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Marketing Research
Report No. 476

U. S$. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
TRANSPORTATION AND FACILITIES
RESEARCH DIVISION

Pe
re

APPLE HANDLING
and PACKING

inthe Appalachian Area

Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

UNS) ae
? Tr. oF ASRiCUL TURE i
e-nie RR in 4) y

Marketing Research
Report No. 476

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
TRANSPORTATION AND FACILITIES
RESEARCH DIVISION

——
oe

APPLE HANDLING
and PACKING

inthe Appalachian Area

PREFACE

Much research into apple handling and packing has preceded this study;
more will follow it. While the majority of work already done has been in other
producing areas with different conditions, many of the results are applicable
to the Appalachian area, or can be adapted to its requirements. The primary
purpose of this report is to present costs of handling and packing apples by
present methods; these costs to serve as a basis for determining possible
savings with newer equipment types. Some of these newer equipment types--
particularly forklift trucks, automatic box fillers, and semiautomatic tray
packers--were already in plants studied, and are included in the comparisons.
This study is part of a broad program of research aimed at improving marketing
efficiency and expanding the market for farm products.

The Agricultural Experiment Station of West Virginia University, and the
Marketing Economics Research Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service
conducted companion studies. These were economic analyses of plantwide costs,
based on the averages of selected plants. Publications have been issued by
both agencies.

The study on which this report is based was under the general supervision
of Joseph F. Herrick, Jr., Marketing Research Analyst, Transportation and
Facilities Research Division, Agricultural Marketing Service. Many packers in
the Appalachian area offered their support and facilities, and their contribution
is acknowledged.

Other publications in the field include:

Marketing Research Report No. 49. "Apple Handling Methods and Equipment
in Pacific Northwest Packing and Storage Houses,'' U. S. Dept. Agr., June 1953.
(Out of print, may be consulted in libraries.)

AMS-236. ''Handling and Storage of Apples in Pallet Boxes," U. S. Dept.
Agr., Agricultural Marketing Service, April 1958.

AMS-330. "An Experimental Packing Line for McIntosh Apples," U. S. Dept.
Agr., Agr. Mktg. Serv., August 1959.

AMS-300. "Costs of Marketing Appalachian Apples," U. S. Dept. Agr., Agr.
Mktg. Serv., February 1959.

The West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown, W. Va.,
published a bulletin entitled:

"Costs and Mechanical Injury in Handling and Packing Apples," Bul. 416,
June 1958.

Information concerning motion pictures dealing with apple handling and
packing can be obtained from the Office of Information, U. S. Department of
Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C.

CONTENTS

Page
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Costs of combined handling operations... .......50% Sis eters epee ert anekeinne waters 24
Apple*packinge line’ operations. ..6...2osu0006% Shee hateneuacs ta otare tuts atelamaranerabamets ene 27
Demip ities. hep, ee eaters Siete Sales ee 5 ese pie eee Bara iele.e ieee Sie ei. eumioiasela\e aveses @issaress te 27
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PSCKING ny tee eres Teer Cee ee Te eT eee oe rer ey ee she\atelsverete ‘ave 38
Other packing) hitte operations sss sua se. siociaete wee a 54 wis Caja etal etoueie wighecers eke 48
Costs of combined packing line operations........ ee Ae Rion 53
Handling and packing by different combinations of methods at
different volumes .o5 ssc Socacs F siee ocle Seals o's tec! ars ory a wus os erase cee ele eee eee oe 54
Handling by clamp type 2- wheel handtrucks oie
manual packing from return-flow belt...... sie eae vore ss avohers isis ioe tot eis betetenaaste ie 56
Handling by conveyors with manual packing from tubs................. on 56
Handling by forklift truck and pallets and packing
by semiautomatic tray packers............ wi oie oi See Ate te vensnalevete orateieseie otaicteltt 63
Conelustons 2.75. Seay eee An aite miles tee ote te atic ea) ieee wens dverbisunioeiane arouse tions sheite otebate ors 63
WPPeCNGLxs secon ce wees ee eee se ee ee ee aCe Deter sere ole le iene a5 sah ete ais isucy one 68
Development of the study. Oe Ee ee edel-b lash oe ete ts leper laters siereeserete 68
Statistical supplement. cc wists ys c's 10s, 0's c1c sis seis ee ee 70
June 96.

- ii -

SUMMARY

At an annual volume of 50,000 crates, the forklift truck and pallet method
of handling apples was the least costly, and the powered conveyor method the
most costly of those studied. With the forklift truck and pallets, the cost
was $33.93 per 1,000 crates received. This was $56.90 less than with the
conveyor, and $17.04 less with the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck when both labor
and equipment were considered. Im each case labor represented about two-thirds
of the total cost of handling apples, and equipment one-third.

In the packing line operations, mechanical dumping cost $10.78 per 1,000
crates, and manual dumping $21.96, or $11.18 more, where the annual volume was
50,000 crates. At this same volume, apples were tray-packed by use of semi-
automatic tray-packers at a combined labor and equipment cost of $48.44 per
1,000 cartons or $18.26 less than when they were manually tray-packed from a
return-flow belt.

The least costly way to bag apples was for one worker to do all the work,
using an automatic bagger. This cost $78.98 per 1,000 cartons.

By combining the forklift truck method for handling with packing by semi-
automatic tray-packers, it would be possible, at a volume of 50,000 crates
annually, to effect a saving of $5,065 per year over conveyors and packing tubs.

At 100,000 crates dumped annually, performing handling operations by fork-
lift truck and pallets would save $4,069 over powered conveyors, and $2,592
over clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks; packing with semiautomatic tray-packers
would cost $3,742 less than manual packing from tubs. At this volume a com-
bination of the efficient handling and packing line methods would save $7,732
over the least efficient methods.

Handling 200,000 crates a year with forklift trucks and pallets and
packing by semiautomatic tray packers would cost $12,574 less than a method
using conveyors for handling, coupled with manual packing.

Forklift trucks for the handling operations together with semiautomatic
tray-packers for packing could greatly increase the productivity of workers
engaged in these operations. The cost of this equipment would be greater than
the cost of equipment for any other combination of methods studied; but, this
additional cost would be saved many times over by the reduction in labor that it
afforded.

Regardless of the method used, or volume packed, the cost of labor was
much more than the cost of equipment, and the cost of packing much greater
than the cost of handling. Where only labor and equipment costs were considered,
economies associated with increasing scale of operation were sizable up to a
volume of 100,000 crates annually. Beyond this volume additional unit savings
were small. This was true in varying degrees, for each method tested. All
these cost relationships are based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour (which
includes overtime, bonuses, unemployment insurance, social security contributions,
and similar costs), representative transportation distances, and optimum crew
arrangements for each method.

- iii -

APPLE HANDLING AND PACKING IN THE APPALACHIAN AREA

By Stanley W. Burt, industrial engineer
Transportation and Facilities Research Division
Agricultural Marketing Service

BACKGROUND

For several years the United States Department of Agriculture has conducted
a program to develop improved methods and equipment for handling and packing
apples. The result has been a number of improvements which are already saving
many thousands of dollars annually for the apple packing industry. This work
has been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest and tailored to conditions and
requirements of that area.

To bring these improvements to a larger portion of the apple packing in-
dustry, another research program was inaugurated; this one to determine how
new equipment and methods developed in the Pacific Northwest could be adapted
to conditions in the Appalachian area. Where this could be done successfully,
savings would accrue to still more growers and packers, in an area which
produces about one-fifth of the Nation's apples.

A description of how the study was developed, methodology used, procedure
for cost determinations, and the methods and operations which were studied are
in the appendix, together with supporting statistical material.

APPLE HANDLING OPERATIONS

Handling operations are those in which the fruit is picked up, moved, and
set down in another place; the composition of the fruit is not affected. In
the Appalachian area handling operations were performed with conveyors, clamp
type 2-wheel handtrucks, and forklift trucks and pallets, as well as by entirely
manual means. Handling operations included: 1. Receiving, 2. bringing-up, 3.
segregating, 4. putting packed apples into storage, and 5. loading out.

Receiving

In the Appalachian area, as in others, receiving apples from the orchard
into the packinghouse is a major handling operation. It is the first handling
of fruit that will finally leave the plant as a graded and packaged product.
Receiving consists of unloading, transporting, and stacking field crates of
apples, either in storage or at the dumper.

Some flat bed trailers were used to deliver full crates from the orchard
to the packing plant, but most of the deliveries were by stake body truck.
Trucks carried approximately 200 crates. While the manner of loading in the
orchard can bear directly on the method used to receive fruit at the packing-
house, only those operations taking place at the packing plant were studied.

Many clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks were used, but most packinghouses in
the Appalachian area used conveyors in their receiving operation. Conveyors
could be either gravity operated, powered, fixed in place, or movable. Fork-
lift trucks and pallets were used in some larger-volume houses.

Clamp Type 2-Wheel Handtruck

In smaller houses clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks were often employed as the
main type of handling equipment. They were light, maneuverable, and capable of
handling fruit in many different types of rigid containers. In some houses
this was the only handling equipment used. This equipment handled loads of up
to 5 containers, and could adjust automatically to containers of different
sizes. Highly maneuverable, clamp trucks could negotiate in confined areas
where other larger equipment types could not.

Unloading.--With the orchard truck in unloading position, tie ropes were
removed and a bridge plate set down across the truck bed and unloading platform.
A worker assigned to the truck set the crates up 5 high on the truck bed. A
transporter then picked them up and removed them from the truck; he stepped on
a foot lever, causing the clamps to engage the load.

Transporters sometimes did their own setting up. When this was the method,
one transporter at a time worked inside the truck. If another arrived at the
truck, he waited on the platform until the other transporter had left. As un-
loading progressed, transporters spent increasing time on the platform.

Transporting.--Loaded clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks were pushed out of the
truck to the stacking area and returned to the truck for other loads. The
number of workers assigned to do this (as well as the total man-hours required)
was based on the distance between the unloading platform and the stacking point.
Transporting crews of 2 or 3 men were most common. With clamp type 2-wheel
handtrucks, size of the transportation crew could be varied, within limits,
without disrupting crew balance. This feature gave the system a flexibility
other handling systems did not have.

Stacking.--This was performed in two parts. The first 5 crates were set
down in place with clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks. Crates above this height had
to be stacked either manually or with a powered high-stacker. High-stacking
was not done when crates were moved directly to the dumper.

Where fruit was received and moved directly to the dumper for manual
dumping, field crates were set down adjacent to the dumping table; where a
drum-type dumper was used, crates were deposited along the conveyor supplying
the dumper.

With clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks there was very little unproductive
labor in delivering fruit to the dumper or in placing it in lower tiers in
storage. Additional labor was necessary when crates were stacked over 5 high.
Where high-piling was done manually two stackers were added to work in the
storage room. A transporter would deposit a 5-crate load, and one stacker
would remove crates from this load and lift them to the second stacker who

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placed them in storage. While doing this he stood on stacked crates (fig. 1).
In addition to the extra labor involved, there was danger to the stacker from
standing and working on stacked crates, and apples were handled roughly.

A second method of high-piling utilized a mechanical device for lifting
fruit to the correct height (fig. 2). Power for clamping onto loads and lifting
them to stacking height was supplied through a reel-type cord plugged into an
electrical outlet. Maneuvering of the high-piler was done manually. With this
equipment only one additional worker was required to do the high-piling, and
there was no walking about on stacked fruit.

Gravity and Powered Conveyors

Two types of conveyor--gravity and powered--were used in handling apples,
and they were used both separately and in combination. Transportation was the
only function they could perform. It was necessary to manually handle each
crate in placing it on, and again in removing it from the conveyor line; but,
because the conveyor could solve some difficult transportation problems, it
was a popular and sometimes economical piece of equipment.

For the most part conveyors were fixed in place; particularly those which
were powered. They often caused congestion, blocked off aisles and walkways,
and restricted the usability of storage and operating areas.

BN-12127

Figure 1.--Manual high-piling. One stacker lifts crate up to second
stacker who places it in storage.

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BN- 10022

Figure 2.--Mechanical high-piler. With
this equipment one worker, alone, can
place 5 crates at a time in high storage
position.

Unloading.--Regardless of the type and arrangement of conveyors in the
rest of the plant, a gravity type conveyor was used at the unloading platform.
This conveyor was a permanent installation, and a loaded orchard truck had to
back against the platform so as to center its load on the conveyor. The un-
loading crew consisted of one or two workers. Where two were used they worked
independently, with each worker taking crates from his side of the truck and
placing them on the conveyor (fig. 3). The gravity conveyor section at the
platform either extended to the storage area, or connected with a powered belt
conveyor which delivered crates to the storage room.

When part of the truck had been unloaded, a short conveyor section was
placed in the truck and joined with the conveyor on the platform. This reduced
the walking distance. When the carrying distance was again too great, another
short section of gravity conveyor was joined to the first.

Balam

BN-10012
Figure 3.--An unloader places crate on gravity conveyor from an
orchard truck.

Stacking.--Either a gravity or a powered conveyor was used to deliver
crates to the workers stacking them. But either way, the crates still had to
be removed manually from the conveyor, one at a time.

There were two ways of handling crates delivered by conveyor. One was to
remove each crate and carry it directly to its storage place. This procedure
was followed when the conveyor was quite near the storage area. The second
method was to build 5-high stacks alongside the conveyor (fig. 4). These
stacks were removed by clamp type 2-wheel handtruck and deposited in their
storage positions. Stacks to be high-piled were deposited in front of the
stacks on which they were to rest. The high-piler would clamp onto a load,
elevate it to the proper height, and set it down on the stack (fig. 2). Half
of the loads of crates stacked 5-high were positioned and deposited in the
stack by clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks; the other half were placed in position
by the mechanical high-piler.

After stacks had been built alongside the conveyor, apples were always
handled in unit loads of 5 crates. Additional handlings occurred with this
method, but it was still more efficient than carrying each crate to its storage
position. Equipment replaced labor, and the apples were handled in unit loads;
also, the transporters and the high-piler could perform work elsewhere while
stacks were being built alongside the conveyor. When enough stacks were ready,
these workers could remove them. This way, there was no time lost waiting for
the 5-high loads to be made up.

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BN-12128

Figure 4.--Five-high stacks alongside conveyor. These stacks are
built manually with crates taken from the conveyor. They are
later removed by clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.

When crates were delivered directly to the dumper, they remained on the
conveyor until they were dumped. The only operation performed in this case
was unloading from trucks at the receiving platform. With this method consid-
erable wait time was incurred by the unloader.

Forklift Truck and Pallets

Forklift trucks and pallets are the newest type of handling equipment in
the Appalaehian area. They were found in several of,the larger plants. Even
some medium-size packinghouses were using this equipment. Most of these fork-
lift trucks were gas powered, with a rated capacity of 2,000 pounds.

Forklift trucks should be used as part of an integrated handling system,
with each handling step taking advantage of a forklift truck's ability to
handle large unit loads quickly. An integrated handling system begins in the
orchard. Getting crates into unit loads at the earliest stage eliminates later
individual handling during receiving (fig. 5).

Unloading.--When it was not possible or practical to deliver them already
palletized, crates were palletized at the receiving point. The workers who
built crates into pallet loads made up the unloading crew. The first two pallets

SG RS

FREESE eats Ate: a Mehta

BN-10002

Figure 5.--Forklift truck removing loaded pallet from orchard
truck. Note concrete apron and uncluttered appearance of
receiving area.

were loaded on the platform apron. The worker in the truck handed the crates
down to his co-worker who put them on a pallet. After a load of 24 crates was
complete, it was removed by forklift truck. When enough crates had been removed
from the truck, empty pallets were set on the truck bed and loaded there.

Transporting and stacking.--This includes picking up the loaded pallets,
moving them to storage, setting the pallets in storage position, and returning
for the next load. For each orchard truck this cycle occurred 6 or 7 times,
since each pallet load consisted of 24 crates. However, where pallet loads
were set aside near the truck until the entire truck was unloaded, and then
later picked up and moved to storage, this cycle occurred twice for each
pallet. This was often done when there was need to unload the truck quickly.

Cost of Receiving

Labor and equipment costs for receiving apples by use of three different
types of equipment are shown in table 1. There were wide differences in optimum
crew sizes, man-hours required, and labor and equipment costs. At a volume of
50,000 crates annually, the conveyor method cost over 100 percent more than the
forklift truck method (where crates were palletized in the orchard), and the
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method cost 17 percent more.

oe

Table 1.--Labor and equipment costs for receiving and placing in storage 1,000
field crates of apples by three different methods--annual volume 50,000
crates 1/

: Cost
Method vrai Phapeee, saber : Labor :Equipment:
size _ time | required. ae ays Total

sNumber: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

3 clamp type 2-wheel hand- : :
trucks and 1 high-piler....: 4 so L.42. 5.67 2 27.09 0.44 7.23

10 feet of gravity conveyor,: : :
100 feet of powered : :
conveyor to deliver apples,:

2 clamp type 2-wheel hand- :

trucks, and 1 high-piler ; : :
Weed: 4h. SCOTING 6 2.0.00400% 55 £1 «6 taeve te 10252 le o2.90 3.01 15290
1 forklift truck and 42 ‘ : : :
pallets: : : : :
Palletized before arrival.: 1 S Loves Lett =e (4239 5.06 6.45
Palletized at receiving...: 3 © 1.653 4.94 : 6.18 Y ey 13.70

1/ Elemental labor requirements for each method are in tables 29, 31, and 33,
appendix.

2/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour, and a receiving distance of 100
feet.

3/ Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018 each per hour, high-piler at
$0.263, 10-foot gravity conveyor at $0.024, 100-foot powered conveyor at $1.24
per hour, forklift truck at $1.62 per hour, and pallets at $0.07 each per hour.

Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.--Equipment represented a minor cost item
when apples were unloaded, transported, and placed in storage by clamp type
2-wheel handtrucks, and high-piling was performed mechanically. Three clamp
type 2-wheel handtrucks used 1.42 hours for receiving 1,000 crates of apples

to storage cost only $0.07 and a high-piler $0.37. This equipment is relatively

inexpensive, requires practically no maintenance, has no power cost, and lasts
for many years. No other method of receiving fruit can match the low equipment
cost of the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method.

Four workers could receive 1,000 crates and, with a high-piler, stack them
10 to a stack in 5.67 man-hours. At $1.25 per hour, the labor cost totaled
$7.09. Had the high-piling been performed manually, 6.96 man-hours would have
been required at a labor cost of $8.70.

The combined labor and equipment cost would have been $5.19 per 1,000
crates handled if receiving had been to the dumper, eliminating high-piling.
High-piling one-half of the crates mechanically raised the cost to $7.53 for

1,000 crates received. High-piling manually would have raised the cost to $8.70. .

= Bhs

Gravity and powered conveyors.--Combined labor and equipment costs to

receive 1,000 crates of apples with conveyors delivering fruit from the orchard
truck to the storage area, and clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks and a high-piler
for setting them in storage totaled $15.91. Of these costs, $12.90 was for
labor and $3.01 for equipment. Stacking crates along the conveyor, transporting
them to the storage point, and placing crates in storage cost $6.60, or 42
percent of the labor cost for receiving. The remainder was divided between
setup, cleanup, removing crates from the truck, placing them on the conveyor,
and unavoidable delay time.

Of the total equipment cost, $1.94 was for 10 feet of gravity conveyor at
the receiving platform and 100 feet of powered belt conveyor to deliver crates
into the room. The conveyors were 64 percent of the total cost of equipment.

Forklift truck and pallets.--Labor cost for receiving fruit that had been
palletized before arrival at the packing plant totaled $1.39 per 1,000 crates.
Only one worker was needed to operate a gas type forklift truck for each of the
steps in receiving: Unloading, transporting, and stacking. Equipment used
with this method included one forklift truck and 42 pallets (1,000 crates at 24
crates per pallet). The cost of this equipment was $5.06 per 1,000 crates re-
ceived. Labor and equipment together totaled $6.45 per 1,000 crates.

Cost of labor for receiving, for crates that have to be palletized at the
packing plant, is $6.18; cost of equipment, $7.52, for a total of $13.70. This
is $7.25 more than the cost of receiving crates already palletized. Some of
this saving becomes a cost in the orchard operation. However, there is no
question of the dollar saving that results from palletizing crates in the
orchard, permitting one man and a forklift truck to perform the entire receiving
function at the packing plant.

"Bringing-Up'' Apples from Storage to Dumper

The function of the "bringing-up'" operation is to maintain a supply of
fruit at or near the dumper at all times. Since the entire packing line would
stop if there were no apples to dump, stoppage would be costly. For this report
"bringing-up'' applies only to apples delivered from a storage area within the
packinghouse,.

When apples were brought to the dumper directly from orchard trucks, a
receiving operation took place. The same equipment is used for both "bringing-
up'' and for receiving.

Except when a forklift truck was used, one-half of the crates brought up to
the dumper were broken out of high storage positions. This was done either
mechanically or by manual means. The mechanical break-out device was the same
item of equipment described in the receiving operation as a high-piler. It
clamped onto a 5-crate stack and lowered it to the floor. Where breaking out
was performed manually, one worker stood on piled crates to remove other crates
(one at a time), handing them to a second worker who built the crates into
stacks of five for later removal.

Clamp Type 2-Wheel Handtruck

Where destacking was done manually two men were required to bring-up,
whereas only one man was necessary when a mechanical destacker was used. With
manual destacking, the worker removing high crates was productive less than
one-third of his time, yet it was necessary that he be there to hand down crates
to the second worker who transported them to the dumper. The transporter picked
up a 5-crate stack with a clamp type 2-wheel handtruck, transported it to the
vicinity of the dumper, and released the stack in the nearest, most convenient
place to the dumper. If an automatic dumper was used, the stacks were deposited
along its feeder conveyor.

Gravity and Powered Conveyors

Gravity and powered conveyors were invariably used in combination to bring
apples from the storage room to the dumper. A gravity section of conveyor
supplied full crates to a powered section, which delivered them to the dumper.
Conveyors performed the transportation function without labor; however, two men
were required to break out crates and put them on the conveyor. The powered
portion of the conveyor system was almost always permanently fixed in position;
whatever maneuverability the system had was achieved through the gravity
sections.

In manual destacking, one worker broke out field crates and set them on a
gravity conveyor, and the second worker transferred crates from the gravity
conveyor to a powered belt conveyor. Gravity conveyor sections were laid
across crates which made up the 4th layer (the 5th to 10th layers having
already been removed), and alongside the workface of the crates to be broken
out (fig. 6). The break-out man removed full crates from their storage posi-
tions and set them down on the gravity conveyor. Crates rolled to the end of
the gravity conveyor where a second worker transferred them to the powered
conveyor.

From time to time it became necessary to move the gravity conveyors in
closer to the crates being broken out. This usually occurred after 3 or 4
tiers had been removed. After the conveyor had been moved in nearer the work-
face, crates that had supported the roller conveyor were cleared out. Then |
the worker began again to break out the 5th to 10th layers.

Crates in the lst to 4th layers were picked up and transported to the
belt conveyor by a clamp type 2-wheel handtruck operated by the same worker
who had been destacking. Crates stacked 4-high were transported and de-
posited alongside the belt conveyor. The transfer man set the crates on the
conveyor, which carried them to the dumper. Transportation distance for the
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck averaged only 12 feet per trip. |

Forklift Truck and Pallets

Some larger volume packinghouses in the Appalachian area had installed
forklift truck and pallet handling systems. Where this type of equipment was
used, it was integrated into all the handling operations, from receiving

See

through loading out. Thus, apples were received on pallets, stored on pallets,
and brought up on pallets.

In bringing-up fruit, the forklift operator entered a storage room, picked
up the loaded pallet, and transported it to the vicinity of the dumper. Here
he set the load down alongside the chain conveyor supplying the dumper. From
here, the fork truck operator either returned to the storage room for another
load, or proceeded to other work. It is assumed that where a forklift truck
was used, an automatic dumper was also used.

Automatic dumpers were supplied by chain conveyors which held a backlog
of around 20 crates. This meant that loaded pallets could be placed alongside
the chain conveyor for its entire length, so that the full field crates they
held could keep the dumper supplied for an hour (assuming 24 crates per pallet).
By stacking pallets 2 deep, twice as many apples could be placed along the
chain conveyor. Since 5 pallet loads were dumped each hour, and these were
brought up in only 10 minutes, 50 minutes of each hour were left during which
the forklift truck could perform other work.

Cost of Bringing-Up

The clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method of bringing-up cost twice as much,
and the conveyor method 5 times as much, as the method using a forklift truck
and pallets (table 2). With a forklift truck, one worker was able to bring-up
fruit and do other jobs as well. In this way the cost of labor and equipment
was distributed over a number of operations. With the other two methods,
workers assigned to bringing-up fruit spent their full time in that one operation.

Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.--Using this transportation equipment, to-
gether with a mechanical destacker, one worker was able to bring-up 1,000 crates

in 8 hours, and still have 3.36 hours of wait time (table 35, appendix). But
because this wait time was so interspersed throughout the day, it was not
practical to give this man other work to do. This method cost $6.22 per
thousand crates more than the forklift truck method, but was $17.87 less costly
than the conveyor method.

Had the crates been destacked manually instead of mechanically, the cost
would have increased to $20.14 for 1,000 crates (table 36, appendix).

Gravity and powered conveyors.--Labor needed to perform the bring-up
operation by use of conveyors totaled 16.00 man-hours per 1,000 crates dumped.

Two workers were necessary, though they were unable to perform other than
bring-up work.

The capacity of two men to bring up apples with a conveyor system was much
greater than the capacity of the dumper to feed apples into the line. Conse-
quently, over 80 percent of the time of the two bring-up men, 13.51 man-hours
per 1,000 crates, was spent waiting on the dumper. It might be possible for
these two workers to perform certain other jobs during their waiting periods,
but their first responsibility is always to maintain a supply of apples for
the dumper.

Table 2.--Labor and equipment costs for bringing-up 1,000 field crates of
apples from storage to the dumper by 3 different methods--annual volume
50,000 crates 1/

; : Cost
Crew ‘Elapsed’ Labor Labor :Equipment:

Method : oe : : :
size , time . required, foe 3] , Total

:;Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

1 clamp type 2-wheel hand- : : :
truck and 1. high-piler.....7) L i POR: 8.00 : 10.00 2.26 1220

1 10-foot gravity conveyor,

1 clamp type 2-wheel hand-

truck, and 100 feet of : : :

powered belt conveyor...... 42 = 8.00 2 J6,00- 2-20.00 LOL13 30.13

1 forklift truck and 42 : : :
Patties gee but cen oe eels 2 1 Se tOCee 104.. 22° 2hs30 4.74 6.04

1/ Elemental labor requirements for each method are in tables 35, 37, and 39,
appendix.

2/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour, and a bring-up distance of 100
feet.

3/ Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018 per hour, high-piler at $0.263,
10-foot gravity conveyor at $0.024, 100-foot powered conveyor at $1.24, fork-
lift truck at $1.62, and pallets at $0.07 each per hour.

Productive labor for 1,000 crates totaled 2.49 man-hours. Less productive
labor was required with conveyors, since transportation from storage to the
dumper was performed mechanically, but more wait time occurred because two
workers were associated with this method. An equipment cost of $10.13 per
1,000 crates was the highest of the methods studied.

Forklift truck and pallets.--No wait time was charged to this method since
the forklift truck and its operator could transfer to another operation when
they were not needed to bring-up fruit.

The lowest cost method, in terms of productive labor, was that utilizing
a forklift truck and pallets. When 24 crates made up a pallet load the bring-
up operation was performed with only 1.04 man-hours for each 1,000 crates
destacked and delivered to the dumper. Had a pallet load consisted of 30
crates, this work could have been performed with only 0.84 man-hour. Equipment
cost was greater than the cost of labor (table 40, appendix). To fully utilize
a forklift truck there must be other work besides bringing-up for it to do.
Where volume permits, and the equipment can be kept occupied, a forklift truck
can prove to be an economical piece of handling equipment.

= 1 2a=

Forklift Truck and Pallets, Clamp Type
2-Wheel Handtruck, and Floor Chain Conveyor

Different equipment types are often combined to make up a handling system.
When properly combined, they can work together for an efficient operation. A
good example of this was observed in one packinghouse in the Appalachian area.
A forklift truck received prepalletized crates and deposited them in a nearby
holding area, and a clamp type 2-wheel handtruck brought up stacks from the
pallets to a floor chain conveyor, which delivered them to a destacker. This
combination was used to receive and bring-up fruit simultaneously. When
receiving was to storage, a forklift truck was used to remove pallet loads and
place them in storage.

More equipment was necessary to operate this way, but the entire job of
receiving, bringing-up, and destacking was performed by only two workers--one
to operate the forklift truck, and the other to operate the clamp type 2-wheel
handtruck.

Receiving loaded pallets to temporary block.--Little time was spent maneu-

vering to pick up the load. The unloading apron was large and uncluttered, and
the forklift truck operator was able to get to the truck, pick up the load, and
clear it from the truck in very little time. From the orchard truck, loaded
pallets were transported to a nearby area and set down for temporary holding.
Distance from the truck to this temporary block averaged only 30 feet, so that
less time was spent in transit than when loads were taken to storage. Also,
there was no tiering of pallets.

In setting pallet loads in place, the fork truck operator took care that
each pallet butted against the one ahead of it. This was necessary because the
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck operator pushed his handtruck across the pallet
surfaces to pick up loads. As this worker emptied pallets of field crates, he
removed them to a pallet pile. The forklift truck pushed full pallets ahead to
occupy the space made vacant by removal of empty ones.

Bringing-up crates from block to floor chain conveyor.--One worker with a

clamp type 2-wheel handtruck transferred all the crates from pallets in the
temporary block to a floor chain conveyor. This conveyor was on a concrete
platform which was at the same level as the pallets; when a pallet butted
against the platform, one continuous surface was formed (fig. 7). The floor
chain delivered stacks to a destacker which automatically fed boxes one at a
time to an automatic dumper (fig. 8).

Transportation distance varied with location of the pallet from which
stacks were taken, but the average distance was about 20 feet. As pallets
were emptied, they were removed to a pallet pile. When this pile contained
6 or 8 pallets, it was removed by the forklift truck.

Cost of receiving and bringing-up by forklift truck and pallets, clamp
type 2-wheel handtruck, and floor chain conveyor.--Receiving and bringing-up

with a combination-equipment system provides more independence of operation for
each worker than other methods. This means that each worker can proceed with
his task regardless of what other workers are doing. One worker need not wait
on another.

eeiore

BN- 10013 BN-10274-X

Figure 6.--A gravity and powered Figure 7.--Floor chain conveyor in-
conveyor system for bringing-up stalled on a platform at pallet
apples. Worker on floor at right height. This permits easy transfer
transfers apples to powered of crates from pallets to the floor
conveyor. chain conveyor. |

Total labor required to receive and bring-up 1,000 crates by this method
was 2.85 man-hours (table 3). The forklift truck operator removed 1,000 crates
in 0.74 man-hour, and the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck operator supplied 1,000
crates to the destacker in 1.98 man-hours. Setup and cleanup took an additional
0.13 man-hour. While the forklift truck operator required only about one-third
as much time as the second worker, he still did not have to wait idly. He
worked in other parts of the plant and returned to the unloading apron only

when an orchard truck appeared.

Equipment made up 49 percent of the cost of this operation; labor 51
percent. Cost of labor totaled $3.56 per 1,000 crates, of which $2.48 was for
bringing-up, $0.92 for receiving, and $0.16 for setup and cleanup.

BN-10017

Figure 8.--Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck operator pushing his truck
across the surface of an empty pallet in order to reach a load.

Table 3.--Labor and equipment costs for receiving and bringing-up 1,000 field
crates of apples by use of forklift truck, clamp type 2-wheel handtruck, and
floor chain conveyor--annual volume 50,000 crates

$ : Cost

Labor
required’ RapOr: §
eee

Crew "Elapsed
size * time

Time item *Equipment’ Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

Setup, cleanup ee Octo @ sis Oslo: —2/ Ov21 O37
Receive pallet loads 30 feet: : : :
to block : Pos ef 3 74 : 92 «37 3.29 ed:
Bring-up stacks 20 feet from: : : :
block to floor chain : j Co 2 eer el GPS ee ee 04 252
Total ae 7 2:85 2 3256 3.44 7.00

1/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour.
2/ 1 forklift truck at $1.62 and 1 clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018
per hour for 0.13 hour.

3/ 1 fork truck at $1.62 per hour and 42 pallets at $0.07 per hour for 0.70 hour.

4/ 1 clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018 per hour for 1.98 hours.
- 15 -

Segregating

Apples come off a packing line in a random array of sizes, grades, and
package types. Before they can be loaded out or placed in storage, it is nec-
essary first to segregate them into common lots. This is done by checking each
container as it comes from the packing line, noting the apple size and grade,
and placing that container in the area designated for such apples. Segregating
was usually performed by one man and took place either on the warehouse floor
or in the storage area.

Segregating on the Warehouse Floor

Segregating took place on the warehouse floor when: (1) Shipments were
made up as packed containers came from the packing line, (2) packed apples were
stored on pallets, and (3) clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks were used for deliv-
ering apples to the holding area.

The segregator did his work along the packed-carton conveyor. Cartons,
which were to be either loaded out or taken to storage by clamp type 2-wheel
handtruck, were put into 5-high stacks alongside the conveyor. If handling
was by forklift truck and pallets, cartons were removed from the conveyor and
set down on designated pallets. When a pallet was full it was removed by a
foxrkilite truck “(hie 19)

The number of classifications into which packed apples were separated was
determined by the number of sizes and grades that the company offered for sale,
and sometimes by the number of different lots packed. A usual number was 8
sizes in 2 grades. This meant that as many as 16 combinations had to be
provided for. Unless the stacks were taken away regularly, considerable floor
Space was taken up by the segregation operation. Segregating apples on the
warehouse floor required the full time of one worker, plus transporters to
carry away full stacks.

It was possible to load pallets at the packing station, making segregating
unnecessary. When this was done one man worked only part time to load packed
cartons onto pallets. Each packer released packed containers from the packing
stand to a short conveyor section, with a separate section for each packing
station. This section held 4 or 5 cartons. On the floor at the end of each
rested a pallet. One worker moved up and down the packing line removing accumu-
lated cartons from the conveyors and loading them onto their pallets. Full
pallets were removed by a forklift truck. With this method only apples of one
size and grade could be packed at a station.

Segregating into Storage

In some plants a conveyor carried cartons directly from the packing line
to the storage area, Here they were segregated and placed in storage, all in
one operation, At least two, and usually three, men did this work. These
workers were stationed in the storage room. As cartons came to them on the
conveyor, a worker determined where they would be stored. He lifted a carton

Silay

—— eT : >) be
=e } i
sg \ i ) :

es ie tPPLEs * 4 | v) he eS

BN-10015

Figure 9.--Segregating onto pallets. One worker removes cartons
from conveyor and places them on designated pallets. Forklift
truck removes full pallets.

from the conveyor and, if the distance were short enough, carried it to and
placed it manually in its proper storage position. When the distance to the
storage position was too great to permit carrying cartons manually, 5-high
stacks were made up alongside the conveyor and these stacks were transported
to storage by clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks. At the storage position cartons

were piled high by hand.

Cost of Segregating

Segregating is invariably associated with another handling operation, making
its cost virtually impossible to isolate. When apples are segregated on the
warehouse floor they are at the same time set up in 5-high stacks or pallet
loads for transportation to loading-out or to storage. In the storage area the
operations of segregating and placing in storage were performed simultaneously
and by the same workers, so that separate costs could not be determined.

Sorting out and deciding where each carton was to go added some to the cost of
either loading-out or placing in storage. But since this cost cannot be
separated, it will be included in the cost of the storage operation.

Putting Packed Apples Into Storage

Soon after apples were packed they were loaded-out for shipment, or else
delivered to a cold room for storage. They could not be held long at room
temperature on the warehouse floor or the fruit would soon deteriorate. Whether
packed fruit was held in cold storage depended on the policy of the company.
Some plants packed all their fruit immediately after harvest, and that which
could not be marketed at the time was placed in storage. Other companies
packed only on orders from customers, so that none or very little of their
packed fruit was returned to cold storage.

The placing of packed fruit in storage was essentially different from the
storing of orchard-run fruit. Packed fruit was arranged in storage according
to grade and size, whereas these were not considerations with orchard-run fruit;
packed fruit was received at a fairly consistent rate from the packing line,
but orchard-run fruit was received in scattered batches subject to arrival of
orchard trucks; and there were considerable differences in the container types
that were handled.

Putting packed fruit into storage was done in two parts: (1) Transporting
apples to storage, and (2) placing them in storage.

Transporting Packed Apples to Storage

The transporting operation includes picking up a load, depositing it at
the storage point, and returning. In the Appalachian area this operation was
performed by clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks, powered conveyor, or forklift
truck and pallets.

Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.--Stacks of five cartons were built by the
segregator as he separated packed cartons by the grade and size of apples they
contained. When a stack was complete, he began building another. A transporter
moved the 5-high stack to the storage point with a clamp truck. If it were to
be the bottom stack, the transporter set the load in its storage place, and
returned to the segregating area for another load. Stacks to be high-piled were
first set in front of the carton on which they were to set. The stacks were
later picked up and placed in storage by a high-piler.

Powered conveyor.--The use of powered conveyors for delivering packed
apples to storage is described in the section dealing with segregating into
storage. With powered conveyors there was an uninterrupted flow of cartons
from packers to the workers who placed them in storage. With this equipment,
no labor was required for transporting packed apples to storage.

Forklift truck and pallets.--Cartons from the packing line were delivered
by the conveyor. Pallet loads consisting of 30 packed cartons were made up on
the warehouse floor by a segregator who was stationed along this conveyor.

When a pallet load was complete, it was removed by the forklift truck (fig. 9).
The load was either taken to a road trailer for loading-out, placed in a
temporary block on the warehouse floor, or delivered to a cold room. There was
nearly always ample time between pallet loads for the forklift truck to do other
work,

=. 190

Stacking Packed Apples in Storage

A forklift truck combined transporting and stacking into a single operation,
whereas each was performed separately when transportation was by clamp type
2-wheel handtruck or powered conveyors. A clamp type 2-wheel handtruck was
able to set the bottom 5 cartons in their storage position, but the top 5 were
put up another way. With a powered conveyor, every carton had to be removed
individually from the conveyor. It was possible to stack by either manual or
mechanical means.

Manual stacking.--Manual stacking occurred when cartons were placed in
storage position without the use of equipment. Cartons were picked up by hand,
carried to the stack, and set in place (fig. 10). Where a conveyor was used,
cartons were removed from it by hand and carried to the stack.

The transporter stacked the cartons 8-high, in storage. He then either
returned to the conveyor for another carton, or picked one from the 5-high
stack delivered by clamp type 2-wheel handtruck. For those cartons stacked
over 8-high the reach was too great, and another worker was needed to lift
cartons to the first worker. This worker usually stood in a precarious posi-
tion on previously stacked cartons. Besides being dangerous for the worker,
this procedure could damage the fruit.

BN- 10004

Figure 10.--A manual stacking operation. Worker removes carton from
conveyor, carries it to the stack, and places carton in storage.

=) (9)

Proper crew size for manual stacking was determined by the packing rate,
stacking height, and distance between the powered conveyor and stacking area.
In most cases the crew consisted of 2 or 3 men.

Mechanical stacking.--This method differed considerably from manual
stacking. The bottom 5 cartons were set in place either manually or by clamp
type 2-wheel handtruck, but in order to pile high, cartons were lifted to
their storage places by a mechanical device--5 at a time. The mechanical high-
piler was the same item used in receiving operations, made suitable for fiber-
board cartons by an attachment fitted to its clamp arms.

Mechanical high-piling of packed cartons was performed in the same manner
described in the receiving operation for field crates.

Cost of Putting Packed Apples into Storage

To determine the cost of putting packed apples into storage by different
methods and equipment types it was necessary to assume certain conditions.
These were: (1) A steady dumping rate of 125 field crates (net weight 41
pounds) per hour, (2) 95 percent of the dumped fruit was packed into cartons
(44 pounds net weight), (3) where clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks or powered
conveyors were used, the workers were assigned full time to the storage oper-
ations, and (4) the forklift truck and operator were used in other operations
as well. This procedure favors the forklift truck and pallet system in the
cost comparisons because its cost is spread over more than one operation.
Labor and equipment requirements and costs for three different methods of
placing packed apples in storage are presented in table 4. These costs in-
clude segregation as well as storing.

The combined labor and equipment cost for storing 1,000 cartons with a
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck and high-piler was $24.95. This is $9.12 less
than the conveyor method, but $10.28 higher than the forklift truck method.

To place 1,000 cartons in storage with a powered conveyor required 17.94
man-hours. Labor and equipment cost for storing 1,000 cartons of apples by
this method was $34.07.

Forklift trucks and pallets had the lowest labor cost, $12.03 for every
1,000 cartons stacked in storage. This method had an equipment cost of $2.64.
The forklift truck operator transported the cartons to storage and also placed
them in the stack, so that there was no need to assign full time stackers to
the cold room. Also contributing to this low labor requirement was the ability
of the forklift truck to handle 30 cartons at one time.

Loading-Out

Loading-out consisted of taking apples from the packing line or from a
temporary storage area and transporting them to a truck or trailer where they
were stowed for shipment. In the Appalachian area virtually all apples left
the packinghouse in over-the-road trucks or trailers; the number of rail
loadings was inconsequential.

= Oe

Table 4.--Labor and equipment costs for segregating and putting 1,000 cartons
of packed apples into storage by 3 different methods--annual volume 44,250
cartons 1/

DG :Elapsed: Labor :;: Cost
Method : ae : time : required: Labor :Equipment: Total
size , of: 3/ ye By , Tota

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

1 clamp type 2-wheel hand- : : :
truck and 1 high piler 72 2 2, 6.97 S 17.94" “22543 Zee 24.95

100-foot powered conveyor : : ;
(manual high piling) See Ono elo. SS 22 Li. 64 4.07

1 forklift truck and 34 : - :
pallets s 92 SOO: 963% 9°12 503 2.64 14.67

1/ Based on 95 percent of dumped fruit being packed out. Crates 41 pounds
net weight, cartons 44 pounds.

2/ Elapsed time set by dumping rate of 1,000 crates daily, with 885 cartons
packed.

3/ Elemental labor requirements for each method are in table 41, appendix.

4/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour, and a transportation distance
of 100 feet.

5/ Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018 per hour, high piler at $0.263,
100-foot powered conveyor at $1.24, forklift truck at $1.62, and pallets at
$0.07 each per hour.

Breaking Cartons Out of Storage

For packed cartons which had been put back into storage, the first step in
loading was to break the packages out from their storage positions. A minimum
of two workers was necessary to break-out apples manually. With a forklift
truck and pallet system, only one worker was necessary.

Cartons stacked 5-high in storage were not handled manually when trans-
portation was by clamp type 2-wheel handtruck. However, all cartons over 5-
high were handed down one at a time. In storage, cartons would settle unevenly,
so that a high-piler could not be used in destacking. One worker stood on a
row of cartons and removed high-stacked cartons from adjoining rows. As they
were removed, cartons were handed down to another worker who either built them
into stacks for a clamp type 2-wheel handtruck, or set them on a conveyor for
transportation to the loading-out area.

Transporting Cartons from Storage

Breaking cartons out of storage and loading them onto the transportation
equipment was done simultaneously when: (1) The clamp type 2-wheel handtruck

me) ee

removed a 5-high stack directly from its storage place, or (2) a forklift truck
and pallets were used. These two work elements occurred separately when: (1)
5-high stacks were built on the floor for pick up by a clamp type 2-wheel hand-
truck, or (2) each package was carried to and placed on a conveyor for delivery
to the loading-out area.

Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.--Five-carton loads were picked up intact and
transported directly to the trailer to be loaded. Stacks built along the
packing line or from high-piled cartons were easy to pick up. Those stacks
which were picked up directly from their storage positions required more care-
ful maneuvering of the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck because of their proximity
to other stacks.

Once picked up, the load was wheeled around and pushed toward the loading-
out area. Transportation distance was the principal determinant of the labor
required for this operation.

Forklift truck and pallets.--To remove a pallet load by forklift truck,
the forks were raised to the level of the pallet and inserted. This was done
whether the pallet load was positioned on the floor, or in the second or third
tier. While swinging about to begin his transport to the loading-out area, the
operator adjusted the load to proper height for travel.

Conveyor.--There were many conveyor arrangements for removing cartons from
the packing line or storage place to a loading-out point. In storage rooms
short sections of gravity conveyor were sometimes used to span the distance
between the workface and the main belt conveyor. These sections had to be
moved and reassembled periodically, but they saved the time that would other-
wise be spent carrying single cartons to the belt conveyor. Where conveyors
were used, the break-out crew usually consisted of 2 workers. One man broke
out cartons and handed them to the other worker to put on the conveyor.

Loading Trailers

There was a wide range in sizes and capacities of trucks and trailers into
which packed apples were loaded. Trucks loaded with as few as 200 and as many
as 650 cartons were observed. Usually one or two workers were in the trailer-
loading crew. The actual number depended on how many men were available, how
fast the trailer was to be loaded, and the number of workers assigned elsewhere
in the loading-out operation.

Cartons brought into the trailer by clamp type 2-wheel handtruck were
deposited in a position very near the one they were to occupy in the trailer.
Where this equipment was used, there was need for only one loader.

Each carton delivered to the trailer by belt conveyor had to be lifted
from the belt and stowed by hand in the trailer. One loader was able to perform
this job if the end of the conveyor could be kept near the workface in the
trailer; where the conveyor did not reach fully into the trailer, 2 workers
were necessary. A short length of gravity conveyor extending from the end of
the belt conveyor permitted a few cartons to accumulate. But even so, manual
transportation within the trailer required 2 workers.

it ee

The forklift truck set loaded pallets down in the trailer as near as
possible to the workface. The loader lifted cartons from the pallet and placed
them in position in the trailer. When the pallet was empty he removed it to
the platform to make room for the next pallet load. Where the width of the
truck permitted, two pallets could be set down side by side, doing away with
the time that was otherwise lost waiting foran empty pallet to be exchanged
for a full one.

Cost of Loading-Out

To compute the cost of a loading-out operation, the cost of its individual
work elements must be considered. These costs vary according to the equipment
and methods used. In table 5 labor and equipment costs are combined to give a
total cost for each method.

Table 5.--Labor and equipment costs for loading-out 1,000 containers of apples
by 3 different methods--annual volume 46,750 containers 1/

$ Grau ‘Elapsed: Labor : Cost

Method : ae : required: Labor :Equipment:
: size : time ‘ 2/ ; 3/ : 4/ : fotai
:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars
Manual destacking, trans- : :
portation by 6 clamp type : :
2-wheel handtrucks, and : : : :
Manwal (SOWING scien «+ So «Kea ee : 8 30.95 ¢ 7.98 > 9.47 0.11 9.58

Manual destacking, trans-
portation by 150-foot
powered belt conveyor and
10-foot gravity conveyor, : : : 2
and manual stowing.........: 5 2 266 + 8.32 : 10.40 Ue Lis ns V2

1 forklift truck and 34
pallets, with manual : 4 : :
SLOW LOS sai s.6. 6: ote die ores ae ees are se 292 La. <A! : 3,26 BS ee 9.00

1/ Includes 2,500 boxes of culls which were loaded out but not packed.

2/ Elemental labor requirements for each method are in table 43, appendix.

3/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour, and a transportation distance
of 150 feet.

4/ Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck at $0.018 per hour each, 150-foot powered
conveyor at $1.86, 10-foot gravity conveyor at $0.02, forklift truck at $1.62,
and pallets at $0.07 each per hour.

-~ 23 -

Forklift trucks and pallets required 4.22 man-hours to load-out 1,000
cartons; clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks took 7.58 man-hours; and conveyors 8.32
man-hours. Where the transportation distance was 150 feet, only 2 men were
used in the loading-out crew with the forklift truck, 5 men were used with the
conveyor method, and 8 men with clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks. These are
optimum crew sizes to reduce unproductive time to a minimum. The 8- and 5-man
crews could be reduced, but the elapsed time, unproductive time, and total
labor would all increase. Increasing by one or two the number of workers
stowing from pallets would reduce elapsed time, with no increase in the total
labor required. This may be desirable when there is urgency in getting out a
load.

When these labor requirements were converted to dollars and added to the
cost of the equipment required with each method, the forklift truck method had
the smallest total cost, $9.00 per 1,000 cartons loaded. The conveyor method
had the highest cost, $13.52 per 1,000 cartons, and the clamp type 2-wheel
handtruck method cost $9.58 per 1,000 cartons.

The conveyor system, with the highest cost for both labor and equipment,
required no labor in transporting cartons to the loading area. However,
handling of individual cartons at each end of the conveyor overrode this
advantage. Loading-out by conveyor cost half again as much as loading-out by
forklift truck and pallets.

Costs of Combined Handling Operations

Five principal handling operations occur in apple packing plants: (1)
Receiving, (2) bringing-up, (3) segregating, (4) putting packed apples into
storage, and (5) loading-out. Each has been discussed in detail in preceding
sections. However, in the final analysis of any materials handling system, it
is necessary to combine individual operations into a plantwide handling system,
and to compare the cost of this system with the cost of other plantwide handling
systems.

Three different materials handling systems are considered: (1) Clamp type
2-wheel handtruck, (2) conveyors, and (3) forklift trucks and pallets. These
are basic equipment types. Quite often there are variations of the equipment
or auxiliary equipment is used. Identical handling systems were not found in
this industry. In each plant the equipment and the method by which it was used
had been adapted, adjusted, modified, or rearranged to suit the requirements
of the plant in which it was installed. In some cases the handling system was
made up of more than one equipment type.

The method presented for each equipment type is, in the main, representative
of the method used in the Appalachian area. Elemental data in the appendix
make it possible to compute labor and equipment costs for a number of different
combinations and methods. But here, the cost is given for only one method with
each equipment type. It is assumed in the calculations that 95 percent of the
dumped fruit (41 pounds per crate) was packed in cartons (44 pounds per carton),
and 5 percent was culls collected in crates (41 pounds per crate).

=a lhe

Clamp Type 2-Wheel Handtruck

This equipment required the smallest capital investment and had the lowest
equipment cost of the three types studied, $5.03 per 1,000 crates handled
(table 6). Its equipment cost was, in fact, only one-fifth that of the conveyor
method, and one-third that of the forklift truck method. Labor cost for the
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck was $45.94 per 1,000 crates. This was higher than
for the forklift truck method but lower than for the conveyor method. The total
cost of receiving, bringing-up, segregating, storing, and loading-out the
equivalent of 1,000 crates was $50.97. Of this cost, 43 percent was for segre-
gating and storing packed fruit, 24 percent for bringing-up apples to the
dumper, 18 percent for loading-out, and only 15 percent for receiving.

Conveyors

Despite the fact that manual transportation was largely eliminated where
conveyors were used, this method proved the most costly for both labor and
equipment. Handling operations cost $62.62 per 1,000 crates for labor, and
$26.96 for equipment, for a total of $89.58. This cost is 76 percent more than
for clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks, and one and a half times greater than the
cost of a forklift truck and pallet method. Labor accounted for 70 percent of
the cost of the conveyor operation. This high labor cost is, in part, accounted
for by manual high-piling and destacking assigned to this method. But even if
a mechanical high-piler were used, little labor saving could be expected. Each
container must be individually and manually placed down on the conveyor and
removed in reverse manner. It is the high number of manual handlings that
creates the high labor requirement.

Among the 4 handling operations, segregating and storing packed apples
accounted for 35 percent of the total cost, bringing-up apples 34 percent,
loading-out 15 percent, and receiving 16 percent.

Forklift Truck and Pallets

The cost of equipment for this method of handling was much greater than
for the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method, but was less than that for the
conveyor method. The labor cost for using a forklift truck and pallets was
only 40 percent of that of the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method and 29 per-
cent of the cost for labor that occurred with conveyors. The combined labor
and equipment cost for the forklift truck method totaled 65 percent of the cost
for the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method and 38 percent of the cost of
conveyors. A good part of the saving in labor resulted from the elimination
of wait time that was inherent in the other methods.

Of the $33.93 combined labor and equipment cost for the 4 handling opera-
tions, 25 percent was for loading-out, 18 percent for bringing-up to the dumper,
19 percent was for receiving, and 38 percent for segregating and placing packed
cartons in storage.

Maximum results with a forklift truck method are contingent on a skilled
operator and optimum working conditions. These include good visibility to all

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26

parts of the plant, sufficient room for maneuvering, clear aisles, smooth
floors, wide doors, and a minimum of columns, duct work, and other obstructions.

APPLE PACKING LINE OPERATIONS

An apple packing line is the combination of several individual operations,
closely synchronized, and usually performed simultaneously. It is, in effect,
a production line which feeds in a raw product (orchard-run apples) at one end,
and takes out a finished product (graded, sized, and packaged apples) at the
other. The individual operations included in a packing line are: (1) Dumping,
(2) sorting, (3) sizing, (4) packing, and (5) other operations (lidding,
labeling, tallying, carton making, and boxing culls).

Dumping

In the dumping operation apples were tipped out of field crates onto a
belt which moved them toward the sorters. This was the operation which fed all
the other packing line operations, and set their performance rates. Dumping
held a key position in the cycle of operations, making it imperative that a
supply of orchard-run apples be always available at the dumping station, and
that these apples be dumped at a steady, predetermined rate.

Apples were tipped out of field crates by both manual and mechanical means.
Where done manually, two workers were employed; where performed mechanically,
only the fractional time of one worker was required.

Manual Dumping

Nearly all packinghouses in the smaller volume range dumped manually, as
did some larger volume houses. One worker kept a full field crate ready for
the second worker who tipped apples out onto a spreader belt. The person per-
forming the dumping disposed of empty crates, either by stacking them beside
the dumping station, or by placing them on a conveyor. A typical 2-man dumping
crew is shown in figure ll.

Two workers had the capacity to maintain a rate of 3.8 crates per minute,
228 per hour, or 1,824 per 8-hour day. This includes disposing of empty crates.
At a dumping rate of 1,000 crates per day, these men were working at only 55
percent of their capacity. Yet, they could not be assigned other work.

Mechanical Dumping

Labor required to hand-dump can be reduced to a fraction by a mechanical
dumper. There are different types of mechanical dumpers; one commonly used is
shown in figure 12. This dumper has a capacity of 600 boxes per hour. Field
crates were fed to it by a friction-drive conveyor, which could maintain a
reservoir of 30 or more crates. One worker could fill this conveyor and then
leave to perform other work. As the reservoir neared depletion he would take
time to fill it again with crates of orchard-run apples. Except for this

eho Poe

BN- 10016

Figure 11.--Two workers at a manual dumping station. One worker
keeps a full crate in readiness for second worker who tips apples
out onto spreader belt. Dumper disposes of empty crates on belt
conveyor.

BN- 10014

Figure 12.--Drum-type mechanical dumper. Note reservoir of
field crates and gravity conveyor for carrying off empty
crates.

2 Oo

occasional refilling of the friction-drive conveyor, the entire dumping oper-
ation was automatic. The desired dumping rate could be set into the machine
and maintained without variation. Apples were tipped out with very little
bruising, and the empty boxes were automatically carried away from the dumper
by a conveyor.

One thousand crates could be placed on the friction-drive conveyor with
only 1.67 man-hours of labor. The worker who did this spent most of his time
doing other work within the area of the dumper, including stacking empty crates.

Cost of Dumping

Labor and equipment costs for dumping 1,000 crates daily for 50 days are
shown in table 7. The cost for the manual method was $21.96 per 1,000 crates;
for the mechanical method $10.78, or $11.18 less. The mechanical dumper added
$6.73 per 1,000 crates to the equipment cost, but reduced labor by $17.91.

Table 7.--Labor and equipment costs for dumping 1,000 crates of apples by 2
different methods, at a rate of 1,000 crates dumped per day--annual volume
50,000 crates

: : Cost
Crew ‘Elapsed’ Labor Tore

Method : “4 5 :
anne size . time . required, 1/ _Equipment, Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

Manual:

One man maintains a supply:
of orchard-run crates for:
second worker who tips
apples out of crates and : A : :
sets vempty crates aside.<: 2° 3: 8: 2/16.00 2.20.00. 3/1. 96 21.96

Mechanical:
One man spends part time
filling friction-chain
conveyor with field
crates, which are fed to: :
and dumped by drum-type
mechanical dumper; empty :
crates are carried away : : :
DY MC ONVEV OL 42015 6.4.6 (0/010, ote + aie eee § oc boOs os 1:67: -2.09.. 4/8.69 10.78

1/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour.
2/ Includes 6.45 man-hours of wait time.
3/ One spreader belt used 8 hours at $0.245 per hour.

4/ One 20-foot friction-chain conveyor 8 hours at $0.091 per hour. One rota-
ry dumper 8 hours at $0.725 per hour. One spreader belt 8 hours at $0.245 per
hour. One 10-foot gravity conveyor section 8 hours at $0.025 per hour.

BO

Sorting

Sorting is the operation which separates apples into quality groups. It
is an important operation to the packer. His reputation and the dollar return
from his crop depend on how accurately this work is done. Grading down good
quality fruit is tantamount to giving away apples; leaving poor quality fruit
in with the high quality apples may, in the long run, cost even more. A fuller
discussion of the sorting operation, including costs of different methods and
types of sorting tables, was published in an earlier report. 1/

Each change in size or quality of apples can affect the productive capacity
of the sorters. Workers can sort more fruit when apples are of large size and
high quality than when they are small and of low quality. Because of this, it
may become necessary to change the dumping rate--and thus the sorting rate--as
the composition of field-run fruit changes. Or, to avoid slowing down other
packing line operations, it may be necessary to temporarily add packers when
lots difficult to sort are encountered.

Factors Which Influence the Sorting Operation

Both the rate at which apples are sorted and the caliber of the sorting job
are affected by a number of factors, some of which are as variable as the makeup
of a lot of orchard-run fruit. Factors which directly influence the sorting
operation are: (1) Number of sorters, (2) quality in incoming fruit, (3) number
of grades sorted out, (4) level of sorting performance, (5) type of sorting
table, (6) capacity of the dumper, (7) prevalence of hard-to-detect injuries
(like hail peck), and (8) arrangement of work stations.

It has been found that the rates of translation and rotation of fruits and
their direction of rotation bear directly on the capacity of the workers to
properly perform the sorting function. 2/ Of these, the rotational rate and
direction probably have the greatest influence on sorting efficiency. With
spheroidal objects a forward rotation of 1.6 revolutions per foot of translation
is most desirable. To achieve this rate of rotation the diameter of each apple
would have to be 2.4 inches, which is about size 180, and considerably smaller
than average. Since it is impossible to control the size of fruit being sorted,
the rate of rotation must be adjusted by some other means.

Roller Sorting Table

In the Appalachian area the roller sorting table predominates (fig. 13).
It was found in both small and large packinghouses, almost to the exclusion of
other types of sorting tables. It featured a continuous series of wooden rollers
which carried apples forward at a constant, predetermined rate. Apples rode
between rollers and rotated in a backward direction as they progressed past the

1/ Hunter, D. L., Kafer, F., and Meyer, C. H. Apple Sorting Methods and
Equipment. U. S. Dept. Agr. Mktg. Res. Rpt. 230, 24 pp. illus. Aug. 1958.

2/ Malcolm, D. G., and DeGarmo, E. P. Visual Inspection of Products for
Surface Characteristics in Grading Operations. U.S. Dept. Agr. Mktg. Res. Rpt.
4D, if pp. iblus« PJune-1953.-

Ou

BN-10000

Figure 13.--Roller sorting table, the type most
frequently found in the Appalachian area.

sorters. Forward speed of the rollers could be adjusted, with the rate of
rotation of the rollers (and consequently the turning rate of the apples),
varying directly with the adjustment.

Individual roller sorting tables varied some in their dimensions, but
centered around 4 feet in width and 8 feet in length, with the translation rate
usually set at 25 to 35 feet per minute. The actual rate was adjustable over
a much wider range than this.

The brusher removed loose dirt and polished the fruit. As apples left the
brusher, they fell in place between two rollers of the sorting table. These
rollers were hardwood, 2-1/4 inches in diameter, and 4 inches on center. Axles
of these rollers were attached loosely to chain drives along each side of the
table. These chains propelled the rollers forward. Rotation occurred as the
rollers dragged over an apron along each side of the table. Their rate of
rotation could not be regulated independently. Neither could the rollers be
made to turn in a reverse direction.

At a forward rate of 30 feet per minute, a roller with a 2-1/4 inch diameter
rotates 51 times per minute. Over an 8-foot length of table each roller would
rotate 13.6 times. At this rate a 2-3/4 inch apple (size 120) would rotate 11.1
times in 8 feet, or make 1.4 revolutions per foot on its trip over the sorting
table. These figures assume no slippage between the roller and side aprons, or

= ae

between roller and apple. In practice, the rotational rate would be somewhat
less than that given, since some slippage is certain to occur. Smaller fruit
would rotate faster; larger fruit more slowly.

Sorters stood (or sat) alongside the sorting table. As apples passed before
them they inspected the fruit and decided the grade classification of each apple.
The highest grade was left on the table to be carried off to the sizer. Lower
grades were removed, and the sorter separated them into their classifications.
Belt conveyors over the sorting table took away each classification of the
lower grade fruit. Culls were usually collected in crates beside the sorters.

To move more apples across a roller sorting table, it was necessary to in-
crease the translation rate, and consequently the rotational rate of the rollers.
This also increased the revolutions per minute of apples (always in a reverse
direction) being sorted. There was a point beyond which efforts to step up the
capacity of a roller sorting table would result in a breakdown of the sorting
function.

Spiral Sorting Table

Another type of sorting table used in the Appalachian area was the spiral
sorting table (fig. 14). It consisted of 10 or more 8-foot rollers side-by-side
and parallel to the length of the table. These rollers were padded with felt
material. A cotton rope of the clothesline variety was wrapped around each
roller in the manner of a spiral. All rollers on each side of the table rotated
at the same rate and in the same direction. Apples, as they left the brusher,
dropped between rollers and were carried forward through the spiral action of
the ropes. As apples rolled forward they were inspected by the sorters. Under-
grade fruit was removed and placed on one of two conveyors over the sorting
table which carried it to an accumulation point. Culls were put in crates
beside the sorters. Each over-the-table conveyor was for a designated grade of
apples; these apples were of lower grade than those left on the sorting table.

Float Roll Sorting Table

The float roll sorting table resulted from developmental work in the Pacific
Northwest area under a contract administered by the United States Department of
Agriculture. Deficiencies in sorting tables in current use were pointed up in
an intensive study of sorting operations; suggestions were made for the improve-
ment of sorting tables. The float roll sorting table (fig. 15) resulted from
this study.

Independent control of both the rate of rotation and the rate of translation
of the rollers is a requisite for optimum sorting performance; it was achieved
with this table. These rates could be changed as the lots of apples changed,
permitting sorters to do their best job at all times. This table was similar
to the roller sorting table, except that aluminum rollers smaller in diameter
were used. These rollers were spaced closer together, so that fruit rode on
top of them, rather than between. This table could be divided into lanes, and
each sorter could be given the responsibility for sorting apples in a lane
assigned to her. There are a number of advantages to sorting from lanes: (1)
The number of apples sorters can inspect is increased, (2) duplication of work

a ae

BN- 10020

Figure 14.--Spiral sorting table. Apples move for-
ward in lanes in the space between adjacent spiral
rollers.

BN- 10005

Figure 15.--Float roll sorting table. Independent control of
rates of translation and rotation permits the sorting of more
apples with greater accuracy.

aac

is eliminated, (3) sorters develop a greater feeling of responsibility, (4)
work is equalized among sorters, and (5) work of each sorter can be checked.

Cost of Sorting

Equipment represented less than 10 percent of the total cost of sorting.
The remainder was the cost of labor to inspect the fruit and divide it into
grades, While equipment cost was relatively fixed, the cost of labor was
variable. The number of sorters needed for a given volume of apples varied
with (1) type of sorting table used, (2) quality of incoming fruit, (3) number
of grades being sorted, and (4) accuracy of sorting. As a general rule, with
a roller type of sorting table (without lanes), 6 workers were able to sort
1,000 crates per day if the number of utility grade apples did not exceed 30
percent of the orchard-run fruit. Where lanes were used, productivity was
somewhat greater.

At a dumping rate of 1,000 crates per day, and with a crew of 6 sorters,
the cost of sorting 1,000 crates was $63.57 for the wooden roller type table;
$64.30 for a spiral table; and $65.65 for a float roll table (table 8). There
was no difference in the cost of labor, and only $2.08 per 1,000 crates in the
cost of sorting tables when the dumping rate and crew size remained the same.
The actual difference in sorting costs was determined by the capacity of the
sorters which varied with the type of sorting table used. Six sorters had a
greater sorting capacity when working from a float roll table than when working
from either a spiral or roller type of table. By increasing the amount of fruit
available to the sorters, unit cost for sorting could be reduced, as well as
the cost of all those packing line operations whose rates were determined by
the rate at which apples were sorted.

Table 8.--Labor and equipment costs for sorting 1,000 crates of apples with 3
different types of sorting tables--50,000 crates dumped per year at a rate
of 1,000 crates per day

: : ; Cost
Pee : ae pEtapeec. meee : Labor :Equipment:
sorting table _ Size . time . required: 1 = 2 / . Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

eee Oe

Wooden roller.........e.e.e0-% = 76 : 8 : 48 : 60.00 3257 (335)4,5)7/
SPPCAL AG siils oe sad wee eae aes 6 : 8 : 48 : 60.00 4250 64.30
Byligaitee Old wens a cesta ere cht eicuaneiat s6 7 8 : 48 : 60.00 DOD 65165

1/ At $1.25 per hour.
2/ Table 26, appendix.

a ae

Sizing

Apples are marketed on the basis of both their grade and size. After
grading, they are further divided into size groups. Under the U. S. Standards
for apples, minimum size is determined by the greatest diameter along the stem-
calyx axis. Size is often stated as the number of apples that would be packed
into a wooden box or fiberboard carton. In the Appalachian area the sizes most
commonly packed were: 64, 72, 80, 88, 100, 113, 125, 138, 150, and 163. Al-
though both larger and smaller sizes were put up, these account for the great
volume of packed fruit. Apples that were smaller than size 163 were usually
bagged and packed in master cartons.

Sizing required no labor as the entire operation was performed mechanically.
Since cost of labor was not a factor, considerations in evaluating this opera-
tion were: (1) Cost of owning and operating the sizer, (2) capacity of the
sizer, (3) its accuracy, and (4) the amount and severity of bruising that it
caused. Three different types of sizers were studied: (1) Chain, (2) weight,
and (3) dimension. Chain sizers (which sized according to an apple's diameter)
were found in more packinghouses than were the other types, and practically all
smaller volume houses sized with this equipment.

Chain Sizers

This equipment consisted of a series of sizing chains connected by short
spreader belts (fig. 16). Each chain of the series was designed so that apples
larger than a specified size would ride over it, and those under that size
would fall through. Apples which rode over spilled off onto a spreader belt
and were delivered to the next size of chain. Apples which fell through dropped
onto a belt conveyor and were delivered to a packing station.

Accuracy of sizing by this method was approximately the same as for the
other two sizing methods, but the chain sizer had a smaller capacity. The
least amount of crowding caused bruising to mount rapidly. It was important
that distances apples dropped onto and from the chain be minimized, and that
padding material be applied wherever needed.

Where most chain sizing systems removed the smallest apples at the first
chain, and the largest at the last chain, there were some that reversed this
and removed the largest fruit first, and the smallest last. Under this system
all apples below the largest size would fall through onto a belt conveyor which
delivered them to another chain. The fruit that rode over the chain was carried
off to a packer. All fruit below the second largest size fell through the
second chain, only to go over still other chain sizers. With this method of
sizing the large fruit rode over fewer chains, and it was this fruit that was
most easily bruised. However, this advantage was cancelled by the fact that
the great majority of apples dropped through several chains before coming to
rest. All these extra drops added bruises to the apples.

Weight Sizers

Size measurement by weight was possible because of the close correlation

Ea 5

BN- 10010

Figure 16.--Chain sizer. Apples too large to drop through are
carried over to the next larger chain where they either fall
through or are again carried over to a still larger chain.

between an apple's weight and its diameter. Weight sizing was always associated
with tub accumulators, from which apples were lifted manually when they were
packed.

The equipment consisted of sets of canvas cups linked together to form an
endless chain. Two such chains, parallel to each other, were in each sizing
machine (fig. 17). Apples from the sorting table dropped into the canvas cups,
one apple to a cup. As they moved forward each was tested by a succession of
spring scales. When the weight of the apple in a cup corresponded with the
setting of a scale, an activating arrangement tripped the cup so that the apple
spilled out, and was delivered to the proper accumulating tub. Large apples
were taken out first, and small apples last.

Each scale could be adjusted independently and over a wide range of weights.
Accuracy of sizing with this machine was dependent on: (1) All apples having
the same specific gravity, (2) the center of gravity of the apple resting in
the center of the cup, and (3) the scales being properly set and kept that way.
Weight sizing was as accurate as chain or dimension sizing, and no more damaging
to the fruit when proper care was taken.

BN- 10007

Figure 17.--Canvas cups of a weight-type sizer used in packing-
houses in the Appalachian area.

Dimension Sizers

Dimension sizers are not to be confused with chain sizers, which also size
apples according to their dimensions. Rather, a dimension sizer, as used here,
refers to a single machine designed to test an apple for its greatest diameter
along the stem-cakyx axis, and having determined that diameter, to deliver the
fruit to an accumulator for apples of that size.

A dimension sizer used by some packinghouses in the Appalachian area had
several sets of plastic cups made up of two parts. These separated as they
moved forward (fig. 18). Apples dropped through at the point where the opening
in the cup equaled the diameter of the apple. Take-away belts delivered the
apples to designated sections of a return flow-belt, from which they were packed
out.

Because of the random manner in which apples came to rest in the cups, it
was impossible to achieve a high degree of uniformity. Still, the accuracy of
sizing with this equipment was about the same as with the chain and weight
sizers.

>
z
&
3
=
a:

BN- 10006

Figure 18.--A dimension sizer. Plastic cups move apart as they
travel forward and apples drop through, according to their size,

onto take-away belts.

Cost of Sizing

The only cost in apple sizing was for equipment as no labor was used.
Initial cost, annual cost, and cost per 1,000 crates dumped for each of three
sizers are given in table 9. Chain sizers cost $19.40 per 1,000 crates dumped.
This includes 6 chain units and 7 spreader belts which separate the chain units.
The weight sizer cost $15.84 per 1,000 crates, and the dimension sizer with
spreading cups $20.15. Only one-half of the cost of the weight sizer has been
charged to the sizing operation; the other half to packing.

Packing

Placing apples of uniform size and quality into shipping containers
culminated all the handling and packing line operations so far discussed. Re-
ceiving, storing, sorting, sizing, and all the other operations were for the
final purpose of putting up an attractive pack that would appeal to buyers.
With this as their goal, packers have been quick to accept improvements in
containers and packing materials. In a few years the industry shifted from
baskets to boxes, and then to cartons as the principal containers of apples
for the fresh market. Retail-size bags were introduced along with cell and
tray packs for separating and protecting apples within the container.

Apples were packed in bushel baskets, wooden boxes, and fiberboard cartons,
with most of them going into fiberboard cartons. The amount of fruit bagged
was variable; with some plants it was a considerable part of their production,
while others did not bag at all. U.S. No. 1 and Utility grade apples were

= oon

Table 9.--Cost of 3 different types of sizing equipment, based on 50,000 crates
dumped annually

P Initial Annual ; Cost per 1,000
Type of sizer : :
cost : cost : crates dumped
Dollars : Dollars : Dollars
6-unit chain A A
SU Zer lif eases. ois : 4,775 : 969.82 : 19.40
20-tub weight : : :
a Ao e/a) | ae ee : 4,975 : 792.08 : 15.84
6-unit expanding
cup dimension ; - :
IGA =3 alee) Pre ere 5,400 5 15007.45 “ 20.15

1/ Includes 7 spreader belts to separate the chain sizers.

2/ The weight sizer is a combined weighing and accumulating device. Since
apples are packed from tubs which are a part of this equipment, only half the
cost has been charged to sizing and the other half to packing.

3/ Includes one spreader belt.

either packed, bagged, or jumble-filled, depending upon market conditions and
packinghouse policy. To permit comparisons between methods, it is assumed
that these apples were handled and packed in the same manner and by the same
methods as the higher grade fruit.

Bushel Baskets

Although fewer baskets were packed each year, a significant number of
bushel baskets was used in small-volume houses and for early variety apples.
These baskets averaged 47 pounds net weight, and except for the top layer
(face), were jumble packed. Packing of bushel baskets occurred in two parts:

(1) Facing, and (2) filling. These two jobs were performed by different workers,
but were closely coordinated and performed simultaneously.

Facing.--This was done to make the pack more attractive by putting a
symmetrical layer of eye-catching apples across the top of a jumble-filled
bushel basket. Facing apples were selected from the orchard-run fruit for
their appealing color and conformation.

Facers arranged apples in rings in concave metal plates slightly larger
than the top of a bushel basket. The most attractive side of each apple was
put down (it was this side that would show in the packed basket). When all the
rings were formed in a faceplate, it was removed from the stand and delivered
GoOrrGher piel her.

2. 39.5

Filling.--Bushel baskets were filled by a worker who set a prepared face-
plate on a stand and covered it with a paper liner. This liner, which was the
shape and size of a bushel basket, was filled rather than the basket itself.

A metal shell of the same size was placed over the liner to add rigidity.

The facing ring together with its liner and shell was positioned under a
gate in the side of a return flow belt. The worker filling baskets directed
apples through the gate and into the liner. He would stop filling periodically
and sprinkle oil-impregnated shredded paper over the apples. He shut the gate
and placed the last 8 or 10 apples manually.

When the liner was full, the entire unit (faceplate, liner, and shell) was
transferred to a belt conveyor. The shell was removed so that it could be used
in filling the next liner. At the lidding station a bushel basket was slipped
over the full liner, the basket inverted, and the faceplate lifted off.

Cost of packing bushel baskets.--In this analysis only the costs of labor
and equipment are considered; containers and packing supplies are not included.
At $1.25 per hour, labor cost $83.04, and equipment only $0.10 per 1,000 baskets
packed (table 10). This is a combined cost of $83.14, or 8.3¢ per basket. Six
facers and three fillers were the optimum crew to face and fill 1,000 baskets
in an 8-hour day. Because of the imbalance of work involved, fillers waited
1.96 man-hours, which is included in the cost of labor.

Table 10.--Labor and equipment cost for packing 1,000 bushel baskets of apples
at an annual volume of 50,000 and a daily volume of 1,000 baskets

oe FL a Labor : Cost

Operation SO sees required: Labor : . :
size time Equipment: Total

: : oY ee re 4 ee ;
:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars
Prepare face Tings .cscssawaeas O 2, 7.362 “46.29% 55736 “3/0208 55.44
Pil 2 *paskees nat ie cca 45 & -7e3634/22,14, 3° 2272081. 5/0202 27:40
TOBA Sg 2.5 a gists «eee aie ore 4s - 39 S ae oO4e 66.43 : 83.04 0.10 83.14

/ Labor requirements are given in table 45, appendix.
/ At $1.25 per hour.

/ Twelve faceplates at $0.007.

Includes 1.96 man-hours of wait time.

/ Three filling shells at $0.007.

Fiberboard Cartons

More apples were packed out in fiberboard cartons than in any other type
of container. With the exception of those first put into bags, all apples packed
in fiberboard cartons were also tray packed. Forty-five percent of all fruit

ee ees

packed in the Appalachian area was tray-packed, 25 percent was bagged in master
cartons, 20 percent was place-packed in wooden boxes, and 10 percent was packed

in bushel baskets.

There were three ways in which apples were tray packed: (1) Manually from
tubs, (2) manually from a return flow belt, and (3) by semiautomatic tray packers.
Each method had its own labor and equipment requirements, and productive capacity.
Data for each method are based on size 113 apples.

Packing manually from tubs.--Tray packing from tubs was always associated
with sizing by weight. Different tubs were used for different sizes of apples.
Tubs rotated slowly, and fruit within them remained evenly distributed during
packing. A "floating" bottom in each tub was meant to keep the top layer of
apples at a fixed height so that packers would not have to reach very far into
the tub for apples. However, when only a few apples were in the tub, it was
necessary for the packer to reach down into the tub for them.

After placing an empty carton on the stand and a tray in the carton, the
packer lifted apples from the tub and placed them in tray pockets (fig. 19).
A common method was to remove apples with one hand, tranfer them to the other
hand, and then set them in place in the carton. When the carton was full, it
was lifted from the stand and carried to a conveyor. By this method a worker
was able to pack 17.2 cartons per hour or 138 cartons per 8-hour day.

BN- 10018

Figure 19.--Packing trays by hand from a rotating tub. A "floating"
bottom holds apples at a fixed height for ease of packing.

= ae

Packing manually from a return-flow belt.--Packing apples from a return-
flow belt was much like packing them from a tub. The packer stood beside the

belt, removed apples as they came by her, and packed them into cartons on a
stand alongside the belt (fig. 20).

A return-flow belt consisted of 2 belt conveyors adjacent to each other,
but traveling in opposite directions. Apples accumulated behind retarders,
forming reservoirs from which the packers worked. Moveable shunts divided the
belt into sections for different sizes of fruit. Because these shunts were
moveable, the portion of the return-flow belt given to each size could be ad-
justed as necessary. The return-flow belt provided the packer with a clear
view of the fruit; this together with a shorter reach enabled him to pack 22.6
cartons per hour, or 181 cartons per day.

BN- 10019

Figure 20.--Worker manually packing apples from a return-flow belt.

Packing with semiautomatic tray packers.--A semiautomatic tray packer is a

device which fills trays, releases them to a carton, and then sends the filled
carton to a conveyor (fig. 21).

The semiautomatic tray packer was always in position at a gate in the side
panel of the return-flow belt. From the belt apples were guided by a retarding
bar onto a pan which held the approximate number of apples to fill one tray.
After setting a tray in place, the worker released the apples to roll from the

- 42

BN-10011

Figure 21.--Worker packing apples with
semiautomatic tray packer.

pan into the tray pockets. With an apple in each pocket the tray was released
to settle--on an air cushion--into place in the carton. At the same time the

pan refilled with apples. When the last tray was in the carton the packer re-
leased the full carton to a gravity conveyor. Full cartons were never picked

up or carried by the packer. In 1 hour a worker could tray pack 42.6 cartons.
This was equivalent to 341 cartons in an 8-hour working day.

Because apples rolled into tray pockets in a random fashion, the packer
spent a little more time with the top layer. She aligned these apples and
turned their most attractive sides up. When finished, the pack was as attractive
as those packed by hand.

Cost of packing fiberboard cartons.--The cost for each of three methods is
shown in table 11. In each case the cost of labor far exceeded the cost of
equipment. This was true even when the most mechanized method (using semi-
automatic tray packers) was used although labor became a much smaller part of
the total cost.

The method utilizing semiautomatic tray packers had the highest equipment
cost, but the smallest combined labor and equipment cost. With this method
apples were tray packed at a cost of $48.44 per 1,000 cartons. When apples
were packed manually from a return-flow belt this cost was $66.70; packing from
tubs cost $89.62 per 1,000 cartons. These costs assume an annual volume of

Fe Cee

Table 11.--Labor and equipment costs for tray packing 1,000 cartons of size
113 apples by 3 different methods at an annual volume of 50,000 and a daily
volume of 1,000 cartons

Crew ‘Elapsed’ Labor asst

; : ; : : ; Labor: ;
size _ time | required.

Packing method 1/ ‘Equipment’ Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars
Position carton, pack man-
ually from tubs, and man-

ually remove filled carton..: 8 SP S25 2) “S7e97 2246 2 ei 89.62

Position carton, pack man-

ually from return-flow belt,:

and manually remove filled : : :

CATEON Ss a0 242 Pare aae 1 seat eo GS) 748608 “4451572 55,.06 Sy oo: Sone

Position carton, pack with
semiautomatic tray packer,
and release filled carton : 4 ;
EO “CONVEYOR 605; b4 dos d Geutesals > 2 2 The03 3. 23048 me 29735- 19209 48.44

1/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour

2/ One-half the annual cost of a 20-tub weight-type sizer ($15.84), charged
to packing (the other half charged to sizing), and 12 packing stands at $0.11
each.

3/ One 40-foot return-flow belt $10.87, and 6 packing stands at $0.11 each.

4/ One 40-foot return-flow belt $10.87, and 3 semiautomatic tray packers at
$2.74 each.

50,000 packed cartons, and a labor cost of $1.25 per hour. Should these assump-
tions change, the relative costs would also change. It would, however, take a
considerable change to alter the positions on the cost scale of these three
methods of packing. For example, reducing the labor cost to $1.00 per hour
would decrease the present $41.18 advantage of the semiautomatic tray packer
method over the highest cost method to an advantage of only $32.60 per 1,000
cartons. Still, the method using semiautomatic tray packers would continue to
be the least costly.

Northwest Box

Once a container of major importance, the wooden northwest box has given
way to the fiberboard carton. Although it declined in popularity the northwest
box was still in use for some varieties and grades. Its use was virtually
confined to '"'C' grade apples, with very few used for fancy fruit.

Apples packed in wooden boxes were individually wrapped in oil-impregnated
paper, which protected them from scald and enhanced their appearance (fig. 22).
All apples observed being packing into these containers were taken from rotating
tubs, although they could have been taken from return-flow belts as well. The

eee s/o

a
— = |

BN- 10003

Figure 22.--Apples being individually wrapped
and place-packed in a northwest box.

same type of packing stand was used as in filling fiberboard cartons. In one
motion the packer removed an apple from the tub, wrapped it, and set it in place
in the box. Northwest boxes of size 113 apples were packed at the rate of 18.9
boxes every hour, or 151 boxes per day. Packing included positioning empty
boxes and removing full ones; trays were not used when apples were wrapped. The
total cost for labor was $66.13 per 1,000 boxes (table 12). An equipment cost
of $17.16 made the total cost for wrapping and place-packing size 113 apples
into northwest boxes $83.29 per 1,000 boxes. This was $16.59 more than for
manually tray packing apples into cartons from a return-flow belt. Because no
time was taken to position trays between each layer it cost $6.33 less per thousand
northwest boxes than to manually tray pack into cartons from tubs.

Consumer Bags

A packer could bag small fruit and find a market for it, where there would
be fewer calls for the same fruit packed another way. While some small apples

ae

Table 12.--Labor and equipment costs for wrapping and packing 1,000 northwest
boxes of size 113 apples from rotating tubs at an annual volume of 50,000 and
a daily volume of 1,000 boxes

Cost

Crew Elapsed, Labor Tasores

Time item ; ; : : ; : : : 3
size _ time . required, 1/ _Equipment, Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars
Position empty box on :

Packing Stands ick ot sa.as aes ae > oss : AEA A jie” Seay fl -- --
Wrap and pack apples from ‘ : 4

tub tol northwest boxy)... 2%. 7 2 ose AA ee? eee. OZ -- --
Manually remove packed box : 2 :

from stand to conveyor...... — @ 2 oofe : 3.52 : 4.40 -- --

Total =) 7 % Fe 90 §. 2091s 12966.15 2 oy Boor

1/ Based on a labor cost of $1.25 per hour.
2/ One-half the annual cost of a 20-tub weight-type sizer ($15.84) charged to
packing (the other half charged to sizing), and 12 packing stands at $0.11 each.

(size 163 and smaller) were tray packed--particularly for the export market--the
majority that went for fresh consumption were in consumer bags. Bagged apples
probably accounted for 25 percent of the fruit packed in the Appalachian area.
Most consumer bags were plastic and held 4 or 5 pounds of apples. However,

mesh bags and other weight units were also used.

Some differences in filling, closing, and cartoning were observed. Usually
equipment was used. Despite variations in bagging methods, elements of the
bagging operation were (1) attaching bag to holder, (2) filling bag with apples
from automatic weigher, (3) removing full bag from holder and attaching closer,
and (4) placing full bag in cell of carton. Figure 23 shows a station where this
work was performed.

The number of apples placed in each bag did not affect the cost of bagging
if a bagging machine was used. In some cases one worker in addition to the
bagger closed bags while another placed them in cartons. These additional
workers increased the cost of bagging. It took a worker 3.64 man-minutes to
position an empty carton, attach nine plastic bags to an automatic weigher, fill
the bags to 5 pounds each, place them in a carton, and remove the full carton.

ewig. = |

BN-10009

Figure 23.--A bagging station where one worker performs a complete
work cycle.

Man-minutes

Position empty carton-on packing stand... % sas sa eas 0.14
Attach 9 bags to automatic weigher, ..% 6s 606605060 AY
ae AGS yw Ch wap PMCS ie sie 1e: ay cca ee a. ae ws a 8 ee Gg ane, war aice Be it
Remove tall bags and attach closers. vn sccem s cise s os 1305
PlACearun Labags: In@cel lis Ot “Caneons ... . ssf elswe ees son
Manualiiverenovies bi lleducarCOn suc. s 1s 5 wee awin eens As

POs else basa ayaa) aston ataeanatel at eG ceiaa)ar aie olla te sere) 61aoyoa kG 3.64

At this rate in an 8-hour day one worker could bag, seal, and cell pack 132
cartons. At $1.25 per hour this amounted to a labor cost of 7.6 cents per
carton.

Where the work elements for bagging were divided among two or more packers,
labor requirements rose. Bagging apples is a highly repetitive operation, and
it would be impossible to synchronize the efforts of separate workers to bag,
close, and carton the fruit. Such a crew arrangement would increase the capac-
ity of a bagging machine, but at an increased labor cost. The most efficient
bagging method resulted when one worker performed all the elements in their
sequence, with no assistance. Attaching bags to the weigher, filling the bags,
and removing them from the holder had to be done by the same worker and accounted
for the bulk of the labor required in the bagging operation.

ey eee

One worker to perform all elements was still the least costly method when
both labor and equipment were considered. At $1.25 per hour for labor, the
cost for both labor and equipment to bag, close, and carton 1,000 cartons of
nine 5-pound bags was $78.98, or 7.9 cents per carton.

Labor $75.91
Equipment 307,
$78.98

The equipment in this tabulation consisted of 2 single-head bagging machines.
Cost of supplies (bags, cartons, closers) was not included. Adding a second
worker to close and carton bags increased the productivity of the equipment by
about one-third, but added greatly to the labor cost.

Other Packing Line Operations

Dumping, sorting, sizing, and packing are the principal packing line oper-
ations and account for a large share of the labor and equipment used to pack
apples. They are not, however, the only operations. Others include (1) lidding,
(2) labeling, (3) tallying, (4) carton making, and (5) crating of culls.

Usually one person was assigned to one or more of these operations. They
were normally flexible enough that workers assigned to them could, within limits,
move about within the plant helping each other as workloads changed.

Lidding

Filled containers were removed to a conveyor which delivered them to a
lidding station. This was true for bushel baskets, northwest boxes, and fiber-
board cartons, although each was lidded in a different manner.

Bushel baskets.--Apples to be shipped in bushel baskets arrived at the
lidding station face down, with only a faceplate and paper liner holding the
fruit to the shape of a basket. The lidder set a basket over the liner and the
apples it contained, and pulled it forward to a turning device in the conveyor
line. The basket was turned face up, and the faceplate removed. Shredded
paper was sprinkled over the apples and a lid set in place and fastened.

Northwest boxes.--Lids were fastened to northwest boxes by a nailing machine.
The lidder laid a paper pad across the top layer of apples and set a lid in the
nailing machine (fig. 24). The lid consisted of three pieces of shook joined
by a crosspiece at each end. If the nailing machine was set into, and made a
part of the conveyor, the box was pushed straight into the nailer; otherwise,
the box was lifted from the conveyor and carried to the nailing machine. With
the box in position, the lid was adjusted to set squarely on the box, and the
nailing machine was activated by a foot pedal. The machine automatically
ejected the box onto another conveyor.

Fiberboard cartons.--These containers did not have lids in the sense that
bushel baskets and wooden boxes had. Some had flaps which were part of the
carton. These flaps, when fastened together, formed a cover for the container.

EAs eee

BN- 10008

Figure 24.--Worker placing lid in nailing machine which will attach
it to northwest box of apples.

Other cartons were covered with a telescoping lid which enclosed the filled
container, but was not sealed to it. Flaps were nearly always sealed with
staples. Both manual and pneumatic staplers were used, with the latter most
often found in larger volume houses.

Cartons were delivered to the lidding station by conveyor. Where stapling
was done with a hand-operated stapling machine, the lidder could work ahead on
the filled-carton conveyor. This was an advantage over pneumatic staplers which
were fixed in place.

To staple a carton closed, the lidder first placed a paper pad over the
apples (unless the packer had already done so), and then fastened the flaps to-
gether with two staples. The worker then pushed it ahead on the conveyor to
the segregating area.

Telescoping lids made closing even simpler. The worker set a paper pad
over the fruit (if necessary), and slipped a lid from a nearby supply over
the filled carton. However, this lid had to be formed and stapled in the same
manner as the carton holding the apples. The cost of doing this is chargeable
to the lidding operation.

Cost of lidding.--For each lidding method, only one worker was needed where

AS pee

the volume packed did not exceed 1,000 containers per day. Table 13 gives the
cost of lidding bushel baskets, northwest boxes, and fiberboard cartons.
Lidding fiberboard cartons with telescoping lids showed the greatest cost--
$14.50 per 1,000 containers. The additional labor and equipment required to
form and staple the lid amounted to two-thirds of the total cost.

Table 13.--Labor and equipment costs to lid 1,000 containers of packed apples,
50,000 containers lidded per year at 1,000 per day

: : Cost
Container ayia nope cos eI -—Labor=* : :

size _ time , required, 1/ .Equipment, Total

:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars

Bushell baskets acai ce chews By Seal - 6.00". 6. 008-3 110500 2/0.68 10.68

Northwest box.2.32%5..4¢e5..082¢% ee 27 2.02: 2.02) “3 3726 yoy. > PERRO
Fiberboard carton: : : : :

Sealed by hand stapler.....: 1 ene se! lee 1 | le es re 4/3.13 8.34
Sealed by pneumatic : : 4

Stapler. o<ciscet eae ee eee ee suis pace So bY ee eens Pe Al py pees), 8.80
Covered with telescoping 4 : :

BIR toe uae ears sanene seen ce toveneuedate teen ae ee ae 2 3260) f@G/Ge1s “210222 7/4.28 14.50

ty. Akos l,.25. per nour:

2/ 1 basket turner at $0.085 per hour.

3/ 1 nailing machine at $0.970 per hour.

4/ 1 hand stapler at $0.029 per hour, plus $2.90 for preformed staples
(5/8" staples 2 per carton).

5/ 1 pneumatic stapler at $0.086 per hour, plus $2.90 for preformed staples
(5/8'" staples 2 per carton).

6/ 1 worker 4.38 man-hours forming lid, and second worker 3.80 man-hours
lidding.

7/ Includes one-half the cost of motorized bottom stitcher, plus S216 4ron
wire staples (12 per lid).

Sealing cartons by hand and by pneumatic stapler had almost identical
total costs since the same amount of labor was required. The cost of staples
was the largest equipment cost item for this method of sealing.

Labeling

A paper label bearing the packer's trade name was pasted on each box,
carton, and basket, and a rubber stamp was used to mark information concerning
the contents on the containers. Packers customarily carried two or more
trade names, with each reserved for a particular grade of fruit.

The labeler's station was along the conveyor which delivered apples from

SSO

the packing line, either before or after the lidding station. When a container
reached him, the labeler brushed glue across it,. placed a label over the area,
and then set the label by rubbing it lightly with a damp cloth or sponge. If
containers were palletized at each packing station, labels were applied there.
In either case, one worker was able to apply up to 2,000 labels per day.

The variety, grade, and size was stamped on containers manually either by
packers before releasing the containers, or by the labeler. Stamping required
2.47 man-hours per 1,000 containers. One worker was able to both label and
stamp well over 1,000 containers per day.

Tallying

Keeping a record of each grade, size, and variety packed was the respon-
sibility of the tally clerk. This job often rested with the segregator, labeler,
or lidder. Some houses did not keep a running tally, but totaled up at the end
of each day; others assigned a person full time to keep the tally. This work
required only a small amount of time, but had to be done by someone in a posi-
tion to see each packed container.

A simple tally sheet consisted of a page for each grade of apple. The
page was divided into columns, one column for each size packed. As a container
of apples passed by the tally clerk, he placed a mark in the appropriate column.
At the end of the day, the marks were totaled, revealing the number of each
grade and size packed.

Carton Making

A packinghouse operator had to stock 2 or more types of cartons to meet
his customers' needs. These cartons were received flat and in bundles, and
were assembled by a carton maker using a stapling machine.

Cartons were formed by stapling the bottom flaps together, with 12 staples
(fig. 25). The following were the basic elements of carton making: (1) Lift
flat carton from bundle and shape into carton by pushing ends together, (2)
fold down bottom flaps and set carton over stapler head, (3) staple flaps 6
times at each end of carton, and (4) lift carton from stapler head and place
in pile, drop down chute, or hang on overhead monorail.

Sometimes two workers were used in the carton-making operation. One
worker removed flat cartons from the bundles and shaped them, and the other
worker folded the flaps, stapled them, and removed the cartons. Two workers
produced more cartons than one, but at a higher cost per carton (table 14).

One worker could make 1,000 cartons in 4.38 hours. For this production,
labor cost $5.48, and equipment $4.24. Two workers, working together, could
make 1,000 cartons in 3.22 hours at a labor cost of $8.04 and an equipment
cost of $4.24. If one or two men were assigned full time to carton making
considerable wait time would occur. However, it was common practice for the
carton maker to utilize what would otherwise be wait time by stapling telescoping
lids and supplying packing material to the packing line.

aes a

BN-10001

Figure 25.--Worker stapling carton to-
gether with a motorized stapling
machine.

Crating Culls

Cull apples were those removed by sorters as not qualified for U. S.
Utility grade or better, and those taken out at the eliminator because of their
small size (under 2-1/4 inches). On an average, they represented about 5 percent
of the orchard-run fruit. Although cull apples were of little commercial value,
they had to be crated and disposed of, since cull apples were never packed for
the fresh trade. Cull apples were collected in orchard crates from both the
sorting table and eliminator. When a crate was full it was removed and stacked,
and an empty set in its place.

Little time was required to change an empty crate for a full one--about
half an hour a day for 50 crates. When fruit was running heavier to culls, more
time was required. For an average run of fruit, at a dumping rate of 1,000
crates per day, the person supplying the dumper would have time to take care of
the cull fruit as well.

canes Aa

ae ES Sede aes er"

Table 14.--Labor and equipment costs for forming and stapling 1,000 fiberboard
cartons on motorized bottom stitcher by 2 different method

Cost

Crew ,Elapsed, Labor ipo, .-

MEE OOS size * time " required’ 1/ ‘Equipment’ Total
:Number: Hours :Man-hours:Dollars Dollars Dollars
1 worker performed all : : : :
Wome sCoMCMOR Eola shers/<4ysie's sieves 6s Cae | > 4.36% 4.38 : 5.48 2/4.24 Rohe
1 worker removed flat carton :
from bundle, formed it into : : :
carton, and handed it to : ‘ : :

2d worker who stitched

bottom flaps and removed : : :
CAbbON st. cn cas amet aoes enews Se , 02 Sisco Ss 6.43 : 8.04 2/4.24 tZ.26

1/ Based on a cost of $1.25 per hour.
2/ Includes $2.16 for wire staples (12 per carton).

Costs of Combined Packing Line Operations

Labor and equipment costs presented for each packing line operation are on
the basis of 50,000 containers annually, at a daily volume of 1,000 containers.
A great many combinations of packing line methods can be synthesized from the
data in this report and in the appendix. A packer can vary the conditions given
to fit his own situation and still arrive at a reasonable estimate of what the
cost would be in his own plant.

An example is developed to show how individual operations can be fitted
together into a complete packing line. To do this, it is necessary to compute
costs on the actual number of containers that would be involved in each of the
different operations. Using as a base a dumping rate of 50,000 crates annually
and 1,000 crates daily, the number of containers that might be expected to pass
through each of the packing line operations is given in table 15. Crew arrange-
ment and labor and equipment costs for the selected combination of methods are
given in table 16. Packing the equivalent of 1,000 dumped crates would cost
$180.95. Of this, $120 would be for labor and $60.95 for equipment. Twelve
workers would be productively engaged 92 percent of their time, and waiting
only 8 percent. Most of this waiting accrues to one worker--the one supplying
the dumper--and could be eliminated by having him work in the bring-up operation.

Comparable costs can be determined for a large number of different packing
methods by using the data in this report and the same method of analyses. An
operator can compute the cost of a given method in his own plant by substituting
his own data for labor rates, annual volumes, daily volumes, and other variables.

=. 53h =

Table 15.--Assumed distribution of orchard-run apples in the Appalachian area,
and number of containers in each packing line operation 1/

. Number of containers
Type of -

Operation container :

Annually . Daily
Dump LNG sar ins rediw- eee Crate 50,000 1,000
DOr CINS. d40a awa ers a as Crate 50,000 1,000
DL eTUCs so eas eae Rate Crate 47,500 950
PACkKAne. 2a ate-wies we saes Carton : 44,250 885
ERS Sys eras cera tens 4,9: Carton : 44,250 885
PADeIING )..34.4stek Cees Carton 44,250 885
TALE YIN ivew s assleperea aces All 46,750 935
Carton making .!y s<%c<c. Carton 44,250 885
Boxing Cull lsii.s24.4sc54 Crate 2,500 50

1/ Based on crates holding 41 pounds of apples, and cartons 44 pounds.

HANDLING AND PACKING BY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS
OF METHODS AT DIFFERENT VOLUMES

Throughout this report handling and packing operations have been considered
separately. They were treated this way since entirely different equipment,
methods, and crews were used in each. But to arrive at plantwide costs it is
necessary to combine all the operations that occur in a packinghouse--both
handling and packing--into one overall method. Three different combinations of
methods are analyzed here: (1) Handiing by clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks with
manual packing from a return-flow belt, (2) handling by conveyors with manual
packing from tubs, and (3) handling by forklift truck and pallets with packing
by semiautomatic tray packers. None of these methods was observed in its
entirety in one packinghouse; instead, they have been synthesized from data
taken in many plants. This illustrates how the costs of different combinations
of methods can be predicted without actually installing and testing them.

Handling and packing costs are affected by the volume of apples handled
and packed. When the volume changes, the cost for performing each of the oper-
ations also changes. Such a change occurs in both the total cost, and in the
unit cost. Further, the comparative costs are likely to change. For each
method, costs are shown for annual volumes of 50,000, 100,000, and 200,000
crates. These costs are developed from data in the statistical supplement,
beginning on page 70, and are exclusive of packing materials, overhead, and

Sh

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a))

management costs. Only the cost of labor and equipment used directly in the
handling and packing line operations are included.

Handling by Clamp Type 2-Wheel Handtrucks with
Manual Packing from Return-Flow Belt

Clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks have the lowest equipment cost, but require
the greatest number of workers. Where large volumes must be handled over short
periods of time, or over great distances, labor cost could become prohibitive
if clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks are used. A worker can handle only 5 containers
at one time with this equipment, and such limited capacity can be compensated
for only by increasing the number of trucks and operators. As workers are added,
costs mount.

In this example, the packing line operation includes mechanical dumping,
sorting from a wooden roller table, dimension sizing, and manual packing from
a return-flow belt. The costs for this method at three different volumes are
presented in tables 17, 18, and 19.

At an annual volume of 50,000 crates, handling cost $0.051 and packing
$0.196 per crate, For handling, equipment amounted to only 10 percent of the
cost, and for packing it was 24 percent.

To handle and pack fruit at a volume of 100,000 crates dumped annually
would require 2 additional clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks, one additional high-
piler, and 2 more packing stands. Still the total cost would be reduced from
50,247 to $0.213 per crate.

Raising the annual volume from 100,000 to 200,000 crates would require
the addition of 3 clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks, one roller sorting table, and
3 packing stands. The unit cost for handling and packing at this volume would
be $0.203, or 1.0 cent less per crate than at 100,000 crates annually.

Handling by Conveyors with Manual Packing from Tubs

Conveyors represent the most costly handling method of the three studied.
At 50,000 boxes annually, they have the highest labor and equipment costs.
However, as volume increases smaller increments of labor need be added than
with the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method. At the three volumes studied,
this advantage never became great enough to overcome the high equipment cost
associated with conveyors. Conveyors eliminated the need for workers to trans-
port apples between points, but this did not compensate for a high initial
equipment cost, nor the extra handling that occurred at each end of the
conveyor.

Tables 20, 21, and 22 present these handling costs for annual volumes of
50,000, 100,000, and 200,000 boxes, together with the costs of dumping manually,
sorting from a wooden roller table, sizing by weight, and packing manually from
tubs. This combination proved to be the most costly, requiring the greatest
number of workers. Handling and packing line costs combined total $0.316 per
crate for an annual volume of 50,000 crates dumped, $0.245 for 100,000 crates,

- 56 -

Table 17.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 50,000 crates of apples annually by
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck and packing manually from a return-flow belt

(1,000 crates a day for 50 days)

Con- : Tahoe e Cost
tainers: Gree he E : Total
Operation : handled: —, : : : Labor : Equip- : i ; Per
:annually: ee a ee oy d ment : Annual ;: Daily :dumped
Ly = H : : : crate
e : Man-
: Number :Number: hours : Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : : :
Receiving... <2 50,000. 3; 4/ ~: 283: 354.00 22.00 376.00 7.53 0.008
Bringing-up..: 50,000: 1 : 400 : 500.00 113200 613.00 12.26 012
Segregating : H :
and storing :;
packed ; : : :
CaGtons wie 44,2005 2 : 800 : 1,000.00 Lt1250° 1 5.711.50 227523 022
Loading-out..: 46,750: 4/ : 354 : 442.50 5.00 447.50 8.95 009
Total 3 : : E
handling.....: : 291583773 2,296.50 251.50 2,548.00 50.97 O51
Packing line:
Dumping me- 3; 7 a
chanically..: 50,000 : 1 A 400 : 500.00 434.50 934.50 18.69 JOLY
Sorting from: 5 : :
roller table.: 50,000: 6 ¢ 2,400 = 3,000:,00 178.53; -3:,178%.53 63.57 064
Dimension : : : :
SiZING s.200.3 4/5900 2 o= H - 3 - 1,007.45 1,007.45 20.15 .020
Packing man- ; fs : 5
ually from : : : :
DOUG Sar susescie 2244.;290>%. (6 Se 2ieZ00K2 42,750 200 584.95 3,334.95 66.70 066
Other packing: u : :
line oper- : : :
aeLONS: 2/ sae 22 : 800 : 1,000.00 368.50 1,368.50 21a3t 1027
Total packing : ;
shots aie cane : sD 2 95800. + 7,250.00 Z,ofos9o 95923.93 196.48 2196
Total handling:
and packing : 3 a
lakes ee eee : : 1 75637 3 95546550 2,025.43 12,371.93 247.45 247

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons 44 pounds.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.

3/ At $1525 per hour.

4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and
supplying packing material.

By ee

Table 18.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 100,000 crates of apples annually by
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck and packing manually from a return-flow belt

1,500 crates a day for 67 working days

Con- : ee ee Cost
tainers; Crew : : d : Total
Operation :; handled: size : ae : Labor : Equip- : : Per
sannually: aie : By > ment : Annual : Daily : dumped
ley ‘ 2/ i : H : * enate
: 3 : Man-
: Number :Number: hours : Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : x :
Receiving....:100,000 2: 4/ : 56a: 709.00 32.66 741.66 11.07 0.007
Bringing-up..:100,000 : 2 2 LO 2527315675) 400 E2320 9 ole 98725 26.84 .018
Segregating :
and storing :
packed : : : A
Cartons< $4.: 7 O85 900G3, 33 : 15608. : 2,010.00 132299 2), VA 239 31.98 - O21
Loading-out..: 93,500: 4/ = 714 : 892.50 2825) 920.85 1 7D . 009
Total : 7 H g
handling. .4...% : 23,961 = 5,286.50 316.168) "55,603.18 83,63 3055
Packing line:
Dumping me- ; ; : E
chanically..:100,000 : 1 : 536. 670.00 496.46 1,166.46 V7 54 . OM
Sorting from : : :
roller ; EB :
Gables. 2c :100,000 : 6 2 3,216 : 4,020.00 205.25, 45225.25 63.06 042
Dimension : : : $
SL Zell Oe ote ches $95,000. :- = : - : - 1,140.15 1,140.15 L702 Oda
Packing man- ; : : e
ually from : : 3
DEM cartes ches : 88,500 : 8 : 4,288 : 5,360.00 659.26 6,019.26 89.84 061
Other packing: : : $
line oper- : ; :
ations 5/..s: 2. 4 £ 25144" 3°2;680..00 372:.30. 3,252.30 48.54 ~ 032
Total packing : : :
Es bal =tnericereeeee ace : 7 19 5 1059641212, 7305.00 5,,073:.42_ 15,803.42 23051011 «158
Total handling:
and packing : 3 :
LIME ss a Se alse : 214,145 :18,016.50 3,390.10 21,406.60 S19 K 50 ails

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons weigh 44 pounds.
2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.
3/ At $1.25 per hour.
4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.
5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and
supplying packing material.

seg oe

Table 19.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 200,000 crates of apples annually by
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck and packing manually from a return-flow belt

(2,000 crates a day for 100 working days)

Con- : 5 Cost
tainers: Crew : Eapee 3 : Total
Operation : handled: size : nae : Labor : Equip- : i : © Per
annually: oe : oye ment : Annual :; Daily : dumped
iby ° . = ° . ° crate
= 3 : Man-
: Number :Number: hours : Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: ; e : :
Receiving....:200,000 : 4/ : 1,134 : 1,418.00 62.48 1,480.48 14.80 0.008
Bringing-up..:200,000 : 2 : 1,600 : 2,000.00 165.60 2,165.60 21.66 sOUL
Segregating :
and storing :
packed : : : EB
Cartons. =. < 7177,000 3 4 : 3;200 : 4,000.00 165.60 4,165.60 41.66 sO21
Loading-out..:187,000 : 4/ : 1,429 : 1,786.00 46.62 1,832.62 18.32 . 009
Total : ; -
hand Ling ys... : : = 75363 39,204.00 440.30 9,644.30 96.44 049
Packing line:
Dumping me- : 4 : :
chanically..:200,000 : 1 : 800 : 1,000.00 545.14 1,545.14 15.45 . 008
Sorting from : : : :
roller : : : :
teableniy ase eve 2200,,000 : 10 ; 8,000 :10,000.00 463.02 10,463.02 104.63 052
Dimension : : :
SUZ Ors terete LOO S000! y= c= : - : - 15233:383: 01 3233.83 12.34 . 006
Packing man- : : : F
ually from g : :
Ded giie s. s.< sxe 211775000 = it : 8,800 :11,000.00 729428 11,729.28 LUT .29 «059
Other packing: G :
line oper- :; : :
ations Df ecle? Bee) : 4,000 : 5,000.00 VI2Z639% ~55172.39 57512 029
Total packing : : . :
Heit) @kepeten shay ois fe 7 27, 221,600 :27,000.00 3,743.66 30,743.66 307.43 154
Total handling:
and packing : : :
abies oon be oor : : 228,963 :36,204.00 4,183.96 40,387.96 403.87 . 203

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons weigh 44 pounds.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.

3/ At $1.25 per hour.

4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and
supplying packing material.

= 50"

Table 20.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 50,000 crates of apples annually by

Operation

Handling:

Receiving....
Bringing-up..:

Segregating

Con-

i/

: Number

s D03000> 3
50,000 :

and storing :

packed

CaGEONS....66 4
Loading-out..:

Total

handling..3.% ;

Packing line:

> 44,250 :
46,750 ;

Dumping man- ;:

Sorting from ;:

roller

Packing man-
ually from

EWDS ene see Gre :

Other packing:

line oper-

ations 5/...

Total packing ;

Total handling:

and packing

1,000 crates a da
tainers: Crew : popes :
: handled: size :
sannually:

re-

quired :

2/

: Man-

: Number:

/

E>

18

hours :

566 3:
800 :

Labor

3/

Dollars

708.
1,000.

00
00

00
00

.00

00

.00

200

. 00

.00

9/29) $12,194.00

for 50 workin

Equip- :

ment

Dollars

150:
506.

545.
146.

1,348.

98).

178.

P25

Sol,

368.

2,268.

3,616.

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons 44 pounds.

3/ At $1.25 per hour.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method...

50
50

00
00

00

20

53

08

07

50

38

38

4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.

conveyor and packing manually from tubs

days

Cost

Annual

Dollars

858.
1,506.

1,545.
632.

4,542.

1,098.

3, 178%

22.

A Soe

1,868.

11,268.

15,810.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating
supplying packing material.

4G Outs

50
50

00
00

00

20

53

08

07

50

38

38

Total:

17.
30%

30:
12

a0

21

em

13.

86.

Whe

223

516:

Daily:
: crate

16
13

90

64

83

96

27

84

62

37

36

19

culls, and

Per
dumped

Dollars Dollars

0.017
. 030

- 032
o OURS

O91

1022

.063

.016

.087

2057

wee.

sol6

Table 21.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 100,000 crates of apples annually by
conveyor and packing manually from tubs

(1,500 crates a day for 67 working days)

Cais * Labor *
tainers: 5 :
Operation : handled: CEE 5 en : Labor Equip-
size , quired
: annually: : : 3/, ment
1/ Bi Z
B e : Man-
: Number :Number: hours : Dollars Dollars
Handling: A : 6
Receiving....:100,000 : 4/ 1a 32 el 41500 195.36
Bringing-up..:100,000 : 2 1,072 : 1,340.00 901.56
Segregating :
and storing :
packed : :
CaGeOnSiees sie 105 ;000. 28 ~2 1, OF: 200 le 340,00 587.46
Loading-out..: 93,500 : 4/ 832 : 1,040.00 261.56
Total : : :
handling.:..30% eee OS mara) 355, 00mm 1, 945 19
Packing line:
Dumping man- :; 8
Wall dhyss oic.ctors- : 100,000 2 1,072 2 1,340.00 114.85
Sorting from
roller Z
table. ois. ate. : 100,000 6 315216 2) 4:,020.00 205.25
Weight
SWZ er. secs 95,000 - - - 888.02
Packing man- :
ually from : :
CUDSienere eke, oe + 88,500°3 10 5,360 = 6,700.00 947,22
Other packing:
line oper- : :
AEtOnS wipers: 2 4 > 2,144 : 2,680.00 DLZe 30
Total packing : : :
PAM Grey sites itera s : 22 s125792 2145740..00: 2,727.64
Total handling:
and packing : :
gE Cis ec ceiver sv esey'e : 315,900 2195875.00. 4,6735..96
1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons weigh 44 pounds.
2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.
3/ At $1.25 per hour.
4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.

supplying packing material.

- 61 =

Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating

Cost
Total
: : Per
Annual : Daily : dumped
: crate
Dollars Dollars Dollars
LOO 536 24.04 0.016
2,241.56 33.46 2022
1,927.46 28:77 .019
1,301.56 19.43 2013
7,080.94 LO5.70 OWE
1,454.85 21.71 .O14
45225..29 63.06 042
888.02 [3325 009
7,647.22 d a rea lis .076
3% 292.350 48.54 033
17,467.64 260.69 large:
24,548.58 366.39 .245

culls, and

Table 22.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 200,000 crates of apples annually by
conveyor and packing manually from tubs

(2,000 crates a day for 100 working days)
: cone : a ahor:: Cost
tainers: : : : : Total
Operation : handled: Crew. Te- . fabor Equip- : : 7A Per
, size ,quired , i . ;
:annually: a oy oy ment :; Annual : Daily : dumped
AY ieee eee : : : : crate
: : Man-
: Number :Number: hours ;: Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : : Z :
Receiving....:200,000 : 4/ : 2,264 : 2,830.00 259.20 3,089.20 30.89 0.015
Bringing-up..:200,000 : 2 + 1;600 = 2,000.00 962.40 2,962.40 2902 .O15
Segregating ;: ‘
and storing :
packed : H :
Careons. o..nl 7700082 ot 2 : 1,600 :; 2,000.00 695.20 2,695.20 26.95 OMS
Loading-out..:187,000 : 4/ : 1,664 : 2,080.00 416.81 2,496.81 24.97 O12
Total : : : :
handling..... 3 : 2 75428: 438,910.00) 2533361" 212243561 T2243 055

Packing line:
Dumping man- : : ; 4
Ua lly. 3. ke. sx :200,000 : 3 : 2,400 2° 3,000.00 126.30 3,126.30 31°26 016

roller s : : :
tables. .4is oes :200,000 : 10 : 8,000 :10,000.00 463.02 10,463.02 104.63 3052

SuZing weer. IO 000 35° = : - : - 954.40 954.40 9.54 005
Packing man- : : i :
ually from ; : : :
EUDS Giencterene sess 217 73;000 3°13 210,400 :13,000.00 1,037.34 14,037.34 140.37 .070
Other packing: : : :
line oper- :; : : ;
ALTONS: Dai: {0D : 4,000 : 5,000.00 112.39 Del 2eoo Ne ih2 029
Total packing ; : : :
PANGS ois aieis «sxe : co $24,600: 23100000" 3,353.45 34,353.45 343.53 272

Total handling:
and packing : : ;
WTS rescuers avers : 4 231,928.239;910.00° 5568706. 45,597.06 455.96 alos

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons weigh 44 pounds.
2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.
3/ At $1.25 per hour.
4/ Workers were not assigned full time to this operation.
5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and
supplying packing material.

ay ye

and $0.227 for 200,000 crates. Equipment costs are 23 percent of the combined
labor and equipment costs for an annual volume of 50,000 crates, 19 percent for
a volume of 100,000 crates, and 13 percent for 200,000 crates. About three-
fourths of all the costs are in the packing line operations, and only one-
fourth in handling.

To increase the annual volume from 50,000 to 100,000 crates dumped the
only additional equipment needed is 3 packing stands. To increase from 100,000
to 200,000 crates annually only 3 more packing stands and 1 roller sorting
table need to be added.

Handling by Forklift Truck and Pallets and Packing
by Semiautomatic Tray Packers

This operation incorporated the most highly mechanized methods and equip-
ment that were available for handling and packing apples in the Appalachian
area. Integration of these advanced types of equipment into one complete
packinghouse operation permitted a significant reduction in the number of workers
required and reduced the dollar cost of handling and packing apples.

All apples were received, transported, and stored on pallets. For this
method of handling, apples were dumped mechanically, sorted on a float roll
table, sized by a dimension sizer, and packed by semiautomatic tray packers.
Detailed costs for such a combined method of handling and packing are given for
different volumes in tables 23, 24,-and 25.

Although this is a highly mechanized operation, labor is the predominant
cost. Labor costs were 67 percent of the combined labor and equipment cost
for a volume of 50,000 crates dumped annually, 69 percent for 100,000 crates,
and 78 percent for 200,000 crates. There was no difference in the combined
unit cost between volumes of 100,000 and 200,000 annually. The costs did shift
between individual operations, but the aggregate remained the same. The cost
to handle and pack the equivalent of one dumped crate was $0.214 at an annual
volume of 50,000, $0.166 at 100,000, and $0.165 at 200,000 crates annually.

At all volumes tested, handling by forklift truck and packing by semiautomatic
tray packers released enough workers to make this combination the least costly
of all those studied.

To raise the volume from 50,000 to 100,000 crates annually with this
method, it is necessary to add 42 pallets and one semiautomatic tray packer;
to increase to 200,000 crates annually, additional equipment is needed: 84
pallets, one forklift truck, and two semiautomatic tray packers.

Conclusions

In comparing costs for different methods at different volumes, these facts
stand out: (1) At $1.25 per hour, the cost of labor was in all cases much
greater than the cost of equipment, (2) the cost of packing was much greater
than the cost of handling, and (3) the economies of scale dropped off rapidly
Chis 2 26) .

Go

Table 23.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 50,000 crates of apples annually by
forklift truck and pallets and packing by semiautomatic tray packers

(1,000 crates a day for 50 working days)

Con- :; : Canad : Cost
tainers; Grea: nee : : : Total
Operation : handled: ‘ ; : Labor : Equip- : : : Per
:annually; %77© ; Soya o7/ ment : Annual : Daily : dumped
am, a : : crate
: : Man-
: Number :Number: hours ; Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : ; g 3
Receiving....: 50,000 : =e 5Ons 70.00 253.00 323'..00 6.45 0.006
Bringing-up..: 50,000 : =": 52s 65.00 237.00 302.00 6.04 .006
Segregating : : :
and storing :
packed ; : :
Cartons 232s... ee Ude250) 2 =e: 426" s 532.50 117.00 649,50 L299 were Oils
Loading-out..: 46,750 : =a 199°: 248.75 174.00 422.15 8.45 .008
Total : Hs :
handling...... : ; 4/ : 1333: 916.25 781,00 15,697.25 93329394083

Packing line:

Dumping me- :;: : 5 .

chanically..: 50,000 : aE 400 : 500.00 434.50 934.50 18.69 .019
Sorting from : ‘ : :

float roll : :

table. os...<% 50;,000.-% 6 : 2,400 3° 3,000.00 282536 °3:5828:.36 65.65 .066
Dimension z : :

Sa Zine syareue : 47,500 : =a - - 1007 45. 40 007.45 20.215 ..020
Packing with : : .

semiautomat-: ; d A

ic packers..: 44,250 : 3% 23.5b5-2007%2 1, 500/500 954.62 2,454.62 49.09 .049
Other packing: ; : :

line oper- : : :

ations: (5/2553 : 2 800 ;: 1,000.00 368.50 1,368.50 2h .37 = OZ

Total packing : 3
UTLO his, 6:04)12,6, 8 00 : 2 12) s.4 5800 %s6 5000200 3,047.43 9,047.43 180.95- 181:

Total handling :
and packing : - :
MEDIC eoratecepers eyetsis : $95 03972 0, 916525 3,828.43 10,744.68 214.88 .214

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons weigh 44 pounds.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.

3/ At $1.25 per hour.

4/ Fork truck operator divided his time among all 4 handling operations; another
man worked in last 2 operations for time he was needed, then returned to packing line.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and supplying
packing material.

ee

Table 24.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 100,000 crates of apples annually by
forklift truck and pallets and packing by semiautomatic tray packers

1,500 crates a day for 67 working days

Con- : ariAnoe A Cost
tainers: Choke a - : : Total
Operation : handled: : : : Labor : Equip- : : Per
:annually: pize : cared. ay > ment : Annual : Daily : dumped
2 i . 2/ : : : erate
: : ; Man-
: Number :Number: hours : Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : : ; :
Receiving....:100,000 : - 3 Li: 138575 404.36 543.11 8.10 0.005
Bringing-up..:100,000 : - 3 IEA Eee 138.475 404.36 543.11 8.10 .005
Segregating : : -
and storing :
packed : : : :
Carmtonsiciius <. : 88,500 : - 3 IDAs [43 af 312.702 1055.77 15.76 2010
Loading-out..: 93,500 : - 3 401 : 501.85 367.96 869.81 12.98 .009
Total 2 : : :
handling...... $ . fs 282 523. LO 1 488s 70 3,011.80 44.94 7029
Packing line:
Dumping me- ; : E :
chanically..:100,000 : ies p36": 670.00 496.46 1,166.46 17.41 012
Sorting from : : : :
float eroll. : : :
tables raja ce, fees OOl,000 7: 6° 3 3,216, 3 4,020.00 320375 ~4:,340.75 64.79 043
Dimension 5 K 4
SazZimg ew. oe 95000) - 3 - : - 1,140.15 Ls 140.05 L702 2011
Packing with : : : 2
semiautomat-:
ic tray E ; : E
packers..... : 88,500 : & 93. 2,144 : 2,680.00 1,224.70 3,904.70 58.28 7039
Other packing: : é
line oper- ; 3 :
ations 5/...: 4 : 2,144 : 2,680.00 572.30 3.252 430 48.54 +032
Total packing : : g
HEET Cfemowreveratre: stellen ers s) °5: 8,040 210,050200: 3,754.36 13,804.36 206.04 ES)
Total handling :
and packing ; : :
PENG eheh eset ers ¢ 8 295256) 211 573.. 10> 552437, 06>..16,816:, 116 250.98 . 166

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons 44 pounds.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.

3/ At $1.25 per hour.

4/ One full time and one part time worker in total handling operation.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, earton making, crating culls, and supplying
packing material.

- 65 -

Table 25.--Labor and equipment costs for handling 200,000 crates of apples annually by
forklift truck and pallets and packing by semiautomatic tray packers

(2,000 crates a day for 100 working days)

Con- : Cost
tainers: : ats : e E Total
Operation :;: handled: cui : ™&" 3 Labor : Equip- : : : Per
sannually: Brae quired, 3/ ment : Annual : Daily : dumped
Ly : : ai : : : : :- crate
: Man-

: Number :Number: hours ; Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars
Handling: : ; 5

Receiving....:200,000 : ns 22255 280.00 V30—26 Le OL6226 TOR /s 0:\005
Bringing-up..:200,000 : - 3 222.*% 280.00 736.26 15016526 LO eE7 .005
Segregating : 2 :
and storing :
packed : : 4 ;
Carteonsias <tr. 2177 ,000-: = 96d, LS F382 147 30 595.83 2,143.33 27.43 014
Loading-out..:187,000 : - 3 803° 15003.75 693.83 697.298 LO R97, . 008
Total : : ;
handling? .22..% : tf e23.965 oS 5725) 2.762216 6,473.43 64.74 032

Packing line:
Dumping me- : : :
chanically..:200,000 : i 800 : 1,000.00 545.14 1,545.14 15245 .008
Sorting from: : z :
float roll

table... sacs :200,000 : 10 : 8,000 :10,000.00 354.79 105354.79 103.55 .052
Dimension : : : 7 ,
SLZING «tosis oc :190,000 : - 3 = : = 15 299.93 1523383 12.34 .006
Packing with : : : :
semiautomat-:
ic tray : : 2 :
packers..... +177, 000.3 6 : 4,800 : 6,000.00 1,643.48 7,643.48 76.43 .038
Other packing: : i
line oper- : 4 4
ations: 5/45 ¢ : 5 3: 4,000 : 5,000.00 TiDao9 DM 2.39) Die 029
Total packing : ; :
ATC: ratecete(ensha ene ; : 22 :17,600 :22;000.00 4,549.63 26,549.63 265.49 =. 133
Total handling : : : $
and packing : 3
DTG: a renevers oes ised : £20,905 S20 ;/LLe2oe 7,511. 819 7299.,029..00 330.237, 65

1/ Crates weigh 41 pounds, and cartons 44 pounds.

2/ Includes wait time incidental to the method.

3/ At $1.25 per hour.

4/ One full time and one part time worker in total handling operation.

5/ Includes lidding, labeling, tallying, carton making, crating culls, and supplying
packing material.

= 766.=

LABOR AND EQUIPMENT COSTS FOR APPLE HANDLING
AND PACKING LINE OPERATIONS (APPALACHIAN AREA)

~*~
ANNUAL VOLUME DUMPED
p HANDLING
7 WA OPERATIONS
50,000
CRATES ea PACKING LINE

OPERATIONS

50,000
CRATES

ZZ

100,000 200,000 50,000
CRATES CRATES CRATES

DY

N
\

CENTS PER CRATE

0 :
CONVEYOR, MANUAL CLAMP TRUCKS, MANUAL. FORK TRUCK, SEMIAUTO-
PACKING FROM TUBS PACKING FROM BELT MATIC TRAY PACKING

NEG. 8263-60(11) AMS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Figure 26

Apple packing plants are still labor intensive, despite labor saving devices
which have been introduced in recent years. As handling and packing technology
improves, workers will become more productive, and the per bushel cost for
labor will decrease. Investment in equipment--even with a relatively high
initial cost--is a sound investment if it will increase productivity of the
labor force. Nor should high-cost equipment be eliminated from consideration
solely on the basis of small volumes handled and packed out. Rather, it--as
any equipment type--should be evaluated in terms of potential savings over
existing and alternative methods.

In attacking high packinghouse costs the logical place to begin is with
packing line operations. Here is where the majority of both labor and equipment
costs are incurred, and where the greatest savings can be made.

The amount of equipment needed for a packinghouse handling 50,000 crates
per year will nearly suffice for 100,000 crates. Thus, by adding only a small
increment of equipment, it is possible to increase a plant's volume from 50,000
to 100,000 crates per year and to reduce the unit cost of handling and packing
apples. At the same time labor can be more fully utilized at this higher volume.
For the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck method the saving which results from such
an increase in scale of operation is 3.4 cents per crate; for the conveyor
method it is 7.1 cents, and 4.8 cents for the forklift truck method.

Raising the volume from 100,000 to 200,000 crates annually results in a
small additional saving per crate: 1.0 cent for the clamp type 2-wheel handtruck

iG &

method, 1.8 cents for the conveyor method, and 0.1 cent for the forklift truck
method. This relationship suggests that the greatest economy is achieved where
the volumes received are in increments of 100,000 crates, for it is at such
volumes that maximum productivity is achieved with the labor and equipment in-
puts.

Beyond 100,000 crates annual volume there is very little economy of scale
where labor and equipment are the consideration. There are, however, other
costs which have not been considered in this analysis. These include the cost
of management, buildings, refrigeration, maintenance, and other "overhead"
costs. Greater economies than are shown for just labor and equipment may be
achieved at higher volumes when management, buildings, refrigeration, mainte-
mance, and other ''overhead'' costs are considered.

APPENDIX

Development of the Study

This study is an extension of a research program carried out in the
Pacific Northwest area. From that work have emerged new items of equipment
for handling and packing apples. Some are now found in the Appalachian area,
but their introduction has been slow. A piece of equipment, specifically
designed to meet the needs of one area, cannot always be installed directly
in another area with the same results. In transferring fruits of research from
one area of the country to another, it is necessary first to consider the
different conditions that exist. The purpose of this study was to determine
the criteria for economic use of this new equipment under conditions existing
in the Appalachian area. Among the items of equipment under consideration
were the following:

1. Float roll sorting table. By rotating apples in a forward direction
while independently controlling the speeds of rotation and translation,
a large number of apples can be sorted, and the quality of sorting
work improved. The addition of cull chutes and sorting lanes to the
table is a further improvement.

2. Return-flow belt system for accumulating fruit. With this systen,
apples pass continuously before the packer, and reaching into tubs
is eliminated.

3. Automatic box filler. This equipment requires virtually no attending;
yet it jumble-fills boxes to a predetermined weight and automatically
releases the full boxes and replaces them with empties.

4. High-piler. Manual stacking of boxes above 5 high is eliminated; 5
and 10 boxes at a time are placed in high storage position mechanically.

5. Semiautomatic tray packer. A product of private development, this
equipment fills all the cups of a tray simultaneously and releases
the full tray anto a carton,

6. Rotary dumper. This equipment dumps field crates at a constant, preset
rate with only a fraction of the labor required for manual dumping.

The first step in this study was a survey of selected packinghouses in the
Appalachian area. Its purpose was to collect information on types of equipment
in use, volumes packed, types of packages used, varieties of apples packed,
length of packing season, and other variables. From these data, eight packing-
houses were selected for further study. In these eight packinghouses were found
all the significant variables indicated in the survey.

How Labor and Equipment Requirements Were Determined

Time studies were made of operations as they occurred. It was possible to
determine from these studies the portion of each worker's time spent in
productive work. A worker's productive time was divided into the elements that
made up the operation he was performing, and time values were determined for
these elements. The labor requirements thus derived were adjusted to a set
of standardized conditions, including worker effort, transportation distances,
and number of packages handled. Thus, a complete analysis of the work require-
ments of each operation was possible, and could be compared with other operations
adjusted to the same bases. Unproductive time was also recorded, and the causes
of delays were noted.

Sorting operations were studied by work sampling. This technique permitted
all the sorters to be observed simultaneously, so that the interrelationship
of sorters, as well as the job of sorting, might be evaluated. Labor and equip-
ment costs are shown separately for the different handling and packing methods.
It should be noted that the combinations of methods presented are not in all
cases those which were actually observed. Some are synthesized by combining
work elements observed in widely separated packinghouses. Using this analytical
technique, the best performance for each method and each type of equipment
could be determined. Comparisons are based on this level of performance.

Labor requirements for each handling and packing operation are presented
as both man-hours and elapsed times. Equipment costs were computed using current
replacement cost, with straight line depreciation over the estimated life of
the equipment, and an interest rate of 5 percent on the average investment.
Equipment lifetime is based on hours of annual use, with consideration given to
obsolescence. The cost of labor is expressed in dollars by applying a rate of
$1.25 per hour to the man-hours for performing the operation. This rate is
meant to include all the costs of labor--wages, bonuses, unemployment insurance,
and similar costs.

Handling Operations
In an apple packing plant handling takes place during (1) receiving, (2)
bringing-up, (3) segregating, (4) putting packed cartons into storage, and (5)
loading-out.
Receiving is the unloading of full crates from the orchard, and their

transportation to and placement in storage, or their delivery to the dumper.

- 69 -

Bringing-up is the removal of field crates from storage and their trans-
portation to and placement in the vicinity of the dumper.

Segregating is the sorting out of packed containers according to the grade
and size of fruit they contain.

Putting packed cartons into storage is the delivery and placement of packed

apples in a cold storage room. Sometimes this operation and segregating are
performed simultaneously.

Loading-out is the removal of apples from storage or the packing line and
their delivery to and stowing in a road truck or trailer for shipment from the

packing plant.

Setup and cleanup are part of receiving. Setup is the preparation of truck
for unloading; it includes untying the load, removing endgate or V-boards, placing
bridge plate, and assembling the receiving equipment. Cleanup is the preparation
of a truck for its return to the orchard; it includes removing bridge plate, and
placing tailgate, V-boards, and tie ropes on truck bed.

The types of handling equipment in most common use in the Appalachian area
and included in this study, are the following:

1. Clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.
2. Gravity and powered conveyor.
3. Forklift truck and pallets.

Packing Line Operations

A packing line incorporates all those operations that contribute directly
toward converting field-run apples into a graded and packed product. There are
four such operations: (1) Dumping, (2) sorting, (3) sizing, and (4) packing.

Other operations associated with these are (1) lidding, (2) labeling, (3) tallying,
(4) carton making, and (5) crating culls. |

Dumping is the operation in which apples are emptied from field crates onto
a spreader belt either manually or mechanically.

Sorting is the separation of apples into grades according to quality groupings.
Sizing is the grouping of apples according to their greatest diameters along
the stem-calyx axis, and is done after sorting. Apple size may be determined by

measuring either the weight or dimension of the apple.

Packing is the placement of apples in a container. They may be placed in
any of several container types, by any of several methods.

Statistical Supplement

Equipment Cost Data |

The three tables immediately following (26, 27, and 28) present basic cost
data for all types of equipment described in this report. Each table is based

ey (Oe

Table 26.--Cost of equipment for handling and packing 50,000 bushels of apples a year in the
Appalachian area 1/

: ene ns Annual mmcaenin cost Annual operating cost
Initial’
: : Insurance: : Total
7 cost "Expected: "Interest: *Mainte-'
Equipment Lif 7 Depre=- rae :and taxes: Total - Power : > Total : annual
ee ae ire :ciation: + at 4 : : DY ag PENCE ¢ ¢ cost
unit percent = 3/
Z B . : ercenet 3 : aos

:Dollars: Years :Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars:Dollars Dollars Dollars: Dollars
2-wheel clamp : : 7 :
teeuClcarrte east te : iby 17 2.65 rb Ae 180, 5 ove - 3.50 3550 ¢ 9.07
Belt conveyor . : $ :
COM se 2 ON Tere 850 : L7 : 50.00 2125 34.00 105.25: «6.65 12.00 18.65 ; 123.90
Rorkii fhe truck.3045275 * 10 427.50 106.88 171.00 705.38: 12.15 9000 W02 15° 3° 807.53
Pallet € : : :

(GOW x AB) soe 3} 8 10 : .30 . 08 LZ +508 - .10 10 :4/ .60
Gravity ; : ¢ : :
conveyor (10! 3 F 7 :
SOCULOD))) severe one : 95: 18 4 5228 2.38 3.80 11.46: - 1.00 1.00 : 12.46
20' chain : : e : ;
conveyor...... : E70 12 > 14.17 4.25 6.80 255223 ° 6.10 5.00 le OU 36.92
High-piler..... : 800 : 12 2 66..10;7 20.00 32.00 118.67: 5.00 8.00 13,00) 3 2131...67
Destacker...... pez), DOOM: 12 3. 241 67 12290) 116:.00 430.17: 14.00 50.00 64.00 : 494.17
Drum dumper....: 1,690 : 12 : 140.83 42.25 67.60 250.682" 9.30 30.00 39.30 2 289.98
Manual stapler.: OD: 12 : 5.42 162 2.60 9.64: - 2.00 2.00 ¢ 11.64
Spreader belt..: a5 as 12 > 42.92 12.88 20.60 76.40: 9.30 12.50 21.:80° 98.20
Pneumatic ; F : : :
Sibaplierecictste! ts : 130 : 12 2 05.83 3.25 5.20 19.28: 10.00 5.00 15.00: 3 34.28
Eliminator..... : S30: 12 : 44.16 13325 21.20 785,612 9.30 6.50 15.80 94.41
Bottom : : 5 7 :
SIELECHEY:, sycrercness 500 : 112 = 41567 12.50 20.00 74.17: 10.00 20.00 30.00 : 104.17
Brushes... 2.0-\- : vals 12 = 09.58 17.88 28.60 106.06: 9.30 8.00 17.30 2%. 123.36

Sorting table: : H : :
Wooden roller: 1,000 : 12 783.33 25.00 40.00 148'2333 15.20 15.00 30.20:5 4178.53
Spiral type..: 1,245 : 2: OSes 5 31.12 49.80 184673 15...20 15,100 30:20 2 214.87
Bloat roll. .s.5 700M: 12 : 141.66 42.50 68.00 252,163, 15.20 15.00 30.20 3 , 282.36
Sizer: 4 : : : 4
Dimension....: 5,400 : 12 : 450.00 135.00 216.00 801.00: 18.25 90.00 108.25 : 909.25
Weight (with : c F -

20 stubs) s.c..2) 95.990 + 12 O29 <1, 248.75 398500 15475292: 18.25 90.00 108.25 :1,584.17

Ghracin Aston oii : OID aes i + 16.33 4.90 7.84 29.07: 14.00 4.00 18.00 : 47.07

IN actele te eaccocst eta ee enent 2,500 12 208.33 62.50 100.00 370.83 5.00 12.00 17.00 387.83
40' return-flow:

Ibetlitewrerer. sesters, or 3,340 iy 278.33 83',50: 133,60 495.43 8.10 40.00 48.10 543.53
Power shunt....: 225% 12 13.75, 5.62 9.00 33.312 2370 2.50 5.20 38.57
Packing stand..: 45: 17, : 2.65 Tedt2 1.80 D.o7s - - - : DDI,
Faceplate...... : shay 20 215 .08 el2 1358 - - - : nop
Filling shell..: Ss 20 : 5) . 08 aay) AS we - - - : 235
Semiautomatic : : : : :

tray packer...: 880 : 12 2 73.33 22.00 35.220 1306 935% - 6.50 6.50 % 137203
Bagging F : ; ; g

machine....... : 450.3 2 317/250 1a 25 18.00 66.75: 5.00 5.00 10.00 : 16375
Boxet ies ni. s plesOS0m: uly) : 90.00 27.00 43.20 160520. “5.00 13.00 18.00 : 178.20
Basket turner..: 250) 3 17 2 14S 71 6.25 10.00 30.96: - 3.00 3,00" 33.96

1/ Handling equipment based on 500 hours annual use; packing equipment 400 hours annual use.

2/ Based on 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

3/ Because maintenance programs vary so greatly among packing plants, these figures should be
considered only as approximations.

4/ Each pallet used 3.40 hours per year, excluding storage time.

Table 27.--Cost of equipment for handling and packing 100,000 bushels of apples a year in the
Appalachian area 1/

: hae ae : Annual ownership cost :_Annual operating cost :
Initial
: : : : Insurance: g : . : Total
Equipment ogi ry Ex peered: Depre , WMterest. ond taxes: : Power ees : annual

q per "= life ° ea Gt ae * Total * * nance * Total °

: ; : :ciation: s at 4 ; : 2/ : Sec Osit

unit percent a 3/
: : : : : percent : : alain : :

:Dollars: Years :Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars:Dollars Dollars Dollars: Dollars
2-wheel clamp : : : :

ELUCK S45 Gi05 cae: 3 3 45: 15 : 3200 L.12 1.80 Dio 2e - a} 0) GeoOn: 10.42
Belt conveyor : : : 2

CLG x20") os 850 : 15 DO KOT, Zi 2o 34.00 WL .92: 10.00 15.00 257100) 397 136592
Forklift trueck.; 4,275 : 8 S437 106.88 171.00 812.253) 16.25 sli5s00) 3133.25) se 94 ono 0,
Pallet : : : Z

CQO x4 Beat Baa 10 : 30 .08 wl2 5210/5 - TLO: 10 :4/ . 60
Gravity : : : & 3
conveyor (10' : $ : 8

SECELON) siege : Oia: 15 : 6.33 2.30 3.80 2s - 15)5) sions 13.86
20' chain : : 3 4 :
conveyor...... : 1/08 10 a Aw S00 4.25 6.80 28.05: 98.10 D.35 13.45 5 41.50
High-piler..... : 800 : 10 :7 802.00 20.00 32.00 13200255 771550 10.00 ieee Oled # VAL) A610)
Des tackers Js: 3% + 2,900.3 10 : 290.00 12.00" 116500 478.50: 18.65 80.00 98.165 7577.15
Basket turner..: 250° 2 LS Ss G67, Gis25 10.00 32792: - 4.00 4.00 : 36.92
Drum dumper....: 1,690 : 10 : 169.00 42.25 67.60 278.85: 12.40 35,00 47.40 3 326.25
Manual stapler.: 65 : 10 : 6.50 1.62 2.60 10.72% - 3.00 3.00 ; SSR 7/72
Spreader belt..: 55) 10 3° pil50 12.88 20.60 84.98: 12.40 15.00 27 40) tee 253 8
Pneumatic ; ; : s

staplers. toca. : 130: 10 : | 13.00 32D: 2:20 21.45: 14.00 7<00° ~ 24700): 42.45
Eliminator.....: 530 = 10 53.200 13.825 2120 87.45: 12.40 8.00 20.40%: 107/385
Bottom B ; ‘ : 2

Stitcher. .40.3% 500 : 10 : 50.00 2600 20.00 82.50: 14.00 25.00 3920025 a 21250
Brusher.isaewsso8 : LES 2 10 Caeeny fb) 6) 17.88 28.60 T7982 12.40 10.00 22.40 : 140.38

Sorting table: : : : ;
Wooden roller: 1,000 : 10 : 100.00 25.00 40.00 165.00; 20:25 20/500); “4022562 205525

Spiral type..* 15245) + 10 2 124.50 31 12 49.80 205.42: 20.625 20/5000 = 2405257) 245.507,
Float roll...: 1,700 : 10 &) 417000 42.50 68.00 280.50: 20.25 20.00° 40.253" 320.75
Sizer: : ; : ; 3
Dimension....: 5,400 : 10 : 540.00 135.00 216.00 891.00: 24.30 110700 134.30) 215.025.3090
Weight (with : : :
20 €ubs)is <0% 95950 3% 10 * 995.00 248.75 398.00 1,641.75: 24.30 110.00 134.30 21,776.05
Chadn.. «04 eane8 195s 10 2 19:50 4.88 7.80 32.18: 18.65 5.00 23709: 55.83
40' return- flow: : : : :
bE Ltisas ys anstaw a : 3,340 : 10 : 334.00 83.50 133.60 551.10: 10:80 50.00 60.80 : 611.90
Power shunt....: 225° 3 10 2 922.50 5.62 9.00 37.12: 3:60 3.40 HaA0Om: 44.12
Nadler ices ss faan 22, 200M: 10 250200 62.50 100.00 412.50: 10.00 15.00 2520074437550
Packing stand..: 45% 15 : 3.00 1.12 1.80 55923 - - - : DIZ:
Filling shell..: Sus 15 : «20 . 08 12 .40: - - - : -40
Semiautomatic : : 7 ;
tray packer...: 880 : 10 : 88.00 22.00 35.20 145.20: - 8.00 8,00 %--153).20
Faceplate......: SyEn > : 20 .08 wale: .40: - - - : -40
Box: £ilveriacess? L080" s 10 : 108.00 27.00' 43320 178.20: 6.65 16.65 23.30) = -201550
Bagging 3 : B : :
machine.......: 450 : 10 > 45.00 L125 18.00 74.25: 10.00 8.00 18.00 : 92525

1/ Handling equipment based on 625 hours annual use; packing equipment 536 hours annual use.

2/ Based on 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

3/ Because maintenance programs vary so greatly among packing plants, these figures should be
considered only as approximations.

4/ Each pallet used 3.40 hours per year excluding storage time.

Table 28.--Cost of equipment for handling and packing 200,000 bushels of apples a year in the
Appalachian area 1/

sont ownership cost Annual Spaeth: cost
* Initial’
: t 'R ted: ances : Insurance: M otal
Equipment ae A ae 2 Depre=': ae :and taxes: Total ° Power : ainte- atais = annual
Se pane ooo ciation: : at 4 : : 2) pay hence s cost
unit percent
5 : : g : percent

:Dollars: Years :Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars:Dollars Dollars Dollars: Dollars

2-wheel clamp : : ; : :
CEG ah enero si cot es 4 45: 12 : SVAN fs) a2 1.80 6.67: = 5.00 DOO: 4 11.67
Belt conveyor : : $ :
GiGuex 200) a. : 850 : 12 = 70583 21.25 34.00 126.08; 13530 17.00 3053 0" te 156.96:
Forklift trucks:" 4275: 6 : 712.50 106.88 171.00 990.38: 24.30 130.00 154.30 :1,144.68
Pallet : H Q ; :

(HOM ext COW ace Burs 10 -30 .08 lee. ee 0) - .10 10 :4/ . 60
Gravity H : $ ;:

conveyor (10' : : : : :

SEC CAN) ta raccene : oes 13: ; 7.31 2238 3.80 13349) - 1.50 1502% 14.99
20' chain : c 5 : :
CONVEY ORs ca : E70": 9 18.88 4.25 6.80 29.933 12.20 3230 17.70°% 47.63
Hails hiapd Vet. sens 2 800 : 9 : 88.89 20.00 32700 140.89: 10.00 12:..00°. ~.22,00 3 -162;:89
Desitacker. cect) 2900: ) 2 322.22 72.50 116.00 510.72: 28.00 90.00 118.00: 628.72
Drum dumper....: 1,690 : 9 2187277 G2225 67.60 297.62: 18.60 40.00 58.60 : 356.22
Spreader belt..: oy baie 9 DW ie22 12.88 20.60 90.70: 18.60 7200: ~35.604%. 126530
Pldmimator. <1. 53003 9 58.89 13525 21620 93.34; 18.60 9.00 27.60 : 120.94
EUS ei eyeyjcteietene s Talay 9 79.44 17.88 28.60 125:..92% 18.60 11.00 29.60 3 155.52

Sorting table: : : H
Wooden roller: 1,000 : 9 ica Bills kak 25.00 40.00 176.112. 30.40 25.00 SostOo i 2SLeoL
Spiral type..: 1,245 : 9 2 138..33 oi el 72 49.80 219.25: 30.40 25.00 55.40 2° 274.65
Ploat roliene: 15.7003 9 : 188.89 42.50 68.00 299.39; 30.40 25.00 59640. 354679

Sizer: g : : : :

Dimension... <2 3;400 9 : 600.00 135.00 216.00 951, 00% 36.50: 120.00 156.50° 15107250

Weight (with : 5 : :

ZORtUDS cei, Ooo DOr: 9 15105.55' (248.75. ~-398.00 — 1.752.302 36:50° 120.00 156.50 = 1,908.80
Chains is aieke.essc 195s: 9 2° 21567 4.88 7.80 34.35: 28.00 6.00 34.00 : 68; 35
40' return- flow : i: : Z
Dee ieretedersisc tette 35 O4 Ons 9 ; S71210' 83.50 1:33',.60 588.20: 16:20: 55.00 71220: 659.40
Power shunt....: 2255: 9 £257.00 5.62 9.00 39.02%. 5.40 4.00 9°40": 49.02
Packing stand..: 45 3 irs} : 3.46 Pe L2 1.80 6.38: - - - : 6.38
Semiautomatic ;: . : H
tray packer...: 880 : 9 BEG TAS: 22.00 35.520 154.98: - 9.00 9.00 3 263:.98
BOxmEw er mea. sale 080) * 9 120-500) 27200 43.20 190.20: 10.00 18.00. 28.00 ; 218.20
Bagging : 2 : : i
machine... 2.4 : 450%: 9 3 50200 E25 18.00 79.252 10.00 10.00 20.00 : 997:25
Filling shell..: Bee ils} H 223 . 08 al2 .43: - - - : 43
Faceplate...... ‘ Sh 13 : seo) 08 si2 Si - - - : 43
Basket turner..: 2508: 13 3, 19)..23 6.25 10.00 35.48: ~ 5.00 p00 40.48
Manual stapler.: ODm: 9 & Thefa72 10 2) 2.60 11.44: - 4.00 4.00 : 15.44
Pneumatic : : : ; : :
Staplers. .c06 : iNs{oyae 9 : 14.44 32,29) 2.20 22:89: 20.00 8.00 28.00: 50.89
Bottom i H : :
stitcher. 2)... : 500 : 9 DIDO 12.50 20.00 88.06: 20.00 30.00 50.00 : 138.06
Nailers accistele eis 7 2p D008. 9 $277.78 62.50 100.00 440.28: 10.00 17.00 27200: 2 2467..28

1/ Handling equipment based on 900 hours annual use; packing equipment 800 hours annual use.

2/ Based on 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour,

3/ Because maintenance programs vary so greatly among packing plants, these figures should be
considered only as approximations.

4/ Each pallet used 3.40 hours per year excluding storage time.

on a different annual volume. These costs are representative for the Appalachian
area. However, there cculd be considerable variation in individual cases. Any
packer can substitute his own cost figures for those given and carry out an
analysis as it would pertain to his own plant.

Handling Data

Labor data for each handling operation are given in tables 29 through 44,
In some, labor and equipment costs are also shown. Using these data, a packer
can determine where--within a handling operation--the labor requirements are
greatest, and where they are the least. He can also use these data in tracing
down the causes of delays and determining the reasons for wait time.

Labor Requirements for Handling and Packing Operations

Tables 45 through 52 and figure 27 give the detailed labor requirements of
the handling and packing operations.

Base time is that amount of labor which would be required to perform an
element if the worker doing it were trained in his job, and not affected by
fatigue. In practice, workers do become slower as they become tired. Also, in
the course of a day's work they spend some time away from their work station for
personal reasons. In consideration of this, an allowance is added to the base
time. Base time plus the allowance gives productive time, which is the amount of
labor that can reasonably be expected to be expended in performing an element of
work, Productive time is used in establishing labor requirements for complete
operations.

LABOR REQUIRED TO TRANSPORT 1,000 CONTAINERS
BY EQUIPMENT TYPE

Pick Up and Set Down Not Included

MAN-HOURS

80 120
DISTANCE (FEET)

U. S| DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NEG. 8264-60(11) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

Figure 27
Slee

Table 29.--Labor required by 3- and 4-man crews to receive 1,000 field crates
of apples using clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks

3-man crew receiving : 4-man crew receiving
apples and moving them : apples and placing them

Time item : directly to dumper : in storage
: : Labor re- : : Labor re-
Workers iaieed 1/ : Workers Saiecd 2/
Number Man-hours Number Man-hours
Productive labor:
SQUUD ch ore reins. ee shige spew tees 1 0207 1 0.07
Urata Gees eee chit c Sctevesccstene oie 3 OL 3 J9il
PEG ANS DOW oe evens os. 609 wok soeneiece 4 5 Zea 3 Zot
Sitea Cle Wemtetoyerces scersieuercrereerereiiete 3 oe. 3 .48
High-pile mechanically....: - - 1 1
Glegnupiss. .o4 wee co aw eee: ie .05 1 203
Total productive labor...<... : 3.86 ome yt
Unproductive labor:
Wait for setup and :
WCaAnU ps 54.255 66s e saree 6 : Z . 24 3 .36
TotealmelabOmiacrsioisiee sie co eielerene : 3 4.10 4 5.67
: Hours Hours
PL apSed Stime s< soia ale ae ave assed : 1 1.42

1/ One man sets up while others wait; then 3 men pick up stacks of crates,
transport them to dumper, and deposit crates in position. On completion one
man cleans up while others wait.

2/ One man sets up while others wait; then 3 men pick up stacks of crates,
transport them to storage, and deposit crates in position; one man high-piles
alternate stacks with high-piler. On completion one man cleans up while others
wait.

as ise

Table 30.--Labor and equipment costs for receiving and placing in storage 1,000
field crates of apples by use of clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks and mechanical
high-piler--annual volume 50,000 crates

Time item : Labor 1/ Equipment Total

Dollars): =: Dollars d Dollars

Productive labor: : : :
Setup and ¢ Leanup. sms. saave siemens cee eee Oe15 210.03 : O1S
Unload, transport 100 feet, and : :
deposit ilOadi.<ays% ee os 2 ee sect oe eer : 4.88 “3 3/7 ...07 : 4.95
High-pile-top 5 €rates.u. swe ss < esses : 1.61 : 4/ .34 : 1.95
BOCA ici d claim cues £40 Maen een ee egiae wi aes 6.64 : -44 : 7.08
Unproductive labor: :
3 men wait during setup and cleanup.: .45 : - : 45
POEL & 6ccdnaite dia diya aisoateatons Pals wai oeie ale oe 7.09 : 44 : Leo5

1/ Based on an assumed labor cost of $1.25 per hour.

2/ Three clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks at $0.018 each per hour, and 1 high-
piler at $0.263 per hour.

3/ Three clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks at $0.018 each per hour.

4/ One high-piler at $0.263 per hour.

hy ee

Table 31.--Labor required by 6-man crew, using conveyors, clamp type 2-wheel
handtrucks, and a high-piler, to receive and stack 1,000 field crates of
apples 1/

Time item i Labor

Man-hours
Productive labor: :
BME UiN) Sea eye let ree eters caves etessirele a. <e e siesel laces ai aia ots : 0.09
Unload truck: :
Manually unload crate to conveyor

BEMWOLKTACE. «ais sce es 6 cee aie cele s Mela oS, 8 4 1.50
Position short conveyor section in -
rucio, Cewice sper st rich) a sue tus on krs) eon : .06
Ge A REE OAC oom a oa eas cena a eee aye sc) Sree wisi ease : 6
Build 5-high stacks along conveyor......: 1.98
Transport with clamp type 2-wheel :
hand truck s
Pick-up S-crate Poadsics. dusicsccieiecs bie aiees : 91
Transport 5-crate loads 20 feet.......: ‘62
Deposit S-crate Loads xii uiss eon oes be eds : 48
Gta le VErans DOL. eis wrete.s-dGle-4. ce ate cuales os ol : 2.01
High-pile top 5 crates with high-piler..: Tee?
CAM Seamer ciate, cele, oelG hie, Siaidrecelo She aye 6. cieys) 9 : a O7,
Lotal productive, [Labor .s 06.40 sea tee hia : 7.00
Unproductive labor:
DJamem walt while I man sets: up. \c...0.063 45
2 tLansporters walt on unloader. si.c.4.<ss : sree |
2 stack builders wait on unloader....... : 1.14
Ly high-piler wait on tunloader. 064 se ss0%% : 27
5 men wait while 1 man cleans up........ : soo
Totals unpeodueeive Times. asccus ves se Ses ee 4
SEC tet cua es Gta aliens ateieua s1eieitacere ee ia! & wale eel ale Sale fw/S as 4 10.32
: Hours
1D EY Ok 2G I 57 - ee ar aa : Led2

1/ Crew organization: One man sets up while 5 men wait; then one man picks
up crates and sets them down on conveyor. Twice per truckload he positions
short conveyor section. In the storage room two men build stacks along conveyor,
two men pick up stacks, transport them to storage point, and deposit stacks,
and one man high-piles alternate stacks. On completion one man cleans up while
five men wait.

ai ae

Table 32.--Labor and equipment costs for receiving and placing in storage 1,000
field crates of apples using conveyors, clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks, and a
high-piler--annual volume 50,000 crates

Time item : rae : Equipment : Total

: Dollars : Dollars : Dollars

Setup) and: sc) Canps..4heG eek waeu eas or oenle: 0.20 : 0.26 : 0.46

UM UGAC EPUCK ¢e.0 25 os sass Ge ane oe eee NOH: To NO 7 9 OP : 3.89

Buildestack at comveyors ie ica. doccee eee ss 2.48 : 3/ .04 : ZG52
Pick up, transport, and deposit : :

DaCEAte LOddGs «cmc cae Ouine ees eis eee eee : Zook Gwe”. of. 04 : 2723
High-pile top 5 crates : : :

WLEDARECDSPLLEr. sai acer seni eho eae ees : 1.61 : 4/ .34 ; $295

Waele EA ore, aaycca Geae alaro ore eo teew eles a store eaanars 2352 : 639 : 2.74

TROT ails ecdn:g te wlaiend ctard & Gils 6 wictan ohare Goes Wale alesse pas ‘ 11.10 : 5201 2 14.11

1/ Based on an assumed labor cost of $1.25 per hour.

2/ 10-foot gravity conveyor section at $0.024 per hour; 100-foot powered
conveyor at $1.24 per hour.

3/ Two clamp type 2-wheel handtrucks at $0.018 each per hour.

4/ One high-piler at $0.263 per hour.

ty fe

Table 33.--Labor required to receive 1,000 field crates of apples by use of
forklift truck and pallets when crates are palletized before and after
arrival at packing plant

Crates palletized : Crates palletized

: before arrival at : after arrival at
Time item : packing plant 1/ : packing plant 2/
Workers’ Labor ‘Workers : Labor
: Number Man-hours : Number Man-hours
Productive labor: : ~
SUD tare. ieee tones) vid tina a/ 4 wi apstehs ees 06 ‘ 0.08 <: 1 0.08
Unload truck: é 2

Position empty pallet.........: : 1 «26

POads PAUL os vo,a te no 506 asin Aloe : : 2 2.50

Ota VoUnLOads sae, < as acpi cree «30s : 2206
Transport: i :

Pick up 24-crate pallet loads.: eno : 5

Move TOO feet 2. ahs ac oo sla ceases : 64 : 64

Deposit: LOad ces <a eicrieies a a 4's os : me : Pye)

Motal. EVANS POE Es... a «sete caste ss : .98 ; 1 98
HAMID eG Satna geass ee bee : OS a: 1 205
TOtal wproduceive: labor cee. << 6c : d: ie ee 3287

Unproductive labor: :
2 men wait while 1 man sets up..: : .16
1 man waits while 1 man : :
positions empty pallet......0.. : : 220
Transporter waits while 2 men : :
Wet O ad VE CUCK g savevehe scope ee soe ees ees 8 : : Pps)
2 men wait while 1 man cleans
LU ie oh cot abacabs vavuateehen sy atare cle Wier Ves eler eit mee)
Total ‘unproductive labor.......:.% TeOd
SEIN A actor a tePatehah ates aPecavevehe ie ialamleieecs'e ar eowse7s3 L ida. 3 4.94
: Hours : Hours
PeWApS eC CAMs se versicls sw veiw vee asavetels « sue : A pe a : 1.65

1/ Crew organization: 1 man sets up, then removes loaded pallets to storage.
On completion same man cleans up. With l-man crew there is no wait time.

2/ Crew organization: 1 man sets up while 2 men wait; then 1 man positions
empty pallet which 2 men load with 24 crates. Transporter removes loaded
pallet to storage. On completion 1 man cleans up while 2 men wait.

Table 34,.--Labor and equipment costs for receiving 1,000 field crates of apples by use of forklift
truck and pallets when crates are palletized before and after arrival at packing plant--annual
volume 50,000 crates

Crates palletized before : Crates palletized after
mined cen _SeEival at packing plant arrival at packing plant
i ‘Equipment * Total ° We *Equipment’ Total
: Dollars Dollars Dollars : Dollars Dollars Dollars
WO AG TiS cyonsra eiete aneptas olor eieveapecereisrore tye : - - - ope oe 4D - -
MEANS POE LNG <ccre a ssrerensy ore steperesarsy enoyessts-ets ote 123 - - g 1.23 - -
Setup and cleanupis cic asics oe veearere 6 : 16 - - : . 16 - -
IW elsis terenanere royans osioue) oy e¥ereahereierecstovere ta sieiayonscerels - - - 1.34 - -
MO Calle ccvevensicese ere ce ce ake alte iguiasloneer-e: Oh sietehe en diaveke : 1.639 2/5.06 6455: 6.185 £37/7..52 13570

1/ Based on an assumed labor cost of $1.25 per hour.

2/ One forklift truck used 1,11 hours at $1.62 per hour; 42 pallets used 1.11 hours at $0.07
per pallet per hour.

3/ One forklift truck used 1.65 hours at $1.62 per hour; 42 pallets used 1.65 hours at $0.07
per pallet per hour.

Table 35.--Labor required to bring-up 1,000 field crates of apples by use of clamp type 2-wheel
handtrucks--destacking top 5 crates done manually and by mechanical destacker

Time-deen Destacking performed : Destacking performed
manually 1/ : mechanically 2/
Man-hours : Man-hours
Productive labor: : f
Break out top 500 CratéSi.iiccisivscsswace? Die A) : 0.89
Transport apples to the area of : :
the dumper: - 4
Pick “up D=crate VOAadS sisi cs ocetcvsw cusuevs.eo sverats 291 : «91
Transport, LOO LSC. crc c, ssavenes01 a) cua ioieyorere,eiele 2.01 : 2.51
Set ‘down. Loadsins occ. sos ssc lets wee sistsre eters : meee) : pee
Lotad. CLANS POL tis cso « o.aceysojeseressve eilsreie evoke ee : SD : 3.015
Total. productive: Labor. < a4. stew sii ess Ga ou ces : 6.04 : 4.64
Unproductive labor: 3/
Breakout man waits for dumper............ $ Dell
Transporter waits for dumper.............. 3 4.25 : 3.36
Total. unproductive Labor... sivc.de cies tj 00 00 : 9.96 : 3.36
PLO a fevayeterec suse tevelsistessverersysicieretels stelerats eters ctalarsiryels 16.00 8.00
Hours : Hours
BL aApSed =ti1Me sr sieve: crore siwiais ie iale cera oy eneheleleuelesevaterers : 8.00 4 8.00

1/ Crew organization: 1 man removes top 5 crates from 10-high stack; he hands crates to
second transporter who builds 5-high stack on floor, then transports load to area of dumper and
deposits it.

2/ Crew organization: 1 man performs all bring-up elements. He destacks top 5 crates of
10-crate stack, then transports them to area of dumper and deposits load.

3/ Rate of the bring-up operation is set by the dumping rate of 1,000 crates per 8-hour day.

Table 36.--Labor and equipment costs for bringing-up 1,000 field crates of apples by
clamp type 2-wheel handtruck --destacking top 5 crates done manually and by a
mechanicaly destacker--annual volume 50,000 crates dumped

Des tacking : Des tacking
THe ceen : performed manually :_ performed mechanically

Labor ‘Equipment: Total ; Labor * Equipment: Total

:Dollars Dollars Dollars:Dollars Dollars Dollars

Productive time:

Break out top 500 crates......... : 2.86 - - eg ole lel - -
Transport apples 100 feet : :
EOmacea Of GUMPET. csc ccass ccs oo xs : 4.69 - - >: 4.69 - -
Unproductive time: :
Break-out man waits for dumper...: 7.14 - - +) 4.20 - -
Transporter waits for dumper.....: 5.31 - - : - - -
pioitecilterereter tees neleveraicucusierensuencuek evs ckencreracerers > 20,00. 1/0.14 20.14 2-10.00 2/2.26 12.26

1/ One clamp type 2-wheel handtruck 8 hours at $0.018 per hour.
2/ One high-piler 8 hours at $0.263 per hour, and one clamp type 2-wheel handtruck
8 hours at $0.018 per hour.

Table 37.--Labor required for 2-man crew to bring up 1,000 field crates of apples by
use of gravity and powered conveyors

Time item ; Crates handled : Labor 1/

Number : Man-hours
Productive labor: e
Break out crates and place on roller : :
CONVEY, Oljercvetesenotederer sistas verseele stensioveherciase. cperstelotensvevelel sie. s 600 : 0.67

Transfer icrates. to belt conveyors. <is, «ete os sss euss : 600 : .67
Move 4-high stacks 12 feet by handtruck :

EOMD CHER CONVEY OT vere tlelcrelcpeletels eels cic cholele: chores orsyerese ous 400 : «ot
Place boxes from 4-high stacks on : :

DD CEC ONViCY. Olney c arene telsse folcdeloneyelsterele elec erets exe eoalel siescveus 400 : Als:

LOA EOGUCELVEUWLADOT ssc ete se. 2 x oxevovene eo osls ote ei sks Susleres : 2.49

Unproductive time:

Break-out man waits for dumper..........c0cee0: : = 6.76
Uransiter man waits: Lor dumper... sec ee sleds vee s : 7 6.75
MO taleunpLOdUcELV.e ut LMe!s cereiscrerslereisie «cic s/s. eusvele severe : 1352
OMe all ars repre te (sae? sh oj svi e, eveneie ie ve. saps: ei% (el ate 4:0) 91.0) Mey cnet charatenens : : 16.00

1/ Crew organization: 1 man destacks top 6 crates of 10-crate stacks and sets them
down on gravity conveyor laid across crates of 4th layer; 2d worker removes crates
from end of gravity conveyor and transfers them to powered conveyor which supplies
dumper. Bring-up rate determined by dumping rate of 1,000 crates per 8-hour day.

eh a

Table 38.--Labor and equipment costs for bringing up 1,000 crates of apples by
use of combination gravity and powered conveyors

Time item Labor : Equipment Total

Dollars : Dollars : Dollars
Productive time: E :
Break out crates and place on

Sravi by CONVEYOR a wurcecs@ ie were wile ete ene: 0.84 : = -
Transfer crates to belt conveyor..... : 75 4 - : =
Move stacks by handtruck to :

DELL CONVEYOR 43 V whee calee aoe oes sane : etl : - : -
Place boxes on belt \conveyor,.......6 +s Pay cih ; - : -

Unproductive time:
Break-out man waits for dumper.......: 8.45 : - : -
Transfer man waits for dumper........ : 8.44 : - : -
TOE AW 5 slegitev exe wane: oe aw este a eiale iets a ites ats oe : 20.00 2-8 /10243 : S0f415

1/ One 10-foot gravity conveyor at $0.024 per hour, one clamp type 2-wheel
handtruck at $0.018 per hour, and 100 feet of powered belt conveyor at $1.24
per hour, used 8 hours each.

Table 39.--Labor required for 1 worker to bring up 1,000 field crates of apples
by use of a forklift truck and pallets 1/

F . : 24 crates 2 30 crates
Time item
: per pallet 2 per pallet
; Man-hours : Man-hours
Productive labor: : :
Pick up pallet loads in storage......: 0.20 : OceS
Pransport).loads. 100 Peete. ys os Sinise : 65 : 24
Set down loads : alee) : ils
Total productive: Labor ses dnseswee ane een : 1.04 : - 84
Unprocuctive’ time. .i.6 cots edieen cw ese e ee - =
SG Ca lg gases: dow wi eae SNe Vee Cale : 1.04 : 84

1/ 1 man performs bring-up operation--breaking out crates, transporting
them to dumper, and setting pallet loads down near dumper.

mR Oa

Table 40.--Labor and equipment costs for bringing up 1,000 crates of apples by
use of forklift truck and pallets

24 crates : 30 crates
Time item oe eeeDeue pallet es er pallet

Labor * Equipment’ Total : Labor * Equipment’ Total

:Dollars Dollars Dollars:Dollars Dollars Dollars

Pick up pallet loads : :

aa WET] (ob af 5-2 Nae ee ee aa ee ee OG 25 - - Ohi - -
Transport loads 100 feet...: 81 - - : eto - -
Setrdawr Loads. o.0204 occu : 24 - - : - 18 - -
PRG Alacer a) os aig a tuerute afore ists Sue's > 1.30 1/4.74 6.04 : 1.12 2/3.30 4.42

1/ 42 pallets used 1.04 hours at $0.07 per hour, and 1 forklift used 1.04
hours at $1.62 per hour.

2/ 33 pallets used 0.84 hour at $0.07 per hour, and 1 forklift truck used
0.84 hour at $1.62 per hour.

Table 41.--Labor required to put 1,000 cartons of apples into storage by use of
3 different types of equipment at a packing rate of 885 cartons per day

Clamp type 2-wheel : Powered conveyor Forklift truck

Time item handtruck and ; and manual * and pallets
i high-piler 1/ ° high-piling 2/ ° By

Man-hours : Man-hours : Man-hours

Productive labor: : : :
BULIG 6 baCKSt = dad's : - 1598: 2 - - $ - 2,05
Transport: : 3
Pick up loads. <a.t U.92 - : - - “OEd2 -
Transport 100 : ; :
ECCE 4 hx yee a essere e 2251 - : - - : 54 -
Deposit loads....: 48 - : - - : 15 -
Total transport..: 36903 - - : sol
High-pile : : :
mechanically...... : = belo s - - ; = =
Stack all cartons : 4 :

Manually... hie seus's : - - : - 1.9003 - =
Total productive : : :

LaDOR se uNisteek woucoe: Jolin 7.90% 3.66

Unproductive time:
Workers wait for

cartons from : : :
packing line...... : - 10.77 2 - 10.04 : - 5297
MO tale ree ie etenere revel eieererete)s 17.94 : 17.94 9.63
: Hours : Hours : Hours
Elapsed time......... : eee | : O97 : 3.97

1/ One man segregates cartons into stacks, 2d worker picks up cartons,
transports them to storage, either sets the bottom 5 cartons in storage position
or top 5 cartons in front of stack they are to rest on, and returns for another
load; he also high-piles alternate stacks with high-piler.

2/ Two men remove cartons from powered conveyor, carry them to storage
position, and manually place them in storage position. For high-piled cartons,
one worker hands cartons up to 2d worker who places them in storage.

3/ One worker picks up pallet loads, transports them to storage, and sets
pallets in storage position; worker then returns for another pallet load, or
goes to other work so that he does not wait for cartons from packing line.
Second worker is assigned full time to this operation; he builds pallet loads
30 cartons per pallet.

- 84 -

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OWT} VATIONpoOIg

Wet ewty

quaresyjIp € Jo osn Aq aB8erojs oRUT satdde Jo suoj,zed QQO‘ST 3nd 07 sjsoo Jusewdtnbe pue Aoqey--"7y eTqe]L

'
Ta)
fe)

Table 43.--Labor required to load 1,000 cartons of apples when delivered to a
trailer by 3 different types of equipment

Time item Clamp type 2-wheel ; Powered conveyor : Forklift truck

; handtruck 1/ c 2/ ; and pallets 3/
s Man-hours : Man-hours : Man-hours
Productive labor: : 4 :
DEG LACK est Vite oe : - Lok = Ae Sy 5 - -
Transport: : : 5
Pick up loads...: ~0.91 - : - rome oy be) -
Transport 150 : : :

ELECE. Ass cheesiest 32/69 - : - g 59 -
Deposit loads..: -48 - : - : ay -
Total : : :

transport. «ss: 5208 : - : 0.89
Stow cartons : :

manually..... ae = ee BoD : 3.09
Total produc- : : :

tive. (Labor =<4..2? - 7.40 + 7.90 - ioe

Unproductive time: ;
Destacker waits :
on transporters.: c vio ¢ - : - -
Destackers wait
on stowers...... : - = : 42 ; - ae
TOMO sla aca hee = eater a Looe ks O32 : A222
: Hours 2 Hours 5 Hours
Elapsed ‘time.«se.0.¢ Org : 1.66 : BoD

1/ One man removes high-piled cartons from storage and hands to transporter.

Transporter picks up stack (or one from storage), transports it to trailer,
and deposits it to be put in place by the loader.
2/ Two workers remove cartons from storage and place on feeder conveyor.
Third worker transfers cartons to belt conveyor, and 2 workers stow cartons.
3/ One worker performs destacking and transport, and second worker stows
cartons in trailer, 30 cartons per pallet.

2286.

*anoy ted 79°TS$

qe anoy 76°09 pesn yont AFTTAIOF T snqtd ‘anoy aad /0’*o$ 3e ANoY 46°C pasn sjaTTed +E sapntouy /€
*anoy zed 7Q°O$ 328 sanoy 99°T

pesn z0faAu0d ARTAPIZ JOOF-OQT sntd anoy azad 9g°T§ 3e AOAB9AUOD YTeq patemod Jo Jaaz OCT sepntouy /Z
*anoy ted gTo’o$s 3e Anoy

66°O pesn syonajzpuey Teeym-7 ed4Q dwey[o xts pue anoy tad ¢97°O$ Je AaTTd-y38tTYy T Jo 3s0d sepntouy /T

00°6 CL S/O 8a FCG Zi C/Z4 “OF OL = 1286 GOO) ae BVO us 2 tk en ee ee eo
= = é : s - ralef : - - Z3° cf ea he ous COAT Onpolau()
= = OL’ $ =a a OL’ s = = 61I°I Ppt laa te aa cea it eee St ella XO Sa Vy
ia _ ZI 1 : 2 = ay : rad a Go*9 geeseseccccocees enyodsuriy
_ _ : : 2 e lo 3 u a TTT oittcctctseesssses* 390e4 83g
: : : s1O0qeT xATIONporg

SI@TTOd SAeTTOq SAeTTOG:SAeT Tog SIeT{[oq sie {Toq:sze,TToq SaxeTToq sAzeT,{oq:

TeIOL *yuemdtnbg loqe'y ;

Teo] ‘yuewdtnbg * ioqey TeqOL *yuewdtnbg‘ zoqey

Wet owty

sje [Ted pue
yonsty AFFLALOT

yon1rq puey

: 1oA9au09 : Teeyum-z odd4Q dweqg

AyyTenuue szoeutequos Qc/‘gry uo paseq
‘spoyjow quetesyitp ¢ Aq satdde Jo szauteqUOd QQQST 3NO BuUTpeOT AOF sjsod juowdtnbs pue AoqeT--‘Hh eTqQe]L

hat: ae

Table 45.--Labor required for a crew of 9 workers to manually face and fill 1,000
bushel baskets of apples 1/

Time item ; Workers | Labor required

: Number Man-hours
Productive labor:
Facing: : :
Position empty faceplate...: = 4 i -
Pit: $aceplarecsk cue Sedan oe : - : 40.60 -
Remove full faceplate......: - Le -

otal Lae Tie carers pie a cinwr eyes

Filling:
Position faceplate, : :
liner, and shell... sicaien'ss 4 - : Ieee) -
Fill liner from return- :
ELOWNDELG 2/ictent cv aoanae% : -
Manually remove filled

16.30 -

Unproductive labor:
Piltlers wale onvGacers. shia. 2<s - : - L296

66.43

: Hours
PLapesed LEM. 4:44 sass al aioe uke wares 7236

1/ Crew organization: Six workers place fruit in faceplates and deliver to
fillers; 3 workers perform filling operation.
2/ Includes spreading oiled paper through pack.

= Res

Table 46.--Labor required to perform each part of the receiving operation

° : Fatigue Prod ;
Time item : Workers : Base time : and personal: sarees
m

allowances :

: Number : Man-minutes : Man-minutes : Man-minutes
Manually unload crate from truck : : :

to wconvievyoruat workfiace. 5.556 .% 0! 1 : 0.072 0.018 : 0.090
Add short conveyor section 3 : : c

SUT GIG LGapren cy sueh eset aier'oy «icp ah « (owils’ siete extn ct oie : at : . 248 : 024 : 212
Extend conveyor into truck......... : a : 200 : 024 : 274
Manually unload crate from truck 2 : :

to conveyor at platform. 2.265. 64. : 1 : 2173 : 032 : +205
Pick up 5-crate load with clamp : ; :

type 2-wheel handtruck............ : il : e231 : 2039 : «210

Deposit 5-crate load in congested
area with clamp type 2-wheel

IAT GIT Cavs pale awenen on eyet oat ole he ters) sere veweticlic : a : .126 : OL : 145
Manually position pallet on : : ; :
mel ate date tl Gener srerseeel ce cne tel «: phcife: ecco: che oh ue : LO : 062 : moe
Manually load crate on pallet : : :
teem al OA Ch mvt e rates sles ctokstioherelcts eer osvese.'s : 1 : .143 : 028 : Lil
E 2 : «225 : 025 : . 150
Pick up loaded pallet from ; : 3
teat a EO rr er srcvcxelis ovareceletelegstehababetereccielsie © 1 : 2192 : 020 : eee
Deposit, Loaded pallet... cin cs sissies 1 : -249 : 024 : BCA pS}
Stack crates to 5-high manually....: il : 476 : LL : 3995
Stack top 5 of 10-high stack with 5
Nake yO Cre ue wogeneuat se G eeexevsre ese. 01 yee) arene di : 2673 : LOL 5 oI

Table 47.--Labor required to perform each part of the bringing-up operation

Fatigue

Time item : Workers : Base time : and personal: ee
m™m

allowances :

: Number : Man-minutes : Man-minutes : Man-minutes
Break out 5 high-piled crates P :

Wilt: deSiP ACK OE a ierarerec-csisiers «0: ceie eer : i : 0.462 0.069 3 0.93.1
Pick up 5-crate load with clamp : : :

type 2-wheel handtruck............: a : «237 : 2039 : .276
Deposit 5-crate load in open area..: 1 : . 086 : .013 : 099

Manually load low-stacked carton

from storage position to feeder : 3 ;

CONViCViOG tte iens stersneneiel sii) severeiel ee eacceret te : 1 : sO72 : 015 : .087
Manually break out high-piled : : :
Cratemands budiid: dload 24 ....%.. sc ss : 2 $ 219 : 055 : 274
Pick up loaded pallet from storage : x : :

DO Suistellomey meron ctieyen evar encceeuekarerereietete cre crave : 1 ‘. BAYT | : .026 : . 283
Deposit loaded pallet in open area.: il ‘ 249 : 024 : 273

Break out one of six top crates
from 10-high stack and place on : : :
ONELOLUCT CONVEY OL 2. «:ciecsiars ele elec ete oe 2 2 allel : 7023 : 34.

oo"

Table 48.--Labor required for each part of the operation of storing packed cartons of

apples
Z : Fatigue :
; , Productive
Time item :Workers: Base time :and personal: ; a
: : allowances : bane

:Number :Man-minutes:Man-minutes :Man-minutes

Place carton on pallet alongside conveyor: 1 : 0.143 se wO O25 Se Oneal:
Pick up loaded pallet from floor- : 7 : é
unconges ted area... <:2:s"s1eicises sslelsreo oes orate : dt $ 21192 : .020 x 222
Pick up 5-carton load with danp type 3 : :
Z=wheele andi ruck. 5 aysreieyeteys eo oheisie oe anevevoreiens : a : 525i, : 039 ; BZATAS)
Deposit loaded pallet in uncongested area: 1 : 2249 : 024 : 213
Deposit 5-carton load in congested area : H 3

with clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.......: 1 : .126 : eOUg : .145
Stack carton manually from conveyor - : ; E

ESOSeO DEN Layers auiee a ies waci ee eee oe 1 : 095 $ 024 : hg
Manually high-pile carton in 6th to 10th : : : :

HEAVY. OTS 1S cacy aslo, ool oee's bo atovaplalan cls aneemene tater sions ot renee : 2 : 245 : 073 : 2318
Manually stack 1 carton in 10-high stack : : : :

LT OMY CONV.CY. OT crac 5 ckers, suai encisteteaia silat ckatersterereyes: 2 : 3.05 : . 109 : 474
Stack top 5 of 10-high stack with high- S : :

PIMC Ti sr5 sucvarouede tate tsleverees eve vere aiateteustenete fexsuet ote: sue z aU : .673 z 2101 : 774

Table 49.--Elemental labor requirements per occurrence for performing loading-out

operation
: : Fatigue pesca
Time item :Workers: Base time :and personal; Productive
time
: : allowances

:Number :Man-minutes:Man-minutes :Man-minutes

Break out high-piled crate manually...... : 2 seen O29 2 40:055 2 OR274
Pick up loaded pallet from storage.......: 1 e 257, : . 026 Z 203
Deposit loaded: pallets... disses ot ee aie ot 1 3 ~ 249 : 024 : 22713
Stow carton manually from pallet......... : 2. : . 160 : .040 : . 200
Pick up 5-crate load with clamp type : : : :
2-wheel hand trucle. «cya sieve sisiare ecsletelesecnc nes 1 : 2237 : .039 +276
Deposit 5-crate load in congested area 3 : A :

with clamp type 2-wheel handtruck.......: 1 : .126 : 20:9 : 145
Break out crates from 10 high to 4 high : : : :

by use Gf roller Conveyors. scciclade cas oe : 2 : slid : .023 : .134

Table 50.--Elemental labor requirements per occurrence for performing dumping operation

° Fartene Productive
Time item :Workers: Base time :and personal: ;
time
: : allowances :

:Number :Man-minutes:Man-minutes :Man-minutes
Manually dump apples and set aside empty : : :

CLACCI s eiet euccarensi are seis sera) cuerolol eye, ea leueue oars : 2. 2 POE4G5S sae Oates) ‘OPO rS
Supplying automatic dumper by refilling : 2
friction-drive conveyor for each crate..: if : .080 : .020 : . 100

Table 51.--Labor required for each part of the packing operation in apple packing

Method of packing and
individual time item

Face and fill bushel baskets:

plants

:Workers:

:Number :;

Position empty faceplate on stand..:

Pash race piliait: rate icv stensie qiavase‘aieyel se exels :

Remove full faceplate from stand...:

Position faceplate, liner, and

She Ue Lor er Ui Oo stecte se ec sies wcrc sere :

Fill basket manually by diverting

apples from return-flow belt...... .

Manually remove filled basket to

ONO oa oe trorey aun ota eyaireaiare aia te idiots ;

Wrap and pack size 113 apples in
Northwest boxes from rotating tub:

Remove empty box from monorail and :

position on packing stand......... :

Wrap and place-pack apples in box..:

Manually move filled box to

COTY CW.O Taare Nap atenelousie te tayeewensre notch elete: aiteiels :

Tray-pack 1 carton of size 113
apples:
Position empty carton on packing

Position empty carton in automatic :

ELAV ePACK OT sais ioe crs a lavots ei sieisie ie se @ sre z

Place 5 trays in carton and manu-

alive fie [then fromstubscec cies «2

Place 5 trays in carton and manu-
ually fill them from return-flow

Place 5 trays in carton and fill

them by semiautomatic tray packer.:

Manually remove filled carton to

CONIVEV Olea qeketorsciereveieredehaicietenelal cielere! erel.ete eg

Release filled carton from tray

packer EO CONVEY ORs sas sie oe oo che

Bag and cell-pack nine 5-lb. bags of :

apples with automatic bagging
machine:
Position 1 empty carton on

DaCksln ew Sil Ania <: svc yons /sieuclieyessiievelleies/o <10).0/ 6 :

°

Attach 9 bags to automatic weigher.:

Piali 9 bags with apples. ..4. << 0-66 -

Remove 9 full bags and attach

CHOSE Slereweteyaveret cestetene set emake chase oie :

Place 9 full bags in cells of

CATS OM iia ciel clteliotale ols! soe erst ere! a consaeterekerchens :

Manually move 1 filled carton to

CONV Giy OIeuetane oils tetevenetenoneienercisto rave! ov aversiene :

°

1
1
1

Base time

Man-minutes ;:

(0 Bi Ba
2.118
.078
2102
Mo iagl

2097

Pee Oe
2.463

«128

Ab
.198

2.025

1.438
a 920
- 128

070

wtls
O27
£052
2915
ay AE

-128

Fatigue
and personal:
allowances :

Man-minutes :

0.016
O18
016
2015
wl 27

OL

.0O17
.370

.083

.018

.030

-408

. 863

5239

.083

042

.018
094
si58
5138
041

.083

Productive
time

Man-minutes

O27
2.436
094
ply,
oho

16

.130
22033

e2 1

2136

228

32131

25308

1.067

«211

a e2

.136
nied
1.220
15053
O18

2c

Table 52.--Labor required for each part of the operations of making cartons,
lidding or sealing containers, and labeling packed containers in apple |
packing plants

Pp 7 >; Fatigue *p ree
Time item :Workers: Base time :and personal: elec A

: : allowances

:Number :Man-minutes: Man-minutes:Man-minutes

Form, staple, and set aside l : : : :
fiberboard: Cartons. sas.c0 06 o a's tease : Ef = 0.219 : 0.044 7 OO. 263
2 : woe. : 064 ; .386

Lid or seal containers:
Place bushel basket over filled
liner, place basket in basket

turner, rotate 180°, sprinkle : : : :

oiled paper over apples, and : :

place lid on basket and attach : : :
throuech. handles. 13440484 48seemae : 1 : i417 : 063 ; -480

Insert lid in nailer, position
northwest box in nailer, and

nail lid by pressing foot : : : :
COULTOLs +vancaess iaeiMuel a ceee ene’ it : wl36 : ROA : 157
Seal carton by placing 2 staples : : : :
by hand or with pneumatic : :
Stapler. <.ca0 44% ree ee xt 1 : a A : 053 : +250
Place telescoping lid over : : : :
packed Carton. <ss40ssa saw cceeewes i : 1938 : .030 $ 3220
Mark grade, size, and variety on : : : ;
container with a rubber stamp..... : 1 : #129 : 019 : 148
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w U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961 O - 597032

Growth Through Agricultural Progress