[rant] Pallets

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Do the people who load pallets to be distributed to shops ever actually do the delivery themselves?

If they did, would they

o load them so high that they don’t fit out the back doors of the truck, and you have to start splitting the pallet down just to get it off?

o load them so much that it requires all your (my) strength to be able to move them on a pump truck?

o load them so much that when the shop has a 1-in-4 gradient from the parking area down into the loading bay, it doesn’t take two people at full strength trying to stop the pump truck running away with itself?

o load them so much that when you have to park on a downward gradient to deliver, it is actually possible to pull the pallets out of the back of the truck?

o load one pallet roof-high of crisps, and another one roof-high of tins and bottles?

Sorry, just thought I’d have a rant. The agency has twice placed me in a job doing “small supermarket” deliveries, where I’ve come home completely knackered from dragging ridiculously heavy pallets around. Oh, and one pallet last time was so loaded that the pallet itself collapsed, and the whole lot toppled over. However, I guess the £14/hour rate makes up for it…

2

MrFlibble:
However, I guess the £14/hour rate makes up for it…

It will come in very handy when it comes to paying for the private medical treatment you will need!

3

14 quid an hour,i don’t care how much i would get paid ,if the sending company can’t load pallets so that it don’t fall over or collapse the pallet due to the weight of it.or too high that you need a step ladder to get to the top.well sorry mate it would have been sent right back.and i don’t care what they or the agency say.look after no1,cause they won’t when your off sick. :angry:

4

MrFlibble:
Do the people who load pallets to be distributed to shops ever actually do the delivery themselves?

If they did, would they

o load them so high that they don’t fit out the back doors of the truck, and you have to start splitting the pallet down just to get it off?

o load them so much that it requires all your (my) strength to be able to move them on a pump truck?

o load them so much that when the shop has a 1-in-4 gradient from the parking area down into the loading bay, it doesn’t take two people at full strength trying to stop the pump truck running away with itself?

o load them so much that when you have to park on a downward gradient to deliver, it is actually possible to pull the pallets out of the back of the truck?

o load one pallet roof-high of crisps, and another one roof-high of tins and bottles?

Sorry, just thought I’d have a rant. The agency has twice placed me in a job doing “small supermarket” deliveries, where I’ve come home completely knackered from dragging ridiculously heavy pallets around. Oh, and one pallet last time was so loaded that the pallet itself collapsed, and the whole lot toppled over. However, I guess the £14/hour rate makes up for it…

Although not pallets, this is the same gripe I had when I did agency work for Brake Bros at ■■■■■■■■■■■■

I had a 26 tonner with 4 pallets of frozen on and about 21 cages of chilled. It’s was a zebideeing nightmare. Even my first drop, which was at Edinburgh airport, was a nightmare and that was on the flat :open_mouth: . All those cages seem to have square wheels and never wanna go where you want them to go.

So I finally had my 5 cages off for the airport but then they had 12 empty cages to pick up. What do you do with them :question: :confused: . There’s nowhere to put them but you still need access down the middle to get to the frozen section.

Then I had a few hotel/pub type places which were all on silly gradients and like yourself, you’ve no chance of moving them. If you park facing downhill you can’t pull them up hill to the tail lift and if you park uphill as soon as you take the bar away they all come for you with disasterous results :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth: .

I’ll never do cages ever again after that day :angry:

5

Last week when I was away, we picked up cages from Tesco’s/Wincanton in crick (in a curtainsider too!). They didnt put the ■■■■■■■■ right and by the time we got to Crewe they had all fallen, right to the back door. There was boxes of wooden coat hangers and pink sandles everywhere :laughing: Spent over an hour getting them re-stacked and strapped up properly, so we could get just 4 pallets on :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

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:unamused: :unamused: Mr Flibble, rest assured numpty pallets is normal. All they worry about is getting it on the trailer. your problem after that. If it gets too bad, take it back, or say its been sent back, Health and Safety risk and all that.

Cages, don’t go there. :unamused: :unamused: :imp: :imp: Planks job, and no messing. :laughing:

7

Well Mr Flibble.
A few years ago I ‘did the yard’ at ACC (Co - Op) at Halesowen.

The job was basically this ;
I had around 35 26 tonners,
4 17 tonners,
4 artics.

The game plan was this.

The transport managers went home, leaving me and another chap to load the wagons for the next morning, the 1st wagon leaving at 4-30 am.

When I say load, all we had to do was put the wagons on the bay ( there were about 6 of them ), turn the fridges on, close the back door and park the wagon up when it had been loaded.

Unfortunately, the pickers were on a ‘job and finish’ situation, whereby they could go home when they were done and still be earning money.

Unlike the H.G.V. drivers who had had to earn their licence and work hard, they basically held the ‘frozen food grand prix race’ every night.

If a pallett is driven onto a truck with an electric stand on forklift, and the next pallett is rammed next to it or beside it, you have no chance of pulling it out with a pump truck, especially if it frozen to the sides of the vehicle.

Top heavy at the time was the norm, with palletts dangerously top heavy.
As I have said, it’s o.k. when the electric truck loads you on a level bay, but on a tail-lift with a manual pump truck it’s a different story.

Does any - one remember “Its a knockout” ?

We should pull Stuart Hall out of retirement, and ask him to judge the dodgiest load.

I can see it now. Drivers dressed in funny costumes losing palletts off the tail - lift :exclamation:

Cheers,

Niall

8

I did a job and was thought a foolish [zb] for;- using a pallet truck to unload 26 pallets weighing 3/4 tonne a piece. Then reloading same vehicle! Thing is I had a physique like ‘Garth’ and they were all fat zedbees!

9

Niall:
If a pallett is driven onto a truck with an electric stand on forklift, and the next pallett is rammed next to it or beside it, you have no chance of pulling it out with a pump truck, especially if it frozen to the sides of the vehicle.

Top heavy at the time was the norm, with palletts dangerously top heavy.
As I have said, it’s o.k. when the electric truck loads you on a level bay, but on a tail-lift with a manual pump truck it’s a different story.

In this case, the pallets are loaded by an FLT, since they’re curtainsiders, but they have a bit steel bar down the centre of the truck, about 6" below the roof, with securing rings on; at the back, the bar goes across the width of the truck, so it’s possible to get high pallets on the side, but not out the back… :unamused:

Does any - one remember “Its a knockout” ?

We should pull Stuart Hall out of retirement, and ask him to judge the dodgiest load.

I can see it now. Drivers dressed in funny costumes losing palletts off the tail - lift :exclamation:

:laughing: That’s a fabulous image…

10

kitkat:
14 quid an hour,i don’t care how much i would get paid ,if the sending company can’t load pallets so that it don’t fall over or collapse the pallet due to the weight of it.or too high that you need a step ladder to get to the top.well sorry mate it would have been sent right back.and i don’t care what they or the agency say.look after no1,cause they won’t when your off sick. :angry:

They haven’t yet been so heavy that I can’t move them (although it’s been close). If I can’t move it, that’s where it’ll stay. Also I just make sure that I’m never going to be in the way if it does topple. Don’t worry, I’m not stupid (although some might disagree :laughing: )

11

I wouldnt care It isnt your job to get it in the shop. If you cant get it off the truck safely it should stay on there. They dont invent forktrucks for nothing you know.

I had the same problem as you mate, expecting me to shift pallets of my lorry. I didnt do it, just had to say I wasnt trained to operate pallet trucks. Health & safety does the rest (there is actually a use for the stupid rules). If they dont take that ask for some safe practices documents (or what ever they are called) this would explain exactly how the pallets get off the truck without straining you. There is no way except with powered mechanical intervention, or unloading them all by hand which would take too long, either way you should be better off.