ISTA Views

JULY | 2016

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22 ista views • July 2016 • www.ista.org Simulation Testing to Replicate Packaging and Product Damage in the Field > CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 Case Study 2: Loading—The Snugger Expanding on the handling portion further, the next cause of damage goes beyond driving products around, but includes the forces/impacts incurred during loading. The need existed as testing with drivers was found to cause ergo concerns and was not repeatable. Again, trucks were instrumented and data was collected during real operations. A simulator was developed and put into use to benchmark normal handling, but also to understand what happens at extreme conditions. Use includes, loading against a container wall, trailer wall, getting output of forces both hammer and nail, adjustment of the tilt angle, raising the mast, and multiple product interactions. Case Study 3: Dolly Simulation Another example of a needed test that didn't exist is off-the-shelf is stair handling. Testing utilizing humans is not repeatable or ergonomic friendly, since appliances are heavy and difficult to balance. It's critical that when testing, the impact from stair 1 is equivalent to stair 17. Dollies were instrumented and several scenarios were evaluated including the angle of the dolly, height of stair, number of stairs, effect of wheels, and location of data logging device. In this case, an existing piece of equipment (a shock table) was fixtured to allow for a modified dolly to be mounted. Once the appliance is placed on the dolly, a clamp truck can be used to place the unit and dolly onto the shock table where it is secured tested. Results include repeatability and elimination of the ergo concern. Conclusion: How do you know a new packaging design is better and more robust than existing? The answer lies in reproducing events found in your specific environment. Off-the-shelf equipment/standards may not be specifically tailored to your distribution environment. Once reliable, repeatable testing can occur, the use of finite element analysis can be enhanced to further predict and reduce testing time. Unit Load Design Short Course for Pallet Suppliers: "How to Reduce Shipping Costs" Objectives: • Lower Unitization Costs • Reduce product damage • Identify opportunities in warehouse audits • Increase material handling rates • Understand the perspective of packaging engineers, pallet suppliers, and equipment designers. • Learn Unit Load Design: the systems based optimization procedures that will improve customer service and increase your competitiveness Topics include: Principles of unit load design; Unit load material handling audit; Packaging design; Pallet design; Material handling systems; Interactions between material handling equipment, packaging, and pallets; Diagnosing and solving material handling problems; Laboratory Tour. August 23-25, 2016, Brooks Forest Product Center Instructors: • Marshall S. White (Professor Emeritus and CEO of White and Company) • Laszlo Horvath (Director, Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design) Registration: Virginia Tech Outreach Program Development at (540) 231-5182. For more information visit our website http://unitload.vt.edu/ or call 540-231-7673.

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