b. Container Properties
There are four container types: flat pallet, box, container, high/low flatbed truck. All have common basic properties: name, length/width/height, quantity, type, fee. Each type also has its own properties.
1) Flat pallet additional properties: maximum placement height, length-direction overhang allowed, width-direction overhang allowed.
① Maximum placement height: the maximum allowed height for cargo on the pallet, including the pallet's own height.
② Length/width-direction overhang allowed: how much the cargo on the pallet may exceed the pallet's footprint in the length and width directions.
2) Boxes may be wooden or metal. Properties: external length/width/height and internal length/width/height. Internal dimensions define the container size when cargo is packed into the box; external dimensions define the cargo size when the loaded box is then packed into a container.
3) Container additional properties: maximum container load, internal length/width/height, corner-casting length/width/height, and reserved sizes for length/width/height.
① Maximum load: when cargo is heavy, the software automatically limits the total cargo weight to not exceed the container's maximum load for safe transport.
② Corner-casting dimensions: shown in red below. Corner castings are the two fasteners at the container's top corners. Although they occupy little space, loaders often underestimate them, leading to under-loading or to the container not closing. LoadMaster automatically avoids corner castings during plan optimization once the user defines their dimensions.
③ Reserved size: in real loading, gaps between cargo or carton swelling are unavoidable. To make the plan practical, some size must be reserved in each container direction so all cargo can be loaded on site.
How much to deduct from container length/width/height is an empirical value. After using the software to guide on-site loading, you can refine the recommended deduction.
If forklift loading is used, for first-time use of the software the following reserved sizes are recommended:
- 20GP: deduct 5–10 cm from internal length, 3–5 cm from width, 10 cm from height.
- 40GP / 40HQ: deduct 13–15 cm from length, 3–5 cm from width, 10 cm from height.
For manual loading where packaging is mostly cartons, the recommended reserved sizes are:
- 20GP: deduct 5–10 cm from internal length, 3–5 cm from width, 3–5 cm from height.
- 40GP / 40HQ: deduct 13–15 cm from length, 3–5 cm from width, 3–5 cm from height.
4) High/low flatbed truck additional properties: flatbed length/width/height, and length and height of the high deck.
The deck height is the maximum allowed cargo height. 