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8 PalletCentral • July-August 2020 palletcentral.com NWPCA Testing for PDS Unit Loads Continue N WPCA has been hard at work completing the initial testing of a unit load containing stacks of cement-fiber siding. These were the longest unit loads that NWPCA has tested to date, with a length of 12 feet and a total weight over 3400 lbs. Special thanks to the Pallet Foundation for supporting the testing costs, and to our anonymous donor who provided the material. The testing is expected to provide a first glance into how unit loads of semi-rigid material interact with wooden pallets. PDS Professional Engineer, Kristen DeLack says, "Designing long pallets using uniform loads typically results in a pallet that is too heavy and costly for practical applications. As a result, these pallets are not analyzed for anything other than floor-stacked conditions, leaving it up to the forklift operator to figure out how to safely move the unit load." DeLack adds, "By providing a way to include the stiffness and strength of the sheet goods in the design analysis, then pallet designers can predict reasonable safe loads with a given fork tine configuration while ensuring that the products themselves are not damaged." INSIDENWPCA NWPCA Translates Fire Code Compliance Manual to Spanish T he NWPCA expands its distribution of proven best fire safety practices to the Hispanic community by translating its Fire Code Compliance manual into Spanish. "There are over 67,000 jobs directly related to the wooden pallet and container manufacturing sector, and so many of them only speak Spanish," commented NWPCA Chair, Frank Shean of PLA Holdings- Valley Pallet, based in Salinas, California. "Spanish-speaking owners and safety personnel can now better understand the 2018 fire codes of both the ICC and NFPA for the outdoor storage of wooden pallets," added Dr. Brad Gething, NWPCA Director of Science and Technology Integration. "The guidelines help these facilities build a compliance plan in their native language that is consistent with the latest fire codes and share them with their local fire officials and first responders." The translated guideline is available as a free download and is accessible at www. palletcentral.com/ compliancemanual- Spanish. NWPCA Announcements and Upcoming Events NWPCA Partners with OSHA for Safe + Sound S afe + Sound is a year-round campaign to encourage every workplace to have a safety and health program. NWPCA is proud to partner with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to promote this campaign and encourage members to highlight their safety successes. OSHA also provides ideas on activities you can do to engage your workers and managers to become more proactive in finding and fixing hazards before they cause harm or injury. Many industries participate in Safe + Sound, and we all learn from each other. Use #SafeAndSoundAtWork in your social media posts. Visit www.osha.gov/safeandsoundweek to learn more. Health Care Benefits for NWPCA Members T hrough a collaboration among the NWPCA, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Mercer, and UnitedHealthcare, member companies can offer an easy and convenient, Fortune 500-type benefits buying and enrollment experience to their employees and their families. On August 5th, the association collaborated in a virtual coffee break with NAM to help members learn about this comprehensive health care plan, similar to what much larger companies offer. In case you missed the coffee break, you can learn more and get a quick, free quote from www.palletcentral.com/health.

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