The solution is the Pallet Design System™ (PDS), an analysis, design and marketing tool available exclusively from the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA).
PDS helps with the pallet production order in several ways, including waste reduction, assembly set-up and complete pallet drawings/blueprints. The visual drawings take the guesswork out of the deck board placement on a custom pallet and helps significantly in the quality control phase.
PDS is backed by over 30 years of fundamental and empirical R&D performed in collaboration with Virginia Tech and the US Forest Service. Continued R&D (totaling more that $1 million in investments) is leading to state-of-the-art enhancements to PDS, including a novel approach to a unit load analysis. This analysis will provide an understanding of how different packaging and packaging configurations affect stress distributions on a pallet. With this information, PDS users can design more efficient and cost effective unit loads, not just pallets.
PDS requires more than just information on wood species, but a fastener specification as well. Through comprehensive research we know that fasteners effect both the strength and durability of a pallet, so PDS includes a structural and durability analysis that you cannot find anywhere else.
PDS helps with product damage reduction in terms of structural, durability and physical analysis.
PDS also helps with pallet performance testing. It omits the need for testing by trial by error. Performance comparisons can be done by pallet design, wood species and grades, fasteners and component dimensions.
In terms of implementation and training, no one comes close to NWPCA with software set-up and support.
