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30 PalletCentral • March-April 2021 palletcentral.com EDUCATION NWPCA PARTNERSHIP Propels PDS Training into the Future T he National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA) has partnered with AICC, e Independent Packaging Association, to connect the Pallet Design System ™ (PDS) training, AICC's packaging education program and the Packaging School's online learning management system. "We're very excited about the partnership and to offer content to our members from AICC's world- class online training system," said Brent McClendon, NWPCA President & CEO. "ere are nearly 2,000 PDS users around the world that currently license the PDS engineering software. e recent release on PDS for Unit Load for Corrugated Boxes, and its training, make the partnership an ideal fit with AICC." AICC has extensive experience and has received rave reviews for its online training program. AICC delivers a library of more than 90 online classes to AICC members in English and Spanish and is developing more every month. AICC's curriculum ranges from the basics of various packaging media to safety to advanced content in customer service, as well as everything that corrugated, folding carton and rigid box plant operations need. e courses are created and vetted by industry experts. Each course offers online learning followed by testing based upon the Packaging School's guidelines. As part of the partnership, the Packaging School will include the PDS curriculum on unit load for boxes in AICC's course offerings. "AICC's full range of educational programming is designed to create a better trained workforce for AICC members," said Mike D'Angelo, AICC President. "e opportunity to partner with NWPCA on this course is natural because the box always goes someplace. e PDS from NWPCA shows graphically how that happens, which is a critical element for designers at the box plant." ough much of the Packaging School's curriculum may be accessed from anywhere in the world – online, on-demand – the PDS Team will continue to host several live learning experiences throughout the year. "e pace and scale at which NWPCA is advancing PDS provides great opportunities for manufacturers and packaging professionals everywhere," said Kristen DeLack, PE, PDS Structural Engineer. "AICC courses on corrugated board and other paper-based packaging media will give you a terrific foundation that you can build upon for custom pallet and unit load designs." e NWPCA partnership with AICC has been evolving over the past several years. Spawned partially by the pandemic, NWPCA's offering of PDS training throughout 2020 pushed the need to advance PDS remote training offerings and release its first virtual learning experience. As part of the partnership, NWPCA and the Packaging School developed a portal for members to access, on-demand, the complete course bundle that focuses on corrugated boxes and pallet design. An initial catalog of four courses, in English and Spanish, covers unit load design and corrugated boxes. NWPCA's staff will be developing and releasing new courses on PDS and related topics as the year progresses. "is is a very exciting learning program that we are announcing," said Brad Gething, PhD, NWPCA Director of Science & Technology Integration. "It is our responsibility as global leaders in wood packaging to ensure we address opportunities for digital inclusion and greatly expand PDS as the global tool in pallet design and unit load solutions." Access to these courses is free for NWPCA members. Access to PDS training and packaging courses is available through the NWPCA-AICC portal at www.palletcentral.com/packaging-school.

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