Planning Unloading: Container Sizes, Space and Equipment

Two containers with the same number of cartons can take very different times to unload, depending on the size of the box, the way it was loaded, how much room you have and what you have to move it with. A plan made in ten minutes before the doors open is the difference between an orderly morning and a heap of cartons on the floor that nobody has counted. This article gives a short method for sizing the work and staging the goods. The figures are planning guides, not measurements of your particular load.

Know the box

Three container sizes cover most shipments. The inner volumes below are approximate:

• 20-foot: about 33 cubic metres, which commonly holds 10 or so standard pallets in a single layer.
• 40-foot: about 67 cubic metres, commonly 20 or so standard pallets.
• 40-foot high cube: about 76 cubic metres, a little taller, useful for light, bulky goods.

The real numbers depend on the pallet size and on how the load was stowed. Ask the forwarder for the loading plan, or count the lines on the packing list.

Palletised or loose

How the cargo was loaded matters more than the size of the box.

• Palletised: a forklift or pallet truck takes out one unit at a time. The work is quick and the count is by pallet.
• Floor-loaded (loose cartons): every carton is carried by hand or on a conveyor. It takes more people and much more time, and it needs a method of its own, covered in our article on floor-loaded cargo.
• Mixed: pallets at the front and loose cartons behind. Plan the two parts separately.

The loading plan, or the first view when the doors open, will tell you which it is, so have both plans ready.

Space and staging

Work out the floor space for the whole load before you begin. A pallet needs about 1.2 square metres, plus room to walk around it. For 20 pallets that is about 24 square metres of pallets and about the same again for aisles and counting, so around 50 square metres. Mark the area with tape and keep one corner for damaged and doubtful goods.

Stage the goods in the order they come out, in rows you can count, for example rows of 5 pallets labelled A, B and C. Number each pallet as it leaves the container. Keep the route from the door to the staging area clear and lit.

People and equipment

For a palletised 40-foot container, a minimal team is a forklift operator, a counter, a recorder and a photographer, with a supervisor who is not one of the four. For floor-loaded cargo add handlers, and agree who takes a break and when.

Prepare in advance:

• a forklift or pallet truck suited to the floor and the door;
• a ramp or a dock plate, if the container is not at dock height;
• lighting for the inside of the container;
• spare pallets, stretch wrap, tape and tags;
• count sheets, a camera, a tape measure and a scale where the goods are weighed.

A conditional example

Say a 40-foot container holds 20 palletised units with 36 cartons each, 720 cartons in all. You expect that taking out a pallet, counting it and staging it will take about 6 minutes, so 20 pallets need about 2 hours. Add 30 minutes for the first view and the photographs, and another 45 for the check of damaged cartons and the second count. The total is about 3 hours 15 minutes. Staging needs about 24 square metres of pallets plus aisles. After the first four pallets, check your actual rate. If it is 9 minutes instead of 6, the finish moves from about 3 hours 15 minutes to about 4 hours 15 minutes, so tell the site manager and the driver. The 6 minutes is an assumption, so replace it with your own rate after the first pallets.

In short

A good unloading plan rests on five numbers: the pallets or cartons expected, the minutes for each, the floor space, the people and the finishing time. CargoChek arrives with a checklist suited to the container size and the type of cargo, and counts and photographs while your team unloads.