test please delete

[WTFH]

Links are up

Mr F, I made a post in the Boll-xit section and was surprised to discover you never did a link on the subject (maybe cause it's dull) anyway, if you're ever looking for one, try to find a good history of CHEP pallets. Here's a sanitised version of that post (for those who dare not go there)...

Before WWII, everybody used their own pallets to ship things around. As the war progressed, a lot of military product was being shipped around the world, from factory to factory, to the battlefields and airfields, etc and it became a big task for the suppliers to get enough pallets, all of which then were destroyed after one journey. There wasn't a standard size for the pallets each business worked to somewhere between 30" and 48". Up steps the Australian government with an idea - they would supply the pallets, but they weren't to be destroyed after one journey, but would be built stronger so they could be re-used. The government would own the pallets, and to make them obvious, they would all be painted blue.
And so the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool was formed, aka CHEP.
CHEP today is the largest owner of pallets in the world, all of them rented to companies who reuse them. When you see a blue pallet, it will be stamped "Property of CHEP", and that is who owns them.
There are various other companies like CHEP, although American businesses are more fond of destroying after single use, as re-using and working with others isn't one of their strong points.
One of the other pallet organisations is EPAL- the European Pallet Association. They deal only in EUR Pallets which come in 4 different sizes, the main ones being 80x120cm and 120x100cm. They don't have a distinctive colour, but they will all be stamped with an oval EPAL logo. Like CHEP pallets, these all belong to a pool - the EPP. They are made to standards which means there is no risk of contamination from the wood.

And why does it matter? Well there's a few things -
Firstly big businesses do not want their storage areas to be full of unused, odd-sized pallets that they need to dispose of - a small warehouse receiving 200 pallets a day will quickly run out of space with their empty pallets.
Secondly, when storing the products they want to be able to put them away on their pallet in storage racks. If the pallets are a standard size, this is simple.
Thirdly, businesses who ship goods out on pallets need to know that they are appropriate for the type of product being shipped. If the pallets you receive your stock in on are to a known standard, then you know you can use them for shipping (bar any damage)
Fourthly, companies do not want to spend the money on owning a pallet that will only be used for one delivery, it's cheaper to rent for a few pennies than pay a hundred pounds for one use..

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Grey out, and only about 9°C

No rain yet though… due this afternoon or evening, it seems.

[NickFitz]

Mr F, I made a post in the Boll-xit section and was surprised to discover you never did a link on the subject (maybe cause it's dull) anyway, if you're ever looking for one, try to find a good history of CHEP pallets. Here's a sanitised version of that post (for those who dare not go there)...

See also my tweet the other day, in response to a tweet about the B**x*t pallet issue

"We'll just trade under WTO rules!""WTO rules say all pallets must be heat treated at source to a core temperature of 56C and sustained for at least 30 minutes and no supermarkets do that" "...oh..." Unpalatable news? UK faces pallet crisis if there is no-deal Brexit | Politics | The Guardian

This could have been foreseen had Theresa May attended the @boringconferenc in 2017 and heard Liam Shaw’s talk on pallets. BBC Sounds - The Boring Talks, Boring Talks #04 - Wooden Pallets #BoringVII

[WTFH]

See also my tweet the other day, in response to a tweet about the B**x*t pallet issue

Shame I didn't read that tweet - I'm now listening to that talk to see how much I got wrong!

[WTFH]

And now "The Boring Talks" will get added to my podcast list, along side "No Such Thing As A Fish" and a few others.

[xoggoth]

Bloody hell. Really on phone scammer list this morning. 2 recorded calls from "HMRC", one recorded call from "BT" and one Indian bloke re my health & safety.

[NickFitz]

And now "The Boring Talks" will get added to my podcast list, along side "No Such Thing As A Fish" and a few others.

Early bird tickets for the conference go on sale tomorrow at 1300: Boring IX Tickets, Sat 4 May 2019 at 10:30 | Eventbrite

[NickFitz]

Last of the sausages in a butty (white) for lunch

I need to activate myself shortly; I need a haircut, and I need to pop to the garage to arrange an MOT for the Toyota, and I figure I might as well get the shopping done so I don't have to go out in the rain tomorrow… and I need to implement the rest of the URL handling for the image placeholder thing too

[DaveB]

Afternoon all

Following a damp dog walk, lunch has been fish finger sandwiches. With ketchup, as the Lord intended.

[mudskipper]

Early bird tickets for the conference go on sale tomorrow at 1300: Boring IX Tickets, Sat 4 May 2019 at 10:30 | Eventbrite

I may have a look at that. I enjoyed study of doormats that you posted last year.