Pallets and Palletizing
Standard weight of a pallet
35-40 lbs depending on wood thickness
Standard Pallet Size
40"x48" to accomodate railcar or truck dimensions
Advantages of returnable pallets
- reducion in cost - disposal is responsibility of pallet rental company -ensures pallet are properly maintained
Entry type
defines pallet design by indicating how the pallet is entered 2 way entry: stringer pallets 4-way entry - can be entered by forlift from all four sides
Pallet Stabilization and configuration
stabilized with: 1. adhesives 2. stretch wrap 3. Banding
Weight a pallet can hold
standard 5/8" 4-way wood pallet (48x40) can hold 4,600 lbs
Pallet Configuration
the way pallets are loaded into the truck or shipping container
Pallet Materials
wood, plastic, metal, or corrugated kraft board (90% of demand is for wood pallets [2013 PackWorld])
Wood Pallet grades
#1A or Premium: harwood construction, very clean if not new A or 1: hordwood/softwood mix, 5 bottom boards, repaired with metal plates (no stringer inserts) B or 2: hardwood/softwood mix, repaired with stringer inserts C or 3: very poor condition
Pinwheel
'wheel' around center
Factors determining type of pallet used
- costs - shipping and storage space - material/product being palletized -reuse (returnable pallets)
Overhang/Underhang
- leaves corners of pallet or product unprotected from damage - overhang reduces compression strength by 32% -minimizing overhang and underhang improves pallet utilization and is better stabilized
Types of Pallets
- many sizes and configurations - two broad categories: stringer and block pallets -stringer pallets use a frame of 3 or more parallel pieces of timber called stringers
Causes of a shifting load and how to prevent
-shifting caused by shock or vibration -interlocking used to minimize shifting, movement of row/columns prevented by adjacent row/column
Pallet Standardizations around the world (most common)
America: 48"x40" Asia: 43.3"x42.3" Europe: 31.50"x47.24" (fits through smaller doorways)
Pallet History
First US pallet: 1924 During WWII: more popular, used to transfer allied war materials first 4-way pallet in 1945 forklifts to move pallets: 1948
US Pallet size by industry
Grocery: 48"x40" Chemical: 48"x42" Dairy: 40"x40" Military: 48"x40" Telecommunications: 42"x42"
ISO
International Organization for Standardization (governs size of wooden shipping pallets and there are 6 globally accepted sizes)
NPPO
National Plant Protection Organization
Wooden pallets must be _______ to be used for international transport
heat treated (to 132.8F) or fumigated by methyl bromide IPPC logo
Irregular
interlock/columnstack/pinwheel irregular patterns, lots of software to help determine best configuration
Multiblock
interlocked in one direction but not the other
Unit block
not interlocked, column stacked
What is a pallet?
raise platform upon which goods are placed for transport
Pallet Style
the basic construction style of the pallet single face - one deck double face non reversible - a top face and bottom face that cant be reversed
Block Pallets
typically stonger the stringer pallets, utilize noth parallel and perpendicular stringers (4-way pallet) stronger bc: -more material - weigh more -taller, increased forlift clearance -less prone to damage due to strength
