5.3.2 How to generate high and low pallets to make full use of the space in 2-steps loading

When the cargo is palletized and then loaded into the container, high and low pallets can be generated for loading in order to make full use of the container space. How is it defined in LoadMaster?

Here is an example to explain:

Cargo data:

Name	Quantity	Length (cm)	Width (cm)	Height (cm)
A	321	60	50	20
B	360	30	25	20
C	120	55	55	30
D	264	27	55	30

Loading requirements:

1) The goods cannot be placed as the length is vertical to the ground.

2) Calculate how the goods are fully palletized and then loaded into a 40GP. The pallet need to be used is the Asian general flat pallet 1100*1100.

3) The goods should be packed into two layers of pallets. The height of the pallet is not limited. The goods can be packed into high and low pallets In order to make full use of the space.

According to the current loading requirements, the task type [2-Steps Loading] should be selected.

Enter the [Basic Information] interface. The items in this page is optional, and users can fill in the PO number, order number or destination information according to actual work requirements for later check. Next, start to designing the plan:

Step 1: Click [Cargo] on the left to enter the cargo interface. For there are lots of cargo types, you should add them in batches by [Add Cargo>Import From Excel]. Firstly, click [Add Cargo>Get Excel Template] to download the Excel template and save it to a certain location in your computer.

Secondly, fill in the template with the cargo information. ①Copy the name, quantity, length, width, height, and weight (gross weight of a single box) of the goods into the template, which are required items. Pay attention to the matching of the units. “Weight” refers to the gross weight of a single carton or box of goods. If the cargo is too light, the “Weight” can be ignored and not filled in, and the system will default to "1".

②Then define the load orientations of the goods. For it is required that cargoes cannot be placed as the length is vertical to the ground, that is “lay” and “lay & rotate” are not allowed, you should fill in “0” under the “allowed” Column of “lay” and “lay & rotate” orientations. “0” means not allowed such load orientation, leave it blank or “1” means allowed.

③Define the properties for loading. For the goods are required to be palletized and then loaded into the container, the "Intermediate Packing Method" of the goods is set to "1". “0” or blank means that the goods are directly loaded into the container; “1” means that the goods are free to choose the appropriate pallet/carton; “2” means that the goods are loaded with the designated intermediate packaging.

For there are no other requirements, you do not need to set other parameters, leaving them as the default value. The specific details of each parameter can be found in this guidance documentation. Save and close the template when finishing.

Thirdly, return the [Cargo] page, click [Add Cargo>Import From Excel], choose the template in the dialog box, and open it. Then the cargo information will be imported to the task.

Step 2: Click [Container] on the left to enter the [Container] interface. For the user does not know the type and quantity of container that should be used, it is necessary to add all the commonly used container types so that the system can select the most appropriate container from such containers. Edit the corner castings size and reserved size of the container, the size of the corner castings is 10*10*10cm. Precautions for defining the reserved size, please refer to "How to simulate carton expansion and manual interval".

Note: For this case is pallet loading, the height reserved size should be set to 10cm in order to facilitate forklift operations; therefore, the 10cm of container corner castings are also deducted, therefore the size of corner castings does not need to be set.

Step 3: Click [Intermediate Container] on the left to add a pallet. For it is required to use the Asian universal flat pallet 1100*1100, just add it in. Click [Import from Database], check the pallet 1100*1100 in the pop-up box, and click [Add] to close the pop-up box. Then define the [maximum load height] of the pallet. For the user requires the goods to be packed into upper and lower pallets, therefore the height of the pallet is not limited. The maximum load height of the pallet can be set to a value greater than half the height of the container. The value can be adjusted after looking at the loading effect separately. It is set to 150cm in this case.

Note: If the user does not know the type and quantity of pallet that should be used, it is necessary to add all the commonly used pallet types so that the system can select the most appropriate container from such pallets. If there is no commonly used pallet in the database, you can click the [flat pallet] under [Add Container], and then edit the name, length, width, height and other information. In order to avoid repeated input each time, you can also maintain the commonly used pallet in the database. For details, please refer to the above "Container Management" .

Step 4: Click [Loading Rules] on the left to enter the [Loading Rules] page. For it is required that the goods can be loaded in high and low pallets in order to make full use of the space. Therefore the [Methods of generating intermediate Units] is selected as [The heights of intermediate units are dynamic computed according to container height].

Step 5: Click [Intermediate Loading Rules] on the left to define the loading rules when the goods are palletized. For there is no special loading demands, you needn't change the default rules in this page.

Finally, click [Optimize] above or click [Loading Plan] on the left to calculate. In the container list on the left, you can count that this batch of goods used 40 1100*1100 pallets, and finally used 1 40GP to complete the loading. Click on the container name to see the 3D loading diagram of each container. On the right side of the diagram are cargo statistics, loading steps and balance analysis of the current container. According to the 3D diagram, it can be seen that the goods are loaded with high and low pallets, which fully meets the loading requirements.

After the scheme audit is completed, you can use your mobile phone to guide the on-site loading and download the loading report to make the packing list and customs declaration. Details please refer to this guidance book.