As digital technology advances and warehouses continue to evolve there is an even greater adoption of automated technology and that is only set to continue. Businesses that embrace these innovations can enjoy a strong advantage as moving to an automated way of working can lead to greater accuracy, operational efficiencies, and increased productivity.
In this blog, we explore how automation is transforming our modern warehouses and explain why we believe our APB 1210 Pool Pallet available on 3 or 5 runners and with an open or fully closed deck is “THE” plastic pallet of choice for automated handling scenarios.
Warehouse automation keeps evolving
Warehouse automation is a present day reality and as technology keeps evolving it is becoming more common place. Although the primary purpose of a today’s warehouse remains the same – storage – the simple warehouse that was once a small part of the supply chain no longer exists.
In the last decade alone, warehouses have been relied on to handle an increasing number of tasks, and these tasks are becoming ever more complex. From managing stock inventory and facilitating storage and retrieval to optimising the dispatch of goods, warehouses today are required to perform tasks faster and smarter than ever before 24/7/365. With this increased complexity has come the need to automate; to perform these tasks with greater speed, accuracy and more cost-effectively than before.
In general, emerging technologies are not widely installed, but research suggests that adoption this year will grow at a rapid pace. This includes technology such as autonomous mobile robots and collaborative robots (cobots) that can perform highly repetitive tasks with greater precision and efficiency.
Introducing our APB1210 Pool Pallet
The APB 1210 Pool Pallet – available on 3 or 5 runners and with an open or fully closed deck – is one of the most popular plastic pallets in our range and has become a firm favourite for automation projects.
Why? There are many reasons for this, let us explain.
Pallets are designed to accept evenly distributed loads, which is the normal use and method of testing, but heavy loads can cause a deflection in the pallet, when supported in racking or other systems. But this deflection needs to be small; if the pallet deflects under load, then cranes or shuttles are not able to access under the pallet and also could cause it to "ground out" when traversing cross overs between powered roller sections. Our APB 1210 Pool Pallet has been tested in many systems, with different loads, and has been proven to exhibit only a very small deflection.
Of course, automation needs a medium or heavy duty plastic pallet that has the strength, durability and consistency to move goods around all types of automated systems reliably with ease and without the risk of loads shifting, which can cause unnecessary disruption and damage.
Our APB 1210 Pool Pallet has a well-designed structure with a smooth top deck and corners, so no sharp edges. The pallet is moulded under extreme pressure from highly polished moulds, ensuring consistent dimensional accuracy – essential for moving smoothly through automated systems. Use the wrong pallet and disruption from snags or tears can result in lengthy delays, missed shipments and a huge cost to businesses. Like all plastic pallets, our APB 1210 Pool Pallet is devoid of nails and splinters, which can jam equipment and pose a fire risk.
As a heavy duty plastic pallet, it can be used with all of the normal materials handling equipment, such as pedestrian pallet trucks, conventional forklift trucks, double fork pallet handlers, VNA trucks and pallet inverters, as well as running on all types of automation in the warehouse. Another benefit is that it is easy to wash and dry in a fully automatic pallet wash machine.
Manufactured in a virgin grade, high quality Polypropylene (PP) or recycled material, this heavy duty 1200mm (L) x 1000mm (W) x 160mm (H) plastic pallet is proven for long term use in multi-trip supply chain scenarios. Its super strength means that its capable of storing static loads of 5000kg, dynamic loads of 2500kg and up to 1250kg in racking.
The APB 1210 Pool Pallet can be printed for identification and supplied in a range of colours. There are specific areas on the corner blocks of the pallets where labels can be securely fitted and it is also possible to optimise the management of the pallets using an IoT system by fitting RFID tags internally within the pallet structure.
