1. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 INTERPAL 6 PALLET STANDARDIZATION BY JOHN MEAD CHAIRMAN, ISO PALLET STANDARDS COMMITTEE

2. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHAT DRIVES THE USE OF STANDARD PALLETS ? THEORETICAL NEED ? MATERIAL AVAILABILITY ? PRODUCTION CONVENIENCE ? LAWYERS ? LEGISLATION ? BUYERS ?

3. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 IT IS THE REAL WORLD ECONOMICS COST BENEFITS

4. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 HOW DO STANDARDS GET GOING ? TRADE BETWEEN SUPPLIERS and their CUSTOMERS OTHER USERS ADOPT VOLUME BECOMES SIGNIFICANT ORIGINAL PALLET TENDS TO BE DOWNGRADED NEED for COMMON STANDARD SEEN

5. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN by STANDARDIZATION ? BY FUNCTION: PLAN SIZE EXAMPLE 1200 X 1000 mm OR FULLY SPECIFIED ALL COMPONENTS OR BY PERFORMANCE

6. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 SAFETY AND LIFE BY PERFORMANCE: STRENGTH DEFLECTION DURABILITY REPAIRABILITY

7. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 ARE THERE ANY GLOBAL FULLY SPECIFIED PALLETS? GLOBAL ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CP 1..CP9 [ ALL IN METRIC DIMENSIONS]

8. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 EVERY COUNTRY HAS A MOST COMMON SIZE IS THAT A STANDARD ? DOES THAT SUIT ALL PRODUCTS ? CAN ALL THE HANDLING & STORAGE INVESTMENT BE CHANGED ? WILL NATIONAL WEALTH BE IMPROVED BY ONE STANDARD ?

9. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 HIGH VOLUME FULLY SPECIFIED PALLETS CANADIAN PALLET COUNCIL EPAL EUROPALLETS (2 SIZES) JAPANESE/KOREAN ASSOCIATIONS AUSTRALIAN COMMON POOL COMMERCIAL NATIONAL POOLS

10. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 ISO PALLETS FOR INTERCONTINENTAL TRADE ISO 6780 4 REGIONAL SIZES RECOGNIZED ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY OPENINGS for HANDLING DEFINED

11. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHICH USERS BENEFIT from STANDARD PALLETS ? USERS with UNIFORM PRODUCTS USERS WITH MANY SUPPLIERS USERS WITH HIGH LABOUR COSTS AUTOMATED WAREHOUSE OPERATORS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPERS

12. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 REUSE AND STANDARDS are NATURAL PARTNERS MINIMUM USE OF RAW MATERIALS MANY USERS CAN BENEFIT MINIMUM RELOCATION COST FOR NEXT USE FAMILIARITY AIDS EFFICIENCY ASSURANCE OF PERFORMANCE

13. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHY DO WOOD PALLETS LEAD IN REUSE SYSTEMS ? USE OF RENEWABLE RAW MATERIALS HIGHLY EFFICIENT PRODUCTION METHODS DURABILITY REPAIRABILITY END-OF-LIFE RECYCLABLE

14. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WILL ONE SIZE SUIT ALL PRODUCTS ? ABSOLUTELY NOT THERE ARE GENERALLY AT LEAST 100 DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS IN PRODUCTION IN MANY PALLET COMPANIES

15. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WILL THIS VARIETY CHANGE ? Only if THERE ARE GOOD FINANCIAL REASONS FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS TO CHANGE Or if WOOD PALLET MANUFACTURERS FAIL to CONTINUE to OFFER A VERY FLEXIBLE AND COST EFFICIENT PRODUCT

16. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHERE CAN PLASTIC PALLETS BENEFIT BECAUSE OF STANDARDS ? IF WOOD SUPPLY PROBLEMS ARISE IF THEIR PERFORMANCE IS NOT MEASURED BY COMMON AGREED METHODS [ISO 8611] IF SYSTEM LOSSES ARE MINIMAL IF THE SYSTEM DAMAGE IS MINIMAL OTHERWISE COST WILL DOMINATE

17. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 OPPORTUNITIES with STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS If SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTROLS ARE EVENLY APPLIED For LOWEST COST REUSE SYSTEMS For LOWEST COST PALLET COMPANIES For RECYCLERS SUPPLYING REUSED PALLETS

18. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 RISKS FALSE PROPOGANDA AGAINST USE OF WOOD A COMMODITY MENTALITY with NO CONTROLS of SPECIFICATION LESS MARKET FOR INEFFICIENT PALLET MANUFACTURERS

19. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WILL THERE BE ONE GLOBAL PALLET ? WORLD BANK THEORIES NEED A TOUCH OF OUR REAL WORLD ONLY OUR CUSTOMERS CAN DECIDE WE WILL BE READY TO SUPPLY

20. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 WHY NO GLOBAL PALLET ? MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN STORAGE AND HANDLING SYSTEMS FOR DIFFERENT SIZES OF PALLET COST OF CHANGE IS UNACCEPTABLE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CHANGE ARE NOT SUFFICIENTLY ATTRACTIVE

21. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 ACTION PLAN UNDERSTAND OUR USERS’ NEEDS LOBBY GOVERNMENTS TO LISTEN TO USERS BE REALISTIC ABOUT REAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF STANDARDIZATION

22. John Mead Pallet Standardization INTERPAL 6 THANK YOU