This paper describes an integer programming model for generating stable loading patterns for the Pallet Loading Problem. The algorithm always gives optimal or near-optimal utilization of the pallet area and fulfills stability criteria for 98% of the test cases.

Wood pallet recovery, repair, and recycling are sound environmental activities that can reduce both forest resource demands and waste in landfills. Our studies found that 6.16 million tons of wood pallets (or 223.6 million pallets) entered municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition (C&D) landfill facilities in 1995. At the same time, wood pallet recovery, repair, and recycling ...

We study the combinatorial FIFO stack-up problem. In delivery industry, bins have to be stacked-up from conveyor belts onto pallets with respect to customer orders. Given k sequences q1, . . . , qk of labeled bins and a positive integer p, the aim is to stack-up the bins by iteratively removing the first bin of one of the k sequences and put it onto an initially empty pallet of unbounded capaci...

In this study, mathematical models are developed to study and compare the operations of a fully reliable and an unreliable flexible manufacturing cell (FMC), each with a flexible machine, a loading/unloading robot, and a pallet handling system. The operation times, loading/unloading times, and material handling times by the pallet are assumed to be random. The operation of the reliable cell is ...

The Pallet Loading Problem (PLP) maximizes the number of identical rectangular boxes placed within a rectangular pallet. Boxes may be rotated 90 so long as they are packed with edges parallel to the pallet’s edges, i.e., in an orthogonal packing. This paper defines the Minimum Size Instance (MSI) of an equivalence class of PLP, and shows that every class has one and only one MSI. We develop bou...

There exist a number of mathematical problems in the literature concerning warehouse storage optimization. However, to the best of our knowledge the problem of finding optimal slot sizes in pallet rack system minimizing the occupied storage space is not studied. More precisely, the problem is to optimally choose k ofm pallet racks with pallets in a warehouse, find optimal slot sizes in pallet r...

Over 135 million wood pallets were repaired for reuse in 1995. One of the most commonly damaged components in a wood pallet is the notched stringer. 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 repai...

In 2001, an estimated 433 million new wood pallets were manufactured in the United States, consuming an estimated 6.6 billion board feet (BBF) of hardwood and softwood lumber, cants, and parts (Bejune et al. 2002). Subsequently, another industry has emerged that specializes in the repair and remanufacture of wood pallets. This rise of the wood pallet repair and remanufacture industry is in larg...

It is widely believed that depalletizing operations in manufacturing and service environments substantially increase the risk of occupationally related low back disorders (LBDs). It has been established that the weight of the box lifted off a pallet can affect the risk of occupationally related LBD but few have considered the influence of the location of the box on the pallet (region) when asse...