Safe archive transport: what is important?

By: Melanie Blokland on 11 July 2019

The transportation of archive needs good preparation. One should take climate conditions into account, but also the safety on the road and the working conditions of the driver.

Temperature controlled transport

It is possible to transport archive collections in a temperature of 18˚C with an isolated loading space with a climate control system. The humidity plays an important role in this matter. The Archive Regulations of 2009 sets a standard for air humidity. The air humidity must be between 45% and 55%.

Driving comfort and safety

For organisations that transport internationally and do their transports of archive collections in-house, it is wise to provide the truck with a sleeping cabinet. In this way, the driver does not need to leave the truck for a sleeping or resting break. Besides, there are a lot of options to make the truck comfortable and secure for the driver. For example, driver seat, an automatic car, cruise-control, blind-spot mirrors, cameras and anti-accident.

But during the execution of the archive transport we can take multiple measures to minimize the possible nuisance.

Tack & Trace

Customers are more comfortable when they can see what happens to their archive. With our own Track and Trace programme, one can see the process of the digitization of their archive 24/7. This insight is possible concerning transportation. One can see the current state of the truck and the loading space in detail by using a MIFI-router with 4G internet connection while being from a distance.

Conclusion

There is a lot to achieve in relation to safe transportation. The steps below are the most important:

• Isolated loading space with climate control system;
• a truck with a sleeping cabinet;
• a truck with anti-accident systems;
• describe and discuss risks with the employers;
• make agreements to prevent conflicts between transport movements;
• Track and Trace: giving customers insight into the location and circumstances inside of the truck.

Melanie Blokland Melanie works as Project Controller at the GMS project office. She is, among other things, responsible for the financial-administrative aspects of the project portfolio. She also assists the project manager in logistical planning and other practical matters.