DC Velocity - April 2013

materialhandlingupdate PALLETS, CONTAINERS, & PACKAGING

bution center operations in the future?

A good pallet supplier can help you choose the right pallet. For example, many wood pallet providers will perform a pallet design system (PDS) analysis for their customers using software licensed by the NWPCA, says Callen Cochran, who handles business development for United Pallet Services Inc. This analysis can tell you how much weight the pallet can hold if racked or stacked, the projected life of the pallet, and how many trips the pallet can be expected to make before it needs repairs. Pallet makers can also use the software to demonstrate the effect a slight design change could have on the strength and durability of your pallets.

▪ Choose a pallet that is not too customized or that requires special handling. “Make the pallet load as universally acceptable as possible,” advises LeRoi Cochran, director of supply chain solutions at pallet recycler IFCO. Otherwise, you’ll have to rely on workers at the warehouse to remember that your pallet or unit load requires special treatment, he explains.

As for what that might involve, it varies with each case. For example, if the pallet is carrying fragile items, it should be strengthened to provide the added protection needed by the product. If it’s used for oversized products, you’ll want to make sure the pallet is large enough that nothing hangs over the edge.

If you can’t design the pallet to avoid the need for special handling, consider segregating these products and pallets in a separate section of the warehouse to reduce the chance of handling mistakes, Cochran adds.

Pallet handling tips for
forklift drivers

The main cause of pallet damage is mishandling by forklift operators, according to the experts. Here are some quick tips for drivers on handling pallets correctly.

HANDLE WITH RESPECT

Preventing pallet damage isn’t just a matter of picking the sturdiest and most suitable units, however. You also have to make sure your employees are handling them correctly. No matter how tough your pallets, if your workers push them across the floor with a forklift truck, or fail to insert the forklift or pallet jack tines all the way, or throw them around, you’ll still end up with a lot of damaged pallets in six months’ time. “Whether it’s a $24 wooden pallet or a $65 plastic one, it will last a lot longer if more care is taken in the way you pick them up and use them,” says Rex Lowe, former president of plastic pallet pooler iGPS.

Industry experts agree that most pallet damage is caused by forklift trucks or pallet jacks. So you’ll want to make sure that these equipment operators in particular are well versed in correct material handling procedures. (For a list of dos and don’ts for forklift operators, see sidebar, “Pallet handling tips for forklift drivers.”)

In many cases, your pallet vendor or pooler can provide you with training materials like videos and posters or come in and talk to your employees. (Or you can simply run a search for “proper pallet handling” on YouTube.) Miller recommends using videos as part of the training for new hires as well as posters for reminders

▪ Don’t hit the pallet blocks when entering the pallet.

▪ Don’t “shortfork.” Instead, make sure the forks are inserted far enough into the pallet entry that the pallet is fully on the forks. “If your tines only go in halfway and you pick up the pallet at an angle, the ends of the forklift tines are actually puncturing the underside of the pallet,” says Rex Lowe of pallet pooler iGPS.

▪ Don’t “bulldoze,” or push pallets across a concrete floor.

▪ Don’t “pinwheel,” or use the forklift tines to push the pallet/unit load diagonally 90 degrees.

▪ Don’t drop pallets.

▪ Do slow down as you enter a pallet. “Many operators don’t, and they end up slamming into the pallet,” says Virginia Tech’s Horvath. “When a 10,000- pound forklift hits the leader board of a pallet, it’s going to cause damage.”

▪ Do spread forklift tines as far out as possible (but without going too far) when entering the pallet.

▪ Do keep the forklift tines as level as possible when entering the pallet, so they don’t puncture the pallet.

▪ Do tilt forklift tines back slightly at an angle when carrying the pallet, so that the pallet rests on the forklift mast, recommends Lowe.

▪ Do stack pallets uniformly. A neat stack of pallets is less likely to topple over or be hit by a passing forklift.

and reinforcement.

It’s not just the workers on the warehouse floor who might need some instruction on the rudiments of pallet handling. Horvath recommends making sure that whoever buys pallets for your company understands the basic principles of unit load design. He says he’s seen too many cases where companies noticed a sudden jump in pallet damage and unit load failure after the purchasing department switched to a cheaper pallet in an effort to cut costs.

Although often taken for granted, pallets nonetheless play an important role in the supply chain—protecting the product. They can’t do that job, however, if they’re getting damaged themselves. Companies that start with a well-made pallet, educate their employees on proper handling, and use pallet protection products as appropriate will see results that even senior executives will notice: lower supply chain costs and higher efficiency. ;