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Look after your pallets...

5th August 1977, Page 25
5th August 1977
Page 25
Page 25, 5th August 1977 — Look after your pallets...
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3ILVER Jubilee bonfires :tonsumed hundreds of Nooden pallets, but the Nastage from this celebration is multiplied many times in the course of a fear. "Pallet Usage and Nastage," to be published, 3arly next month, by the Department of Industry, Nill focus attention yet _ main on a major cost _ mrden in distribution.

A recent seminar, at Kenil vorth, arranged jointly by the nstitute of Materials Handling ind the Institute of Purchasing ind Supply, yielded some rseful figures for transport and varehouse managers.

The seminar dealt with the 'nits costs of various kinds of )alletised storage; the effective ise of pallets in distribution; mit loads moved across froniers; and financial and other :onsiderations affecting a corn)any's pallet policy.

Distribution managers must )e concerned to ensure that )allets are cost effective in the :ontribution made towards )rofitable, efficient transport )perations. So the design of )allets costing a few pounds ach may be very significant in he type of storage contemplatrd.

D. H. Freeman (Modern ijlaterials Handling Ltd) told the :eminar that the building cost )f a 40ft high warehouse of lm :u ft capacity could be around :300,000, while a 20ft high varehouse of the same volume :ould be £460,000. (Both xclude land cost).

Many factors are involved in lesigning a distribution system which probably includes ort-te storage facilities—from

he decision to palletise goods. The choice of vehicles and Dading aids is one problem. The design of the warehouse, he detailed configuration of the varehouse aisles and racking, he type of mechanical handling quipment — fork trucks, cran;age etc—all merit the closest Audy and even expert advice.

How many transport nanagers know the relative 'cube-utilisation' achieved vith different storage layouts? I earned, at Kenilworth. that this :ould vary from 29 per cent for vhat is termed block storage"

o 191/2 cent for shelving. -here are the alternatives of

Irive-in racking, pallet racking, ve storage, mobile racking etc. Ind many manufacturers who vill commend the virtues of ach method.

You cannot estimate the cost ier pallet stored in a warehouse without making an assumption as to stock turnover. Assuming this to be eight times a year, Mr Freeman estimated block stacking to work out at £1.85 per pallet stored; pallets stacked with reach trucks, £2.44; narrow aisle stacking, £2.40; live storage £2.99; mobile storage, £2.92; shelving, £5.87.

The various methods impose limitations and, of course, varying costs for equipment. Flat floors may be vital with high stacking to ensure that racking is vertical. There are tent-like warehouse structures, rentable for short periods if necessary, which can be erected on uneven land, though clearly flat surfaces, properly reinforced, would be needed to take the weight of fork-lift equipment. Such factors as aisle widths, and the need for sprinkler systems in the roof, suggest expert advice at the planning stage.

Some users prefer post pallets which may be necessary if the product stored on the pallet has little crush resistance. Such pallets could cost £20 — several times as much as standard pallets.

John Williams (Cranwell College of Technology) suggested that material handling costs could cost up to 12 per cent of turnover for a manufacturing company Up to 48 per cent of factory space could be used for storage purposes — against only 44 per cent for production.

The annual production of wooden pallets in the UK is now believed to be 10-12m. It has been estimated that 11/2m pallets are used in rack installations, most of them with block storage. Mr Freeman reckoned that 11/2m pallet storage racks "apertureswere built annually in the UK. He also estimated that the average pallet was written off in two years, though pallet maintenance was a major factor in their durability.

The capital cost per pallet stored varies widely with the system adopted. Drive-in rack ing could be from £18 to £24. Live storage racking — which requires power (or braking devices) if more than six pallets deep — could cost £50 to £60 per pallet stored. Mobile racking — the racks move on rails — could cost £40 to £50.

Selecting the most cost-effective system for the rapid movement of goods in and out of storage depends on a host of factors — the land and the capital available, the estimated • annual throughput, the likely changes in the type of products -and their shape and packaging — over a period of time. Fixed installations let firmly into concrete floors make changes in aisle widths expensive. If a company's product lines and distribution planning methods Change infrequently, the type of pallet purchased and its storage and transport methods are more easily decided.

The varying loads put on pallets clearly should influence buying policy. A. J. West, distribution director of RHM Foods Ltd, instanced porridge cartons loaded 7ft 3in high on a 40in x 48in pallet weighing a total of 19cwt in contrast to a similarly high load of Energen Rolls weighing a mere 2cwt. Flour sacks at RHM were stacked 16ft 1-14gh using pallets as a bonding agent.

Mr West accepted the need for mechanical handling equipment to magnify human effort, but such equipment also magnified potential damage. He stressed the need for vigilance in weeding out faulty pallets.

The weight of pallets used in a van load of foodstuffs could be 26cwt and sometimes this pallet weight came off the payload. It was possible to purchase high strength /weight ratio pallets to minimise the loss of cube in van loading. West saw no early replacement of the popular 48in x 40in four-way entry pallets used commonly in the food industry. But he urged care in pallet maintenance to avoid employee injuries with nails, splinters etc and, indeed, damage to food products from such causes.

On employee safety, Mr West urged commonsense precautions and good staff training, because a reach truck could cost up to £12,000. Hand trucks should not be used up steep gradients (powered pallet trucks could jam people against walls if carelessly driven).

Vulnerable areas should be properly identified and protected, projecting beams being a special hazard. For new products, extensive testing in transit was desirable. Sometimes, a high transport cost would be worthwhile if it reduced the incidence of product damage.

There is to be a conference on pallet usage and wastage in the Mayfair Hotel, London, on Nov 22.

$ John Darker


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