This paper utilizes the EPCglobal architecture framework to implement pallet management. Decision makers need to know every status of products in supply chain management, i.e., the visibility of products in the supply chain. The products always use the pallets as the carrying tools transported to various locations. If we want to understand the status of the products in the supply chain, first, ...

We concentrate on a family of discrete event systems obtained from a simple modular design principle that include in a controlled way primitives to deal with concurrency, decisions, synchronization, blocking , and bulk movements of jobs. Due to the functional complexity of such systems, reliable throughput approximation algorithms must be deeply supported on a structure based decomposition tech...

Over 135 million wooden pallets were repaired for reuse in 1995. Notched stringers are one of the most commonly damaged components. Metal plates, half companion stringers, and full companion stringers are repair methods described in the U.S. industry standard published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This study evaluated the effect of these three stringer repair methods on the ...

We consider the container loading problem that occurs at many furniture factories where product boxes are arranged on product pallets and the product pallets are arranged in a container for shipments. The volume of products in the container should be maximized, and the bottom of each pallet must be fully supported by the container floor or by the top of a single pallet to simplify the unloading...

The capacitated vehicle routing problem with sequence-based pallet loading and axle weight constraints is an extension of the classical Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). It integrates loading constraints in a routing problem and is based on a real-world transportation problem. The demand of the customers consists of pallets. These pallets may be placed in two horizontal rows inside th...

Before trying to develop an automated inspection system for pallet part grading we analyzed the economics of such a system. Our results suggest that higher quality pallets produced by grading and sorting pallet parts would be attractive to both manufacturers and their customers, who would have to pay increased prices for higher quality pallets. Reductions in costper-trip for the pallet purchase...

Test Methods A total of 1867 new, multiple-use and used (remanufactured and repaired) GMA pallets were randomly sampled from 20 different locations throughout the United States. The pallets were carefully inspected and then tested for strength and stiffness when in racks spanning the stringers (RAS) and spanning the deckboards (RAD). The test spans were 44and 36-inch respectively and a uniform-...

Pallets play an important role in food transportation but are seldom in direct contact with food and are not intended to be used in contact with food. We have surveyed information relevant to the possible influence of wood versus plastic pallets on food safety. Wood absorbs bacteria, which cannot later be recovered alive at its surface. Bacteria do not penetrate below the surface of new plastic...

We study a problem faced by a major beverage producer. The company produces and distributes several brands to various customers from its regional distributors. For some of these brands, most customers do not have enough demand to justify full pallet shipments. Therefore, the company decided to design a number of mixed or “rainbow” pallets so that its customers can order these unpopular brands w...