Surveyor is a word that not every Russian entrepreneur knows. We can say that in Russian it is synonymous with the word "expert." The Institute of Surveyors has long been functioning in the system of trade, production and transportation of goods from the sender to the addressee. Moreover, this process goes through all the links of the transport chain. Survey services are the establishment of the fact, nature and extent of damage to the goods, as well as the determination of the quantity and quality of goods, their compliance with the transport or contract conditions. In some cases, the expert is required to establish the circumstances of the incident and restore the full picture of the events.
Work specifics
The transport process is a chain consisting of many links. In addition to the main three - the recipient, the carrier and the sender, it also includes a number of additional ones - storage, freight forwarders, charterer, insurer, producer, hydraulic structures. The need for evaluating the transportation of goods may arise at any stage of transportation. And very often it happens that the punishment for losses is not the guilty participant in the process. To identify the person responsible for losses, there are survey services. This is a series of actions carried out by an independent expert in order to establish both the source of monetary losses and the causes of this event.
Appearance story
Abroad, insurance companies, as well as arbitration and judicial practice, have long been using the services of surveyors. Moreover, it is imperative that they are independent and cannot understate or exaggerate possible losses.
Most likely, survey services would never have appeared in our country. It was an initiative of foreign partners whose interests clashed with Russian at the maritime borders. The first domestic survey company for several years proved its right to exist. For a very long time, Russian manufacturers and traders could not realize the significance of such services. Understanding of their importance came with an analysis of the first precedents in foreign courts. Then it became clear that for victory in business it was necessary to reinforce one’s own arguments with any evidence.
Draft survey
All participants in the transport process emphasize the importance of determining the quantity of goods. Tare-piece cargoes are easy to recount, but there is a problem with bulk cargoes. Weighing on special scales of containers, cars, wagons, etc., requires a lot of time and considerable labor costs. In each weighing, there is a high probability of errors that accumulate over time, giving unscrupulous participants in the transaction an opportunity for fraud. To ensure the integrity of such operations, the provision of survey services is required.
There is a technology that eliminates cheating when weighing. It is called a draft survey. Its meaning is that the ship itself is weighed before loading and after. In this case, the weight of the cargo is determined with an accuracy of 0.1 percent.
Cargo safety
This is one of the most common reasons why participants in the transport process enter into a contract for survey services. To avoid unauthorized access to the cargo, you need to install seals on trailers, containers, holds, etc. But it is important not so much the presence of seals as the correctness of their formulation. And professionally, only an independent surveyor can perform this procedure. At the final stage of cargo delivery, he will personally verify the safety of the seals.
Certification
In many companies, this procedure is included in the survey services. This is the receipt from the expert of a signed certificate in which he certifies that, for example, the cargo is secured and laid in accordance with international standards. Therefore, it is completely safe for the ship and will not be damaged during sea transportation. All this is done both in the interests of the insurer (or the cargo owner) in order to avoid exorbitant costs, and in the interests of the cargo carrier for the release of responsibility for the integrity of the cargo.