Attention to collaborative pallet design as part of the customer's automation project can help your pallet relationship avoid unnecessary “bumps” on the conveyor and bumps in the road for the finished system. (Photo credit: Millwood)
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In today’s incredibly time-sensitive distribution environment, the article notes, “where customers won’t wait for more than a day or two (if that) for their orders, these setbacks could mean the difference between staying competitive and falling behind.”
The Modern Materials Handling survey determined that the biggest pallet-related issue concerned bottom boards that resulted in jams or faults. According to the article, 53% of respondents deal with this problem on a daily or weekly
basis, while another 25% deal with it at
least monthly.
Around 21% of respondents say that loose or broken pallet components getting caught in the rollers, while other leading quality issues include the incorrect placement of bottom deck boards, poor quality or missing bottom boards (31%) and other missing or damaged components (25%).
“The more lower quality pallets you buy, the more flexibility you need to have in your system,” Horvath told Modern Material Handling. “The higher the level of automation you have in place, the lower the levels of flexibility.”
26 WESTERN PALLET