turn reports are used to establish the quantity of cargo received at any given point during transit. This is a particularly useful tool as a means of risk prevention since having shipments checked regularly makes people more conscious of how the shipments are handled. In addition, due to the method used by Guatemala Customs when clearing goods, this can also be the only way of determining loss at the time of receiving a shipment.
- Pre-shipment Surveys
Pre-shipment inspections are undertaken on exports, and in this area, we have an extensive knowledge in sugar and coffee. These surveys can be large and complicated operations involving weights, packing, quantity and quality of the product, in addition to an overall supervision of methods of loading, inland transport, stevedoring and other determining factors of the operation.
- Project/Heavy Cargo
- Verification of packing and stow
This service is of utmost importance to ensure that cargoes are properly packed and stowed to withstand the normal rigours of sea, air and/or overland transit. Cases do exist where third parties involved in handling goods might mishandle them and supervision is of high importance.
- Weight and/or Quality Certificates
These certificates are of much benefit especially with certain types of cargo such as grains of various sorts, bagged commodities, products that lose or gain weight naturally over a period of time, and products whose quality is of utmost importance or can vary during transit.
- Loading/Discharge Supervisions
These services can be offered at various locations, either at warehouses into or out of containers, trailers or other means of transport, or at ports when being loaded onto or discharged from a vessel. These services can often exceed the verification required by an applicant by acting on the applicant’s behalf in solving problems that can arise. Franklin S.A. has considerable experience in this field in a number of cargoes: sugar, coffee, food aid shipments donated to the country, steel, fertilizers and vehicles.
- Container Surveys
- Container Condition
The condition of containers is of extreme importance, not only the physical condition but also cleanliness. A container is in fact the outer packing of a shipment and it must be checked for physical defects that could result in loss or damage, but also if it were not clean could contaminate the contents
- Container Stuffing/De-stuffing
We have used the term of container stuffing or de-stuffing reports for those verifications of this type of operation, which have become a very important tool for importers, exporters, insurers and any party involved in imports and exports. However, these are also known as Pre-shipment or Out Turn surveys. Ever since containers were introduced, losses have been dramatically reduced, however over the years some losses due to theft have occurred and when these started the methods used were rudimentary and quite obvious, but over more recent years very professional methods of opening containers have been invented. These are difficult to detect unless it is known what to look for. Losses from containers have increased and can be high-value claims. Therefore, holding surveys on containerised shipments is of vital importance.
- Personal Effects
Surveys undertaken on personal effects and/or household goods consist of dealing with people’s cherished belongings that may have been exposed to improper handling, pilferage and/or damage. The necessary steps must be taken in assisting with advise on the correct packing and stowage, and, if being received, accessing the damages and shortages, assisting with repairs, replacements and/or agreeing on depreciations.
Although the following is not a cargo survey we also handle:
