FEMA: Hurricane Ida Disaster Relief

Client Profile

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for leading the effort to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from the impacts of disaster events. Once mobilized, FEMA moves quickly, with short notice, and with a no-fail expectation across all aspects of a mission.

Client Need

On Thursday, August 26th, 2021, FEMA began coordinating its efforts to respond to Hurricane Ida and its devastating aftermath. FEMA began scheduling numerous missions that required immediate action and were categorized as no-fail. These missions called for various specialized equipment, including power only, van, open deck, drop trailers, and over-dimensional capabilities. 

Approach/Solution

Instead of calling the customer and awaiting action on their part, our driver called us. When a KCH Operations Manager was made aware of the lack of a forklift at the delivery location, he immediately set about solving the problem to get the load off the truck and keep our customer’s operations running smoothly.

We picked up the phone and called equipment rental services in the area that offer rental forklifts. It only took a few calls to find a rental agency that had a forklift available right away. We arranged for it to be delivered on a rollback trailer to the customer’s facility at once.

“He [sic] made the right call by solving the problem right away. We know that not acting proactively can be costly for the customer, and our actions are always guided by what best serves the customer’s needs. In this case, taking action to get the load off the truck as quickly as possible did just that.” – JASON WHITTEN, PRESIDENT, KCH TRANSPORTATION

Result

Upon arrival, the forklift was immediately used to promptly unload the cargo from the trailer, minimizing the delay. When our customer was apprised of the situation, they were impressed that we took immediate action to solve the problem proactively.

Thanks to our team, the situation turned into a positive experience that strengthened KCH Transportation’s relationship with the customer. It also reinforced the fact that we are a partner who is as invested in the success of the transport process as they are.

Today, we’re the customer’s most trusted transportation broker, once again proving that we don’t just talk about white-glove service – we exemplify it.

“We take solving problems seriously, especially when the customer benefits from our team’s creative thinking. That’s why when our customers need a complete solution that covers all the bases, they call KCH Transportation.”– JASON WHITTEN, PRESIDENT, KCH TRANSPORTATION