MINISTRY BOOST FOR PALLET POOL
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WITHIN a month or two a pilot study into the feasibility of a national pallet pool will have started, sponsored by the Ministry of Transport. Quotations from consultants are now being studied by the Ministry and the go-ahead is expected soon.
This important move results from the initiative of the National Joint Council on Materials Handling, whose proposals for a pilot exercise and then a full-scale feasibility study have been accepted in principle by the Ministry—thus putting an official seal on work the NJC has been doing on this subject for two years.
The NJC has offered to put the work and findings of its own pallet pool study group at the disposal of the Ministry. A deputation from the NJC visited the Minstry late last year to ask for action on the pallet pool front.
This progress was reported on Tuesday at the NJC's full council meeting in London. Also revealed was that by April or May the containerization study group will be presenting a report to guide users on the economics of container use and ownership, documentation, handling and so on.
An interim report is expected soon from the bulk handling group, while the drum handling study group has surveyed nine separate installations and compared the economics and productivity of the different systems. It intends to compile a report detailing ideal drum handling systems.
The chairman of the operator training and accident prevention group reported that training syllabuses for forklift truck operator training had been prepared.
Instead of separate study groups for vehicle unloading and for mechanical load-forming, a joint study is now proposed.