Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/893182
8 PalletCentral • September-October 2017 palletcentral.com INSIDE NWPCA N W P C A A N N O U N C E M E N T S A N D U P C O M I N G E V E N T S 2017 Annual Report Released N WPCA just released its 2017 Annual Report highlighting the progress of the organization and implementation of the strategic plan. It was mailed to all members and is available online at PalletCentral.com for your review. As you will see in the report, we have continued to grow the momentum of our advocacy efforts with extensive educational outreach to legislators, other organizations and allied partners. The significant increase in participation at the Congressional Fly-In was an enthusiastic endorsement of this work by our membership. The visibility and reach of NWPCA continues to grow online, and we are seeing a steady growth of followers and engagements through our many social media platforms. The Pallet Design System™ remains well positioned as the global leader in unit load and packaging design. The PDS team is incorporating four new languages (Spanish, French, Italian and German) into the PDS interface and printout materials by summer 2018. Both NWPCA and The Pallet Foundation investments, totaling nearly $1.5 million over the next two years, advance our industry and benefit each of our companies as we make PDS the international language for pallet design. PDS Version 5.3 Release Last month NWPCA released Pallet Design System™ version 5.3, making it the most advanced structural analysis for wood pallets in its 33-year history. NWPCA's engineering staff has significantly advanced the "finite element analysis" (FEA) models previously developed for PDS version 5.0 (released in February 2012). The major changes and improvements include safe maximum loads in all support conditions now consider strength of connections; safe maximum loads now consider compression strength; remanufactured pallets with recycled notched stringers can now be analyzed (all except RAL and 4 Corner); pallets with strapping slots can now be analyzed; an advanced quantitative analysis for lateral collapse resistance during transit is available; and automated calculation of stacking patterns or custom positioning of individual containers by user. Fire Code Compliance Educational Outreach On September 10th, NWPCA fire code consultant Bill Koffel, joined by NWPCA's Brad Gething, PhD, presented "New Requirements for Protecting Pallet Storage" at the International Code Council (ICC) Building Safety and Design Expo in Columbus, Ohio. With an audience of mostly fire code officials, Mr. Koffel explained that requirements for the storage of pallets at manufacturing and recycling facilities involve a risk management approach and best operating practices. He shared the basis for those requirements and focused on what documents the fire official should expect to be provided. He presented a case study involving successful implementation of the proposed strategy to highlight the successful loss experience that can result from the new requirements. Congressional Mill Tour NWPCA Chairman Shane Thompson recently hosted a Congressional mill tour with U.S. Representative David Young at their WestWind Logistics facilities in Des Moines, Iowa. Congressman Young serves on the House Committee on