KLM Cargo introduces dynamic volume scanners

KLM Cargo recently concluded a pilot operation that utilized dynamic volume scanners designed by Austrian startup Cargometer. The Dutch carrier is now looking at adding the scanners to five other doors at its Amsterdam (AMS) cargo acceptance facility and is considering a broader IT integration. Dynamic volume scanning at the point of cargo acceptance helps the airline identify variations between arriving pallets and what is reported on an air waybill with advanced notice and facilitates capacity management and optimization, according to the airline. [caption id="attachment_416726" align="alignright" width="544"] KLM is looking to increase its use of dynamic volume scanners in Amsterdam. (Photo/KLM Cargo)[/caption] “The big motivation stepping into this project, is really the fact that we see there are deviations between what customers declare on the air waybill, and what’s physically being delivered. That is not to blame our customers, but is a fact of life in our industry,” Irwin Budding, program manager for business and process improvement at KLM, told Cargo Facts . For flights on routes that are pressed for capacity, multiple overbuilt pallets “can be a constraint to deliver a good flight plan,” Budding said. KLM Cargo had previously utilized static volume scanners, but they required forklift operators to take a circuitous journey through the warehouse in order to pass through the fixed machines. The dynamic volume scanners, meanwhile, include two wall-mounted cameras affixed to each side of a trucking dock door. The cameras scan pallets and generate a volumetric measurement as they are carried off trucks by forklift, creating measurements that can then be cross-referenced with the air waybill to identify deviations. “With that calculation, we can correct any other estimates we have of the volume in our system. It allows us to improve our flight planning,” said Budding. Already, KLM forklifts are equipped with touchscreens and weight scales that allow operators to match an arriving pallet to an air waybill. A future IT integration would allow KLM to capture and digitize weight and volume measurements, and check and compare those to e-air waybills as soon as an operator pulls the pallet from a truck — and without interfering with the processes of warehouse staff. Traditional weight-based measurements for cargo load factors and capacity have come under scrutiny in recent years, particularly as e-commerce introduces more low-density cargo which can utilize available volumetric capacity before payload capacity is fully utilized. Accurate volume measurements can facilitate capacity pricing based on cargo dimensions rather than weight. Cargometer was selected by a panel of industry judges and the Cargo Facts editorial team as the winner of the 2020 Cargo Facts EMEA DEMOvation Challenge . At the time, freight forwarders and warehousing companies had tested or implemented the volume scanners, but KLM is the first air cargo carrier to move forward with an integration. “We know that in our industry, this type of fundamental change can take time,” Budding said. “We are not expected to change the world overnight, but we see the possibility to improve and that’s why we think this [volume scanner] is one of the things we should go for.” Cargo Facts Symposium, taking place LIVE October 25-27 at the Wynn Las Vegas, is the essential event for stakeholders in the air cargo industry. Learn more and register at www.cargofactssymposium.com .

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