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Sometimes what look like very small changes and adjustments can make a big difference for our OEM metal cutting bandsaw customers, and nothing is worse than a meticulously manufactured product being damaged in transit. With our changes to pallet specifications for our OEM metal cutting bandsaws and mill drill machines, Rong Fu ensured that our machines would go that extra mile without fear that they would be compromised by less than perfect forklift handling.
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Why is customer feedback on metal cutting bandsaws & mill drill machines important to Rong Fu?
Rong Fu is known for paying close attention to our OEM customer and end user feedback and suggestions. We apply this not only to our metal cutting bandsaw and mill drill machine designs, but also to our processes and customer service across our integrated design, manufacturing and supply chain fulfilment activities. This is important because we can not only improve our machine designs and attractiveness to end users, we can also improve our customer service to our OEM customers.
Why did Rong Fu change the shipping pallet design for our OEM metal cutting bandsaws?
Rong Fu changed the shipping pallet design for our OEM metal cutting bandsaws after customer feedback about damage that occurred in the second transit stage from customer warehouses to local distributors or end-users. We had received no examples of problems or damage during shipment from our factory to customer warehouses, the issue seemed to appear on the second transit leg.
What was the 5 stage process for updating our packaging design?
- Identification of transit risks
- Managing container capacity
- Revision of packaging design
- Modification & testing of new design
- Implementation of revised pallet base for shipping
How were metal cutting bandsaw pallets damaged in transit?
Feedback from our OEM metal cutting bandsaw clients told us that sometimes our shipping cartons would be damaged in transit from their warehouse or distribution centre, and the main problem was forklift damage to the shipping pallet causing unstable loads. On investigation we determined that differences in the quality of logistics services were the most likely cause of the problem, and we decided to redesign and engineer our shipping pallets to make them much more robust.
Why is pallet damage a problem?
When a pallet collapses due to fork damage, the consequences can be serious, this is unlikely to immediately cause damage to the bandsaw or mill drill but makes it very difficult to subsequently pick up a boxed machine without damaging the shipping carton or potentially dropping it because of an unbalanced lift. A Rong Fu metal cutting bandsaw or mill drill machine can reach its final distribution warehouse in perfect condition but then be damaged due to pallet failure on the last leg of its journey to the customer.
Increased clearance for forklift forks reduces the need for perfect vertical alignment
The wedge effect of inserting the forks into a narrow space under a heavy object can easily split open the pallet base if there is not enough clearance height. Technically the clearance for our existing 4.5cm high pallet spacers was adequate, but only with near perfect alignment of the forklift forks. A small deviation from straight line fork entry or entry with the forks not perfectly in vertical alignment could easily lead to damage to the pallet base.
Measurement of forklift forks indicated that more clearance was required
You can see the 4cm thickness of forklift forks when fully inserted into the pallet base, which gives only 0.5cm for misalignment with our original space-saver pallet design. The thickness close to the point of the fork is still 1cm, which needs to be used to calculate the shape of the wedge created by the fork when it is inserted into the pallet base.
What are 3 features of our metal cutting bandsaw shipping pallet solution?
- Greater robustness to withstand repeated loading, unloading and handling
- Increased clearance to correct for forklift misalignment
- Minimized possibilities of damage in transit
To revise our new design we measured standard forklift fork dimensions and determined that by increasing the clearance from 4.5cm to 7.5cm we would enable forklifts to be able to securely and safely pick up our palleted OEM metal cutting bandsaws with significantly reduced likelihood of damage to the carton or the pallet from minor misalignments. We also reinforced the pallet base design to allow for heavy handling.
Testing verifies the new design is better for metal cutting bandsaw shipping
We tested the new design against our previous shipping design including rapid pick up and drop off and ascending and descending ramps to verify that the new design was better for metal cutting bandsaw shipping. The results indicated that with a 7.5cm clearance the majority of reported damage to pallets and cartons would be eliminated.
In our design decision making process we had to consider if a change to the pallet height would have an impact on shipping container capacity, as the original 4.5cm specification was to maximize container loading. 7.5cm was a workable solution that would not reduce container capacity for our OEM metal cutting bandsaws and mill drill machines for standard shipments.
How do the pallet spacers compare for Rong Fu metal cutting bandsaw pallets?
The original 4.5cm pallet spacers (above left), was designed to minimize volume for container shipping. This required perfect forklift handling at every stage of the journey. The revised 7.5cm spacer (above right) enables safe pick up of the metal cutting bandsaw or mill drill machine carton even if the forklift is not perfectly aligned. The reduction in container volume caused by increasing the size of the spacer could be managed by adjusting carton dimensions, so was not a significant issue.
Rong Fu: a holistic end-to-end approach to product shipping security
With over 40 years experience of manufacturing OEM metal cutting bandsaws and shipping them to our global customers, we know how important user experience both for the end user and through the production, shipping and distribution stages of delivering award-winning metal cutting bandsaws and mill drill machines.
Contact us to access our range of ISO certified, globally compliant ODM and OEM metal cutting bandsaws manufactured with Toyota Production System values and delivered safely with flexible shipments that meet your needs.
