When I first arrived in Las Vegas for the International GSE Expo I was feeling more than a little apprehensive as I am a small fish swimming with some very large fish.

I kept remembering what a mentor had said to me, “You have an amazing and practical product and the world needs to know about it”. The International GSE Expo was exactly the place to start bringing TISABAS to the world.

My confidence from being involved with AeroInnovate and the EAA Airventure show also helped combat my feelings of apprehension.

Thanks to everyone that came to our booth and the positive feedback they gave us.  It didn’t take long for that feeling of apprehension to be replaced with a feeling of pride.

So much so that when Power Stow, the company that has thus far set the bar solving the issue of safely loading narrow-bodied aircraft, referred to me as their major competitor, I took it as a compliment. And I had a good chuckle when one of their team members won the $100 in fresh frozen Alaska seafood.

The three days went by in a blur and I wish there was more time to get to know those who stopped by my booth to introduce themselves and learn more about TISABAS.

I’m still getting a lot of encouraging feedback from our post-event emails. We’re getting a lot of interest from International companies and many emails from people saying they liked my product and wanted to be kept in the know as I continue to bring TISABAS to the world.

In case you missed being at GSE Expo with us, here’s a clip announcing the winner of our fresh frozen Alaskan seafood giveaway.

Most passengers do not understand the physical demands it takes to push their 50-pound suitcase up and down the narrow belly of a plane. They often hear and feel the “thump, thump, thump” of baggage being moved off and onto the belly of the plane and often worry whether or not their baggage and belongings will arrive unscathed.

A ramp agent’s duty is to move a 50-pound bag to the back or front of the belly of the plane without causing much harm to themselves or the baggage. Space is so tight ramp agents can’t stand up, forcing them to work on their knees. The stress of moving a bag 35-feet is hard enough but to do it on your knees is stressful on agents’ backs, shoulders, and arms.

Baggage handling is a physically demanding job and leaves many ramp agents with lifelong injuries. These injuries can cost ground service companies millions of dollars every year in worker’s compensation claims. However, it isn’t simply a ramp agent’s injuries airlines and ground service companies need to be worried about; additional costs are accumulated by airlines when a passenger’s baggage is damaged during the loading and unloading process.

Damage to aircraft may cause a delay or cancelation of a passenger’s flight. The time it takes for ramp agents to load and unload baggage can result in passengers waiting for their baggage longer, causing them to miss a connecting flight or an important meeting upon their arrival.

TISABAS or Tim Saves Backs is the answer to helping ease the stress of ramp agents, damaged baggage and passengers missing important connections.

This innovative technology is an expandable and collapsible ramp conveyor that reaches the length of the belly of the plane. This new technology offers many benefits to ground service companies, ramp agents, airlines, and passengers.

• It allows stress to be relieved on the ramp agent’s knees, back, and legs as they use the conveyor belt to simply move baggage to the back and front of the plane.
• The ramp conveyor can be folded up making it easier for ramp agents to fill the plane.
• Customers will no longer hear or see their bags being tossed around.
• Airlines will be able to provide a better work environment for ramp agents with no lifelong injuries.
• The cost of worker’s compensation for airlines will diminish with TISABAS.

The cost of TISABAS outweighs the lifelong cost of ramp agents’ injuries and customers’ damaged bags. With TISABAS ramp agents will have a healthier and happier work environment which in turn will help passengers have a smaller wait time and no worry of missing important connections or the process of filing a claim for damaged baggage.