Logistics
Definition
For the purpose of this article Logistics will be defined as the storage, transportation, setup, take down, and maintenance of durable equipment and fixtures.
scieneros
Anecdotal stories
Quoting Carsten Turner heavily:
The majority of the job of logistics is recruiting. This cannot be understated, as it's as much a job of getting an adequate supply of warm bodies as it is a job of actually moving things. A good starting point would be about a dozen people for loading and unloading the truck. This may seem small, but consider that dealing with the truck can involve exposure to weather.
About a month before con, a call out to the departments needs to be made, inviting all comers to a tagging party, where department heads visit storage and identify what materials need to be loaded onto the truck and which can be left behind. A knowledgable logistics head will know that a certain amount of stuff will go, such as art show panels and pipe, the coolers for food-prep, and so on, but tech will certainly need to identify their stuff, we might have a fridge provided to us by the hotel, etc. No amount of interest from the departments is too much in this regard, however, as tagging is generally done in the colder weather, again, it's a matter of overcoming adversity of the masses to get out and do it. Budgeting for pizza or the like is an effective motivator. A good strategy is to use labels that are around 4x6 inches with "$convention-NN", where "NN" is the year of the current con, and then have interested parties write "YES" or "NO" in magic marker and affix to the desired articles. Encourage prominent labeling. It's good to count on having two or three such tagging parties to allow for individual scheduling issues.
The current incarnation of Arisia, an ambitious 2000-person regional, requires an 18 foot Ryder truck filled twice. In the past, if the foreman played a heroic game of "Tetris", a single 24 foot truckload was manageable, however, experience has shown greater efficiency in two 18 foot loads and a lesser emphasis on Tetris. Most rental agencies won't want to know us 'til about two weeks prior to con, however, for budgeting purposes, calls might be made long in advance. Don't skimp on the truck: fannish conventions are heavy and driving an overweight truck is dangerous. In a fairly known saga, the original author of this article found himself 50% overweight at a Connecticut weigh station at 2 AM, unable to continue home from Lunacon: Lunacon took the hit of a $1,600 fine. Art show panels and pipe is *heavy*. So is everything else, and don't forget the combined weight of a driver and passenger with their personal effects will approach 1/4 ton.
Try and arrange loading the truck on Wednesday night, having the driver take the truck home if he lives in a safe neighborhood. Don't forget to lock the truck. Unload at the hotel as early on Thursday as possible, then return to storage for more stuff. It's possible to have both truck runs done and have the truck empty by mid afternoon Thursday. A good plan is to get a truck with a lift gate *and* a ramp if possible. Load the truck via the ramp at storage, art show panels against the nose of the truck, pipe next, and then as much heavy stuff next, up to the point of the axle. Use load straps liberally. Pile lighter stuff on top of the carts. At the hotel, a ramp will move stuff off the truck faster than the lift gate ever will. However, in the case of wheeled road cases, and their great weight, care must be taken. This is the time to get 10-11 bodies on deck. The important rule is that the stuff in the road cases is replaceable. It will cost a fair amount of money to do so, but no amount of money will replace the health or life of a fan injured in an accident. Therefore, if the road cases look like they're "gonna go", stand aside and let gravity run its course. It's easier to fix broken art show stuff than broken bodies. Fandom is full of funny stories; it needs no tragedies. Have one person act as a spotter and look out for bystanders. Road cases can weigh in excess of 500 pounds. Gravity is particularly cruel and merciless. NO-ONE should be standing in the area of the end of the ramp (i.e. stay clear of the "line of fire"). 1 or 2 people will be on the truck, rolling the cart to the edge of the ramp. The others will be evenly apportioned on the left and right sides of the ramp, controlling its decent. Again, if control of the cart is lost, let it go. Moving carefully, guide the cart down the ramp and then off to the elevator. If possible the 1 or 2 people in the truck should try to provide support.
In some hotels, a good plan is to get everything into the Ballroom, then stage it such that department heads can come down and grab their stuff. At this point, logistics should try and provide what carts and hand trucks as can be spared to facilitate this, but remember, the emphasis is in getting the truck empty. If the truck is empty by mid afternoon, this usually isn't a problem as most staffers aren't at the hotel yet.
During con, the logistics head should be ready to provide food-runs to the "creature-comfort" departments. Generally, Saturday morning, department heads should be taking stock of their supplies and generating shopping lists. Some time in the afternoon, a run to Costco or the like will be needed.
On Sunday, encourage department heads to start packing what they can as soon as possible and coordinate with Tech to determine where things can be staged in the Ballroom. As soon as is possible, begin loading the truck. Assume that this will go on until around 8 or 9 PM. Again, pizza makes a good bribe. More importantly, volunteers will need to be fed in general. Monday, bring the truck back to the hotel as soon as it's empty for the remnants of the con. Things like Operations won't have been entirely struck until then.
If possible, consider ways to get more of the con onto wheels. When Arisia built custom carts for them, the artshow pipe and panels became a cakewalk to move. When one considers that in years before then, every section of pipe was hand carried to the truck, then into the hotel, you can imagine the great advance that was. Likewise for the tech gear. Current carts are a form factor of 2x4 feet and a mostly uniform height, to allow for placing lighter things on top. Rather than make one cart that will hold everything, yet be unmanageable by anyone other than Chewbacca, break up the load and consider what the average fan can deal with. Large wheels are friendlier on hotel carpet and roll over things like extension cords and such more easily.
If possible, secure a few FRS radios. One in the storage unit and one at the truck will provide a lot of sanity. If the logistics head and his deputies have radios, there's a great savings in brain cells.
