MH1 pallet standard now available at MHIA’s online store

The Materials Handling Industry of America took over responsibility for pallet standards last spring, and copies of the most recent standard are now available for sale at the organization's Web site.

-- Modern Materials Handling, 2/20/2007

Copies of the MH1 pallet standard are now available for sale at mhiastore.org, the online store of the Materials Handling Industry of America (MHIA). The standard, which was revised and published in 2005, was previously available through the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Last spring, MHIA took over responsibility for overseeing the MH1 committee, which develops U.S. standards related to pallets, slip sheets and other bases for unit loads. MHIA now is responsible for sales of the standard as well.

The MH1 standard includes information about the design and construction of wooden pallets. According to Ray Niemeyer, director of knowledge management for MHIA, the information in the standard is useful for pallet manufacturers and for manufacturers of pallet handling equipment. End users of pallets may also want a copy of the document to help their purchasing agents specify pallets that will work well in their materials handling systems, Niemeyer says.

Part 9 of the standard describes the Department of Defense’s pallet design specifications, he adds, so anyone shipping products to the military may also want to own a copy.

The document is available at a reduced price of $65 through May 5. After that date, MHIA will sell the document at its regular price of $95.

The MH1 committee expects to publish a revised standard in early 2008, says Niemeyer. The revised standard will include a section on plastic pallets and a section on corrugated pallets.