Loads Correction
A company’s economic activity will determine the type of warehouse it needs. Similarly, although all warehouses share common characteristics, the product to be stored will determine the design and construction of both the warehouse and the installation of storage systems.
In addition, the nature of the product will condition the reception of goods, their verification, transport between the various warehouse areas, storage of goods, order preparation, consolidation of loads, shipment of goods and stock management. However, not all goods are the same, so neither is their type of storage nor the logistics processes that they involve.
What is Loads Correction ?
Definition of unit load
Before explaining the existing types of load based on different criteria, it is important to remember what a unit load is. As already communicated in the “Types of pallets and uses” post, the unit load is a homogeneous grouping of a set of products arranged on a support or platform that facilitates the handling and transfer of goods and which therefore acts as a logistical unit as such.
The purpose of the grouping of the load is to reduce the number of movements to a minimum, in order to facilitate its transport and storage.
Loads Correction FAQ
General load
These are goods that require individual packaging. They can be handled in 2 different ways: firstly, there are those loads that can be handled individually, and, secondly, there is the general unitised load, i.e., loads which for their handling during the logistics process are unified on supports such as boxes, pallets or containers.
In both cases, the total load is recorded in units.
Bulk load
This is the load that is not recorded in units, but rather by mass and volume criteria, since these are goods prepared for transportation directly, where the means of transport itself acts as a container, generally specialised containers.
In other words, these goods travel loose, without any packaging. For example, normally gases, liquids or similar substances, which by their nature are difficult to package.
Small loads
These are loads that can be carried in one hand and that are generally unified in a single package. For example, cartons of juice or packs of beer.
Medium loads
They are slightly bigger than the above loads and may weigh up to 10 kg, but they can still be carried by hand.
Large or pallet loads
These are larger goods which require standardised packaging and are grouped on a pallet for handling. This type of load cannot be handled manually, but by mechanical means such as forklifts, etc.
The pallet load can be stored with a wide variety of storage solutions. Everything will depend on the function of the warehouse, the type of product, the available area, etc.
Some companies need immediate access to goods in their daily intralogistics operations. In such cases, the warehouse will be equipped with storage systems with direct access to the pallets.
However, other companies will prioritise the maximum optimisation of the available space, both floor and height, so compact and high-density storage systems will be the most appropriate solution.
Bulky loads
These are large loads that sometimes cannot even be stacked. They can range from large appliances such as refrigerators to construction items such as iron girders.
When loads are very bulky, like above, special mechanical equipment such as cranes are needed to move them.
Special size loads
These are exceptionally large and almost always very heavy loads (such as structural elements for the building of bridges), which even exceed the size of transport vehicles and require support vehicles, special traffic arrangements for their transport, etc.