Cubing and Weighing

“With [Mettler Toledo’s] system, pallets are delivered to the scale by fork vehicle,” says Dematic’s Hoffman. “The operator scans the pallet barcode and the scale captured weight and cube captured by the overhead dimensioner are married together.” [Note: an in-depth video of the CSN840 can be seen in action here: http://tinyurl.com/CSN840Pallet].

A significant advantage of this dimensioning system is the addition of a digital camera, which captures high-resolution photos of the pallets. “This is good for quality, damages, and any disputes that may arise,” says Jerry Stoll, marketing manager of Mettler Toledo.

Resolving dimensioning problems

Understanding and determining the dimensional weight for packages is essential in order to prevent the possibility of rebilling issues. For domestic shipments, the dimensional weight is determined by multiplying the package’s length by its height and by its width, then dividing it by a dimensional weight conversion factor of 194 for U.S. shipments or 166 for Canadian shipments. Utilizing up to date cubing and weighing systems helps to provide the user with the most precise dimensions, which helps to prevent potential rebilling issues.

Alongside with knowing the most accurate dimensional weight, using the proper box for your cargo is also essential in order to avoid having too much void space.

“It can get very expensive shipping too much void space in a box,” says Quantronix’s Neilson. “If you’re picking a better size carton for your order then typically you’re going to have less filler material in the cartons.”

By selecting the best size box for the cargo, a company can save money by using less filler materials and by also using less corrugate. This not only saves companies money, but it also has a positive impact on the environment.

“Food suppliers can save up to 30 percent in raw material costs, avoid petroleum-based fillers altogether, limit the quantity of damaged items, and reduce their packaging’s overall environmental impact on the planet,” says Packsize’s Kiessner.

Trends on the horizon

Currently, cubing and weighing systems are considered to be pricey pieces of machinery, since they’re specialized equipment designed for specific applications. However, that may change in the future.

“As dimensioning becomes a bit more mainstream, I would look to see maybe the cost of this equipment to begin to come down a little bit,” concludes Neilson. d