P H Pallets

It should go without saying that all pallets should be inspected every time they are used, to ensure that they are in a safe condition.

We know pallets inside-out and thought it would be helpful to give you an idea of what to look for when examining a pallet for damage or faults. The following checklist should give you a basic guide for inspection.

However please note, the list is by no means exhaustive. You also need to take into account details such the location, environmental conditions, weight and shape of load and stacking pattern.

In 4-way perimeter base pallets, make sure every base board is fastened at each end with two or more nails of correct length and diameter with adequate edge distance.

Ensure the stringer boards are made of good timber and don’t contain too many knots.

The stringer boards must be of equal thickness, as recorded in the pallet’s specifications.

Check that the deck boards, stringer boards and base boards are the required thickness and width as stipulated by the pallet’s measurement specifications.

Make sure the base boards are not split at their fastened end.

Inspect for damaged bearers or blocks.

Ensure that there are no projecting nails or nails pulled through deck boards.

Check that there are no split edges in any board members.

Confirm that there are no loose joints that could permit racking to shift out of square alignment (diamonding).

Finally, ensure the pallet is clean and free from contamination.

Here at PH Pallets we found ourselves in the unfamiliar role of theatre agent after Manchester’s award-winning Royal Exchange needed help with stage sets for two of its productions.

The Royal Exchange approached us to supply more than 50 pallets for its spring/summer season productions of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and the world premiere of ‘Cannibals’. The pallets were used to create the atmospheric stage designs for the two successful productions. They look amazing - as you can see from the photographs!

We were a bit surprised – and honoured - to get a call from the Royal Exchange but we’re slowly getting used to strange requests. We didn’t hold any auditions for the pallets. We just used our normal procedures, quality checks and tracking to choose the star pallets.

At the moment the humble pallet is like gold dust within the creative community. You just have to search the social network platform, Pinterest, to see thousands of creative ways to reuse and recycle wooden pallets. We’ve even had a lady drive more than 100 miles from North Cumbria to pick up three pallets so she could make a decorative log store!

The Royal Exchange is a busy theatre and builds all of its sets in its workshop space in Swan Street, Manchester.

John Goodfellow, Press and Communications Manager for the Royal Exchange, says: “It was just an odd coincidence that both designers were inspired to use pallets in what were two very different plays. In both cases it gave the design an incredible flexibility with stage crew and cast moving the pallets around to suggest everything from a courtroom in 1930s deep south America (To Kill A Mockingbird) to the rural fields of Eastern Europe (Cannibals).”

Written by Rory Mullarkey and directed by Michael Longhurst, the ‘Cannibals’ stage was designed by Chloe Lamford. Harper Lee’s iconic ‘To Kill A Mockinbird’ was adapted by Christopher Sergel and directed by Max Webster with set design by James Cotterill. The plays kicked-off the Royal Exchange’s Spring – Summer 2013 season, which continues now with Harold Pinter’s ‘The Birthday Party’.

Not a lot of people or companies are aware that manufacturers, stockists, sellers and warehouse operators must ensure their pallets are fit for purpose.

Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) a pallet is classed as ‘work equipment’ and an employer is under ‘strict liability’ to keep it in good working order and repair.

(Pictured below: used pallets being unloaded at PH Pallets ready for inspection, repair and recycling.)

This means that if an accident involving a faulty pallet occurs, the employer is liable for what could be £1,000s paid out in personal injury claims brought by employees or members of the public.

Don't cut corners by using inferior pallets and remind your team that pallets should be inspected every time they are used. According to the Health and Safety Executive's 'Safety in the use of pallets: Guidance Note PM15', where damage to the pallet is found - damage affecting the structural integrity of the pallet - it should not be used.

Damaged pallets should be isolated and identified as damaged and withdrawn for repair or disposal. Where repairs are possible these should only be carried out by the manufacturer, appointed agent, or specialist pallet repairers/recyclers - like PH Pallets!

(Pictured below: pallets awaiting recycling at PH Pallets...)

It’s easy to take pallet quality for granted when they’re an everyday piece of equipment used in warehouse or factory operations. But they’re designed and made specifically for moving massive weights, which mean accidents can and do happen if you cut corners by using inferior pallets.

To avoid this the answer is simply to remind your team that pallets should be inspected every time they are used and to source your pallet stock from a professional pallet management company with a quality reputation.

To ensure you choose the right pallet supplier to ensure quality pallets and cut the risk of accidents, we suggests looking for the following key features in a pallet management company.

Look for ISO accreditation in quality, environmental, and health and safety management.

Check that the pallet company has management information systems providing a detailed breakdown of the quality and quantity of pallet stock for tracking and customer reports.

Ensure the company offers the latest heat treatment services to the ISPM15 International Phytosanitary Standard for Wood Packaging.

Choose a pallet management company that preferably doesn’t offer ‘cash for pallets’; it will indicate the company’s professionalism and reinforces pallet tracking.

Spot check and tour the pallet company’s operational premises.

Look for value for money rather than the cheapest quote.

We've just finished invested more than £40,000 into a new look for our brand to prepare us for future growth within the UK’s green economy. This is our latest round of inward investment as we targeting expansion within the UK’s robust green economy.

Green jobs and the growing number of green focused businesses are a bright sources of optimism in the UK’s static economy. Environmental and low-carbon business now makes up 8% of the UK’s GDP and has provided a third of the growth the UK economy has managed to squeeze out over the past few years (CBI report, The Colour of Growth: Maximising the Potential of Green Business). There are now nearly 1 million people employed in green jobs, from bio-fuels and electric car manufacturing to wind turbines and recycling. More than 25,000 jobs were created in 2011.

So, as well as the £40,000 new branding we've just finished a £150,000 upgrade of our Dukinfield (Manchester) operations unit, a £250,000 investment in a bespoke IT system to track every pallet that enters and leaves our premises and £100,000 on new fleet vehicles.

We've rolled out our new brand identity across premises, fleet, stationary, website and social media channels (including Twitter and right here on Tumblr!).

Here's the new logo - do you like?

And we've put it on our trucks - front and back...

And our website...

Mark, our partner in PH Pallets, says: “Our new identity better communicates our reputation, quality, service and ambitions. We’re a modern, technology-led, professional recycling company and our investment in re-branding is vital to our future growth.

“We’re in a great position to offer a trusted and valued service to our growing base of customers. In a struggling economy recycling makes absolute sense – it saves time, raw materials and costs – and nowadays most waste material is a commodity. Using waste wisely makes for good business and a strong economy, which is why we’ve been able to invest when other industries and businesses are tightening their belts.”

We’re constantly amazed by creative and talented people recycled wooden pallets in incredible ways. A quick search on the internet can reveal some exceptional projects that span furniture making, gardening, interior design, art and architecture.

One project in particular stopped us in our tracks because of its simplicity and its impact on the local community. Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, The Pallet Pavilion is a summer outdoor space on the corner of Durham and Kilmore Streets built from more than 3,000 wooden pallets.

It was only possible thanks to more than 80 volunteers and 40 businesses partnering up and offered their time, energy, expertise and enthusiasm.

It was constructed as temporary events venue for the city, with the goodwill and desire of the local community and businesses, to provide a small-to-medium sized space after the loss of clubrooms and community halls demolished by the devastating 2011 earthquake.

Advertised as a family venue, it has been a regular home for dozens of types of events like markets, concerts, open mike nights, storytelling, cooking demonstrations, poetry and even conker competitions! We think every city and town should have one!

Most of the salvaged and borrowed materials used in the construction of the Pallet Pavilion will be returned and put to future uses after it is deconstructed. The pallets will be returned to the supplier and put back into circulation upon completion of the project, which is the absolute beauty of wooden pallets: sustainable and recyclable.

Last month the new EU Timber Regulation (EU NO 995/2010) came into force, which makes it an offence to place illegal timber or timber products on the EU market, and puts obligations on those who first place such products on the market, as well as those trading further down the supply chain.

The new regulation means there is a significantly smaller chance that the wood you use in your work is the result of illegal logging. The regulation has been put through to reduce the negative economic, environmental and social impact it can have on the many locations that timbre is sourced from.

Obviously this has consequences for wooden pallet manufacturers, recyclers and users but as long as you make sure you work with a reputable pallet management company, which has full sourcing, reporting and tracking protocol the regulations are nothing to be scared of.

The new regulation imposes the following obligations on those who trade timber and timber related products, like pallets:

'Operators' who first place timber or timber products on the European market must implement a due diligence system which incorporates information gathering, risk assessment and risk mitigation activities, in order to minimise the possibility that products they place on the market contain illegally harvested timber.

'Traders' who buy or sell timber or timber products which have already been placed on the market must maintain records of who supplied it to them, and, where applicable, to whom they have supplied the timber or timber products.

The Regulation applies to timber and timber products which originate in the domestic (EU) market, as well as those which originate from third (non-EU) countries.

Business news – especially nationally - is dominated by the plight of our credit starved economy, the deserted high streets, youth unemployment and banking morals (or lack of). No-one seems to be talking about the dark horse that is the Green Economy.

Green jobs and the growing number of green focused businesses are bright sources of optimism in the UK's recession slapped economy. Did you know that environmental and low-carbon business now makes up 8% of the UK's GDP? And did you know that it provides a third of the growth the UK economy has managed to squeeze out over the past few years?

There are now nearly 1 million people employed in green jobs, from bio-fuels and electric car manufacturing to wind turbines and recycling. More than 25,000 jobs were created in 2011.

Last year a report from the environmental think tank Green Alliance said the UK’s green economy, which includes the recycling sector, has remained healthy since the banking crisis. The think tank used a bag-for-life full of official government figures to summarise the current state of the green economy, which is in good health.

Our green sector is now larger than car manufacturing, aerospace or telecoms but why isn’t anyone shouting about it? Where is the political and media attention? Who is waving the good news in front of investors (at home and internationally)?

We know from our own experience, recycling wooden pallets, that the green economy remains strong. In fact, we’ve just completed a big investment in upgrade of our bespoke IT system and recycling unit in Manchester, updating our brand, new vehicles and we’re looking to invest more in the future.

In a struggling economy recycling makes absolute sense – it saves time, raw material and costs – and nowadays most waste material is a commodity. Using waste wisely makes for good business and a strong economy. So, if anything can give us growth over the next few years and help us avoid a triple-dip recession then it’s the green economy.

Here at PH Pallets we obviously know that the quality of a pallet is important. Whether it's new or recycled, a pallet needs to be in 'mint' condition to ensure that our customers' products and people are protected.

In the long run it will save businesses time and money because accidents caused by a poor standard of pallet can damage goods and hurt people, which can result in a personal injury claim.

Did you know that a pallet is actually classed as 'work equipment' under Provisions and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998. That means an employer is under strict liability to keep its pallets in good working order and repair.

While we don't like to blow our own trumpet, we would like to shout from the roof tops that we've secured British Standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certificates for our operations, procedures and service to customers.

As a modern and professional company we have to have these internationally recognised standards. Businesses now demand that their suppliers meet BSI benchmarks because of the benefits to their own reputation, quality, trust and efficiency. It’s a ‘no-brainer’ and we’re delighted to have achieved all three together.

As the foundation of our business is sustainability, we’re particularly pleased to have gained the environmental management standard ISO 14001. It’s proof that our own policies and procedures save energy, minimise waste and promote sustainability. These are all vital benefits that our stakeholder customers can use to help give them an edge on the competition and attract business.

An ISO 14001 Environmental Management certificate is evidence that we have met the stringent standards required for establishing, implementing and operating a system to control our impact on the environment.

ISO 9001 Quality Management covers how we manages our activities to make sure that our customer’s requirements are met consistently, from quality of product to aftercare. Many businesses look for ISO 9001 certification as indication that their supplier is a well-run company.

The Occupational Health and Safety Management OHSAS 18001 certificate sets out the requirements for best practice and ensures our systems and procedures reduce the potential for accidents, help achieve compliance with health and safety legislation and continually improve performance.

We're very proud of our British Standards and we're going to work very hard to keep them!

Climate Change Week starts today and it can be a bit of a daunting title. It's a big subject that has an big impact on the Whole World and the future of The Planet! So, it's easy to think that you're just a small business, organisation, school or individual and anything you do is a drop in the ocean... But it's not!

If you go to the Climate Change Week website one of the most motivating things you can read is:

A five-minute conversation you have today, with someone such as your boss or a teacher, could result in hundreds of people becoming involved during Climate Week in action to combat climate change.

It could be something as simple as introducing a recycling box for your school's waste paper, or a poster in the staff canteen about cycling to work, or not letting the tap run in the kitchen, right through to asking your warehouse manager to look into how PH Pallets can manage and recycle your discarded pallets.

Big or small you'll be surprised at the impact; not only on your carbon footprint but also on other people, out habits, culture and behaviour.

It sounds a strange mix: pallets and gardening - a bit like a fish and a bicycle or a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition - but pallets and gardening are the Fred and Ginger of the recycling world!

A quick exploration of the world wide web and you soon come across sites like 'Life on a Balcony', which tells you how to turn a pallet into a garden, or 'The Small House Family', where you'll find instructions on how to build a compost bin.

What amazes us is the fact that the pallets can look absolutely stunning when planted up - see The Micro Gardener. It's a far cry from the distribution yards, warehouses and dockyards that people usually associate the humble pallet with.

Unless you've been lost in the Australia Outback you may have noticed a bit of snowfall in January and early February, which of course meant that Britain came to a virtual standstill.

After a short respite of warmer climes, the winter is set to return on Wednesday (February 20) as a cold front brings freezing temperatures and a bitter wind. Some parts of Britain may even see a return to snowfalls by the end of the week.

Other northern European countries can't understand why we cope so badly with snow but it's probably because it doesn't happen that often over these fair Isles. So, we're not always prepared and schools, airports, trains and roads all suffer...

Except that PH Pallets IS prepared! Snow is no bother to us because we've long invested in our own snowplough and gritter (plus the team wear long johns!). That means our pallets keep on moving no matter what the weatherman says...

Christmas is just days away, so we thought we'd share some more lovely ideas to spruce up the festive decor in your home with Yuletide pallets!

Upcycling and recycling disused products is still hot news, and the festive season is really igniting some creative sparks. 

For those wanting to break the convention of the evergreen Christmas tree, there are some fantastic pallet alternatives.

If you didn't think pallets could be festive, think again!

A bit of business news for you, we've just made a £100,000 investment in new vehicles to help us drive growth within the green economy.

PH Pallets has invested in two new vehicles to boost its collection and delivery service.

The duo of DAF LF55 Lorries will also help reduce our environmental footprint with fuel efficient engines and low carbon emissions.

The vehicle investment comes just two months after we completed a £400,000 upgrade of our bespoke IT system and recycling unit in Manchester.

A recent report by the Green Alliance says the UK’s green economy has remained healthy since the banking crisis. We would wholeheartedly agree with the report and it’s why we’re able to keep investing and improving our services.

The two new DAF lorries are a superb addition to our fleet. The vehicles allow us to be more flexible with collections and deliveries of new and used pallets, which means we can enhance our service for our customers.

Industrial design is really coming into its own: designers are increasingly inspired by the rustic, rugged look of this era.

Dutch brothers Blom & Blom, featured on We Heart Magazine, spend their days foraging through abandoned, former soviet warehouses and factories. Using old pallets, light fittings, electrical switches and anything they can find, they give them a new lease of life.