The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pallet type, tie-sheet and stack configuration on compression strength of a palletized load of boxes. Four boxes made from similar board grade and different dimensions were selected for this study. The col­ umn stack configuration which represented the control was compared with the 3 stack configurations either on a CHEP® or GMA pallet. Th...

In this paper, a wireless sensor network is deployed to improve the security of goods, environment and persons along a supply chain manipulating chemicals in the European Union. Pallets are equipped with a RFID tag and a set of sensors that monitor in real-time the environment state. By defining and monitoring constraints that must satisfy pallet environments, a real-time risk assessment is pro...

In some environments, mobile robots need to perform docking tasks in a precise manner. In the application domain of this work, an Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV), specifically, a fork-lift truck must often perform docking maneuvers to load pallets in conveyor belts. In these maneuvers, the robot motion should be controlled accurately when the mobile robot is close to the target. We propose a mu...

The problem of autonomous transportation in industrial scenarios is receiving a renewed interest due to the way it can revolutionise internal logistics, especially in unstructured environments. This paper presents a novel architecture allowing a robot to detect, localise, and track multiple pallets using machine learning techniques based on an on-board 2D laser rangefinder. The architecture is ...

Faced with increasing competitive pressures, a logistics company in the United States sought to reduce its cost structure by implementing two information systems. The Labor Management System (LMS) was specifically designed to improve warehouse worker efficiency and the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system tracked the movement of products, pallets, and shipment. This case presents an ove...

Refined sugarfrom eachof four refineries waspacked into several different types of 25 kg paper bags. Pallets of each type were stored at the coast at Maydon Wharf, where humidities are high, and inland at Bloemfontein, where humidities are low. Thesepallets were storedforoneyearduring which time, temperature and humidity were monitored at each warehouse and the sugar was sampled and inspected f...

Currently hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is industrially produced in the Czech Republic (Lucebni zavody Draslovka Kolin) and is extensively used for Czech mill fumigation. Therefore we evaluated the potential of HCN fumigant for treatment of wooden transport packages (pallets). We tested the penetration of HCN trough wooden pallet materials using gas chromatography. The preliminary results on biologica...

Sustainable techniques in distribution centers, such as automation that reduces the land area needed, can be utilized. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) are used to efficiently manage flow of pallets carton cases centers. There two types AS/RS: one for another type depalletized from pallets. Further enhancements on system obtained by investigating both warehouses together. This pa...