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  Safety Issues

Pallet Testing

Pallet designs need to be confirmed as safe whether by software, working to a specific design supplied by a competent authority, or by load testing. European and ISO pallet standards define load testing of pallets as the single method of doing this which is because load testing is as close to real life loading as it is possible to get. This is since load testing does not have to make generalised mathematical assumptions about quality of nails or timber which are often not available to the person inputting data to software. Closer to real life also means that compared with pallet design software, testing usually specifies less timber is required and therefore a more commercial result follows.

ISO block compression test

Good pallet design software can be very close to testing results although nailing is the weak point with some software which does not handle joint strength in a manner that reflects its structural significance. Even the sophisticated building and construction industry with design engineers involved in projects, still places great confidence in testing of 3-dimensional structures. An example is the Thames Flood Barrier where a one-fifth scale model underwent tests to be sure of the strength of the sheet metal steel clad laminated timber pierhead superstructures.

When basic data is required on a new design or an existing packaging product, load testing is invaluable. It can form the basis for a manufacturer’s confidence in marketing or making subsequent deviations to optimise materials, yet still be confident of overall safety. Selected major packaging products need this, anything less and the company may risk a product failure in their product range. There is also no doubt that testing gives sales staff confidence in a product. Some customers require testing evidence, they want a certificate or report, nothing less. There are two distinct types of load test: proof testing and testing to destruction. Most pallet testing is testing to destruction, since it is only possible to measure a pallet load safety factor if the item under test has been taken far above safe-working-load right up to breaking load. If you use load testing be sure the organisation undertaking it uses the right protocol and if you use software be certain of the quality of the software writers and be certain of the quality of your keyboard input.

Turning to the protocols, the most popular in Europe is the well tried pallet load testing standard ISO 8611: 1991: General purpose flat pallets for through transit of goods - Test methods which remains the best analytical tool for users or manufacturers to know exactly how pallets perform under realistic conditions. Full size specimen pallets are required, plus nails of each size used in the pallet. The test acceptance levels are set by ISO TR 10233: 1989: General purpose flat pallets for through transit of goods - Performance requirements.

PalletLink undertakes pallet testing whether commercial or for defence/NATO pallets. We can also provide a service offering advice on commercial design change if a product on test proves to be not up to the standard required. We are not in the habit of producing a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ report and testing can be halted while we discuss improvements with a client until the product meets test requirements. Some designs such as the Europallet have their own long established tests such as those operated by EPAL who are responsible for maintaining the quality and registration of Europallet makers. EPAL also emphasise the importance of fastening bend strength and accredit nail manufacturers.

Some labs favour the system of pallet loading using an airbag. This protocol is given in the new draft of ISO 8611 and places a more uniform load on a pallet deck than the 1991 version of ISO and some feel is more realistic than the steel applicator bar ISO method. However it has been shown to need careful control of additional variables such as bag size and overlap to maintain a constant result between testing laboratories and this complexity means it is not the better method of the two.

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