x Choose the right pallet for your application.
Different types of pallets work better for different applications, says Most. Questions to consider
include: What type of product will be on the pallets?
How do you plan to use them? Will they be stacked
on the floor or racked? Do they have to be compatible with automated equipment in your DC? Do you
anticipate automating your distribution 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.
x Choose a pallet that is not too customized or that
does not require 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 specific pallets or unit loads require 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, try segregating those products and
pallets in a separate area of the warehouse to reduce
the chance of handling mistakes, Cochran adds.
HANDLE WITH RESPECT
Preventing pallet damage isn’t just a matter of pick-
ing 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
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.
x Don’t hit the pallet blocks when entering
the pallet.
x 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, former president of
pallet pooler iGPS.
x Don’t “bulldoze,” or push pallets across a
concrete floor.
x Don’t “pinwheel,” or use the forklift tines to
push the pallet/unit load diagonally 90 degrees.
x Don’t drop pallets.
x 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.”
x Do spread forklift tines as far out as possible
(but without going too far) when entering the
pallet.
x Do keep the forklift tines as level as possible
when entering the pallet, so they don’t puncture
the pallet.
x Do tilt forklift tines back slightly at an angle
when carrying the pallet, so that the pallet rests
on the forklift mast, recommends Lowe.
x Do stack pallets uniformly. A neat stack of
pallets is less likely to topple over or be hit by a
passing forklift.
PALLET HANDLING TIPS FOR
FORKLIFT DRIVERS
