Narrow pallet system
A series of tip sheets on labor efficiency for fresh-market
vegetable growers.
Astrid Newenhouse
Bob Meyer
Marcia Miquelon
and Larry Chapman
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project
If you currently hand carry boxes of produce, switching to a narrow pallet
system may save you time and money. With a hand pallet truck you can move
up to 16 half-bushel boxes at a time. This system can cut your time spent
moving boxes more than 60% and will dramatically reduce the stress on
your body.
What is a hand pallet
truck?
A hand pallet truck is similar to a regular hand truck (dolly) except
that the base uses pivoting forks instead of a fixed plate metal shoe.
If you stack your load on a small plastic pallet (14 x 24 inches), you
can position the forks underneath and move as many as 16 half bushel boxes.
A hand pallet truck can be tilted (by releasing the forks) for loading
and unloading and locked into an upright position to tip back and roll
the load.
Why not use a regular
hand truck?
With a regular hand truck, you need to push the stack of boxes forward
to squeeze the shoe underneath. This can make the stack unstable. A pallet
system keeps the load upright and stable while you position the truck
and lock it into position for moving. Standard stackable containers tend
to slide around on a regular hand truck when full, because the bottom
of the container has a smaller footprint than the top. The pallet system
eliminates sliding.
Why not use a regular
pallet?
Many small-scale growers store and pack produce in converted barns, older
buildings, and coolers with tight spaces and narrow doorways. A full-sized
pallet and pallet jack require a very flat, smooth, hard surface to roll
easily. Hand pallet trucks with their narrow size and pneumatic wheels
roll easily through narrow doorways and over rough surfaces.
This hand pallet truck was retrofitted with an extra-wide back. The pivoting forks are designed for picking up plastic pallets.
Benefits of using
a hand pallet truck:
Efficient. A hand pallet truck lets you move loads of up to 500
pounds with far less effort than it would take to hand carry loads of
75 pounds. Furthermore, where you can hand carry four half-bushel boxes
at a time, a hand pallet truck can handle 16 boxes.
Less stress on body. Hand carrying heavy loads forces you to adopt awkward carrying positions. By contrast, using a hand pallet truck, you can easily roll a load to its destination. Pallet systems involve less stooping, bending, and lifting than hand carrying items.
