iAmicos

06/21/2022

So excited to meet everyone at St. Louis for the !! FirstLegoLeague

06/18/2022

We created a short video to describe the challenge we're addressing and highlight our solution:

https://usfirst.submittable.com/gallery/48359bf4-58a8-4ef2-9fba-f2bce3af4ff0/23880608/1

06/17/2022

1. FlexShelf, promotes sustainability and cost savings in the shipping industry.

2. We estimate that FlexShelf can increase global container volume efficiency by 13%.

3. FlexShelf is estimated to save about 25 million shipping container trips (out of 250 million made annually) each year, reducing congestion at shipping ports. This will help reduce the long lines of ships at shipping ports so that your packages can reach your doorstep far quicker!

4. Presently, maritime shipping causes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, even more than airplanes.

5. Through the FlexShelf, we estimate CO2 emissions could be reduced by 51 million tons per year (out of a total of 940 million tons generated per year by the shipping industry).

6. Today, wood is used to secure packages while they are transported in shipping containers (this is called dunnage). FlexShelf will significantly reduce the amount required.

06/15/2022

1. Our idea, FlexShelf provides a two-level platform that packages can be placed upon to enable stacking above unstackable packages.

2. Due to the great variability in package heights, the upper platform is height-adjustable via a ratchet system.

3. FlexShelf requires no modifications to existing shipping containers and also can easily fit into the existing international shipping protocols.

4. Production of FlexShelf already uses parts and designs that are presently made today, so FlexShelf wouldn’t need significant new manufacturing infrastructure.

5. FlexShelf is made mainly out of aluminum to save weight, but has pins made out of steel to support heavy loads.

6. Through preliminary analysis we did on FlexShelf costs, we believe it would be able to pay for itself in fewer than five trips. We estimate FlexShelf will cost approximately $2,000.

06/14/2022

1. We did research and found that companies often use cheaper packaging. This leads to approximately 50% of packages being unstackable, meaning no packages can be put on top.

2. The only way to currently allow unstackable packages to be stacked requires a very expensive redesign of containers. That is simply not practical.

06/11/2022

1. The cost of shipping a container from China to the United States has increased 500% compared to last year. This cost increase makes it vital for us to fill shipping containers as efficiently as possible.

2. There has been a record number of cargo ships stuck at ports, with nowhere for shipping containers to go. This problem is so significant that the New York Times featured it: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/business/cargo-ships-supply-chain.html

3. Did you know: The average ocean container is 24% empty space, meaning that it is closer to a Lay’s bag of chips (41% empty) than it is to being completely full.

4. A study featured by Forbes showed the average ocean shipping container is almost ¼ empty. This empty space accounts for 60 million extra shipping container trips per year and 122 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions: https://blog.dssmith.com/download-whitepaper-the-empty-space-economy

Sixty-one vessels were anchored offshore on Thursday waiting to unload cargo at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, down from 73 on Sunday.