Exhibitor Freight Procedures

Advance Freight Procedures
The advance warehouse is available for all shipments regardless of booth size. However, if your booth is 300 Square feet or less your freight must ship to the GES Advance warehouse by Wednesday, September 27, 2017. Any freight that falls into this category delivered direct to show site will be charged a 50% "off target" surcharge. Please make sure that all shipments are labeled correctly. Print shipping labels or you can use the example below.

Proper labeling for advance shipments:
AUSA Annual Meeting 2017
C/O: Global Experience Specialists (GES)
c/o TForce Freight
6571 Washington Blvd.
Elkridge, MD  21075

Advance Warehouse freight will be delivered to your booth by your targeted installation time.

Direct Freight Procedures
This option is only available to exhibitors whose booth size is greater than 300 net sq ft.

All Carriers must first check in at the GES marshaling yard. Please do not have them proceed to the convention center first. If they do report to the convention center first, they will be redirected to the marshaling yard which could result in a significant delay for your delivery. Once checked into the marshaling yard, they will be dispatched based on; targeted move in time, dock availability, position on the floor and order of arrival. Your carrier can check into the marshaling yard prior to your target time. If you have any questions on these procedures, please Contact Us.

Critical Planning Schedule

The matrix below outlines the critical planning information for your booth space. This information is broken down by booth size and exhibit halls. The information outlined in this matrix covers: shipping dates, location of where you will ship to (show site or advance), when your freight will be delivered to the booth space, time that you should plan to begin your installation and lastly the time that you must have your shipping containers emptied, labeled and ready for removal (also called Empty Crate Deadline).

Mobile Display Units/Heavy Equipment Procedures

• The movement of mobile display units and heavy equipment will be coordinated by zones per the Critical Planning Schedule. The equipment will then move via an escorted convoy from the staging lot at the marshaling yard, to convention center within the time stated on the Critical Planning Schedule.
• The Mobile Display Units/Heavy Equipment Questionnaire will be included in the section labeled "Exhibitor Installation & Dismantle Procedures - Mobile Display Units / Heavy Equipment" in this service manual. These questionnaires must be filled out and returned to GES no later than Friday, August 25th. Failure to supply this information prior to the published deadline will greatly hamper our ability to coordinate the move in.
• Exhibitor owned booth carpet - GES reserves the right to install all exhibitors owned booth carpet in booths with mobile display units and/or heavy equipment, regardless of booth size. All carpet and pad must arrive at the GES advance warehouse no later than Wednesday, September 27, 2017. GES will include Vehicle Booth Carpet labels. These labels will need to be affixed to all rolls of carpet and pad. GES will deliver and install these carpets as a priority.

Mobile Display Units/Heavy Equipment Zone Floor Plan

• The exhibit floor is broken down into "Zones." A zone is a specific section of the exhibit floor. There are different times for each zone. We have designed the Zone Floor Plan so that we can effectively and efficiently move in the mobile display units and heavy equipment.

Mobile Display Units/Heavy Equipment Staging Lot / Arrival Time / Location

• All mobile display units and heavy equipment will report to the GES Marshaling yard at least 3 hours prior to your published zone move in time.

Rigging/Sign Hanging

• Hanging Signs – all must ship to the GES advance warehouse by Wednesday, September 27, 2017. Exhibitors must use the hanging sign shipping label.
• Truss / Rigging jobs – all truss, lighting equipment, etc. that is not being rented through GES will need to ship to the GES advance warehouse by Wednesday, September 27, 2017. Exhibitors need to affix the hanging sign shipping label to all equipment that is required for the installation of your lighting rig. These labels are found in the Shipping, Drayage and Material Handling section. The equipment required for your lighting rig/truss job will be brought over as a priority on the designated installation day for the rigging within your zone. All lighting plots, floor plans, diagrams pertaining to the requirements for the truss/lighting job must be sent to GES and Hi-Tech Electric no later than Friday, August 25th.

General Installation Information

Security and Badge Requirements
Union Labor - Exhibitor-Appointed Contractors

1. GES will have an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (EAC) labor check-in desk located at the 7th Street Security Entrance of the Convention Center. GES will review the completed "EAC Intent to Use Union Labor" forms, and will ensure that all necessary paperwork is on file (Certificate of Insurance, Letter from Exhibiting Company stating Intent to use EAC). Contact information for each EAC's POINT OF CONTACT (POC) must be on file with GES no later than Wednesday, September 6th.
2. EAC POINT OF CONTACT (POC) will be responsible for ensuring that their union labor has checked into the GES labor desk and secured the GES EAC wrist band. When the EAC is submitting their call to the union hall, they will need to stress that their workers must receive a GES EAC wrist band prior to the commencement of their work day. This will be a daily requirement. There will be a new color for each day of the event. They will be numbered for tracking purposes. The number assigned to the union worker will be notated on a tracking form that will be kept on file with GES. After the union worker has received this wrist band they may proceed to the show floor to commence work.
3. Enforcement of wrist band procedures will be the responsibility of AUSA Security and its contract security firm. They will send individuals who are found on the floor without the proper wristband, or who attempt to enter the exhibit halls without the proper wristband, to the GES EAC labor check-in desk.

Booth Diagrams/Floor Plans/Lighting Plots

• Booth Diagrams/Floor plans/Lighting Plots – it will be critical for ALL exhibitors to supply the Official Show Contractor, GES, Hi-Tech Electrical and Smart City Telecommunications, complete booth diagrams/floor plans that indicate where the electrical and phone lines will be placed as well as any other critical element of your display. An example of a critical element would be a hanging sign or display vehicle in your booth space. These companies will be working closely together to ensure that they are meeting their time commitments to the exhibit floor. In order for your booth to be ready for your published installation time these companies must have your booth diagrams/floor plans.
• Booth Diagrams/Floor plans Deadline – please provide to GES, High-Tec Electrical and Smart City Telecommunications no later than Friday, August 25th.

Empty Crate Removal

• GES will have a "Clean Floor Policy" in effect for this event. All exhibitors are required to adhere to the deadlines dates/time outlined in the exhibitor service manual. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a financial penalty.
• GES will have crews working overnight removing crates that have been marked with an empty sticker. We do ask that all companies tag their empty containers prior to leaving for the day. In particular, companies who have been granted early move in, it is imperative that you work to get your crates emptied and tagged so that GES can continue to have access to the aisles for the continuation of exhibit hall installation.
• Empty Labels may be obtained from the GES Servicenter or from a GES Exhibitor Service Executive.

Empty Crate Penalty

• Failure to have your materials labeled and ready for removal by the time listed in the Critical Planning Schedule will result in financial penalty. The penalty assessed will be as follows:
• 1-10 containers: $446.75 for every empty that is not labeled and ready for removal
• 11-20 containers: $623.00 for every empty that is not labeled and ready for removal
• 20 + containers: $752.00 for every empty that is not labeled and ready for removal

You will be advised by GES management with a 1 hour warning. After that, a work ticket will be generated and the billing will begin.

Aisle Carpet

• GES will begin to install aisle carpet in Halls A-E at 6:00pm on Saturday, October 7th. All exhibitor booth materials must be moved out of the aisles and into your display space GES will begin to sweep the aisles of all materials in Halls A-E at 5:00pm on Saturday, October 7th. Materials that are located in the aisles in front of your booth will be moved into your display space at this time.

Morning of Show Open

• AUSA will conduct a walk through from 7:00am-8:00am. All booths must be 100% show ready prior to this walk through.
• Job boxes/ladders - Please notify your exhibitor appointed contractor that these materials must be removed from your booth space prior to this walk through. They are not permitted to be pushed into the aisles for storage. We strongly suggest that they are removed on Sunday evening at the end of your day. Due to space constraints on the docks, GES will not have any storage space for these items. They must be removed from property 100% or to one of the designated EAC areas noted on the floor plan.

Requests for Early Freight Move In

• Please refer to the Critical Planning schedule for your specific installation information. GES will not be adjusting the schedules as they are outlined on this document.