Unit
Load - "A single item, a number of items, or bulk material
which is arranged and restrained so that the load can be stored,
picked up, and moved between two locations as a single mass."
(Tanchoco)
Continuing Education
Educational
programs directed toward the training of employees of the targeted
industries are offered. Short Courses are designed to provide
one-half to several days of instruction. Courses focusing on pallet,
container, and unit load design are offered several times per
year. Special programs can be developed to fill particular relevant
educational needs.
UPCOMING
SHORT COURSES:
Unit Load Design Short Course
Understanding Wood and its Effect on Pallet Performance
Wood Species Identification for Pallet and Packaging Suppliers
Unit
Load Design Short Course:
how to reduce the cost of shipping units
September 23 - 25, 2008
The Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA Brochure Registration
Site
This
course, co-sponsored by ISTA,
MHIA, Industrial
Reporting, Inc. (publisher of Pallet
Enterprise and Pallet
Profile), and the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association
(NWPCA) is directed
to packaging, pallet, and material handling equipment suppliers,
as well as the users of these components. Attendees will learn
systems-based optimization procedures that will improve customer
service and increase competitiveness. By learning to design to
the “system” instead of to the individual component,
efficiencies and improvements in product protection can be found.
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.
For information
on registration or lodging, contact Virginia Tech Outreach Program
Development at (540) 231-5182.
Understanding
Wood and its Effect on Pallet Performance
October 22 – 23, 2008
The Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA Brochure Registration
Site This course,
co-sponsored by Industrial Reporting, Inc. (Pallet Enterprise,
Pallet Profile), will teach pallet and packaging designers and
suppliers, users, and specifiers the properties of wood and how
these properties effect pallet performance; Chemical, physical,
and mechanical properties of wood and how these differ between
wood species; How understanding these properties can be used to
control the corrosion, staining, and odor contamination of products
shipped on pallets; Understanding wood moisture relationships
and methods of drying wood pallets; Safe treatments for the control
of insect infestation; Controlling mold and mildew growth on wood
pallets and containers.
Wood
Species Identification for Pallet and Packaging Suppliers
November 5 – 6, 2008
The Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Brochure Registration
Site
This course,
co-sponsored by Industrial Reporting, Inc. (Pallet Enterprise,
Pallet Profile), will teach a method of wood identification that
is scientific yet sufficiently simple to be practiced successfully
by the layman. Participants will learn what wood is, how woods
are classified, and how to identify commercially important North
American softwoods and hardwoods. PARTICIPANTS WILL ALSO
LEARN HOW TO TELL QUARANTINED WOODS, SUCH AS ASH, FROM OTHER HARDWOODS.
This course has a wide range of applications for industries using
wood, museum curators, antique dealers, furniture builders and
restorers, homeowners, and hobbyists. Included in your participation
fee is a copy of the Wood Identification Handbook (authored by
Marshall S. White, instructor of the course) and a beautifully
crafted domestic wood identification kit (featured on the front
of the brochure).
Topics include:
How wood is classified; How to prepare a wood sample; Identifying
hardwoods and softwoods; and Wood identification keys.
RECENT
CONFERENCE
Preventing and Eliminating Mold on
Hardwood Pallets: A Manufacturer's Perspective
(Held June 7 & 8, 2007)
Wood Education & Resource Center (WERC), Princeton, WV
For
more information regarding this conference, including speaker presentations
and general information about mold, please check out our center
mold page.
