The pallets are the “red blood cells” of the global transportation of merchandise. This patented and standardized system – the most famous are the Epal pallets, the most common size in all of Europe and not only – allows, thanks to a skillful junction of wooden tables and spaces to fasten or secure the loads, to move millions of tons of merchandise every day.
Each pallet, by law, is used multiple times and can even have a long life.
When is a pallet no longer used?
The European laws about logistics and industrial racking installations tell us when the time has come to eliminate a pallet that is no longer safe for transport or for the storage of material.
A pallet can no longer be used when:
- It has fissures on the superior tables that are longer than have the length
- A table is broken or missing
- An angle block is missing, is turned more than 30 degrees and has cracks or fractures superior than 50%
- The wood of a table in correspondence to the blocks is missing for more than 1/4th of its length
Other reasons that require that a pallet no longer be used are:
- Nails are sticking out of the wood
- The components are inadequate
- The general conditions are so precarious not to guarantee the carrying capacity or the cleanliness of the merchandise.
The same conditions are applied to other types of pallets, such as pallet sleds.