EIPS Minutes, Nov. 16, 2000

NOTE: NEXT MEETING DATE AND PHONE NUMBER HAVE CHANGED TO DEC. 14, 2000, DIAL 212-519-0801, passcode 96707#

Attendees:

John Clarke (VTU)
Ron Johnson (Intel)
Paul Russell (HP)
Travis Tyson (Micron)
Bob Sanders (IBM)

Notes:

A presentation on this task group will be made jointly by Bob Sanders and John Clarke at the Dimensions.01 conference.

IFCO Systems (John Healy) had expressed interest in presenting to the EIPS group but deferred to a later date. It was suggested that they be invited to speak to us in person at Dimensions.01 in Orlando next February in the same fashion that CHEP did this year. I have extended this invitation and they will consider it and get back to us. Their North American HQ is also in Orlando so it should be easy to make that work.

Ron Johnson reported that their efforts to involve CHEP on inbound shipments from Maysteel (a chassis supplier) have failed to this point due to disinterest on the part of Maysteel.

The question was asked if IoPP required any particular format for this specification. Apparently they do have a "Publishing Protocol" but only if their logo is part of it. Bill Pflaum can provide details as needed. It could be released as a "Model Specification" in a manner similar to the CONEG R3P2 spec.

There was a report in the recycling industry of a company in Italy purporting to be able to supply a $10 pallet made from recycled plastics and rubber. Michele Raymond is investigating on our behalf. It was noted that this may be the same company that is already working with VTU and that the samples were not that promising.

Terminology / Marking (By copy to Bob Peters/NWPCA can you please review this section and advise): There was considerable discussion on our terminology as it relates to the specification and the marking scheme. Specifically under scrutiny is the use of the trade terms hardwood and softwood as it relates to the infestation issues and the obviuous confusion those terms have caused around the world. It was decided that we should promote the use of the terms CONIFEROUS and NON-CONIFEROUS in lieu of soft vs. hard. Next for consideration then is how to mark those. For instance, FAO refers to Conifers as "C" and Non-Conifers as "NC". This is nice because it abbreviates to the maximum degree. However, when used in combination with supplier names, dates and so on it is possible that these would get lost in the string, especially if a supplier's name included the letters C or NC. "CON" and "NON-CON" helps with that but adds a lot of characters above the minimum but is similar to what we had before with "HT SOFT" and so on. This led to the notion of a graphical symbol to be used in conjunction with the initials. For instance, an image of an evergreen tree with the "C" in it and likewise an image of a shade tree with the "NC" in it. The advantage of this is that it helps cross language barriers and also segregates these initials from the rest of the text that may be printed. The terms would be expanded to indicate treatments that were done. For example, HT-C, HT-NC, Chem-C, Chem-NC, KD-C, KD-NC. There was even discussion of a symbol of an insect with a line or X through it would easily convey the message that the material was treated. We all agreed that it appeared that there is no perfect failsafe solution. We failed to get around to discussing a potential "EIPS" logo for approved pallets which would have broader scope than simply the wooden type pallets described in this paragraph.

EIPS Draft Specification: We reviewed the draft dated 10/19/00. We will allow both orientations of the smaller standard (800x1200 and 1200x800). A paragraph will be added addressing dimensional tolerances (ISO 6780). The temperature range of -40C to +60C was considered to wide for practical laboratory testing. Therefore, tests will be performed from -25C to +60C.

USDA Call for Comments: It was suggested that a subgroup of the EIPS group be assembled to write a response to the proposed expansion of USDA regulations with regard to their most recent pest risk assessment.

Agenda for Next Meeting:

Finalize the EIPS Draft Spec. Further discussion on Markings / Symbols Plans for Dimensions.01 and EIPS meeting there.