International logistics association IELA is pushing the tenets of safety, standards and sustainability harder than ever as it looks to its annual meeting in Barcelona. The rapid pace of development in the emerging markets brings with it the risk that best practice is forsaken for expediency and low cost. But this is a short-sighted goal; without quality control, the operators in these countries will become risky propositions for organisers of international events.
IELA chairman Bob Moore says the focus on these three fundamental areas is integral to ensuring logistics firms win the attention of international organisers. This is a message the association hopes to convey with its network of ‘home’ and ‘away’ exhibition freight agents, and close ties to international associations including UFI and national bodies such as Germany’s AUMA or the AEO in the UK.
Safety
Occupational health and safety is a core issue for IELA at the moment. While safety standards are commonplace in the UK, Germany, Australia and the US, there is much to do before the emerging markets convince international organisers of their ability to deliver at a level expected from their more mature counterparts.
“We want to be able to go to an organiser in London that is running a show in India, or an organiser running a show in China, and tell them the standards they expect in the UK will be the same they receive in other countries,” says Moore.
“That’s a key plank of what we want to deliver to the organising community.”
However, there is currently no regional panel or committee in place to deliver this, which is something IELA is introducing this year.
“Life is cheap in certain parts of the world and it’s up to us to tell them that is not acceptable,” he says. “People do get hurt on exhibition sites, and it’s very important that we take that seriously, and give organisers piece of mind. When they take responsibility for a venue, they’re accountable for anything that happens. So they need partners they can respect.”
Moore points out forklift trucks are the most dangerous pieces of apparatus on an exhibition site. “They have to be controlled properly. In the UK, all our members are conscious of what they have to do and how, and the key thing is making sure operators in the emerging markets are following suit.
“We want organisers to know they can hire someone down the road with a bunch of forklifts and get the level of service they require through standard operating procedures [SOPs] and a safety platform that we all operate on.”
In order to push this out, IELA is forming a working group to encourage people from each region to participate. “We have to remove apathy – the ‘it can’t happen to me’ mindset – that exists in our industry.
“I’ve seen horrific things. Double-deck stands that, if they were to host a cocktail reception on the upper floor, would collapse. The main thing is that our industry has to become really vigilant, and if we see things that aren’t correct – even if it’s not our own work – we must work to change it.
“The main organisers have logistics front-of-mind, but there are many in smaller emerging markets that don’t. It’s down to us to educate them. If we embed ourselves in the mix then they will come to us.
Sustainability
Moore, who also sits on the UFI Sustainability Committee, says logistics firms can make a serious contribution to sustainability through advising organisers and exhibitors on issues such as packaging. “When you go onto a site and see solid wooden crates arriving, you know they will quite likely be thrown away. But you also know they could easily be repackaged, or replaced by disposable pallets.
“There is such a thing as a green logistics product,” he claims.
“We are planning to come up with sustainability SOPs that can be rolled out all over the world. We already do this in Australia and I know UK forwarders have started talking about this very seriously.”
According to Moore, sustainability comes down to easily identifiable issues such as whether or not a firm uses gas or electric forklifts instead of diesel, or whether it uses sea freight or air freight. “If an exhibitor is using heavy packaging – the heavy chipboard and nail crates – then they’re obviously moving a far heavier piece around the world.
“All these things sound so flippant, but add them together and multiply it across the global exhibition industry and it’s a massive carbon footprint.”
Spreading the word
Of course, culture and working practice comes into the equation somewhere and it’s important to educate rather than try to impose any sort of industrial sanctions. “It has to be, initially, an education process,” Moore says, adding that not everyone is singing from the same sheet.
“Melbourne in Australia has a five-star green venue. But when you’re dealing with international exhibitors from some emerging markets, they are commonly using logistics firms and products that may not meet these standards. It’s what they are used to. They just need educating.
“Ultimately it’s the exhibitor who packs the crate, so ultimately it’s the exhibitor who has to be educated.”
To ensure its members are trained to a level whereby they can educate these companies, IELA makes it compulsory for every member to vote on the service they have received from partners, once a year. Those that don’t make the cut are written to and advised that they need to work on specific areas, assisted by the association.
IELA has to have a point of difference. Our key supporters are the organisers.
“The exhibition food chain is simple. Without an organiser you don’t have a show. Without a venue there is no show. So ultimately logistics companies pop up at the bottom of the food chainm” Moore says.
“But we could be there at the table with these people, helping them. It’s something that a lot of IELA’s members have done for a long time.”
The exhibition freight industry is an integral part of the international exhibition industry, a network of increasingly aligned and standardised partners that could do much to help organisers establish profitable events. Organisers would benefit from bringing them onboard as early as possible.
Any comments? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
