Comparison of the Different Hazards Experienced by Pallets During Material Handling

Pallets play a crucial role in the supply chain with approximately 2.6 billion in circulation in the United States alone. Although often overlooked, pallets can become costly for a company if not designed correctly for their specific supply chain. Durability is an essential characteristic of pallets; it defines the expected life of the pallet in the supply chain. Forklifts are the dominant mode of material handling for palletized products, and they are responsible for the majority of damages experienced by pallets. Despite the prominence of forklifts in the supply chain and their importance in pallet design, there is a lack of research focusing on the dynamic nature of forklifts in the field. The objective of this research paper was to investigate the intensity of the vibrations and shock impacts that forklifts exert during material handling. Forklifts in multiple facilities were instrumented with Lansmont SAVER 3X90 and 3D15 data loggers to measure the acceleration peak, g of shock impacts, duration of impacts, random vibration intensity and RMS (g) values during forklift handling in the field. The highest vibration levels were observed for distribution facilities with an average acceleration (peak, g) of 0.353 g. Based on the results of the vibration data collection, the vibration profile for laboratory simulation was proposed. The results of the shock measurement showed that LTL facilities recorded the highest average shock impact of all the facilities investigated, with an average acceleration value of 4.74 g with an average shock duration of 7.42 msec. The intensity of shock events measured during the FasTrack procedure was slightly greater than what was observed for the LTL facility indicating that the FasTrack simulation is slightly harsher than the field handling of pallets. Based on the results of the shock measurement, new intensity levels were recommended for the incline impact test to better represent the harshness of handling in the field. The results of this study will be used to revise the durability testing procedures used in pallet testing standards in order to better represent the current material handling processes found in modern supply chains.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forest Products

Department dc:contributor.department

Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Sabattus, William Joseph-Clark

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Horvath, Laszlo

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• White, Marshall S.
• Bouldin, John Conrad

• Shock
• vibration
• PSD
• forklift
• pallet
• packaging

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:36388

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/113927